'SANCTA' Is the Best Provocative Art Piece of 2024

The standards for provocation are measured against time and culture. What was once provocative is now tame, and people seek further stimulation as they become increasingly desensitized to sexuality, violence, and other possible taboos. In 2024, it seems almost impossible to shock an audience; kids grow up with online imagery that would traumatize adults a century ago. There are, of course, artists on the fringe, artisans of the underground, who create truly distinct and affronting works, but few transition into the mainstream. Florentina Holzinger somehow managed to do it, though, and her 2024 opera, SANCTA, could be the most provocative piece of art this year.