Sussex Modernism

Sussex Modernism looks at how artists and writers harnessed the landscapes, cultures and histories of their locations to reimagine how art should be made. This wide-reaching book by Hope Wolf explores a breadth of work by over 70 artists associated with different modernist movements, comparing divergent forms of creativity generated in this rich and varied region. While some who visited or had a home in Sussex practised a kind of dissident retreat, others took an explicitly activist position. Well-known figures, including Virginia Woolf, Jacob Epstein, David Jones, Gluck, Edward Burra and Lee Miller, are joined by countercultural artists of the 1960-80s. Women artists whose power was regional rather than national are also introduced, as are the voices of modernism's opponents. This is a book of jostling perspectives on art, place and politics. Offering a new history of modernism, this book intertwines literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, film, photography, textiles, music, domestic decoration and horticultural experiments across a period of over 100 years. It reflects on how forward-thinking ideas reverberate today and reveals much more is to be learned from how artists drew on their capacities within Sussex to promote psychic and social change.