The publishing house “Neputns” has published a book “Manifests. From futurism to the present day ”. Now more than a hundred art manifestos can be read in Latvian – both chrestomathic avant-garde texts and ironic works of modern times. The selection created by literary scholar and poet Art Ostup shows the variability of manifestos throughout the 20th century, also in the 21st century.
Asked where the inspiration for the publication “Manifest. From Futurism to the Present Day ”, Artis Ostups invokes the video installation of the artist Julian Rosefelt (later also the film) once seen in Berlin on the Latvian Radio program” Kultūras rondo ” “Manifests” with actress Kate Blanchett at its center. Then we had to conclude that the manifesto as a form of expression is also interesting for contemporary artists, and it is important that not only the cognition once written seems to be interesting, but also the creation of new manifestos. He adds that
in modern times, compared to the last century, the manifesto is a more individual than a group expression.
The new edition contains a number of texts belonging to the historical avant-garde, including one of the most famous – Marineti’s “Founding and Manifesto of Futurism”.
Photo: publicity image
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Looking at a resonant example from Latvia, art historian Stella Pelše first recalls the manifesto “Russian Secession” published by Voldemar Matvey in 1910: “This was followed by a discussion in the press, where the artists discussed” nature “and” art ” , and how these concepts should be understood. It was a clash of views between more conservative and modernist authors. ” Ten years later, Matveja’s theses proved to be important for a group of Riga artists as well.
In turn, one of the newest manifestos of modern Latvia is the one created by Preili conceptualists. “This manifesto is similar to many other modern manifestos, because such a pure, avant-garde attitude towards art is, if not absolutely impossible, then unlikely. [..]
An ironic attitude is present in any modern manifesto – both towards the genre itself and towards the very radical ideas that are expressed. Similarly to the Preili conceptualist manifesto – it is both a serious and a non-serious text, ”says Artis Ostups.
The book “Manifesto. From futurism to the present day, “according to its compiler, could have been two or even three times thicker. At least three principles have been important in selecting texts: the first is to select reading texts that have had a wide impact on art and culture, the second is more formal, so that the text of the manifesto itself is a work of art, and the third is to show the connection between manifestos, especially between avant-garde texts. It was equally important to mark the development of the manifesto in the post-war world, given that the manifestos of the second half of the 20th century are different from those of the beginning of the century.
Photo: publicity image
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Most of the book “Manifesto. From Futurism to the Present ”was translated into Latvian for the first time.
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