Sell applied the term to art by stating that Avantgarde is often seen merely as an art movement that opposes the mainstream. However, he argues that this view is too simple; he says that its more of an attitude that one has to feel and cannot be generalized.
Sers compares the radical and the contemporary Avantgarde, where the contemporary Avantgarde rather serves to question, while the radical Avanatgarde seeks to provoke, encouraging people to view things critically from a new perspective.