Avant-gardist

The avant-garde (UK: /ˌævɒ̃ˈɡɑːd/; US: /ˌævæ̃ˈɡɑːrd/); from French, "advance guard" or "vanguard", literally "fore-guard") are people or works that are experimental, , or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society. It may be characterized by nontraditional, aesthetic innovation and initial unacceptability, and it may offer a critique of the relationship between producer and consumer.

The avant-garde pushes the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the status quo, primarily in the cultural realm. The avant-garde is considered by some to be a hallmark of modernism, as distinct from postmodernism. Many artists have aligned themselves with the avant-garde movement and still continue to do so, tracing a history from Dada through the Situationists to postmodern artists such as the Language poets around 1981.

...
Wikipedia