Julian Rosefeldt - MANIFESTO

Part of Coast to Coast
Supported by Goethe Instituttet

The 13-channel film installation Manifesto pays homage to the moving tradition and literary beauty of artist manifestos, ultimately questioning the role of the artist in society today. Manifesto draws on the writings of Futurists, Dadaists, Fluxus artists, Suprematists, Situationists, Dogma 95 and other artist groups, and the musings of individual artists, architects, dancers and filmmakers. Passing the ideas of Claes Oldenburg, Yvonne Rainer, Kazimir Malevich, André Breton, Elaine Sturtevant, Sol LeWitt, Jim Jarmusch, and other influencers through his lens, Rosefeldt has edited and reassembled thirteen collages of artists’ manifestos.

Performing these ‘new manifestos’ as a contemporary call to action, while inhabiting thirteen different personas – among them a school teacher, a puppeteer, a newsreader, a factory worker and a homeless man – Australian actress Cate Blanchett imbues new dramatic life into both famous and lesser known words in unexpected contexts.

Rosefeldt’s work reveals both the performative component and the political significance of these declarations. Often written in youthful rage, they not only express the wish to change the world through art but also reflect the voice of a generation. Exploring the powerful urgency of these historical statements, which were composed with passion and conviction by artists many years ago, Manifesto questions whether the words and sentiments have withstood the passage of time. Can they be applied universally? And how have the dynamics between politics, art and life shifted?

Download credits list for Manifesto

Read more about the venue 'O'-Space' here.

Opening hours
Monday: closed
Tuesday: 11-19
Wednesday: 11-19
Thursday: 11-21
Friday: 11-19
Saturday: 11-17
Sunday: 11-17

About Coast to Coast
Aarhus 2017 is putting art Coast to Coast in a series of works and projects that bring some of the world´s leading artists to the Central Denmark Region. These site-situational, context specific and special exhibitions are made as new commissions for townships, art spaces and across municipal borders.

In our European Capital of Culture year we also commemorate the 500 Year Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, so we explore the ‘word’ through a series of new text and sound pieces by some of the most highly acclaimed conceptual artists exploring philosophy, homilies and idiomatic language.

And in our year in which we examine our Danish DNA within the European context, artists help us reflect upon society in flux through transient gestures and atmospheric installations.

Supported by Det Obelske Familiefond, Kvadrat, 15. Juni Fonden and Goethe Instituttet.