manifesto

    Manifesto was released in 2015 and directed by German artist Julian Rosefeldt. Her first thought about Manifesto was making video installations. But later on, it ends up with a movie. I am curious about how video installation would be working on such a concept. However, I think that such a good idea should have been seen by everyone and I am glad that it was chosen as a movie.

    Film is based on dialogues and monologues having manifestos of modern and avant-garde art movements. Also, the social manifestos published by some philosophers are included in the film. In order of plot, these art movements and their pioneers are; 

Prologue by Karl Marx 

Situationism by Alexander Rodchenko

Futurism by Flippo Tomasso Marinetti

Creationism by Manuel Maples Arce 

Abstract Expressionism by Wassily Kandinsky 

Dadaism by Tristan Tzara

Fluxus by Kurt Schwitters

Surrealism by André Breton

Architecture by Antonio Sant'Elia  

Constructivism by Kazimir Malevich

Pop Art by Claes Oldenburg

Conceptual Art by Sol LeWitt

Film by Stan Brakhage 

    Cate Blanchett played all these different art movements in thirteen different roles. I think one of the most impressive aspects of the movie is Cate Blanchett's acting skills and her dedication. She plays completely irrelevant characters with one another. It must be a very difficult job to portray such different characters, both male and female, in a single movie by a single actress. After watching the movie, my admiration for Cate Blanchett increased once again.

   

    Film appears as moments of characters and places rather than a story with a beginning or an end. At the same time, it is the revival of all these manifestos that have left their mark on history or that have been forgotten, enabling us to better comprehend the views of the pioneers of that period and the occurring philosophy behind their art. All the characters are created in a way as to have all the features of the cultures they belong to in terms of appearance (clothing, make-up, hairstyle, rhetoric). By emphasizing the fact that even the characters who may seem as the most different and contradictory, they cannot go beyond being an exact copy of the culture they came from. I was also interested in the reference to the structure of the modern world that categorizes and designs a specific type for each category. 

    Manifestos used in the film are not a part of the whole in terms of content. At this point, Rosefeldt went through the coexistence of differences, instead of bringing supportive manifestos together. For this reason, it is quite possible to see manifestos that contradict or confirm each other. The use of contradictory texts generally focusing on the perspective of art and what art is, proves once again that a clear definition of art cannot exist. 

    Julian Rosefeldt's great idea that created this movie, and such a creative transfer of 20th-21st century art with the combination of Cate Blanchett's extraordinary acting deserves to be seen by everyone.