Conference Stream
London Conference in Critical Thought (LCCT)
5-6 July 2019
Goldsmiths, University of London
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.
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.
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).
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.
We invite responses, written or otherwise, from academics,
artists and activists to the following questions:
- 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?
Stream Organisers:
Evangelos Chrysagis e.chrysagis@outlook.com
Panos Kompatsiaris panoskompa@gmail.com
Please send abstracts for papers and presentations proposals with relevant stream title indicated in the subject line to: paper-subs@londoncritical.org
Abstracts should be no more than 250 words and must be received by Monday, 25 March 2019.
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