Eighty to two-thousand-and-five

In retrospect, the 80's of the last century were an energetic and important period in the visual arts. Starting at the end of the 70's, trends manifested that:
permitted themselves the freedom to again work expressionistically;
did not limit themselves to common materials or media;
copied predecessors shamelessly;
absorbed the power of the media and its grip on representation;
criticised social circumstances and showed their engagement;
brought back discussion on the differences between low and high art.

Neo Expressionism, Neo Geo, Die Neue Wilde, Graffiti and all sorts of descriptions and definitions were ousting each other in claiming the credit for vividness and dynamics. The arts had rarely been so vibrant, and commerce was thriving.

At the end of the eighties in particular, this all came to a premature end due to economic factors. The art market collapsed, prices dropped, galleries ran into trouble and many artists reduced commitments or disappeared into oblivion. Apart from a short revival with Brit Art, there has not been a comparable period since.

All the more reason to re-examine it now after almost 25 years.
Where did that sudden vitalization originate?
What was the importance of this period?
What consequences did it have in later years?
Why did it end so suddenly?
Why are the dynamics lacking now?
Have those dynamics transferred to other parts of the world?

It is worthwhile looking for the answers to these, and other, questions.

In "the 80's" project we are trying to do that by:
allowing artists from that period to show old and new work at various exhibitions;
publishing texts and catalogues;
organizing forum discussions;
arranging workshops by (foreign) artists at a couple of fine art academies;
exhibiting - at a central point - documentaries from and about that period.

The intention is not, at all, to look back in a melancholy or stylish/fashionable way; we really want to connect the 80's with the present and thus find explanations and provoke discussions that can give an impulse to today's environment.

september 2005