Remodernism is a stuckist philosophical movement aimed at reviving aspects of modernism, particularly in its early form, in a manner that both follows after and contrasts against postmodernism. The movement was initiated in 2000 by stuckists Billy Childish and Charles Thomson,[ with a manifesto, Remodernism in an attempt to introduce a period of new "spirituality" into art, culture and society to replace postmodernism, which they said was cynical and spiritually bankrupt. In 2002, a remodernism art show in Albuquerque was accompanied by an essay from University of California, Berkeley art professor, Kevin Radley. Adherents of remodernism advocate it as a forward and radical, not reactionary, impetus.][
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In 2006, the Stedelijk Museum and the University of Amsterdam held a talk on remodernism with Daniel Birnbaum and Alison Gingeras; the introduction to this talked of the revival of painting as a possible return to traditional modernist values, such as authenticity, self-expression and autonomy, as opposed to multimedia practice.
[ In 2008, London Evening Standard critic, Ben Lewis, applied the term to three Turner Prize nominees and saw them amongst a movement which was reviving the formalism of the early 20th century; he advocated values of an aesthetic informed by modesty, generosity and genuine emotion.][
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History
Origins and 2000 manifesto
Charles Thomson and Billy Childish, the founders of the stuckism art movement, inaugurated the period of remodernism.[Packer, William. "Childish artists coming unstuck", p.13, and "Young pretenders of art have much to learn", p. 20, Financial Times, March 13, 2001. The text from different editions is the same: "Childish and his co-founder, Charles Thomson, ushered in remodernism, 'a period of art ... to reclaim the vision and spiritual values of the early Modernists and replace the ennui of Post-Modernism'."] Their Remodernism manifesto was published on March 1, 2000 to promote vision, authenticity and self-expression, with an emphasis on painting, and subtitled "towards a new spirituality in art". Its premise is that the potential of the Modernism vision has not been fulfilled, that its development has been in the wrong direction and that this vision needs to be reclaimed, redefined and redeveloped. It advocates the search for truth, knowledge and meaning, and challenges formalism.
It has a short introduction, summing up: "Modernism has progressively lost its way, until finally toppling into the bottomless pit of Postmodern ." This is followed by 14 numbered points, stressing bravery, individuality, inclusiveness, communication, humanity and the perennial against nihilism, scientific materialism and the "brainless destruction of convention." Point 7 states:
Point 9 states: "Spiritual art is not religion. Spirituality is humanity's quest to understand itself and finds its symbology through the clarity and integrity of its artists." Point 12 links its use of the word "God" to enthusiasm—from the Greek root en theos (to be possessed by God).
The summary at the end starts, "It is quite clear to anyone of an uncluttered mental disposition that what is now put forward, quite seriously, as art by the ruling elite, is proof that a seemingly rational development of a body of ideas has gone seriously awry," and finds the solution is a spiritual renaissance because "there is nowhere else for art to go. Stuckism's mandate is to initiate that spiritual renaissance now."[Childish, Billy, and Thomson, Charles. "Remodernism", stuckism.com, March 1, 2000. Accessed 12 September 2007.]
Childish and Thomson sent their remodernism manifesto to Nicholas Serota, Director of the Tate Gallery, who replied, "You will not be surprised to learn that I have no comment to make on your letter, or your manifesto Remodernism."[ "Stuck on the Turner Prize: Send in the clowns", University of Glasgow. Retrieved from Internet Archive cache of 21 December 2002.][Kennedy, Maeve "Shock of the old as paint returns to the Turner Prize", The Guardian, 24 October 2000. Accessed 12 September 2007.]
Exhibitions (2000–2009)
In March 2000 the Stuckism declared themselves to be the first remodernist art group at a show The Resignation of Sir Nicholas Serota. In April, remodernism was quoted in The Gulf News (UAE).
In June, Thomson and Childish gave a talk on stuckism and remodernism at the Salon des Arts, Kensington, promoted by the Institute of Ideas.
In 2001, Thomson stood in the UK general election, stating, "The Stuckist Party aims to bring the ideas of Stuckism and Remodernism into the political arena."
In January 2002, Magnifico Arts presented the show ReMo: ReModernism[ "Magnifico presents ReMo: ReModernism", Magnifico 2002. Retrieved from the Internet Archive store of 21 January 2002.] of graduate students from the University of New Mexico. At an artists' talk, Kevin Radley, an art professor at the University of California, Berkeley said, "Remodernism isn't about going backwards, but about surging forward."[Medina, Valerie J. (2002) "Modern art surges ahead:¡Magnifico! features new artistic expression" Daily Lobo, 17 January 2002. Accessed 29 April 2006] In an essay that accompanied the exhibition, Radley wrote:
The show curator, Yoshimi Hayashi, said:
In 2003, an independent group, the Stuckist Photographers, was founded by Andy Bullock and Larry Dunstan with a statement of endorsement for remodernism.[ "The Stuckists Photographers", Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool. Accessed 12 September 2007.]
In 2004, the Defastenists, a new group of creatives in Ireland, declared themselves remodernist.[ "News: Defastenism—A Remodernist art group", stuckism.com, 13 May 2004. Retrieved 15 October 2009.] A Remodernist art gallery, The Deatrick Gallery was founded in Louisville, Kentucky.
American film makers/photographers Jesse Richards and Harris Smith co-founded a new group remodernist film and photography with an emphasis on emotional meaning and characterised by elements of new-wave, no-wave, expressionist and transcendental film-making.
Stuckist artist Bill Lewis, interviewed by the BBC at the 2004 Liverpool Biennial, said that remodernism was "not a movement as such",[ but a return to the start of modernism in order to move forward with an art for a new paradigm.][ To "" is to go "back to the root again, starting with painting ... and see where it goes".][ He said that this had been called reactionary, but it was radical "in the true sense of the word".][Bill Lewis. "Listen to Bill Lewis on Remodernism" (audio) in: Sumpter, Helen. "Liverpool Biennial 04", BBC, 4 September 2004. Retrieved 22 September 2009.] New York stuckist artist, Terry Marks said that remodernism posited that modernism had started in a good direction, but veered from that into "pure idea" and that it was necessary to return to the starting point to take an as-yet unexplored alternative direction: "to pursue art-making that's more concrete and accessible to more people, and find out where that leads us".[Strickland, Carol. "Stuckist in New York City: An Interview with Narrative Painter Terry Marks", NYArts, September/October 2004. Accessed 15 October 2009.]
In 2004, Luke Heighton wrote in The Future magazine, "Remodernism, it seems, is here to stay whether we like it or not."[Heighton, Luke (2004) "Dead Painters Society" The Future. Accessed 29 April 2006] Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand declared 2004 "a good year for remodernism—for having the gall to suggest that artists can have souls".[Alex Kapranos. "Alex Kapranos, singer/guitarist, Franz Ferdinand" in: "The triumphs and turkeys of 2004", The Guardian, 16 December 2004. Accessed 29 April 2006]
In August 2005 an art show (a title taken from a line in the stuckist remodernism manifesto) was held at 313 gallery in New York City.[Mark Vallen. "Stuckists at CBGBs", Art-for-a-change, 2 August 2005. Retrieved 1 June 2008.] Artist and blogger Mark Vallen said, "In the mid-1970s punk rock was born in a dank little New York nightclub called CBGB's. It all started when rockers like Television, the Ramones and Patti Smith launched a frontal assault on the monolith of corporate rock 'n roll. Now another artistic revolt, Remodernism, is about to widen its offensive from the birthplace of punk."[
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On 10 May 2006, the Stedelijk Museum and the University of Amsterdam staged a talk on remodernism by Daniel Birnbaum, contributing editor of Artforum, and Alison Gingeras, Assistant Curator, Guggenheim Museum.[ The summary is:
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In 2006, artist Matt Bray said, "I do not wish to be considered a Stuckist, as I find some of there (sic) antics unnecessary. The Stuckists are however the first and most famous Remodernist group, so for that, and for bringing this particular manifesto to my attention; I thank them."[Bray, Matt (2006) "Art Portal: Matt Bray 2006" artnow.uk.com. Accessed 29 April 2006] In May 2007, with punk singer Adam Bray, he created the Mad Monk Collective in Folkestone, England, to promote remodernism.[Mad Monk (2007) "Mad Monk", Mad Monk Books. Accessed May 2008]
In January 2008, London Evening Standard critic, Ben Lewis, said the year would see "the invention of a new word to describe the modernist revival: 'remodernism,'"[Lewis, Ben. "The London galleries to watch, Evening Standard, 18 January 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2009.] which he applied later in the year to Turner Prize nominees Mark Leckey, Runa Islam and Goshka Macuga, as "part of a whole movement reviving early 20th-century formalism", praising Macuga for her "heartfelt, modest and generous-spirited aesthetic", of which he said there was more needed today.[Lewis, Ben. "Turner Prize 2008", 3 October 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2009.] In April 2009, he described Catalina Niculescu, a Romanian artist using "nostalgic"[ 16mm film, as among a significant trend in art of fetishising the offcuts of modernism: "Let's call it Remodernism."][Lewis, Ben. "Exhibition: Atalina Nicolescu/Maurizio Anzeri", Evening Standard, p.36, 28 April 2009.]
On 27 August 2008, Jesse Richards published a Remodernist Film Manifesto, calling for a "new spirituality in cinema", use of intuition in filmmaking, as well as describing the remodernist film as being a "stripped down, minimal, lyrical, punk kind of filmmaking". The manifesto criticizes Stanley Kubrick, filmmakers who use digital video, and Dogme 95. Point 4 says:
In 2009, Nick Christos and other students from Florida Atlantic University founded the Miami Stuckists group. Christos said,
"Stuckism is a renaissance of modernism—it's re-modernism."[Soler, Eilenn. "Stuckists display art", The Miami Herald, August 29, 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2009.]
See also
Further reading
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Ed. Katherine Evans (2000), The Stuckists: The First Remodernist Art Group, Victoria Press,
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Ed. Frank Milner (2004), The Stuckists Punk Victorian, National Museums Liverpool,
External links
