Art Space Talk: Padraic Moore

I recently interviewed Padraic Moore of the Defastenist art movement. Mr. Moore co-wrote the Defastenist manifesto with Gary Farrelly and Alexander Reilly. Defastenism was founded in May 2004 by Dublin National College of Art and Design undergraduates Gary Farrelly, Ben Mullen, Alex Reilly, Seanan Oliver, Manfred Kerr and Jane McGovern. Their membership includes artists, film makers, musicians, architects, writers, and designers.

I became interested in this movement upon reading the following statement. "We The Defastenist artists and other creative practitioners are making art about the only things we know to be truly original. WHICH ARE: The fetishes, obsessions and eccentricities which define our creative personalities.". Thus, I contacted Padraic for an interview.

(The examples of Defastenist art are by Gary Farrelly)

Q. Defastenism was founded in Dublin. Can you tell our blog readers about Defastenism?

A. "The Defastenist Party is a self styled "Movement " which is preoccupied with the legacy of the Modernist Project. The movement enables all those involved to realise their maximum potential by operating as a milieu in which the production of art and the apparatuses surrounding art is fully supported and utilised in a communal manner. Aside from the ideological framework the communal approach provides a plethora of advantages, which are hugely advantageous in this increasingly competitive world. The term comes specifically from the idea of unbuckling the metaphorical seatbelt. The concept that one must "Defasten" from the Jetzeit.The aeroplane- a constant motif in Defastenist art- is one of the symbols, which we believe defines our zeitgeist. It seems painfully ironic that the high hopes envisaged for the miracle of air travel have been undermined not only by the threadbare and shabby reality of cut cost travel, but also the horror of plane hijackings and air rage. The ongoing ills of our age in which men crash planes into buildings now seem as quotidian and vaguely unpleasant as the colour of the upholstery and the tragic loss of the complimentary in flight meal served by an elegant air hostess. The inundation of bad news and the saturation of media coverage have led to a numbing of our consciousness. The anaesthetics, which enable us to endure, diminish the significance of events. The time has come to reclaim control. This reclamation of control is manifested through cultural production/productivism, which constitutes a means of active escape from the reality, which we inhabit. From the enduring trauma of politically motivated air catastrophes such as Lockerbie and 9/11 to the excesses of cut cost flights we are in the age of the air disaster. We cannot simply unfasten-To make any progress we must first make a major modification-we must Defasten.

The Party also operates as a life raft in that it proliferates optimism and propagates an end to apathy, boredom and idleness."

Q. Can you characterize the Defastenist as a group? What generation do they belong to?

A. "Many generations but predominantly the A.D.D Generation who grew up at the tale end of Irelands depression and during Irelands period of accelerated affluence."

Q. You co-wrote The Defastenist Manifesto with Gary Farrelly and Alexander Reilly. Was there ever a conflict in ideas during the creation of the manifesto?

A. "Since it’s inception the collective has grown consistently more cohesive and concise in its philosophy and approach. The manifesto, which you have obviously read, was formulated at a moment when our ideologies were somewhat less polished. When it was necessary to be somewhat more vague then what we have become in order to forge a functioning sense of community. As the manifesto attached reveals our remit has since been significantly crystallised. We launch this manifesto to coincide with the Second Phase of the Defastenist Movement. We have ascended to on schedule.

I believe that when formulating a manifesto or statement there should always be some light degree of dispute. The presence of a level of debate usually ensures that thought and imagination is stimulated. This is important."

The Rationalized Defastenist Manifesto.

September 2006

1.We believe that Art is a mission demanding complete fanaticism.
2.We ally ourselves to the Mothers and Fathers of Modernism. We share their fervent faith in progress and dynamism.
3.The meticulous process of production, which distinguishes our approach to any and all media, is coupled with a fundamental faith in the Utopian function of art.
4.We regard it as our duty to excavate fully our fetishes, obsessions and desires through material forms of cultural production.
5.Defastenism proposes an art that is all encompassing. Our practice is a union of conscious and unconscious thought. Our practice is inflected with borrowed nostalgia; our practice is of the present and for the future.
7. We recognise the obsolescence of the ‘us-and-them’ paradigm and aspire to be both an Institution and an Establishment.
8.At all times there exists a physical headquarters from which we conduct our ventures and campaigns.
9.The Defastenist Party and its members are compelled to assume an actively auto propulsive role in the actualisation of personal and professional ambitions whilst maintaining complete loyalty to the party.
10.We oppose aesthetic dematerialisation and are dedicated to the art object, the obsessive generation of which is manifested in all aspects of Defastenist activity.

- The Defastenist Party, Dublin 2006

Q. The original manifesto reads, "We The Defastenist artists and other creative practitioners are making art about the only things we know to be truly original. WHICH ARE: The fetishes, obsessions and eccentricities which define our creative personalities." can you further enlighten us about this statement?

A. "This was an early statement, which relates to several major aspects of Defastenist practice, which are sustained. The notion of constructing a world in which we can indulge ourselves totally in the production of culture by focusing directly and unselfconsciously upon "the fetishes, obsessions and eccentricities, which define our creative personalities" is one of the central functions, which drives the movement. We believe that through the production of artwork states of temporary utopia can be achieved. We produce work, which is the manifestation of an excavation of our personal fixations, desires and preoccupations. By persistently allowing ourselves to focus upon these things they can become somehow more real, more tangible…"

Q. Does Defastenist art focus on the vices of the human condition in order to convey a form of 'pure truth'?

"Defastenist Art Does Not Focus upon the Vices of the Human Condition per se. Defastenist Culture is an expression and a statement of and on many things. It is likely that Vice may occasionally be integral to Defastenist Artwork, but we do not focus upon vice as a subject solely. I’m extremely reluctant to use words such as truth or purity because I believe that we are all so mediated and conditioned that both the possibility of both these ideas are always going to be rather dubious."

Q. Do you think 'truth' is missing in the current art world?

A. "What is Truth?
Is truth Expressionism? Is truth Abstraction? Is truth Realism?
I wouldn’t like to say that the endeavours of the group are motivated by a desire toward the proliferation of Truth.However; it is true that we try and be true to ourselves. In the manoeuvrings of a collective honesty and directness are vital to sustained existence, and truth can be considered part of this.

I believe that Art is Ultimately a combination of Truth and Artifice,
Art is inherently a statement of something, and will always reveal information of some sort. The information imparted to the viewer may not be that intended by the artists but the information is still a truth. Financial capability, intellectual capital, stylistic references and cultural quotations are all instructive in what they can tell us about an artist.
What I do believe is missing from the Art World of today-in Dublin at least- is a lack of confidence. This lack of confidence is often difficult detect but is always exposed when an artist is asked whether or not they refer to themselves as an Irish artist. That’s an issue that I’m interested in exploring-how Irish ness is still problematic. This is the result of there being very very few internationally Irish artists and the fact that people fear that they may be pigeonholed as exclusively Irish artists."

Q. This statement has been declared by Defastenists concerning the direction they do not want to go with their art, "BOILING INSPIRATION AND IDEAS DOWN TO THEIR BARE ESSENTIALS, RESULTING IN BORING, AESTHETICALLY UNINTERESTING WORKS OF ART IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF POSTMODERNISM THAT THE DEFASTENISTS INTEND TO REMEDY.", can your further explain the intention of this ideology?

A. "Actually I myself am most certainly guilty of over examining ideas down to bare essentials…I thrive on analysis and detailed dissections of art and life. What I am opposed to is artwork that is visually or conceptually anorexic. In most cases Defastenist art is unified by it’s emphatically object based approach. Paradoxically however there is an element to the work that it wholly dialogic and conceptual-and that is the attempt to occupy a constructed reality. There is certainly a huge quantity of contemporary art, which lacks vitality and vigour. There is also an excess of art, which is continually validated purely by its existence. There is a surplus of cultural producers making work that says very little about anything. We believe that art has a function and that it should be useful, if not for society than at least for the artist."

Q. Are there any Defastenist exhibits of art planned for the near future? If so, where and when.

A. "Obsessive Territories

(Terra Firma from 10m² 100,000km²)
Artworks by Gary Farrelly
Curated by Donna-Marie O’Donovan and Padraic E.Moore

17th-27th November 2006
-Thisisnotashop-
Benburb Street
Dublin City.
(This exhibition space is situated a short distance from the "Museum" tram station)

"Unreal City"
Defastenist Publication by Padraic E.Moore
Issued Late November-Early December 2006

Don’t Cry-Work!
An exhibition of objects and occurrences including the work of selected Defastenist artists.
Curated by Padraic E.Moore

7th-21st February 2007.
The Back Loft
St.Augustine Street.
Dublin City 8

Please feel free to Contact Padraic E.Moore at boybright1982@yahoo.com for details on any of the above."

Q. Do you think that the current art world is 'dead'? How do the Defastenist plan to bring life and energy back to the world of art?

A. "The Art world cannot die. It is a parallel world that fluctuates and alters in accordance with the changes that occur within the greater society. Our campaigns may impact upon and be acknowledged by the Art world of which we are a component.

However, while revolutionisation and modification of art and society may be something that we focus upon frequently we will do this only on our own terms. We bring life and energy into the world of art simply by declaring ourselves as audaciously active.

While we may occasionally critique and comment upon the world of art it is not our aim or duty to eradicate or interfere with any aspects of this world. Our propaganda may suggest that we desire a level of totalitarian control over the art world, but this is itself an expression of playful and libidinous caprice. Everybody who wishes to be so deserves to be creative, but one is aware that being an artist, curator, critic etc. should never be taken lightly. There is not enough time or space for people who are not serious about their aims or ideas. One must create knowing that to do entails responsibility and self-awareness."

Q. It has been noted that the Defastenist expression of an inner world has some parallels with the surrealist. Can you explain this connection?

A. "The connection is a little tenuous but is also quite accurate in a number of ways. Though we do ally ourselves to the Mothers and Fathers of Modernism I don’t think that we have the same absolute faith in the future. Our Utopian dream results from a sense of desperation and despair with the reality that the present is constantly under threat of extinction. We live in an age that is scarred by the disasters of the past and blind to the fact that nothing has evolved despite the catastrophes of the various Holocausts, atomic warfare, and the countless wars.

Our aspirations to be international \certainly connect us with the Surrealists, as does our proclivity toward the issuing of manifestoes, declarations and statements. Similarly, we recognise the necessity to be accepting and unafraid of the concept of art as commodity. In order to sustain ourselves we must continue to be economically successful."

Q. Defastenism has been connected with Stuckism. How are they the same? Are there any differences?

A. "Many, many differences. Some similarities. Stuckism was very important in the early phases of Defastenism for sure. However this has become less and less the case. While the infatuation with the Modernist Project has united the two movements the Defastenist party borrows much more heavily from political, beureaucratic and economic methodologies. We have also developed a much more theoretical approach which results in the production of many histories and mythologies which use art history as a material from which Defastenist Art can be constructed…"

Q. Is there a risk that a return to figurative art (and other art strongly supported by the Defastenist) will be under-stimulating mentally? Does accessibility mean dumbing down?

A. "Whether or not the work produced by Defastenist artists is predominantly figurative or not is a cause for constant debate. I would argue that much of the work produced relies solely upon formal qualities of colour and line to produce an impact. I think It’s an over simplification to correlate Figurative Art as somehow simpler or easier to understand.

I believe that often art, which is perceived as "under stimulating", is the responsibility of the viewer as opposed to the artist. However, I do believe that currently there is an excess of art dealing with social and political issues in a quasi- corrective manner. I abhor art that is lauded purely for that fact that it deals with problematic issues or sectors of society. Art is not social work and Art should not be utilised as some sort of therapeutic tool, which is "given" in a condescending way to communities (such as the homeless or indigent) by the priveliged. This process seems to suggest that people still believe that art it might somehow enlighten and improve the lives of those who have been unfortunate.

Accessibility does not mean dumbing down. Those who find Defastenist ideologies and tautologies excessively complex are not obliged to engage with this aspect of our practice in order to understand or enjoy our produce. The work produced by Defastenists functions on a variety of levels and is generally comprehensible to anybody willing to engage. While there is incredible scope for misinterpretation of our methodologies and philosophies the artworks generally speak for themselves as autonomously successful entities."

Q. How many members are involved with the movement at this time?

A. "There are currently 5 core members of the group in Dublin .It is the Dublin group which is the principal corps of the party. This number excludes the Defastenist Youth Party, the Royal Family of Defastena, The Friends Association, the Anonymous Members and the factions we have in Galway, Berlin, London and Paris."

Q. Is there anything else you would like to say about Defastenism or art in general?

A. "THE CURRENT GENERATION OF YOUNG ARTISTS HAS THE TERRIBLE LEGACY OF POSTMODERNISM AND PLURALISM HANGING OVER ITS HEAD. WHICH BOILS INSPIRATION AND IDEAS DOWN TO THEIR BARE ESSENTIALS, RESULTING IN BORING, AESTHETICALLY UNINTERESTING WORKS OF ART. A CHARACTERISTIC OF POSTMODERNISM, ONE THAT THE DEFASTENISTS INTEND TO REMEDY"

I hope you have enjoyed this interview with Padraic Moore of the Defastenist. Feel free to contact him for further information.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin