How to Be Avant-Garde

'Art has poisoned our life', proclaimed Dutch artist and De Stijl co-founder Theo van Doesburg. Reacting to the tumultuous crises of the twentieth century, especially the horrors of the First World War, avant-garde artists and writers sought to destroy art by transforming it into the substance of everyday life. Following the evolution of these revolutionary groups, How to Be Avant-Garde charts its pioneers and radical ideas.