Shocking is one of the most significant phenomena in modern culture. Although the term itself appeared in the 19th century, shocking actions and events remain relevant for many decades.
The phenomenon of shocking
Anything that goes beyond the accepted norms and shocks the public is called outrageous. Behavior, manners, music and painting can be shocking. Outrageousness is closely related to the scandal. The main purpose of such a phenomenon is to draw attention to one's own person, a phenomenon or even a political force. Often shocking is used in show business in the course of self-promotion.
However, sometimes shocking actions can even be associated with charity. This phenomenon, although classified as art, is anti-aesthetic. His task is not to cause admiration and amazement, but shock and sometimes disgust. Sometimes shocking antics appear due to mental or neurological diseases.
The appearance of the term
Although this phenomenon was still present in ancient art, the very name "outrageous" appeared in France in the 1830s. French artists have developed a new direction designed to stir up and excite the public. They raised forbidden topics, mixed high art with low, and sometimes behaved inappropriately. Outrageousness became elements of such styles as modernism, surrealism, futurism, modernism. The famous artists Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Gunther Grasse, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse were called shocking.
Shocking in contemporary art
Shocking is characteristic of many representatives of contemporary art. Now shocking behavior is used mainly by music performers. In particular, the young singer Miley Cyrus is known for scandalous antics. In her performances, she uses revealing outfits and cheeky dances. The master of outrageousness is the singer Lady Gaga. She focuses not on aggressive sexuality, but on weird shocking outfits and flashy clips. For example, once Gaga appeared at a star party in a suit made of raw meat, and in her video she appeared as a Zombie Boy, a man with tattoos all over his face and body. The Zombie Boy itself is also included in the list of outrageous icons. This young man turned himself into a walking skeleton. His face, body, and arms are adorned with anatomically accurate bone and flesh tattoos. Also on the body of the Zombie Boy there are many symbols and inscriptions.
Other stars also use shocking to one degree or another. For example, pop princess Britney Spears dyed her hair from light to black, and then completely shaved her head, and the famous ballerina Anastasia Volochkova shocked the entire Internet with candid photos from a southern vacation.