PERSONAL RESPONSE PORTFOLIO
PHILIPPA GRACE WILLIAMSON
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I Am for an Art Claes Oldenburg (1961) I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something other than sit on its ass in a museum. I am for an art that grows up not knowing it is art at all, an art given the chance of having a starting point of zero. I am for an art that embroils itself with the everyday crap & still comes out on top. I am for an art that imitates the human, that is comic, if necessary, or violent, or whatever is necessary. I am for all art that takes its form from the lines of life itself, that twists and extends and accumulates and spits and drips, and is heavy and coarse and blunt and sweet and stupid as life itself. I am for an artist who vanishes, turning up in a white cap painting signs or hallways. I am for art that comes out of a chimney like black hair and scatters in the sky. I am for art that spills out of an old mans purse when he is bounced off a passing fender. I am for the art out of a doggys mouth, falling fi ve stories from the roof. I am for the art that a kid licks, after peeling away the wrapper. I am for an art that joggles like everyone’s knees, when the bus traverses an excavation. I am for art that is smoked, like a cigarette, smells, like a pair of shoes. I am for art that fl aps like a fl ag, or helps blow noses, like a handkerchief. I am for art that is put on and taken off , like pants, which develops holes, like socks, which is eaten, like a piece of pie, or abandoned with great contempt, like a piece of shit. I am for art covered with bandages, I am for art that limps and rolls and runs and jumps. I am for art that comes in a can or washes up on the shore. I am for art that coils and grunts like a wrestler. I am for art that sheds hair. I am for art you can sit on. I am for art you can pick your nose with or stub your toes on. I am for art from a pocket, from deep channels of the ear, from the edge of a knife, from the corners
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of the mouth, stuck in the eye or worn on the wrist. I am for art under the skirts, and the art of pinching cockroaches. I am for the art of conversation between the sidewalk and a blind man’s metal stick. I am for the art that grows in a pot, that comes down out of the skies at night, like lightning, that hides in the clouds and growls. I am for art that is fl ipped on and off with a switch. I am for art that unfolds like a map, that you can squeeze, like your sweetys arm, or kiss, like a pet dog. Which expands and squeaks, like an accordion, which you can spill your dinner on, like an old tablecloth. I am for an art that you can hammer with, stitch with, sew with, paste with, fi le with. I am for an art that tells you the time of day, or where such and such a street is. I am for an art that helps old ladies across the street. I am for the art of the washing machine. I am for the art of a government check. I am for the art of last wars raincoat. I am for the art that comes up in fogs from sewerholes in winter. I am for the art that splits when you step on a frozen puddle. I am for the worms art inside the apple. I am for the art of sweat that develops between crossed legs. I am for the art of neck-hair and caked tea-cups, for the art between the tines of restaurant forks, for the odour of boiling dishwater. I am for the art of sailing on Sunday, and the art of red and white gasoline pumps. I am for the art of bright blue factory columns and blinking biscuit signs. I am for the art of cheap plaster and enamel. I am for the art of worn marble and smashed slate. I am for the art of rolling cobblestones and sliding sand. I am for the art of slag and black coal.
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I am for the art of dead birds. I am for the art of scratchings in the asphalt, daubing at the walls. I am for the art of bending and kicking metal and breaking glass, and pulling at things to make them fall down. I am for the art of punching and skinned knees and sat-on bananas. I am for the art of kids smells. I am for the art of mama-babble. I am for the art of bar-babble, tooth-picking, beerdrinking, egg-salting, in-sulting. I am for the art of falling off a barstool. I am for the art of underwear and the art of taxicabs. I am for the art of ice-cream cones dropped on concrete. I am for the majestic art of dog-turds, rising like cathedrals. I am for the blinking arts, lighting up the night. I am for art falling, splashing, wiggling, jumping, going on and off . I am for the art of fat truck-tyres and black eyes. I am for Kool-art, 7-UP art, Pepsi-art, Sunshine art, 39 cents art, 15 cents art, Vatronol art, Dro-bomb art, Vam art, Menthol art, L & M art, Ex-lax art, Venida art, Heaven Hill art, Pamryl art, San-omed art, Rx art, 9.99 art, Now art, New art, How art, Fire sale art, Last Chance art, Only art, Diamond art, Tomorrow art, Franks art, Ducks art, Meat-o-rama art. I am for the art of bread wet by rain. I am for the rat’s dance between fl oors. I am for the art of fl ies walking on a slick pear in the electric light. I am for the art of soggy onions and fi rm green shoots. I am for the art of clicking among the nuts when the roaches come and go. I am for the brown sad art of rotting apples. I am for the art of meowls and clatter of cats and for the art of their dumb electric eyes. I am for the white art of refrigerators and their muscular openings and closings. I am for the art of rust and mould. I am for the art of hearts, funeral hearts or sweetheart hearts, full of nougat. I am for the art of worn meathooks and singing barrels of red, white, blue and yellow meat.
I am for the art of things lost or thrown away, coming home from school. I am for the art of cock-and-ball trees and flying cows and the noise of rectangles and squares. I am for the art of crayons and weak grey pencil-lead, and grainy wash and sticky oil paint, and the art of windshield wipers and the art of the fi nger on a cold window, on dusty steel or in the bubbles on the sides of a bathtub. I am for the art of teddy-bears and guns and decapitated rabbits, exploded umbrellas, raped beds, chairs with their brown bones broken, burning trees, fi recracker ends, chicken bones, pigeon bones and boxes with men sleeping in them. I am for the art of slightly rotten funeral fl owers, hung bloody rabbits and wrinkly yellow chickens, bass drums & tambourines, and plastic phonographs. I am for the art of abandoned boxes, tied like pharaohs. I am for an art of watertanks and speeding clouds and fl apping shades. I am for US Government Inspected Art, Grade A art, Regular Price art, Yellow Ripe art, Extra Fancy art, Ready-to-eat art, Best-for-less art, Ready-to-cook art, Fully cleaned art, Spend Less art, Eat Better art, Ham art, pork art, chicken art, tomato art, banana art, apple art, turkey art, cake art, cookie art. addd: I am for an art that is combed down, that is hung from each ear, that is laid on the lips and under the eyes, that is shaved from the legs, that is brushed on the teeth, that is fi xed on the thighs, that is slipped on the foot. square which becomes blobby
STAGE 1
Art is Film Philippa Williamson (2014) Art emotes and inspires Art is more than the sum of its components Art moves its observer to act To change, to think, to make more Art is film that educates It is film that spurs a change Art is film that comments and critiques It shows us utopia and drives us to strive towards it
RESPONSE PIECE Film is centred around the audience The filmmaker works to stir thought and emotion in each A filmmaker with this goal as his obsessions is an artist Film is simply a canvas
RESPONSE PIECE Film has the power to change political standpoints Film is the catalyst for the destruction of whole paradigms for the purpose of creating new ones. Its use decided not only by the creator but the viewer. Film can be harnessed as a tool
Art enlightens and flourishes before the eye of the beholder Art is microscopic beauty and macroscopic awe Art exists for the simple experience of beauty Art exists where the viewer can see it Art is film that crashes and swirls like a waterfall It is film that belittles and humbles Art is film that is naturally sublime It seeps into our minds and settles into gaps Appearing and reappearing as they please.
Film can be a visual masterpiece and nothing more Beauty is found not only within the concept but also on the surface An aesthetically pleasurable surface, makes for a clear window to concept Film can be appreciated as it stands Artists seek to express and distribute experience Artists let passion drive their actions All the while, disregarding the influence of material limitations Artists strive to make art that is beautiful, intellectual and enriching Filmmakers are artists who traverse the space of a screen like familiar roads They are hyper aware of their position in time. Like a librarian who lives and breathes his shop of shelves, Filmmakers collect and deliver what we cannot retrieve ourselves.
Art reflects and observes Art is the still morning, A cat slinking silently along a garden wall Art is the rhythm found in rush hour footfall And the swirls of soap on the pavement under a clean car
Art is film that finds beauty in the mundane Art is the use of film as a lens The master of film becomes our optician Film reveals beauty hidden between fibres of reality Film is a looking glass, without which the beauty disappears It is a suggested paradigm, created by the artist A fleeting new view of a seemingly familiar world that changes the viewer permanently Film is a tool of discovery Art is cyclically existential It exists for its own sake
Film is art that attempts to define the indefinable Through a medium that evolves and adapts to remain in our eye lines. 
INSPIRATION
INSPIRATION 1
These quotes and ‘Motto images’ are very popular on social media and are easily spread edited and passed around on many different sites over the internet. Most of the time, however they do get lost in translation and, more often than not, links to the original author of the quote are lost and it becomes posted and reposted, sinking further into anonymity. Pictured right is the motto board that I own. It is pinned to my notice board like a daily manifesto.
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First things first Maifesto (2000) We, the undersigned, are graphic designers, art directors and visual communicators who have been raised in a world in which the techniques and apparatus of advertising have persistently been presented to us as the most lucrative, effective and desirable use of our talents. Many design teachers and mentors promote this belief; the market rewards it; a tide of books and publications reinforces it. Encouraged in this direction, designers then apply their skill and imagination to sell dog biscuits, designer coffee, diamonds, detergents, hair gel, cigarettes, credit cards, sneakers, butt toners, light beer and heavy-duty recreational vehicles. Commercial work has always paid the bills, but many graphic designers have now let it become, in large measure, what graphic designers do. This, in turn, is how the world perceives design. The profession’s time and energy is used up manufacturing demand for things that are inessential at best.
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Many of us have grown increasingly uncomfortable with this view of design. Designers who devote their efforts primarily to advertising, marketing and brand development are supporting, and implicitly endorsing, a mental environment so saturated with commercial messages that it is changing the very way citizen-consumers speak, think, feel, respond and interact. To some extent we are all helping draft a reductive and immeasurably harmful code of public discourse.
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solving skills. Unprecedented environmental, social and cultural crises demand our attention. Many cultural interventions, social marketing campaigns, books, magazines, exhibitions, educational tools, television programs, films, charitable causes and other information design projects urgently require our expertise and help.
We propose a reversal of priorities in favour of more useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication - a mindshift away from product marketing and toward the exploration and production of a new kind of meaning. The scope of debate is shrinking; it must expand. Consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part, through the visual languages and resources of design. In 1964, 22 visual communicators signed the original call for our skills to be put to worthwhile use. With the explosive growth of global commercial culture, their message has only grown more urgent. Today, we renew their manifesto in expectation that no more decades will pass before it is taken to heart.
There are pursuits more worthy of our problem-
STAGE 2
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First Things First (2000) Critique & Summary
500 WORD SUMMARY
UMMARY
First things first was originally written in 1964, and applicable to the times because this was the point at which consumerism was on the rise. 22 designers came together to voice their opinions on the matter. Ethical standpoints were at stake and needed to be taken more seriously. Designers are people after all, and their work revolves mainly around what other people require of their skills. Their morals deserve to be respected not ignored in favour of the importance of the project they are needed for. The updated version was published in 2000 and although it couldn’t be forecasted back in 1964, the state of consumerism had only worsened in the 36 year gap. Making ‘First Things First’ just as relevant, if not more so since the mid 60’s. I personally believe the rate of the growth of consumerist influence on our society has accelerated even further in the last 14 years since 2000. And that now is a good a time as any to produce a third version of the manifesto. The 2000 manifesto follows many of the same points raised in the 1964 version. It even adopts the same structure; first highlighting the situation they are in, then describing the negatives effects of this and finally by putting forward a proposal. The 2000 manifesto is not just a copy of the 1964 manifesto, however. Its purpose is to re-establish the points that ‘First things first’ made in 1964. With its message still very much applicable today, why reinvent the wheel if it still works? In this modern, highly consumerist age we live in, new generations of designers are finding their way into the industry. The purpose of this manifesto is to open the way for young designers to first consider and get an idea of their own ethics and moral standing before they enter the world of work. As a creative student, intent on going into the industry myself, I consider myself to be well
grounded. I always strive to look beyond the hype, peer pressure or sugar coating used by companies and organisations today. I don’t buy into the face value or popularity of things until I can see a reason or justification for it myself. I wouldn’t buy a phone because I am swayed by its reputation, instead I do my best to find the real, most reliable data. I’ll see for myself which phone is best suited for me rather than blindly picking the one who’s latest ad campaign that claims it’s “best suited to everybody ever because it just is”. I do worry however for my peers, those who are quickly convinced and swept up in the excitement and, the new favourite weapon for companies, fake sentimentality. This is why I believe in the crucial importance of this manifesto. It won’t stop consumerism by any means, but it may help designers of the future to re-think, stay grounded and keep in mind the better uses for our skills. With the boom of social media, we have now been granted with and entire global platform with which to cultivate projects more worthy to our world, and it is the responsibility of this generation to take advantage of this. If the message of First things first 2000 is passed on successfully, we should be seeing mature ethically minded, creative individuals coming together to pen an even newer manifesto in 2036.
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INSPIRATION 2
INSPIRATION 2 While planning out how to present this project in final form I made a scaled down version of a 16 page document out of paper, intrigued by the shape of it, I am now considering publishing my manifesto in the form of a tiny A8 book.
I also thought about ways in which my manifesto could be shared, if it fit on a postcard or a train ticket , it could be mass produced. This lead me to think of Marc Saporta’s ‘Composition No.1’ and how it could be read in any order. Could this be done in a pocket sized scale?
Maifesto Dogma 95 (1995) DOGMA 95 is a collection of film directors founded in Copenhagen in spring 1995. DOGMA 95 has the expressed goal of countering “certain tendencies” in the cinema today. DOGMA 95 is a rescue action! In 1960 enough was enough! The movie was dead and called for resurrection. The goal was correct but the means were not! The new wave proved to be a ripple that washed ashore and turned to muck. Slogans of individualism and freedom created works for a while, but no changes. The wave was up for grabs, like the directors themselves. The wave was never stronger than the men behind it. The antibourgeois cinema itself became bourgeois, because the foundations upon which its theories were based was the bourgeois perception of art. The auteur concept was bourgeois romanticism from the very start and thereby… false! To DOGMA 95 cinema is not individual! Today a technological storm is raging, the result of which will be the ultimate democratization of the cinema. For the first time, anyone can make movies. But the more accessible the medium becomes, the more important the avant-garde. It is no accident that the phrase “avant-garde” has military connotations. Discipline is the answer… we must put our films into uniform, because the individual film will be decadent by definition! DOGMA 95 counters the individual film by the principle of presenting an indisputable set of rules known as THE VOW OF CHASTITY. In 1960 enough was enough! The movie had been cosmeticized to death, they said; yet since then the use of cosmetics has exploded. The “supreme” task of the decadent film-makers is to fool the audience. Is that what we are so proud of? Is that what the “100 years” have brought us? Illusions via which emotions can be communicated?… By the individual artist’s free choice of trickery? Predictability (dramaturgy) has become the golden calf around which we dance. Having the characters’ inner lives justify the plot is too complicated, and not “high art”. As never before, the superficial action and the
superficial movie are receiving all the praise. The result is barren. An illusion of pathos and an illusion of love.
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To DOGMA 95 the movie is not illusion!
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Today a technological storm is raging of which the result is the elevation of cosmetics to God. By using new technology anyone at any time can wash the last grains of truth away in the deadly embrace of sensation. The illusions are everything the movie can hide behind. DOGMA 95 counters the film of illusion by the presentation of an indisputable set of rules know as THE VOW OF CHASTITY.
I swear to submit to the following set of rules drawn up and confirmed by DOGMA 95:
1. Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found). 2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot.) 3. The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. 4. The film must be in color. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera.) 5. Optical work and filters are forbidden. 6. The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.) 7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.) 8. Genre movies are not acceptable. 9. The film format must be Academy 35 mm. 10. Director must not be credited. Furthermore I swear as a director to refrain from personal taste! I am no longer an artist. I swear to refrain from creating a “work”, as I regard the instant as more important than the whole. My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations. Thus I make my VOW OF CHASTITY.
STAGE 3
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ANALYSIS
Though I disagree strongly with the overall points put forward by this manifesto, I believe I have an understanding of why DOGME feel the need to write this. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say that I share many of their initial concerns. DOGME picked up on some very real issues however the proposal they put forward to rectify it was far from appropriate in my opinion. DOGME began by criticizing 1960’s cinema for becoming bourgeois. I agree that cinema should not be made by the privileged for the privileged. And now, with the development of technology, it is true that ‘anyone can make movies’. Here I see DOGME’s cause for concern for the quality of cinema. It’s clear that the growth of social media has opened the flood gates to a horde of useless, artless content that is neither beautiful nor thought provoking. To rectify this, however, DOGME proclaim that cinema is not for the individual. Now in an attempt to define a separation between themselves and the cinema created by ‘anyone’. DOGME have put forward a list of constraints they vow to apply to their work, thus creating a bourgeois/proletariat divide. Asserting themselves as the elite, the cultured, and the only people entitled to make film. The exact thing that they expressed disgust at in the opening of the manifesto. Film making should be for ‘anyone’ and social media enables this, who are DOGME to decide if ‘anyone’ can make good or bad media? I do not agree that disabling the opportunity for anyone to make films is the way forward as, although I dislike the horde of soulless media as much as the next person, social media is also a platform for new art forms, which only the close-minded would dismiss upon the basis of how it came about. DOGME also express a hatred for the fake and the simulated, yet I cannot comprehend why. Simulacra has been a part of our lives for many years, it is the basis of theatre and fictional literature. Film is simply another form of presentation. There is nothing wrong with simulacra, as long as the audience understand it to be just that.
500 WORD SUMMARY
Maifesto (1995) Critique & Summary
Problems only begin to arise when the line between reality and simulation becomes blurred. For instance, when corporations create an aura of fake sentimentality and smarm around their products to get people to buy into the brand. This, however, is no reason to abandon all forms of simulacra completely as DOGME attempt to do. As a civilisation, I believe that we will eventually evolve to recognise this, and see through the clever branding. This development I believe will be assisted the people’s new found power to make movies of their own. In the vow of chastity, DOGME demand for film never to contain superficial action. This is a form of censorship, and is eliminating the purpose that began film and storytelling in the first place. They also call for sound design for film and colour or light editing to be abolished. This suggestion I see to be destructive and inconsiderate as there are two whole industries behind that. With the restrictions of the vow put into place I can only imagine that the films produced as a result will look like those which come out of letting ‘anyone’ make films, but on the worse end of the spectrum. Essentially, DOGME are shooting themselves in the foot here. When DOGME apply and operate by these rules, some new and interesting forms of cinema, may be brought to life as a result. Other filmmakers may also use it as an experimental constraint for a project. However if these (or any) rules were to be applied to all of cinema. It would most certainly die. We need difference and experimentation in order to evolve. The idea that this manifesto describes the conditions of the most evolved and the only form of cinema we will ever need is a ridiculous one. Entertainment in the form of reconstructions and drama cannot simply be wiped out on demand, neither can the industries of editing and sound design. The vow of chastity as a temporary or small scale constraint may just work but as a manifesto for all film, it is inconsiderate, close-minded and should not be taken seriously.
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INSPIRATION
INSPIRATION 3
Social media is allowing people to make and distribute content freely. Most of it is artless, unoriginal or useless. However that does not mean that all of it is. Recently there was a social experiment on Facebook which addressed this head on. A chain letter went around, promoting the occupation of the site with art. The aim being to spread knowledge of art and introduce people to new artists. The ability to distribute content globally has enabled millions of people to share their artistic output and have it seen by people worldwide. So is social media really all that bad?
Reading the manifesto put forward by DOGMA has made me think about the etiquette of the artist. Having the correct frame of mind is crucial and it is something I struggle with currently. Maybe having a manifesto in the form of a tiny book of promises will be beneficial to the artist themselves. Pictured here is the work of one of my favourite artists, Wirrow. His illustrations are published in tiny books like these.
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Manifesto Draft 1 This manifesto is centred on having the correct frame of mind as an artist. It is a list of promises that may form into a miniature book. *** As an artist‌ I promise to remember that life is not a competition I promise never to curse someone’s talent through jealousy I promise never to undermine another artist through spite I promise never to discourage anyone from making art I promise never to regret helping others, even if they find higher success than myself (It is not a defeat on my part but a success) I promise to admit when I need help I promise to stop trying to be the best and instead do my best I promise only to compare myself to who I was yesterday I promise never to obsess over myself I promise only to obsess over my work I promise never to compromise my moral standing I promise to use my work to express my moral standing I promise to use my work to inspire others I promise to make my work beautiful on the surface I promise to make my work beautiful in concept I promise to use my work to make a positive change even if it makes negative profit I promise never to pinpoint one single use for art and media I promise to prove every day to people that there are a million uses for art and media I promise to work hard I promise to take control of what I make I promise to create an destroy as I see fit I promise. Signed, Pip
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Remodernist Manifesto Billy Childish & Charles Thomson (2000) Remodernism ‘towards a new spirituality in art’
Through the course of the 20th century Modernism has progressively lost its way, until finally toppling into the pit of Postmodern balderdash. At this appropriate time, The Stuckists, the first Remodernist Art Group, announce the birth of Remodernism. 1. Remodernism takes the original principles of Modernism and reapplies them, highlighting vision as opposed to formalism. 2. Remodernism is inclusive rather than exclusive and welcomes artists who endeavour to know themselves and find themselves through art processes that strive to connect and include, rather than alienate and exclude. Remodernism upholds the spiritual vision of the founding fathers of Modernism and respects their bravery and integrity in facing and depicting the travails of the human soul through a new art that was no longer subservient to a religious or political dogma and which sought to give voice to the gamut of the human psyche. 3. Remodernism discards and replaces Post-Modernism because of its failure to answer or address any important issues of being a human being. 4. Remodernism embodies spiritual depth and meaning and brings to an end an age of scientific materialism, nihilism and spiritual bankruptcy.
8. Spiritual art is not about fairyland. It is about taking hold of the rough texture of life. It is about addressing the shadow and making friends with wild dogs. Spirituality is the awareness that everything in life is for a higher purpose. 9. Spiritual art is not religion. Spirituality is humanity’s quest to understand itself and finds its symbology through the clarity and integrity of its artists. 10. The making of true art is man’s desire to communicate with himself, his fellows and his God. Art that fails to address these issues is not art. 11. It should be noted that technique is dictated by, and only necessary to the extent to which it is commensurate with, the vision of the artist. 12. The Remodernist’s job is to bring God back into art but not as God was before. Remodernism is not a religion, but we uphold that it is essential to regain enthusiasm (from the Greek, en theos to be possessed by God). 13. A true art is the visible manifestation, evidence and facilitator of the soul’s journey. Spiritual art does not mean the painting of Madonnas or Buddhas. Spiritual art is the painting of things that touch the soul of the artist. Spiritual art does not often look very spiritual, it looks like everything else because spirituality includes everything.
5. We don’t need more dull, boring, brainless destruction of convention, what we need is not new, but perennial. We need an art that integrates body and soul and recognises enduring and underlying principles which have sustained wisdom and insight throughout humanity’s history. This is the proper function of tradition.
14. Why do we need a new spirituality in art? Because connecting in a meaningful way is what makes people happy. Being understood and understanding each other makes life enjoyable and worth living.
6. Modernism has never fulfilled its potential. It is futile to be ‘post’ something which has not even ‘been’ properly something in the first place. Remodernism is the rebirth of spiritual art.
It is quite clear to anyone of an uncluttered mental disposition that what is now put forward, quite seriously, as art by the ruling elite, is proof that a seemingly rational development of a body of ideas has gone seriously awry. The principles on which Modernism was based are sound, but the conclusions that have now been reached from it are preposterous.
7. Spirituality is the journey of the soul on earth. Its first principle is a declaration of intent to face the truth. Truth is what it is, regardless of what we want it to be. Being a spiritual artist means addressing unflinchingly our projections, good and bad, the attractive and the grotesque, our strengths as well as our delusions, in order to know ourselves and thereby our true relationship with others and our connection to the divine.
Summary
We address this lack of meaning, so that a coherent art can be achieved and this imbalance redressed. Let there be no doubt, there will be a spiritual renaissance in art because there is nowhere else for art to go. Stuckism’s mandate is to initiate that spiritual renaissance now.
STAGE 4
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ANALYSIS
500 W
500 WORD SUMMARY Remodernist Manifesto (2000) Critique & Summary
In their manifesto proposing the initiation of Remodernism, Billy Childish & Charles Thomson, founders of the Stuckist group, express their ideas of what art has the potential to be, against what art actually is today. The Stuckist’s value modernism highly over postmodernism. They see modernism as a more productive era, one that sparked a change in society. Ending the stagnant, rural lives of people in England, governed by the church, with no room for development and improvement. They frown upon postmodernism, which came about when modernism started to decelerate and society began to settle again like dust. The technological advancements of the early 21st century signify our 3rd industrial revolution and our chance to pick up where modernism left off. Instead we are letting it drive us deeper into an age of materialism and complacency. Childish and Thomson believe that modernism began a path for humanity toward spiritual awareness. Perhaps they saw man creating machinery to become an extension of our own abilities and thought it a step forward. In the manifesto we see them commemorating the openminded attitudes of modernism and the strongly modernist desire to evolve and improve as a species. The Stuckists believe that modernism has unfinished business and that post modernism has led us to a dead end. They are calling for a revival of modernism to continue the radical development of society. I like the idea of Remodernism, however I doubt it will come into effect in the near future. The manifesto states that modernism will ‘bring to an end an age of scientific materialism, nihilism and spiritual bankruptcy’. It’s true this is the age we live in, and some of us are sick of it already, I myself will occasionally get a restless feeling of unfulfillment when undertaking the past times I often see my
peers enjoying to the full. But as stagnant as the situation is, the simple truth remains that it works. Products are sold, companies are built and people are generally fine with the current materialistic state of the western world. It isn’t until this becomes in adequate in the eyes of the majority that we will begin to come out of the other end of the consumerist tunnel we entered in the 60’s. So what comes after this? According to the manifesto, we aren’t going to remain ‘stuck’ in this era forever, and I accept that. But is spirituality the next step for art? From their description of spiritual art, I gathered that it is defined, not by whether or not it has an effect on the audience, but instead whether it has an effect on the artist. This suggestion turns my personal definition of art on its head, although it is interesting to think of the artist the person who should be primarily affected by art, letting the audience some second. Artists often feel passionate about their art and I have recognised this earlier in the project, but if the reason why is because of the artist’s personal connection to the piece, that it is somehow a representation or narration of their own feelings, this would make a lot of sense. Making art not for the audience but for the artist has been an ever present concept, but never the one on which we base our entire treatment of art. I have always struggled to express something as complex as a thought or feeling in any form of art or literature. Despite my efforts the output always seems to fall short. I don’t believe it is possible to translate a feeling to paper and still have it retain its purest form. However I do believe I can use my work to trigger the same feeling in the audience somehow. This is my ultimate goal as an artist, and I agree with the manifesto when it states that ‘Being understood and understanding each other makes life enjoyable and worth living’.
WORD SUMMARY
DRAFT 2 Manifesto Draft 2 *** As an artist‌ I promise to remember that life is not a competition
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5
I promise never to curse someone’s talent through jealousy I promise never to undermine another artist through spite I promise never to discourage anyone from making art I promise never to be close-minded or prejudice of art
I promise never to regret helping others, even if they find higher success than myself (It is not a defeat on my part but a success) I promise never to be complacent I promise never to obsess over myself I promise only to obsess over my work I promise to work hard and be humble
I promise to stop trying to be the best and instead do my best I promise only to compare myself to who I was yesterday I promise never to compromise my moral standing I promise to use my work to express my moral standing
I promise to use my work to transmit what I feel to the audience in its purest form I promise to use my work to be understood I promise to use my work to inspire others
I promise to use my work to make a positive change even if it makes negative profit I promise never to pinpoint one single use for art and media I promise to prove every day to people that there are a million uses for art and media I promise to make my work beautiful on the surface I promise to make my work beautiful in concept I promise to take control of what I make I promise to take time to think (art comes from within) I promise to abandon preconceptions and instil trust in my thoughts I promise to make what stirs emotions in me, regardless of what others think of it I promise. Signed, Pip
STAGE 5
5
IDEAS
IDEA DEVELOPMENT
IDEA DEV
sT’s
To
ward rk and s.
An attitude toward others
An attitude toward the purpose of my work
The ArTisT’s AnifesTo TM he ArTisT’s MAnifesTo
An attitude toward An attitude toward oneself, one’s work and oneself, one’s work and other artists. other artists.
An attitude toward the process of my work
An attitude toward myself
As an artist, I promise to As an artist, I
A
s an artist, I I returned to the idea of symbolic representations of each category promises. apply the promise to apply Asofan artist, I
Pictured here the are some of the promise to apply following guidelines to following guidelin pages of the book I intend to
promise to apply the
following guidelines to
following to createguidelines for my manifesto.
my work.
my work. Each pages has one promise and the symbol pictured at the bottom indicates the category for each.
my work.
my work.
ne the
Never undermine the
Never discourage
Never discourage
r artist
talent of another artist
anyone else from
anyone else from
through spite. N ever undermine the
making art.
making art. Never discourage
Never discourag
talent of another artist
anyone else from
anyone else from
through spite.
making art.
making art.
Never be
Never obsess
Never obsess
complacent.
over myself.
over myself.
PRODUCTION
FINAL
PRODUCTION
FINAL PRODUCT
PRODUCTION
T
OTSEFINAM