Reviews for Anarchist Modernism: Art, Politics, and the First American Avant-Garde

The average rating for Anarchist Modernism: Art, Politics, and the First American Avant-Garde based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-01-14 00:00:00 Stephanie Tackett Professor Antliff offers a fascinating work of scholarship which examines anarchism's contribution to the Modern Art movement in America, "to free American artists from academic strictures and societal restraints", being "part of a revolt against all forms of oppression" in the early twentieth century. As a huge fan of Peaky Blinders, a show that touches upon the socialist, communist, and anarchist elements of those tumultuous times, this book was a nice compliment to my impressions'reinforcing, elucidating, and edifying in a myriad of ways. To begin, let's use the valkyrie Emma Goldman's definition of anarchism, explained by Antliff here on page 30: "In [Anarchism and Other Essays], Goldman argued the institutions of religion, private property, and the state accrued wealth and power to minorities by exploiting the vast majority, thus frustrating humanity's capacity to achieve 'the freest possible expression of the individual.' Individual growth, aspiration, and self-realization could only flourish in a society of 'mutual helpfulness and social well-being' in which inequality had been abolished. Humanity's two fundamental elements''the individual and social instincts''were interrelated: all they required was a just society in which to develop. Anarchism stood for the realization of such a society. It would abolish oppressive institutions in favor of 'a social order based on the free grouping of individuals for the purpose of producing real social wealth; an order that will guarantee to every human being free access to the earth and full enjoyment of the necessities of life, according to individual desires, tastes, and inclinations.'" Idyllic daydreaming? Of course, but one still very much worthy of thought in THIS day and age as we seem to find ourselves within another age of gilded monopoly, the massive hoarding of wealth, and swelling inequality around the world. It should be identified that the modern stereotype of the chaos-thirsting anarchist, embraced whole-heartedly by late-70s punk bands, is the direct product of a smear campaign launched and fed by governments, with "a long-established discourse in the United States and Europe that equated the libertarian individualism of the anarchist with insanity and regarded anarchism itself as an aberrant social disease" (p. 48). This propaganda, fueled by blind jingoism, was coupled with a then-unparalleled and ruthless purging of everything "treasonous" in the US (the Bolsheviks would soon do the same, with even fiercer ruthlessness). Anarchism was a deeply complex philosophical and political movement that, at times, led to violence and a few assassinations, but in that era of complete upheaval, no political movements were spared bloodshed. Anarchism was anti-capitalism, anti-war, and anti-government, but very spiritual, freedom-loving, and art-centric. Antliff excavates all of this very well while maintaining the spine of the book on artistic expression and the drastic sea change in American art. European artists like Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, and their ilk were already in full swing across the Atlantic feeding all those -isms of new art, and the titanic meat grinder of the First World War drove the entire Western World (and all those conscripts from elsewhere) into chaos. In many ways, art reflected that reality visually, philosophically, and existentially, since the Great War "was the dehumanizing progeny of the modern state and the capitalist economic system it sustained" (p. 84). Sound familiar? Capitalism loves war-making. Here in the States, however, art academies were stuck in formal, stuffy, wealth-and-classics-based mimicry to appease the patrons. Antliff highlights the rising undercurrents that directly challenged this dusty paradigm through the anarchist circles of this era to bring about an avant-garde art movement to North America, and, at least to me, it was a truly enjoyable jaunt that left room for serious reflection and contemplation towards today. While fine art nowadays is a free-for-all that still primarily feeds the gluttony of the ultra-rich, as the plebs speed through museums to herd around the commercial works with arms upraised snapping photos to savor the plastic ephemera, and artistic expression that gives stout middle fingers to anything desired is commonplace almost everywhere, one has to wonder if art, as a medium, has withered to cheap and frivolous throwaway "memes" for the most part. We are artistic creatures that crave artistic creations, so it will never disappear, but art as a form of powerful expression may be over, with perhaps Barbara Krueger and her pre-internet kind being the last bold attempt to wake up the masses and usurp the systems of power and oppression that may forever reign over all, at least until vampiric capitalism is killed outright. However, Sue Coe wonderfully tagged the modern art world as "a zipped-up body bag of what they call culture", so maybe she gets to be the totemistic holdout of the old avant-garde still kicking. One can hope (I plan to absorb Coe's works soon). In any case, as Antliff poignantly asks, "Surely, at a time when industrial capitalism has brought the world to the brink of environmental collapse and the very fabric of life is being patented, we need to rethink such views", as this book seeks to illuminate (p. 133). The status quo created by the Industrial Revolution has failed us profoundly. We need to create a better way, and examining the past can help us'as a species'try better strategies for holistic equality worldwide, while protecting and preserving a healthy and robust Gaia for the future generations inevitably to come. "Can we change the grave . . . that was dug for us, or is this the only path to take?" "Fate" by Our Last Night (2012)

Review # 2 was written on 2011-08-17 00:00:00 Deborah Wilson I quite enjoyed this book. I know virtually nothing about painting or sculpture but found this book to be quite interesting. I read the Blast! collection by Alexander Berkman a month or so back and this was a neat book to read soon after because they discuss different but overlapping aspects of the anarchist movement in north america during WWI. Antliff knows his anarchism and writes convincingly of the impact of anarchism on art in the USA. Also, of related interest, I appreciated and was intrigued by the overlap with the Modern School movement. Good stuff. This is Antliff's "academic" book. I assume most readers would prefer Antliff's other title "Anarchy and Art" because its topic is broader and the book more affordable.