An archive of visual art, books, documents, photographs and ephemera from a 1960's artist collaborative.

The American artist collaborative, Anonima Group, was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1960 by Ernst Benkert, Francis Hewitt and Ed Mieczkowski. Propelled by their rejection of the cult of the ego and automatic style of the Abstract Expressionists, the artists worked collaboratively on grid-based, spatially fluctuating drawings and paintings that were precise investigations of the scientific phenomena and psychology of optical perception. The work was accompanied by writings: proposals, projects and manifestos - socialist in nature - which the artists considered essential to the experience and understanding of their work. Their drawings, paintings and writings, which had much in common with the positions of artist Ad Reinhardt, and with the Russian Constructivists, was included in the 1965 Responsive Eye exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. Along with other artists in the exhibit (see Bridget Riley quote), Anonima's work was incorrectly relegated to what came to be the highly commercialized and publicized category of Op Art. A recent reconsideration and recontextualization of Op Art, the expansive 2006 Optic Nerve exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art, places the Anonima as the sole American collaborative group, along with the European Zero Group, Gruppo N, GRAV and others, who were examining new optical information at that time.
Frank Hewitt, who had a masters in art and later did course work toward a PhD in the psychology of perception, provided the conceptual framework for the Anonima Group; their projects addressed the latest information about the science and psychology of visual perception. Anonima’s anti-commercial stance (see statement below), including their ultimate refusal to interact with the commercial artworld, had the effect of removing them from the lexicon of known artists from that time. In a catalog essay for Frank Hewitt's 1992 memorial retrospective at the Robert Hull Fleming Museum in Burlington, Vt, William C. Lipke wrote that the artists believed that "commercialization and popularization obfuscated the real issues" being addressed by their work. Further he writes that work by Anonima is "better understood in light of the theories and data of perceptual psychology; the commitment to a systemic study of visual information irrespective of stylistic or economic pressures."

The Anonima group disbanded in 1971, but the effect of their work has extended into the present through their writing, drawings and paintings. The group's analytical and impersonal view of the creative process was balanced by a profound generosity of spirit which has influenced countless artists over the years; all three artists have had long teaching careers (Frank Hewitt died in 1992), in which they dedicated themselves to providing art students with a precise understanding of the constructs of optical perception, an invaluable foundation for any artist. Their ideas are certainly reflected in the work many contemporary artists.

An Anonima Idea (within the world)

Anonima means anonymity for its members in regard to the world. Anonymity is not necessarily a virtue in itself, an ideal state to be achieved. It is the basis of any group which values the results of collaboration more than the individual distinction of the collaborators.

Anonima has as a purpose within the world, the frustration of any attempts to misdirect, misrepresent, or misinterpret its activities. Anonima thus means no to Commercial Galleries, Biennales, Competitions, Prizes, Commissions, Mass Media Publicity, Critics, and Architects. At stake is the freedom to make the work, to exhibit the work, in whatever form and whenever it seems necessary, or simply to withhold it, following the rhythm of the artist and the development of his work, rather than the market of any of its more subtle extensions.

An excerpt from an Anonima manifesto

What had happened? I had a number of conflicting experiences. My work had been hung in the Museum of Modern Art and vulgarized in the rag trade. I had been involved in a sociological phenomenon with alarming implications, and one which was disquieting, also, to many Americans. The Responsive Eye was a serious exhibition but its qualities were obscured by an explosion of commercialism, band-wagoning and hysterical sensationalism...Most people were so busy taking sides and arguing about what had or had not happened, they could no longer see what was actually on the wall. Misunderstandings and mistaken assumptions took the place of considered and informed judgment.

Bridget Riley, Perception is the Medium, 1965