Artist Manifesto Performances

Videos of the Individual Manifesto performances from AHM’s State of Play symposium in October are now available to watch on AHM’s blog or alternatively, on Central Station network.

The 27 one-minute manifesto performances were on artists’ personal thoughts on the state of art and culture in Scotland today, and the performers included Ruth Barker, Justin Carter, Dalziel & Scullion, Ellie Harrison, Oliver Metzger, Peter McCaughey, and Shauna McMullan. You can watch mine here.

AHM are currently calling for more manifestos for the next symposium, which will be held in Edinburgh on 2 April 2011. AHM describe the manifestos as an opportunity for artists to give voice to their concerns and ambitions about where they feel visual art stands today and what the future might hold. To contribute, email ahm@googlemail.com. The deadline is 1 March.

AHM’s reflections on their State of Play symposium

Below is a link to AHM’s report reflecting on their State of Play symposium on 9 October 2010 (the first of a series of three). There is a wee mention of my manifesto, alongside Jimmie Durham’s and Chris Fremantle’s! Hopefully AHM will eventually make videos of the whole symposium available online, including the manifestos, as the artists performing missed the opportunity to hear each other’s very clearly.

Read AHM’s report of the State of Play: Art and Culture in Scotland Today symposium

AHM have also created a group that you can join on Central Station network, to continue the discussions set in motion at the symposium.

Individual Manifesto at the AHM State of Play symposium

Today I took part in a performance at State of Play: Art and Culture in Scotland, a symposium organised by Glasgow-based collaborative artist group AHM (Sam Ainsley; David Harding; Sandy Moffat) as part of their research residency at the Glasgow Sculpture Studios.

As well as keynote lectures by Philip Schlesinger, Christine Borland, Dr. Neil Mulholland, and Sam Ainsley and Sandy Moffat of AHM, the day included an Individual Manifestos performance. This involved about thirty artists presenting their (very diverse) thoughts on the state of contemporary art today. AHM said of the performance:

“We don’t often hear from artists themselves – usually we hear only from art critics, journalists and administrators. The manifesto performance will give the opportunity to 30 artists to express their views, in a public forum, delivering a wide range of thoughts and attitudes reacting to the present condition.”

A film of the day will be posted on the AHM blog in the near future:  http://theahmblog.blogspot.com/

The manifesto I read is as follows:

Claims of a crisis in culture are rife.

Critics pronounce the death of criticism, but in fact what they refer to is the end of reputation as a decoy for informed judgement. Criticism is not dead, but it is bereft of criticality, superficial, and boring.

The real crisis is the lack of interest in and importance placed upon critique by artists, their audiences, and even by writers themselves, claiming priority for the artwork and deeming writing secondary.

But the potency of critique is a two-way deal, dependent on the willingness of artists to respond to the little good criticism that is out there and to give it real agency by making contemporary discourse significant, indeed fundamental, to the development of their work.

The proliferation of social media and digital content is displacing the national mainstream media as the main source of arts criticism for the general public; it is up to artists and writers to capitalise on this opportunity. We must question the writing as rigorously as we do the art, and accept nothing as a foregone conclusion.

Change is imperative, as little and bad critique means poor and complacent art.