Manifesto
What is art? What is its purpose?
These recurring questions remind us of how blur and uncertain is our relationship with art.
Long ago, in certain societies, before becoming a distinct discipline called "art," aesthetic practices such as singing, dancing, sculpting, drawing and others, were not separate from their sacred role. They were integral parts of religious or sacred manifestations, aimed at connecting with the spiritual world, often to make a request or appease a deity.
It was our taste for beauty and harmony that led us to consume these aesthetic works outside of religious rites. The separation of aesthetics from its role in connecting with the spiritual realm granted it the name "art."
The word "art" comes from the Latin term "ars," which means technique. The Greeks used the word "Teckne" to refer to art.
Art is therefore the result of separating aesthetic techniques from their sacred role.
So, what is the purpose of art TODAY?
Faced with this question, both artists and enthusiasts often have to carve their own path in this vast endeavour, create their own codes, and then exchange ideas to find a common role and definition for art.
The majority of artists in our time use art to explore their imagination, exhibit their works, and sell them.
Each person approaches it in their own way, using theories, poems, or maxims to define art based on their own experience.
Through their work, artists, museums, galleries, collectors, and other cultural actors build an observatory of humanity's inner world.
Part of this observatory is immersed in a speculative economy and presents superficial, prestigious, and elitist facets of art.
Another part uses art for promotional purposes, whether commercial, political, or social.
There are also those who dedicate their practices to healing, such as art therapy.
And there are many other widespread but less popular practices.
For example, there are amateurs who consume or engage in art out of curiosity, as a hobby, or even out of necessity.
These last two categories, freer in their approach, indicate a spiritual and transcendent relationship with art.
How many of us have heard or even said, "This film/book changed my life"?
Or that dance or theatre allows shy individuals to liberate themselves?
In the past, some have described painting and drawing as meditative practices.
Not to mention writing, which reflects our mind when we reveal ourselves through activities like keeping a journal.
Finally, most of us may be familiar with the gratifying feeling that overwhelms us and brings us well-being after completing a creation.
The impact of art on our being shows that it can also be a tool to overcome certain neuroses and find balance. Neurologists agree that the sight of "beauty" or harmony has beneficial effects on our brains, causing the secretion of beneficial hormones.
In view of these evident truths and the maladies of our society, it is crucial today to link the impact that art has on us to a science.
A science that would allow each individual to access practices or works that resonate with their state of mind, enabling them to fill voids, purge excesses, and ultimately find serenity and full control over their being.
Art is undoubtedly a rich and vast domain that is still not fully understood.
It is a mystical discipline where artists, as explorers, unveil a spiritual world, giving it tangible form through their interiority on one side and their technique on the other.
Like the discovery of a new world, each finding, that is to say, each artwork, holds mysteries for us as a society and as individuals, propelling us forward and aiding our evolution as we consume and study them.
That is why productivity, exchange, and documentation of works must be the foundation of our endeavour.
Exploring our spirituality through various techniques, creating without limitations to visit and reveal the true nature of our interiority.
As free but responsible individuals, artists share their works, their creative process, their knowledge of subtle senses, and their perspectives on their work.
It is up to us to write the next chapter and create new bridges between art and science.
Art possesses spiritual and benevolent qualities, we must uncover their mechanisms and apply them for the common good.
