The art of manifestos / "I Want a President"
- Amy Lee Lillard
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Use the word manifesto today, and our understanding may, at the least, verge on bad.
Think of what the news calls manifestos: the self-congratulatory jerkoffs documents from school shooters and women killers. Think of what right-wingers call manifestos: the evil of Karl Marx and his communist manifesto. Think of what companies call manifestos. Brands get to play with a sort of faux rebellion by using the term manifesto to sell shit we don’t need. Corporations co-opt the idea, naming their branding guidelines and value statements manifestos, to seem edgy and real and definitely not exploiting their workers.
But real manifestos: these are deeply revolutionary. Deeply anti-capitalist. Deeply feminist and intersectional.
And these are the manifestos we’re going to focus on in this bonus series.
A History of Manifestos
Manifestos used to be a tool of those in power. Starting in the late 1700s, kings and church leaders and the military issued manifestos as a sort of press release. The goal was to communicate the will of those in power.
But, perhaps because of this, the rebellious sort started using manifestos to defy those in power. More and more, the manifesto became a document of revolution. In 1848, The Communist Manifesto, demonstrated this new turn, advocating for an entire upending of the way society works.
Manifestos in the 1900s became increasingly wild and crazy. Urgent. Raw and ragged. Pissed off. Desperate. Hopeful. All in one heady mix of text.
And some of them are just as relevant today as they were then.
Manifestos Explained
Simply put, manifestos can be statements of beliefs and intentions. They can be serious, or deeply satirical and silly. They can be long proclamations, or short declarations.
No matter form or lengths, Manifestos are screams into the sky. They’re a collective voice of millions, or a tiny but terrible voice of a few. They are claims to power by those who are powerless.
And most of the time, the manifestos can seem completely unreasonable. Completely unrealistic. They have no patience for taking things slow, for moderation, for incremental change. They don’t give a fuck about being respectable earning some kind of attention. Fuck that, the manifestos say. We are loud, proud, and demand change now.
As a result, manifestos are a unique reading experience. Especially when they’re made by women, queer folks, bipoc, and other groups often locked out of power.
And many, many times, manifestos are analog. They’re newsprint. Flyers. Wheat-pasted posters. Zines. They’re physical art of the kind we see less and less. Which makes them so much more powerful and special in our digital age.
Bonus Series: The Art of Manifestos
So this bonus series will focus on these kinds of manifestos. Each episode will highlight one manifesto, talk a little bit about where this came from in context, a little bit about author/group. Then a reading. These will be bite-sized bits of rage and power to fuel you between regular Art of Resistance episodes.
And today we’ll start with the short manifesto from 1992, called “I Want a President.” It comes from Zoe Leonard, an artist, photographer, sculptor, and queer leader.
Watch Zoe Leonard read "I Want a President":
Watch for more mini manifesto episodes coming soon.
Want to make your own manifesto? We’ve got analog art kits coming soon to Rebel Yell creative. As an Art Lab and/or paid newsletter subscriber, you'll get early access : ) Watch your email for updates.
The Art of Resistance is a podcast from Rebel Yell Creative. To make art that matters, every creative person needs support. Find yours at RebelYellCreative.com.
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