Neoism
Description
Neoism is a parodistic -ism. It refers both to a specific subcultural network of artistic performance and media experimentalists, and, more generally, to a practical underground philosophy. It operates with collectively shared pseudonyms and identities, pranks, paradoxes, plagiarism and fakes, and has created multiple contradicting definitions of itself in order to defy categorization and historization. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Istvan Kantor (aka Monty Cantsin)
Hungarian-born Canadian performance and media artist who initiated the Neoism movement in Montreal in 1979 and popularized the open pop star identity Monty Cantsin.
David Zack
American poet and Mail Art pioneer who collaborated with Kantor in late 1970s Canada to formulate and disseminate the collective Monty Cantsin persona.
Stewart Home
British writer, artist, and pamphleteer who theorized Neoism throughout the 1980s before organizing schisms and introducing alternative multiple identities like Karen Eliot.
Stiletto Studio,s (Boris Lutz)
Key German Neoist participant and design subverter who expanded Neoist pranks, multiple identities, and media experiments across Europe.
Maris Kudzins
Early Canadian performance artist and collaborator in Montreal who helped stage the initial Apartment Festivals that defined Neoism's underground network.
Famous Artworks
Fun Facts
Neoism operated with shared collective pseudonyms like 'Monty Cantsin' and 'Karen Eliot,' which allowed any artist anywhere in the world to exhibit works, issue manifestos, and perform pranks under the exact same name.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
To purposely defy art historians and museum categorization, Neoist participants systematically published multiple contradicting definitions and fake historical origins of their own movement.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org