Transgressive art
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Transgressive art refers to art forms that are said to convey a melding between nihilism and transcendence, typified by the death-glory sound of early New York punk rock and no wave. It shares a legacy with underground film-makers like Andy Warhol, John Waters and Kenneth Anger but is unmistakably rooted in the sounds and time of musicians like Richard Hell, Foetus and poet-singer Lydia Lunch.
Perhaps the most famous transgressive artist, Richard Kern began making films in New York with infamous underground actors Nick Zedd and Lung Leg. Some of them were videos for artists like the Butthole Surfers and Sonic Youth.
Zedd continued to make his own movies, after Kern graduated to creating big-money art photography of naked New York City girls. On nearly any given week in New York City, Zedd can be found showing his films at a film screening, loft party or bar. His most recent films feature his current love interest, the elf-ear-wearing Saint Reverend Jen.
Probably the most thorough book on the early transgressive movement is Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression by Jack Sargeant.
By the early 1990s however, most of the originators of the trangressive movement had moved into other work. New transgressive artists like GG Allin, Lisa Crystal Carver, Costes and Dame Darcy began to emerge. With these artists came a greater emphasis on life itself (or death) as art, rather than just depicting a certain mindset in film or music. They were instrumental in creating a new type of visionary punk, and influenced artists like Alec Empire, Cock E.S.P., Crash Worship, Usama Alshaibi, Liz Armstrong, Weasel Walter, Andy Ortmann, and the later work featured in Peter Bagge's Hate.
The term can also be applied to transgressive literature. Recent examples include Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. These works dealt with issues that were considered to be outside the social norms. Their characters abused drugs, engaged in violent behaviour or could have been considered sexual deviants.