The Book of Neoism?!

The Book of Neoism?! brings together the collected writings of Hungarian-Canadian artist and cultural provocateur Istvan Kantor, one of the early members of the Neoism movement. The central tenet of Neoism is to 'make shit happen', be that ritualistic book burnings, public 'blood protests' at MoMA, raucous musical performances or innovative experiments in sculptural form. This parodic movement originated as an underground network in Canada in the late 1970s, operating as a subversive collective creating controversies, live installations and, eventually, an international subculture.

Its members employed shared pseudonyms, most notably 'Monty Cantsin', which Kantor himself appropriated for his performance art. In this publication, Kantor will continue this tradition by using AMEN. as his nom de plume. This is Black Dog Publishing's second book regarding the work of Kantor. The first, Rivington School, tells the story of his time founding a punk movement on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Most recently, Kantor hit the headlines after he missed his own book burning due to being detained by customs authorities.

Kantor's further writings are brash and experimental, forming a vital part of underground subcultural history, and The Book of Neoism?! promises to shed light on the infamous activities of twentieth-century Neoists.

About the Author

Istvan Kantor aka Monty Cantsin is a Hungarian-born Canadian performance artist, known for his provocative blood paintings and his membership of The Rivington School, a countercultural group of artists from the Lower East Side, New York, active in the 1980s.