Welcome to the
​Philadelphia Avant-Garde Studies Consortium (PASC)

Among conceptual artist Taji Ra'oof Nahl's "Exclamation Point" series is "Moses," (2020; photo by Theodore A. Harris). Says Nahl, "The 'Exclamation Point' works are in conversation/engagement with other artists' manifestations. In some instances, shifting/redirecting the narrative (as is the case here); in others, simply paying respect to the works that resonate with me. 'Moses' was prompted by the biblical story of parting the Red Sea. As I gaze at Roy Lichtenstein's "Super Sunset," I imagine the great story of deliverance." Look for an interview with Taji Ra'oof Nahl by PASC co-director John Heon, coming soon.  

"Invisible City: Philadelphia and the Vernacular Avant-garde" (temporarily closed), originally to be displayed through April 4 at three UArts venues and PAFA. All programs canceled, supporting the worldwide effort to slow the coronavirus spread. DETAILS HERE.

PASC is ever grateful to UPenn's Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, where our annual symposia take place. Enjoy a look at the collection on the Kislak Center's exquisite Instagram feed.

William Whitaker, Curator, UPenn's Architectural Archives, talks about environmental influences on building materials in cities and neighborhoods during PASC's "Invisible City"-themed symposium on Nov. 15, 2019.

William Whitaker's walking tour of Philadelphia's modern architecture had to be canceled, but UPenn's Architectural Archives can be explored online here.  

'Panning for gold underground.' Rosalind Morris and Prosper Ncube. Click image for more about 'The Zama Zama Project' at Slought. Used with permission.

Slought is closed, but there is much to explore on the Slought website. ​

An image from Sid Sachs' talk at PASC on Nov. 15, 2019: Gershman YMHA/YWHA board members preparing for a television interview

The canceled "Women of the Avant-garde" panel discussion, complementing Invisible City: Philadelphia and the Vernacular Avant-garde, was to be hosted by Invisible City co-curator Jennie Hirsh, talking with Gershman Y Arts Council members Joan Kron, Eileen Rosenau, and Janet Kardon. Julie Martin, director of Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), was to join them. For more about E.A.T., visit the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. 

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What we do 

We believe PASC is a timely initiative that will be a resource for inquiry and collaboration among like-minded scholars, curators, artists, and collectors, generating new research, exhibitions, and performances relating to local and global avant-gardes, as well as Philadelphia’s unique role in the genre.

Who we are

CO-DIRECTORS
John Heon
David McKnight
Michael Taylor

STEERING COMMITTEE
Tina Brock
Christiana Dobrzynski
Cheryl Harper
Sid Sachs
Emily Brewton Schilling

ADVISORY BOARD
Charles Bernstein
Robert Cargni Mitchell
Matt Neff
Katie Price
Jean-Michel Rabaté
​Mari Shaw

A resource for scholars, curators, artists and collectors 

The Philadelphia Avant-Garde Studies Consortium (PASC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a network of educational and cultural institutions and associated scholars, artists, curators, and collectors who combine expertise and resources to foster the advanced study of avant-garde movements and promote related special collections, exhibitions, and performances in the greater Philadelphia area and Delaware Valley region.

"Locating the Avant-Garde," PASC's inaugural annual symposium, October 2015

Support for projects and collaborations

Artists of all types who have strong local connections and whose works or archives are in collections in the region are important elements of PASC’s focus. These include, among others, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Morton Schamberg, Charles Sheeler, Thomas Chimes, James Brewton, David Lynch, William Carlos Williams, H.D., Ezra Pound, and Harry Mathews. Likewise, certain fields such as literature, the visual arts, theater, film, music, and architecture are central, as are movements or groups such as Dadaism, Surrealism, Futurism, Fluxus, Oulipo, and the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poets.

Rare 'Pataphysics books from the James Brewton Archive ...

... at the University of Pennsylvania's Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Original lithograph by Alfred Jarry for the 'Ouverture d'Ubu roi pour piano à quatre mains,' par Claude Terrasse (1898). Presented in 2013 to the Kislak Center, Penn Libraries, by John Heon.

An interdisciplinary focus

Given the deeply interdisciplinary nature of so many avant-garde movements, other fields not usually considered are pertinent, such as the medical humanities, psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and the history and sociology of science, to name a few. Similarly, although PASC’s main focus is on avant-gardes in Europe and North America, it is not limited to them; the increasingly global nature of avant-garde art and culture requires a global perspective.

"RE: ACT" with PASC and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, March 2017

"Re: Actions," PASC's second annual symposium, December 2016

Cover of the program for "Pataphysics Then and Now" conference in Philadelphia, March 2014

Join us

​If you're interested in participating in PASC or would like to recommend individuals or institutions to be included, please contact us or email pascinitiative [at] gmail.com.