Matthew Modine employs what my 99-year-old grandma would call “mamaloshen,” a Yiddish term for common sense. In his new, award-winning, mini-documentary Jesus was a Commie, Modine puts this logical thinking to work presenting a visually compelling and thought-provoking 15-minute short documentary. The film intends to put a sensible spin on the traditional idea and interpretation of Jesus Christ, and what were perhaps Christ’s own communist practices and philosophies.

“When words lose their meaning, people lose their freedom’ is a quote attributed to Confucius,” says Modine to EcoSalon in an exclusive interview.

“Liberal is one of those words that has been pushed into a political context. The root of the word is liber, meaning free, something we Americans believe we have a special dominion over. The word liberal has been transformed to mean, by conservatives and Republicans to mean communist, weak, homosexual, immoral, and just un-American. Jesus, depending on how you personally feel about him, is another word, or idea, belief, or ism that has been hijacked for political purpose. If you take the stories of Jesus and look at them without evangelical glasses, you see a man that questioned and challenged the conditions of life in his time. And it can be argued, and has been by a lot of incredible people, that Jesus was a Utopian Communist,” adds Modine.

Modine describes himself as a spiritual person who leans liberal with his thinking.

“We all want a bit more for ourselves and our families. Monastic life – living as nuns and priests, is rather communistic – and they make it work. But, I don’t want to live like a priest. I enjoy the liberal and progressive western way of life. I also understand that with these freedoms come responsibility, not just to other people but to all forms of life that I share this earth with,” he says.

Mixing in archival live action footage, the first scenes are of the Berlin Wall falling, followed by images of Gorbachev – both quintessential images of America’s idea of communism. Modine has got a good point to make and draws the audience in gently to hear it: “Last night I began reading about the fall of communism; the more I read, the less I believed it fell because it didn’t make sense or didn’t work. It was something simpler. It seems the most logical reason communism failed was because of greed. I’d say rock and roll being broadcast on Radio Free Europe had as much to do with the Berlin Wall coming down as Ronald Reagan demanding it so.”

That’s certainly a notion we’re not exactly taught in the American school system.

“In the early 1980′s, I met and spoke with people from East Berlin before the wall came down,” Modine explains.

“I was at the Berlin Film Festival and had the opportunity to cross Check Point Charlie and enter into East Berlin. It was from meeting Russian soldiers that I realized the lies and propaganda about Russian people that I had been taught. Like many Americans, I was taught to believe that this Evil Empire was prepared to take over the world and destroy life as we knew it. After actually seeing it and being there, I saw that these people were no different than my brothers and sisters at home. They shared the same fears and desires, and many of the same likes and dislikes as people at home.

Radio Free Europe was the tool that was educating the Eastern German and Russian soldiers I met about life in the west. Radio Free Europe had no borders. The music of the 1960s floated wirelessly, without borders, across the Iron Curtain and influenced a generation of people to want a change in their country. The Utopian Communism didn’t exist or work. The songs of protest, the songs of loving, the songs of rebellion that define 60s music opened the minds of those listening to it and it transformed their expectations of living. Ronald Reagan and the Cold War, and the Arms Race, coincided with this new generation of young people that were about to transform their homeland. The change in the Soviet Union happened from within. Not because of Ronald telling Russia to ‘take down the wall.’”

There are plenty of less liberal thinking critics who will check out early after the testimonies and references Modine pulls in linking Jesus to communism an contributing rock and roll as part of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

As crazy as it might seem, the film points out that Jesus and his posse were all dictionary definition communists hitting the streets like traveling salesmen to sell their goods. Then, they’d return and bring the money they’d earned back to be shared in common with others. Based on Jesus’ kind actions Modine points out, his followers never got to thrive and being in the minority in the midst of a confused and greedy government, only pushed them into exile.

“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist,” Modine quotes, Brazilian archbishop Dom Helder Camara from the book Peace Behind Bars: A Peacemaking Priest’s Journal from Jail.

While the combination of both “communism” and “Jesus” used at the same time most certainly create intense reaction by much of America, ultimately, Modine plays it safe and doesn’t turn his commentary into anything aggressive or offensive. His film has great timing to coincide with the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Together movement growing across the United States and around the world.

“Occupy Wall Street doesn’t have a single voice, a leader,” Modine explains. “It is an extraordinary demonstration of civil liberty and democracy. I do think that if there were a bearded, barefoot man speaking about peace, liberty, love, and turning the tables of the Wall Street Money Changers over, he would be crucified by the news media. Mayor Bloomberg would demand his arrest. [Some media outlets] would call him hateful names and declare him a threat to capitalism,” says Modine.

When watching Jesus Was a Commie, the viewer realizes early that the movie is an extension of Modine’s own thoughtful and ongoing quest for answers to deep seated philosophical questions, and a ticket to opening conversation.

“I am troubled by the events taking place all over the world,” he says.

“The population [is] reaching 7 billion. Starvation exists globally. There’s a lack of drinkable water. Pollution threatens drinking water. The dangers of hydro-fracking. Nuclear waste. Environmental change. Dying coastlines. Over-fishing. Prescription drugs. There is so much confusion, blame and lack of responsibility in the world today. Finger pointing, murdering in the name, and justification for it, of a God.”

As we see even with the title Jesus Was a Commie, Modine likes words and the journey they can take us on. Challenging the meaning and the use of them is simply the American thing to do. Communism is merely a word – a word that Americans are overly-sensitive to. The conversations that the film will inspire after audiences view the film, in a way, are also an extension of his work.

Located on a cobblestone street in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood is the eco contemporary Crosby Street Hotel.

In a city that’s one of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.S., as well as home to many eco inventors, we’re excited that there’s an eco-hotel that’s leading the way in the industry. We are, of course, talking about New York City and tucked smack in the middle of SoHo sits the Crosby Street Hotel.

Featuring floor-to-ceiling warehouse style windows to take in the natural light, each of the 86 rooms are individually designed, some with private terraces planted with native plants. But what’s impressive is that the Crosby Street Hotel is one of the first LEED Gold certified hotels in New York City and is one of the most environmentally responsible in the U.S.

In addition to a slew of green features like green power, use of recycled materials during construction, and usage of regional materials, the Crosby Street Hotel also maximizes their open space. A whopping 61% of the hotel’s site is considered as such, “open,” and on the rooftop is a kitchen garden with a seasonal vegetable patch. Managed by head chef Anthony Paris, also in the formerly unused space on the roof is a Tudor style chicken coop in which the Araucana chickens produce eggs used in the kitchen as well.

Guests are encouraged to visit the Sculpture Garden and the Crosby Bar, both of which are outdoor spaces filled with green space and cool décor, perfect for relaxing with friends.

If you go: Check out the state-of-the-art screening room with 99 seats featuring different films every Sunday. Rates start at $525 per night.

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

ColumnCelebrate all things local with NYC’s Eat Drink Local Week.

Who says you need a bucolic setting to eat locally? Urban metropolises are showing that they too can provide sustenance for their inhabitants in new and creative ways, and this week New York City takes the crown.

Eat Drink Local Week (EDL) kicked off in New York City over the weekend, a collaboration between the Edible magazines of New York State and partners from the entire food chain. The idea is to get people all over the city excited about local food and during the 7-day festivities challenge them to take part in the “lip-smacking locavore lineup.”

Some of our favorite from the list of 20 challenges:

-Drink like a local! Swig libations from New York breweries and wineries. Bonus: make a farmy cocktail starring local herbs or produce.

-Cook your cast-offs! Think corn cob stock, sauteed beet tops, and pickled watermelon rinds.

-Shuck your own clams, mussels, scallops or oysters.

-Drink only local water—it’s called “tap,“ people.

EDL has also identified the seven ingredients of the week, and if you can manage to pull all of these into one recipe we’ll be highly impressed:

1. Strawberries
2. Peas
3. Chives and Green Garlic
4. Rhubarb
5. Lamb
6. Oysters
7. Yogurt

This list means that there are a whole lot of chic restaurants around town serving up prix fixe menus that put those ingredients to creative use, like Marinated Mackerel with Pickled Rhubarb, Cucumber, Fava Beans, and Watercress at Aquavit and Peas, Bacon, Sweet shrimp Risotto with Liberty Garden Arugula at Print.

And beyond just eating, there are plenty of chances to learn about food and drink, as well as interact with the people that make it.

• Bring Something Win Something: Take part in Union Square Greenmarket’s interactive campaign that encourages foraging, happening all week long.
• Watch Urban Roots: Check out the free screening of this film about city farming in Detroit, July 27th, 6:30 p.m.
• Meet Your Maker: Throw down with the good brewers at Brooklyn Brewery as well as other local food businesses, June 29th, 6-9 p.m.

EDL runs through Thursday, June 30, 2011. If you don’t live in New York City, these events make you wish you had a round-trip ticket there doesn’t it?

Want to check out some of our locavore faves in NYC? Check out our Locavore Guide to Manhattan on Foodspotting.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Image: Edible Manhattan

Ikou-Tschüss is an indie brand that started as a hobby and has grown into a fully operating fashion business.

Ikou-Tschüss is Guya Marini and Carmen D’Apollonio, two friends who’ve coined their brand’s name on the fly: Ikou means ‘let’s go’ in Japanese and Tschüss means ‘bye’ in German. Since 2006 when the brand started, Marini and D’Apollonio have never gone anywhere but up in terms of how recognized the indie label has become within the greater fashion industry.

Their site says the label’s earliest beginnings began with the two designers meeting every summer in Zürich and exchanging ideas, but the lack of proximity kept their collaboration from coming immediately to fruition.

“Guya stayed active in Paris, doing her styling; Carmen, in Zürich and sometimes New York, was kept busy as the invaluable assistant to Swiss artist Urs Fischer. Then, meeting up again in the beginning of 2006, the two decided to focus exclusively on making handmade knitwear and croched silk foulards. Guya showed the pieces to her friend Livio and Stephan from the Parisian press office. Livio and Stephan were instantly taken with the knitwear and in their excitement planted the seeds for what was soon to become Ikou-Tschüss, demanding that Guya and Carmen formally create a label for the work they had brought in.”

When it comes to sustainability and still a strong fashion appeal, their main focus lies in sourcing quality materials. Most of their wool is either 100% cashmere or merino, and the silk comes from fair-trade locations in either South America or Tibet. They also incorporate recycled or vintage materials whenever possible and embrace the long-held tradition of knitting and crocheting which they themselves learned while growing up in the Swiss capital.

Their designs are made by hand and “the process of doing the work is vital to the form the design takes,” says the site, so production is staffed exclusively by grandmothers, who retain the old craftswomanly approach to handwork—skills that Guya and Carmen feel are disappearing today.

Kou Tschuss is located at 8 Centre Market Place in New York City and online.

Designers offer insights on why some styles sell more than others.

Designers will be the first to admit that when it comes to their collections they have their favorites. But does their cloth-crush sometimes outshine the actual needs of the buyer?

A boutique owner has to be part fortune teller, part knowledgeable curator. A smart buyer realizes that above all, they need to be prudent. Getting caught up in the hype of Market Week with a designer telling them something is “Amazing!” and “Will sell through,” can translate to merchandise that doesn’t move.

What this means for you is an uninteresting store selection and a buyer whose investment isn’t going to give much return.

I caught up with a handful of sustainable designers at Market in New York this past week and had them show me a piece they loved, but was it what the buyers were choosing for their Fall 2011 assortments? Not necessarily.

Alice Wu, founder and designer of Feral Childe (above), says the Paganini Practice Shift was her favorite but the more colorful signature prints of her line were buyers’ favorites.

Lara Miller, founder and designer of Lara Miller: “The Callie Flip Cardigan was one of my best sellers and is also one of my favorites. Buyers like that they can wear it more than four different ways and get so much from one piece.”

Tracey Forrest, Owner of True Collaborative Showroom, representing Pendleton’s Portland Collection: “The Cape was placed by every buyer but the men’s pants were sometimes overlooked which typically happens in bottoms that are not denim or khakis-This is often a missed category for men’s clothing.”

Raina Blyer, designer and founder of Creem: “These two were my favorites and the buyers’ because they’re different, but not so different to alienate any type of customer.”

Moriah Carlson, co-designer and founder of Feral Childe, said her Rabbit Bump Dress was a bright spot for buyer’s ordering because she loves it and thankfully, so did they.

Lizz Wasserman, founder and designer behind the line Popomomo, says her A/W ’11 Ferus Shirt is a favorite of hers as well as the buyers: “It’s a shift in silhouette for the buyers but they’re able to see the piece has cross-appeal and accommodates lots of body types.”

We’ve been falling hard for the NOW Showcase for the past three seasons at Market in New York City and are glad to be this season’s exclusive media sponsor. With all that amazing talent in one big room, not only are we excited to see all the new fall collections, we’re hoping we might even see you!

On two separate evenings, the EcoSalon team will be on hand to mingle and answer all the questions you ever wanted to ask us, like, “Is fashion columnist Gretchen Jones really 10 feet tall?” and “Does Fashion Editor Amy DuFault really have a thick New England accent?” and of course, the top question you’ve secretly been wondering: “Are they fun?”

We totally are.

So come meet our fashion columnist and recent Project Runway winner Gretchen Jones on Saturday, February 19th, 4-6:30 p.m. Jones, a designer and EcoSalon fashion columnist of “My Designer Life,” will be on hand to talk about anything you deem sustainable. About to launch her first collection since her Project Runway win, Jones will have look books on hand to show buyers and a leopard turban on to impress anyone else.

Fashion Editor, Amy DuFault (yours truly), will be on hand the second day – Sunday, February 20th, 4-6:30 pm entertaining a motley crew of eco-boutique owners (the ones you love shopping online but have never met), fellow sustainable fashion writers, and Garment District representatives. I’ll be at the ready with my Flip, pad and pen to take notes about anything you think might be EcoSalon-story worthy.

In addition to sipping fair trade wine from Appollis and Fair. vodka cocktails, you can warm up with hot Gypsy Tea and snack on some delicious Regal Vegan Faux Gras™ and then (ahem!) there’s the every-15-minute-giveaway on the 20th from Chem Line, Deborah Lindquist, Creem, NatureVsFuture, SDN, Lipstockist and Heidi Roland – all for the price of a business card.

If you weren’t able to make it to any New York Fashion Week events, this is a unique and special opportunity to meet the real designers behind the inspiring lines and see just what Fall 2011 has in store for us.

We look forward to meeting you!

For a complete list of designers showing at NOW, go here.

This is not the greenest sentiment I’ve ever expressed, but the fact is, I kind of hate nature.

Not all of nature, of course. I’m extremely fond of puppies and sunsets. I also like butterflies and broccoli rabe, but I have a really hard time with some of nature’s wilder and more aggressive life forms – especially when they make their way into my house. I live in an area that is suburban, bordering on rural, and for the past 20 years I have had an uneasy truce with the wildlife roaming around my sleepy country town. That truce has come to a sudden and violent end, thanks to a nasty encounter with a rabid raccoon. Now it feels like all-out war: me against the critters.

When I moved to the suburbs from New York City I naively expected to form a loving and Disney-ish relationships with the local animals. I thought there would be happy chipmunks frolicking on my lawn; I looked forward to gentle deer eating out of my hand, while bluebirds smiled indulgently from above, tra-la.

The reality has been far less benign. We have bear living in the woods near my house, treating our garbage cans like an all night smorgasbord. There have been many nights I’ve been kept awake by squirrels slam-dancing around in my attic, doing God knows what with my out of season clothes. We have had several ill-fated dinner parties, where my guests have pretended not to notice that mice were fragrantly decomposing behind the dining room walls.

Other wildlife encounters have been downright dangerous: we’ve seen coyotes skulking around during the day, looking like an ill-conceived cross between a house pet and Satan; mostly they come out at night to howl at the moon and snatch up the occasional dachshund. One summer we had an attack of yellow jackets, nasty invaders who took over my laundry room, reproducing like mad and gorging themselves on liquid Tide. But creepiest of all were the bats. During the day they were harmless but unwanted house guests, hanging by their skeevy little bat feet under the eaves of my porch. But at night they would fly away from the house in a perfect horror movie swarm, making lazy Transylvanian circles in the sky. I found the bats unnerving – I was afraid they would give me rabies, or one of those spooky vampiric conditions preteen girls are so fond of. But the bats turned out to be the least of my worries; the real threat came in the form of a woozy raccoon who planted himself Cujo-style on my front steps, lurching and hissing at my family until the police came and shot the poor sick thing.

It was a sad and dramatic scene, quickly followed by grim comedy – the police and the health department played a spirited game of “Not it” when it came to picking up the animal’s remains. The health department actually suggested I keep the raccoon in my refrigerator until they could send someone to collect it. You would have to know how insanely prissy I am about germs and odors and contamination to appreciate just how unlikely this scenario was: I won’t put raw chicken in my fridge without triple-wrapping it in plastic, and there are several varieties of cheese I won’t refrigerate because I find the smell unpleasant. The idea that I would store a bloody and decomposing rabid animal on the shelf next to my arugula amused my family beyond all reason. But since no one else would claim the carcass, my husband and son took it upon themselves to collect and bag the animal, thereby exposing themselves to all sorts of blood and saliva and cerebral fluid. They are now two-thirds of the way through a grueling series of rabies vaccines; they are sadder and wiser, and they can finally relate to my raging distrust of wildlife.

Meanwhile, I have begun to fantasize about leaving the suburbs altogether, packing up and moving to a tiny apartment on Manhattan’s upper West Side. I love the country, but it seems like rats and pigeons may be all the nature I can actually handle.

Editor’s Note: Susan Goldberg is a slightly lapsed treehugger. Although known to overuse paper products, she has the best of intentions – and a really small SUV. Catch her column, The Goldberg Variations, each week here at EcoSalon.

Image: Michael Scheltgen

Blazetrak is partnering with Nolcha, a leading platform for independent fashion designers and founder of the Ethical Fashion preview and runway shows, for a contest that will ultimately give one aspiring designer the opportunity to participate in Nolcha Fashion Week in New York, February 2011.

Designers from all over the world are currently invited to submit photos to Blazetrak of their best work at two different submission price points: For a lower price point, designers can submit six images of their best work or, for a higher fee designers can submit the same six images and receive a guaranteed, personalized video response with feedback from Nolcha’s CEO, Kerry Bannigan.

Work can be expressed through photographic images,  drawings, models wearing garments or just garments.

Designers need to be at the ready what with the winning fashion designer being announced live on Ustream on January 7th, 2011,  giving the winner just under a month to prepare their collection for February Fashion Week in New York City.

To enter or for specifics on this competition, visit Blazetrak.

You know warm days are truly coming to an end when fashion packs are racing around New York City’s famed fashion week dressed in fall looks determining what we’ll be wearing the following spring. Next week, sustainable style gets its day in the sun when the Now spring ’11 showcase goes on display. Showing menswear, womenswear and accessories from a strong bunch of independent, consciously-minded labels, the NOW Showcase has grown substantially since they launched - going from nine designers to eighteen.

“Since we started two years ago, we have doubled in size. I think our success is due to the honest community we have formed. Many of the designers return each season and really like the atmosphere and vibe of the show. We are non-competitive and all support and help each other out throughout the year. We have a loyal following of buyers as well as designers, its become a place people come to because they know they will see old and new friends,” says Creem designer, Raina Blyer.

Knowing that there’s enough love and goodwill to power most of New York City at NOW, we turn to the designers to ask them one question: “What was your favorite part of designing spring 11?”

Here’s what they had to say.

modaspia

“Sewing the collection up was fun but nothing compared to styling the pieces for the look book. A sexy, ethereal sort of 20′s vibe came through when we shot it. I stayed up the night  before stringing necklaces from African beads that we draped on the model. It was a great look and different from anything we’d done previously.” – Designer Ursula Dean

Kelly Lane

“One of my favorite parts of the design process is the development of a new print for the collection and how the print then influences the creation of new styles, while also breathing new life into past styles.

Each season, the collection, and especially the print, are created with a particular theme in mind. This season we found our inspiration in butterflies and all of their beautiful stages.

Instead of working with literal shapes emerging from the forms, or even the movement of butterflies, we cast the woman as the ultimate polymorphic creature. The print was created to be a second skin, cloaking the wearer in series of hand-drawn circles that reflect the ultimate feminine form and symbol for transformation.” – Designer Kelly Lane

Creem

“This season has been exciting for me because I am working on expanding my Creem collection which is a relatively new project for me. It’s been fun to switch heads and switch customer. The concept of Creem collection is to remain seasonless, so the collections will all blend into each other and pieces will remain relevant. My favorite place on earth is the beach and being near the ocean. My goal as been to bring the wonderful feeling of calm and openness that the ocean gives me into the collection. It has been great fun spending the summer at my studio dreaming of the beach all day.” – Designer Raina Blyer

Feral Childe

“Our favorite part of designing Spring 11 is when we get together at my studio in Oakland to make the drawings and collages that will become the prints. We start each collection this way. Moriah and I live on opposite coasts, so we love the stretch of studio time we get, and the chance to catch up on each others’ lives. It’s like a working retreat. We draw and talk all day, go on hikes, and eat and drink heartily to celebrate each day’s work.

This season we wanted to make a print that would more directly relate to the construction of a garment, rather than another allover print. We knew we loved the imagery from this book TARQUINIA that’s been sitting on our studio shelf for years now. In the book there are photos of ancient tomb paintings and bronzes that we felt would look great as the cutouts you see on the print. We also wanted to create a textile print that wasn’t just another allover image; we wanted to make a print with narrative elements yet change depending on construction of the garment. I also loved making the props for the spring 11 photo shoot. I took elements from our drawings and prints, and turned them into larger-than-life 3D objects. ” – Designers Alice Wu and Moriah Carlson

Turk + Taylor

“The most exciting part of designing for spring is color and fabric. We couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. It started out with a thought: “What if we made clothes out of an old hot air balloon?” And that’s what we did. Windbreakers and poncho-y dresses that are uber fun, totally out of the box showstoppers. Seams and color vary with each piece, so all are one-of-a-kind.
In addition to the balloon, we designed an oversized buffalo plaid in a similar color palate – pink, orange, yellow and blue. It’s truly amazing and perfect for a western shirt and cinched caftan tunic. We rounded out the fabrics with another custom-milled boardshort plaid, striped linen and a selection of vintage yardage.” – Designers Mark Lee Morris and Andrew Wayne Soernsen

Rebe

“My favorite part was creating pieces from mill ends that were playful and practical. I was inspired by “dots and dashes” bringing together my past designs with present concepts.” – Designer Debra Weiss

Feisty Elle

“My favorite part of designing spring 11 was challenging myself to design necklaces, something I’d never done before. I sought to use felt and bamboo in unique ways and succeeded in making some really fun, lightweight statement designs.” – Designer Leslie Yang

(Stay tuned for a second post on the NOW Showcase designers this week)

With Park(ing) Day just around the corner, it seems timely to write about the latest thing to hit the streets of Manhattan: a pop up cafe.

Sponsored by two neighboring eateries – Bombay and Fika – and the New York City Department of Transportation, the pop up cafe is composed of a wooden platform that houses 14 tables and 50 chairs. An attempt at solving the problem of cramped sidewalks which don’t leave much room for outdoor seating, the pop up cafe is part foodie attraction and part public space improvement. In fact, Bombay and Fika don’t offer table service, and anyone who wants to take advantage of the space is allowed to take a seat.

Taking the place of several parking spaces, the outdoor seating doesn’t conflict with the sidewalk traffic, and it’s a project that the DOT is more than happy to support. “Every time we put down just an orange barrel, people just materialize out of nowhere,” said Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan to Streetsblog. “If you build it, they will sit.”

The cafe is all part of DOT’s attempt to make the Big Apple more livable and street-friendly. It has not only expanded its bike lanes, but also announced plans to create two pedestrian plazas on 5th Avenue and Broadway.

The pop up cafe will be removed later this year, but according to Sadik-Khan, if the DOT deems this project a success, there very well may be more of them next spring, which would mean many more creative uses of public space, therefore improving the life of anyone that works or lives in Manhattan.

Image: DNA Info

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.