Realisms of the Avant-Garde

The avant-gardes of the 20th century defined themselves, and are defined by us, essentially by their relations to various concepts of realism.

1. Mostly, they distinguish themselves eagerly from the realisms of the 19th-century.
2. Nevertheless, they often claim some kind of truth or higher realism – super-realism – for themselves, claiming to have access to some primary reality that cannot be presented in traditional arts.
3. These super-realisms are in turn challenged by movements such as New Objectivity, Magic Realism, or different varieties of political popular art, which in their turn claim to be more realistic than the supposedly outmoded avant-gardes.
4. Even the neo-avant-gardes and other movements from the second half of the 20th century to the present day have to deal with concurrent varieties of "realism" (just think of Mario Amaya calling Pop "the New Super Realism").

Our conference will discuss the different concepts of realism formulated by and against the avant-gardes and the different relations to reality generated in arts and media. "Realism", in this respect, may refer to techniques ("prijom") as well as discourses, the representation of (e.g. scientific or esoteric) knowledge, but also to political ideologies or practical applications.