"All people are different, but everyone is of equal worth" : Three utopian manifestoes by Öyvind Fahlström (1928–76)

• In 1953 the Swedish concrete poet and internationally renowned avant-garde artist Öyvind Fahlström (1928–76) wrote the worlds first manifesto for concrete poetry, inspired by the historical avant-garde and the neo-avant-garde that at the same time was on its rise, but also by Pierre Schaeffer’s musique concrète. What is little known, though, is that this manifesto was followed by a string of others, of which I here will discuss three utopian manifests from 1962, 1966 and 1976. The first manifesto took its incentive from the exhibition Movement in Art, and introduces radical ideas about involving the audience in the artwork/s itself. The intention was to erase the barrier between artist, artwork and audience. In the two later manifestoes Fahlström – after his move to New York 1961 – takes a more explicit political stance. In the manifesto from 1966 he draws up a Utopia without war, commercialism, and poverty, where citizens have equal rights and live in ”the ecstatic society” with free sex and drugs, ideas a few years ahead of the 1968 revolt. And, finally, in the last manifesto he visualises a totally new society, based on Equality, freedom, decentralisation, work as a creative activity, and free services and goods.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Litteraturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- Specific Literatures (hsv//eng)

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Comparative literature

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