EARNEST ART MANIFESTO
by Celeste Christie
This little manifesto was published as a part of the Local Manifesto Series by Art for a Democratic Society, a small political grassroots organization based out of Oakland, CA. One of the goals of A4DS is to encourage a public discussion of art, and that is what the Local Manifesto Series is all about. Like any good manifesto, Christie’s writing is strong, succinct and unapologetically opinionated. In the Earnest Art Manifesto, she calls out postmodernism as failing us, writing that, “The postmodernist smirks and looks cool, he views with disdain those who can’t follow his rhetorical gymnastics, those who can’t get the inside joke…Let’s put the earnestness back into art, and talk about things we care about, things that have meaning and speak to everyone and things that can affect change and stir us to action.” Whether you’re a diehard postmodernist or interested in the “earnest art” Christie believes in, this little manifesto is sure to get you thinking about what art means to you. And if you don’t like her manifesto, take the advice on the back cover and go write your own!
8 pages, quarter letter
$1