The Antagonist Art Movement was a cultural movement formed in New York City in 2000. The group grew out of desperation and in reaction to the New York art market. The movement primarily involves visual arts, literature, film, art manifestos and graphic design. The Antagonist Art Movement articulates its anti-commercial politics through a rejection of the prevailing standards in the art market and focuses its efforts on creating non-commercial cultural works and venues. Its purpose is to ridicule the meaninglessness, superficiality and artificiality of the commercial art world. The Antagonists foster emerging talent by providing opportunities for the exhibition of works, networking with other artists, mentoring and resources. The Antagonist Movement has worked with more than 3,500 artists from around the world over the past 14 years.
Overview
Antagonist activities have included public gatherings, demonstrations, the publication of art/literary journals, the production of documentary films, a clothing line, weekly art shows, writer's nights and a public access television show. For many of its members, the Movement is their protest against the established commercial art market in which there is little chance for unknown artists to succeed, regardless of how talented they may be. Based in Manhattan's Lower East Side, the Antagonist Movement also has participants in other US cities, Europe and South America. Influenced by punk rock, pop art and by the Dada movement, the Antagonist Movement seeks to be inclusive of all forms of art and individual artist’s styles and expressions as long as the work provokes.
History
Ethan Minsker, Sergio Vega, and Anders Olson first conceived of the Antagonist Movement while working in bars in the Lower East Side. They wanted to create an event that would also incorporate their individual passions: art, film, music and writing. The first art show was held in the basement of Niagara Bar in January 2000. It featured art by Minsker, Olson and Dima Drjuchin. The owners of the bar asked the group to do this pop-up art event every Thursday for one year. They would end up doing these one-night art shows for over 11 years, showcasing the works of more than 3,000 up-and-coming artists. The Antagonists added live performances to the events, such as Schocholautte, Lisa Jaeggi, Carla Rhodes, Champions of Sound, Dead on a Friday and Vic Ruggiero. Minsker used film to document the larger events of the group and events held in other US cities and abroad.
In 2002, the Antagonists began a writer's night on Sunday nights at Black & White Bar, just a few blocks away. The actor and comedian Jonah Hill was discovered performing at one of these events. Past hosts of the writer's night have included Bryan Middleton, Richard Allen and Brother Mike Cohen. Minsker took the helm of the Antagonist Movement in 2003 when Vega and Olson began spending more time on other projects. Around this time, the group appointed its first art directors who would guide the artistic direction of the movement. Gabriel Coutu-Dumont and Anders Olson served in this capacity from 2000-2005. Ted Riederer was the artistic director from 2005 to the present. Riederer's other major projects include Never Records.
Events
Weekly events
Ignite (2000–2011) One night art shows on Thursdays. Three to six artists showed new works every Thursday at Niagara Bar on East 7th Street in New York City. The art was installed between 8 pm and 9 pm and stayed up until 2 am. The Antagonists took a small commission and the artists kept the rest. Money earned from the art sales, in turn, was used to fund Movement projects. However, most artists did not sell anything. The focus of the event was to build a community who could support and help each other. For many artists, it was their first public showing. Along with the art slams, there often was live music and/or performance art. The events were held in the basement of the bar until 2008 when the bar owners created a gallery space on the ground floor, at the back of the bar. The Thursday night art shows ended in the fall of 2011 after the Antagonists and the owners could not reach an agreement upon a different night to show.