Anarchist Modernism: Art, Politics, and the First American Avant-Garde [Hardcover]

Allan Antliff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0226021033 | ISBN-13: 978-0226021034 | Edition: 1

The relationship of the anarchist movement to American art during the World War I era is most often described as a "tenuous affinity" between two distinct spheres: political and artistic. In Anarchist Modernism—the first in-depth exploration of the role of anarchism in the formation of early American modernism—Allan Antliff reveals that modernists participated in a wide-ranging movement that encompassed lifestyles, literature, and art, as well as politics. Drawing on a wealth of hitherto unknown information, including interviews and reproductions of lost works, he examines anarchism's influence on a telling cross-section of artists such as Robert Henri, Elie Nadelman, Man Ray, and Rockwell Kent. He also traces the interactions between cultural figures and thinkers including Emma Goldman, Alfred Stieglitz, Ezra Pound, and Ananda Coomaraswamy.

By situating American art's evolution in the progressive politics of the time, Antliff offers a richly illustrated chronicle of the anarchist movement and also revives the creative agency of those who shaped and implemented modernism for radical ends.

(20030901)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The sheer scale of the materials that Antliff has uncovered is impressive, and powerfully reinforces his compelling recovery of ‘the creative agency of those who invented, shaped, and implemented modernism for radical ends.’ . . . Anarchist Modernism is a major scholarly achievement.”—John Moore, Anarchist Studies

(John Moore Anarchist Studies )

“Anarchist Modernism transforms understanding of early twentieth-century American art . . . [Antliff] creates a fascinating intellectual history of the anarchist movement that deserves to be read outside of the discipline of art history.”—Jody Blake, Modernism & Modernity

(Jody Blake Modernism & Modernity )

From the Inside Flap

The relationship of the anarchist movement to American art during the World War I era is most often described as a "tenuous affinity" between two distinct spheres: political and artistic. In Anarchist Modernism, Allan Antliff reveals that anarchism was the formative force that lent coherence and direction to modernism in the United States between 1908 and 1920. Modernists participated in a wide-ranging movement that encompassed lifestyles, language, literature, and art, as well as politics. Antliff examines anarchism's influence on a telling cross-section of modern artists such as Robert Henri, Elie Nadelman, Man Ray, Adolf Wolff, and Rockwell Kent. He also traces the hitherto overlooked interactions among anarchist thinkers, critics, and cultural figures of the period including Emma Goldman, Alfred Stieglitz, John Weichsel, Walter Pach, Ezra Pound, and Ananda Coomaraswamy. In doing so, Antliff draws on a wealth of previously unknown materials, such as interviews and reproductions of lost works.

During the early twentieth century, anarchism generated a distinctive oppositional modernism and a cultural legacy that was largely forgotten once communism became established as the primary leftist discourse in American political life. By situating American art's evolution in the politics of the time, Antliff offers a richly illustrated history of the anarchist movement and also revives the creative agency of those who shaped and implemented modernism for radical ends.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (April 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226021033
• ISBN-13: 978-0226021034
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,577,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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