Manifesto

Our manifesto grew out of a mutual interest in examining and actively questioning our society. It developed as we discussed as a group our points of interest and perspectives on what is important to social discourse, both aesthetically and as commentary. 

We decided to explore different mediums to create a collection of works that portray the ideas expressed in our manifesto. This mix up of different mediums is reminiscent of the mashup by DJ Food we were assigned to read. That 40 minute piece was built off the exact same thing we were focusing on in our manifesto. It discussed not only the history of a new genre, but many societal problems that came to light as the genre emerged. For example, it started out by reflecting on the technology that helped the genre take root; music files on the internet. With this change came the surge of access to music, but at the cost of the artists. Good and bad accompanied the events, but it was not really picking sides, rather calling attention to the developments in the society surrounding the artist. 

    The main point of our manifesto is that true art exposes different aspects of the artist’s society. Our first thought was to use our art pieces to expose the problems we, as the “artists”, see around us. however, we realized that true art should not just complain about society but also celebrate it. Thus, we chose to base our artwork around the idea of exalting the common man in today’s economy. An example of this that comes to mind is the beloved artwork of Norman Rockwell, who did not choose the most beautiful subjects to draw. In fact, common man would be a very fitting word for most of his characters, and yet the pictures are so lively and strike joy in the viewer. This is a very simple yet effective example of "exalting" the common man. Since Norman Rockwell dealt with plenty of poverty in his time, and his artwork reflected that poverty, his work fit very well with the ideals of our manifesto.

This was a group process piece, which was difficult because I joined my group late. They had already summed up their “what is good art” manifesto into four bullet points:

• Exposes and inquires into the respective contemporary society of the artist.
• Transcends age, gender, and generations.
• Is informed by and conscious of the forms and aesthetics of the past.
• Is intended to be easily accessible. 

Sadly, the scanner cropped off part of my image.

My art piece exalts the common man/woman and also exposes and inquires into my contemporary society. I used common facebook pictures of people I have talked to and used their real stories in my art as I comment on the economic struggle we are facing. I am using an aesthetic of the past, decoupage, and it is easily accessible because it is on my blog. I also tried to make if full of texture to make it tactile and real.