Publications [#293205] of Mark Antliff

Papers Published

1. Antliff, M. "Contagious Joy: Jacob Epstein, The Tomb of Oscar Wilde, and Action d’art." Anarchism and the Avant-Garde: Radical Arts and Politics in Perspective 4:2 (2019): 195-225.

   Abstract:
   In 1913 a cross section of the London- and Paris-based avant-garde signed a public petition protesting the Paris Municipal government's censorship of Jacob Epstein' s Tomb of Oscar Wilde. Published as a broadside in mid-March 1913 by the journal Action d'art, the petition was forgotten until Epstein highlighted it in his 1940 autobiography. The Action d'art group's defense of Epstein' s tomb was premised on a theory of anarchist-individualism espoused by the journal's founder, André Colomer, and his "art action." The movement itself proved a success, which resulted in the forging of strong ties between anarchist writers, artists, and the avant-garde community.