An art manifesto is a public declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of an artist or artistic movement. Manifestos are a standard feature of the various movements in the modernist avant-garde and are still written today. Art manifestos are sometimes in their rhetoric intended for shock value, to achieve a revolutionary effect. They often address wider issues, such as the political system. Typical themes are the need for revolution, freedom (of expression) and the implied or overtly stated superiority of the writers over the status quo. The manifesto gives a means of expressing, publicising and recording ideas for the artist or art group—even if only one or two people write the words, it is mostly still attributed to the group name.
In 1855 Gustave Courbet wrote a Realist manifesto for the introduction to the catalogue of his independent, personal exhibition. And in 1886 the Symbolist Manifesto was published in the French newspaper Le Figaro by the poet and essayist Jean Moréas.
The first art manifesto of the 20th century was introduced with the Futurists in Italy in 1909, followed by the Cubists, Vorticists, Dadaists and the Surrealists: the period up to World War II created what are still the best known manifestos. Although they never stopped being issued, other media such as the growth of broadcasting tended to sideline such declarations. Due to the internet there has been a resurgence of the form, and many new manifestos are now appearing to a potential worldwide audience. The Stuckists have made particular use of this to start a worldwide movement of affiliated groups.
Manifestos typically consist of a number of statements, which are numbered or in bullet points and which do not necessarily follow logically from one to the next. Tristan Tzara's explanation of the manifesto (Feeble Love & Bitter Love, II) captures the spirit of many:
Concept Before the early 20th century, the manifesto was almost exclusively a declaration with political aims. The intention of artists adopting the form, therefore, is to indicate that they are employing art as a political tool.
The art manifesto has two main goals. The first is to define and criticize a paradigm in contemporary art or culture; the second is to define a set of aesthetic values to counter this paradigm. Often, manifestos aspire to be works of art in their own right; for instance, many manifesto writers intend for their texts to be performed. Other manifestos cannot be fully appreciated simply as written statements because they rely heavily on graphic design for communication, a common feature in Dada manifestos. Several artists have written manifestos about artistic mediums not their own.
Historically, there has been a strong parallel between the art manifesto and the political manifesto. It was not uncommon for manifesto writers of the early 20th century to also be politically active. In Italy, Futurist founder Filippo Tomasso Marinetti ran for office, and both Russian and Italian Futurists issued political manifestos. In England, Vorticist Wyndham Lewis supported the Suffragettes, while in France, Surrealist André Breton supported the Communist party. Often, however, these political organizations rejected the artists’ attention; in other cases, artists were censored and persecuted by European authoritarian governments, like Fascist Italy and Communist Russia, which institutionally rejected the avant-garde.
Pre-1900
Realist Manifesto 1855 Gustave Courbet wrote a Realist manifesto for the introduction to the catalogue of his independent, personal exhibition, 1855, echoing the tone of the period's political manifestos. In it he asserts his goal as an artist "to translate the customs, the ideas, the appearance of my epoch according to my own estimation."
Symbolist Manifesto 1886 In 1886 the Symbolist Manifesto was published in the French newspaper Le Figaro by the poet and essayist Jean Moréas. It defined and characterized Symbolism as a style whose "goal was not the ideal, but whose sole purpose was to express itself for the sake of being expressed." It names Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Paul Verlaine as the three leading poets of the movement.Lucie-Smith, Edward. (1972) Symbolist Art. London: Thames & Hudson, p. 54.
Early 20th Century 1909–45
Futurist Manifesto 1909, 1914
The Futurist Manifesto, written by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, was published in the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dell'Emilia in Bologna on February 5, 1909, then in French as Manifeste du futurisme in the newspaper Le Figaro on February 20, 1909. It initiated an artistic philosophy, Futurism, that was a rejection of the past, and a celebration of speed, machinery, violence, youth and industry; it was also an advocation of the modernization and cultural rejuvenation of Italy.
Since the founding manifesto did not contain a positive artistic programme, the Futurists attempted to create one in their subsequent Technical Manifesto of Futurist Painting (1914). This committed them to a "universal dynamism", which was to be directly represented in painting and sculpture. Objects in reality were not separate from one another or from their surroundings: "The sixteen people around you in a rolling motor bus are in turn and at the same time one, ten four three; they are motionless and they change places... The motor bus rushes into the houses which it passes, and in their turn the houses throw themselves upon the motor bus and are blended with it."
Cubist Manifesto 1912
Du "Cubisme", written in 1912 by Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger, was the first major theoretical text on Cubism. The book was illustrated with works by Gleizes, Metzinger, Paul Cézanne, Fernand Léger, Juan Gris, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, André Derain and Marie Laurencin. In this highly influential treatise Gleizes and Metzinger explicitly related the concept of 'multiple perspective' to the Bergsonian sense of time. The faceted treatment of physical objects and space blurred the distinctions between subject and abstraction, between representation and non-objectivity. Effects of non-Euclidean geometry were used to convey a psychophysical sense of fluidity of consciousness. Du "Cubisme" introduced the concept of 'simultaneity' into the theoretical framework of Cubism. It was in part a concept born out of a conviction based on the authors understanding of Henri Poincaré and Bergson that the separation or distinction between space and time should be comprehensively challenged. It was based both on philosophical and scientific ideas, on Riemannian geometry and the relativity of knowledge, contradicting notions of absolute truth. These ideas were disseminated and debated in the widely available publication, and read by writers and artists associated with the advent of modernism.
The Art of Noise 1913
Manifeste de l'école amorphiste 1913 Published in Les Homme du jour in 1913, it has never been clear whether this was a sincere manifesto of the new school of amorphism, or a parody.
Vorticist Manifesto 1914 Extracts from the Vorticists' BLAST manifesto were published in their magazine Blast, number 1, on June 20, 1914, and then in Blast, number 2, in July 1915.
Suprematist Manifesto 1915 In 1915, Kazimir Malevich laid down the foundations of Suprematism when he published his manifesto, From Cubism to Suprematism.
Dada Manifesto 1916 Hugo Ball recited the first Dada manifesto at Cabaret Voltaire on July 14, 1916.
The second Dada manifesto was recited by Tristan Tzara at the Salle Meise on March 23, 1918, and published in Dada, No. 3 (Zurich, December 1918).
De Stijl 1918 Signed by Theo van Doesburg, Robt. van 't Hoff, Vilmos Huszar, Antony Kok, Piet Mondrian, Georges Vantongerloo, Jan Wils
Manifest I of "The Style" (De Stijl), from De Stijl, vol. II, no. 1 (November 1918), p. 4.
Realistic Manifesto 1920 The Realistic Manifesto (published August 5, 1920) was written by Russian sculptor Naum Gabo and cosigned by his brother Antoine Pevsner, and the key text of Constructivism.
Purist Manifesto 1920-1925 The founders of Purism, Amédée Ozenfant and Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (better known as Le Corbusier), titled their manifesto Après le Cubisme (After Cubism).
Surrealist Manifesto 1924
The first Surrealist manifesto was written by the French writer André Breton in 1924 and released to the public 1925. The document defines Surrealism as: Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner -- the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.
Art Concret 1930
Base de la peinture concrète, was written by Otto G. Carlsund, Theo van Doesburg, Jean Hélion, Marcel Wantz and Léon Arthur Tutundjian, published in Revue Art Concret, no. 1 (April 1930).
Manifesto of Mural Painting 1933 Mario Sironi was motivated by the political ideals of Italian Fascism more than any specific artistic movement. Working on art for the regime's newspaper, Il Popolo d'Italia, Sironi eventually contributed by creating murals for the 1932 Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution. Afterwards, Sironi signed the Manifesto of Mural Painting in 1933. Sironi continued to work exclusively on murals until after WWII.
Manifesto: Towards a Free Revolutionary Art 1938 Towards a Free Revolutionary Art was written by surrealist André Breton and Marxist Leon Trotsky as a reaction against the Soviet Union's mandated art.
Post-war 1946–59
Manifesto Blanco 1946 The Manifesto Blanco, or White Manifesto, is a 1946 text written by Lucio Fontana.
COBRA manifesto 1948 CoBrA manifesto, titled La cause était entendue, written by Christian Dotremont, and signed by Karel Appel, Constant, Corneille, Asger Jorn, and Joseph Noiret in 1948.
Refus global 1948 The Refus global (or Total Refusal) was an anti-establishment and anti-religious manifesto released on August 9, 1948, in Montreal by a group of sixteen young Québécois artists and intellectuals known as les Automatistes, led by Paul-Émile Borduas.
The Refus global was greatly influenced by French poet André Breton, and it extolled the creative force of the subconscious.
Manifesto of Eaismo 1948 Manifesto of Eaismo is by Voltolino Fontani.
Sculptors' First Manifesto 1949 Sculptors' First Manifesto is by René Iché.
Mystical Manifesto 1951 The Mystical Manifesto (Manifeste Mystique in French) was written in 1951 by Salvador Dalí. "Dalí confirmed that confirmed that he is an ex-surrealist and in favor of religious paintings. Dalí said his role in the art of nuclear mysticism was to 'explain and accelerate the process." Dalí's preference during this period shifted to representational art, in spite of the rise of abstractionism.
Manifesto pittura nucleare 1951 Written was by Enrico Baj.
Les Spatialistes Manifesto 1952 Les Spatialistes, an Italian group based in Milan drew up a manifesto for television.
Un Art Autre 1952 This work by Michel Tapié defined the art informel movement.
Gutai Manifesto 1956 This manifesto by Jirô Yoshihara defined the artistic aims of Japan's Gutai group.
Auto-Destructive Art Manifesto 1959 Written by Gustav Metzger in 1964, this was given as a lecture to the Architectural Association, and taken over by students as an artistic "Happening". One of Metzger's Ealing College students was Pete Townshend, who later cited Metzger's concepts as an influence for his famous guitar-smashing during performances of The Who.
Neo-Concrete Manifesto 1959 Neo-Concrete Manifesto, by Ferreira Gullar, begins: