[Commlist] CfP for the stream 'Art MANIFESTOS: The future of an evolving form' – London Conference in Critical Thought

Art MANIFESTOS: The future of an evolving form____

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Organisers: Evangelos Chrysagis and Panos Kompatsiaris

Conference Stream, part of  London Conference in Critical Thought 
(LCCT), Goldsmiths, University of London, 5-6 July 2019

http://londoncritical.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LCCT-2019-Call-for-Papers.pdf

Please send abstracts for papers and presentations proposals with 
relevant stream title indicated in the subject line to: 
(paper-subs /at/ londoncritical.org) <mailto:(paper-subs /at/ londoncritical.org)>____

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Abstracts should be no more than 250 words and must be received by 
Monday, 25 March 2019.____

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Art MANIFESTOS: The future of an evolving form____

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At a time when many regard the manifesto as a thing of the past, a 
defunct format, others see a resurgence in the production of manifestos 
cross-culturally: artists and activists still passionately pen and 
perform manifesto-type declarations. These can take militant forms in 
the spirit of avant-garde/nihilistic negation or more reconciliatory 
forms in the spirit of today’s creative industries and moderate 
politics. The manifestos of today can range from artist and curatorial 
statements to press releases and declarations describing political 
groups or counter-hegemonic actions.____

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By focusing on manifestos as a multimodal form, this stream explores the 
ways in which manifestos project a matrix of values pertinent to work in 
the cultural industries, underscore the ambivalent relationship between 
intention and outcome in politically-loaded statements, while conveying 
an underlying quest for ethical integrity in grassroots creative 
economies (Chrysagis 2019). Because manifestos, both written and 
performed, delineate forms of conduct, we aim to stress their function: 
what do these statements do, and how? To this effect, we examine the 
form and content of past and present manifestos, and how these elements 
allow us to place them in their cultural context and the history of the 
genre.____

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The manifesto, Luca Somigli notes, ‘remains a privileged way for 
dissenting or marginalized voices to speak out, to affirm their 
presence, to reach out to like-minded individuals and invite them to 
band together for a common cause’ (2003). According to Janet Lyon, ‘to 
write a manifesto is to participate symbolically in a history of 
struggle against dominant forces’ (1999). Yet, contrary to the 
association of manifestos with revolutionary politics and subversion, 
the history of the genre demonstrates that the manifesto constitutes ‘an 
extremely plural and open form’ (Yanoshevsky 2009).____

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Despite its open-ended and ever-changing form, it is possible to 
highlight specific formal characteristics of the manifesto and how it 
exerts its force and authority. In this regard, manifestos from 
different cultural traditions (e.g. curatorial statements in art 
biennials) can be understood as genres of writing sharing common 
vocabularies, preoccupations and themes (Kompatsiaris 2019). For Martin 
Puchner (2005) manifestos exhibit a tension between what he calls 
‘performativity’ and ‘theatricality’, while a rupture with the past, a 
focus on now and a sense of urgency in embracing the new can be traced 
in the evolution of the genre – though as Laura Winkiel points out such 
a break reflects a linear ‘Eurocentric notion of history’ (2008), which 
has been very different from the perception of historical time in 
postcolonial contexts.____

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We invite responses, written or otherwise, from academics, artists and 
activists to the following questions:____

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What is the purpose of writing a manifesto – a relic of modernism – 
today?____

How have classic manifesto forms evolved in today’s PR, networking and 
visibility economies? ____

What are the characteristics that make the manifesto most effective?____

How do manifestos encapsulate the relationship between politics, ethics 
and action?____

How can we critique political and avant-garde manifestos and use these 
lessons in future provocations?____

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Stream Organisers:____

Dr Evangelos Chrysagis ((e.chrysagis /at/ outlook.com) 
<mailto:(e.chrysagis /at/ outlook.com)>)____

Dr Panos Kompatsiaris ((panoskompa /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(panoskompa /at/ gmail.com)>)



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