The problem with most manifestoes is that they are static and self-limiting. That’s one reason why Occupy Wall Street has been so refreshing. (A favorite placard:”We’re here. We’re unclear. Get Used to it.”) But some manifestoes can be quite beautiful—a clarion call to the collective imagination, etc. Over the past few days I have taken a look at various creative manifestoes to see what, if anything, artists might have to offer at this moment. (It turns out a lot….)
Instinctive cooperation.
—Frank Lloyd Wright’s Manifesto for his Apprentices
Leave the house before you find something worth
staying in for.
—Banksy’s Manifesto
Long Live the Immaterial!
—Yves Klein’s The Chelsea Hotel Manifesto
All of which to say, artists make good role models during time of uncertainty and upheaval. They don’t feel threatened by flux. They know how to let go of fixed solutions and old ways. They regularly dismantle things. They thrive in gap spaces. They are masters of the one-pot meal…
