Since the late nineteenth century art and design philosophies have utilised manifestos to present the movements ideas to the public i.e. outlining political ideas and moral beliefs they would follow. One of the first significant manifesto’s to emerge at this time was “Le Manifeste DaDa” by Hugo Ball, written in 1916. A second manifesto with the same name was published by another Dadaist advocate and contemporary in 1918 by Tristan Tzara. Both authors noted that the movement young, European creatives response to the recent horrors of the First World War. Their manifestos encourage a rejection of nationalist and capitalist values that motivated war. While Ball’s writings actually denounced art (among other man-made elements of life including war) for its traditionalist mode that he believed upheld the Bourgeoise. However, many Dadaist artists viewed this anti-art stance as an encouragement to create new art that was purged of historical tendencies and instead expresses the creators spirit.

The French Dada artist Marcel Duchamp famously coined the phrase ‘readymades‘: “prefabricated, often mass-produced objects isolated from their intended use and elevated to the status of art by the artist choosing and designating them as such”. Critics have described one of Duchamp’s most iconic pieces entitled: “Fountain” (1917), as changing the world of art forever. The piece consists of an ordinary, white urinal only inscribed with the artists signature. The installation epitomises the principles of the Dadaist manifestos, rejecting the traditional, methodical creation of what society deems acceptable fine art and creating spontaneous, seemingly ‘meaningless’ work that challenges the viewers perception of what is and why is something defined as ‘art’.

Surrealism is a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images and was heavily inspired by Dadaism. Two Surrealist Manifestos were published two decades later by the rivalling leaders of two surrealist groups. Yvan Goll published his manifesto in 1924 however André Breton won the rights to the term “Surrealism” after his own proposals were published in 1924 and 1929. Following Breton’s success, the history of Surrealism from that moment on “would remain marked by fractures, resignations, and resounding excommunications, with each surrealist having their own view of the issue and goals and accepting more or less the definitions laid out by Breton.”

Breton highlights the importance of the dream as a reservoir of Surrealist inspiration. Influenced heavily by Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind, Breton defined Surrealism as “psychic automatism” (the performance of tasks without conscious thought or intention). This process encouraged Surrealists who sought to overthrow the oppressive rules of modern society by demolishing its backbone of rational thought.  This emphasis could be attributed to a story the author discusses in the pamphlet in which he experienced a hypnagogic state leading him to believe he was seeing “a man cut in two by the window”. Many surrealist artists and creatives consequently produced work informed by their own dreams (the reversal of Freud’s studies into how life and work informs the individual’s dreams). The manifesto is noted for also having a humorous tone. Some of the movements most iconic painters like Max Ernst borrowed common motifs from their dreams, inserting this imagery throughout their works. “The Barbarians” (1937) by Ernst depicts a distorted but evidently violent battle between two creatures, a response to his own disturbing visions that exemplifies the ideals Breton suggested in his manifesto of work that taps into a twisted and otherworldly “superior reality”.

De Stijl is an art and design movement founded in the Netherlands in 1917, during the same era in which Dadaism and Surrealism had emerged. The movement is a reaction against the excessively decorative Art Deco style. The movements lead figure was Dutch artist, Theo van Doesburg. Van Doesburg is also credited with outlining De Stijl’s beliefs in a manifesto published to the groups journal in 1922 along with other famous European artists of the time including Vilmos Huszar and Piet Mondrian. In this manifesto they outline their wish for a new style dedicated to organically synthesising art, design and architecture in a lucid and unsentimental construction. This ideal fusion of form and function can be seen in the work of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. His most recognisable piece is “Composition C (No. 111)” painted in 1935. The geometric, minimalist piece depicts several white cubic forms rendered white, red, blue and yellow framed by a black line. This simple theme and aesthetic appears in many artists belonging to the De Stijl movement and has been translated commercially into furniture, architecture and famously adapted into a dress print by French designer Yves Saint Laurent in 1965.

Many also consider the work of the Guerrilla Girls, anonymous, feminist art group, to act as an evolving manifesto. The group formed in New York in 1985 and are composed of female artists who wished to challenge the patriarchal attitudes and traditions upheld by the international art community for centuries. The group use a variety of mediums to display their message including bold graphic designs printed on posters, books and billboards. A gorilla frequently appears on their work, playing coyly on the double entendre of their title, allowing the group of remain an anonymous, united front. The also utilise typography to translate striking messages and statistics to the viewer about the injustice that faces minorities within the art world.