Idiosyntactix Strategic Arts & Sciences Alliance: INCIDENTALIST MANIFESTOS (D.11)
/ / / / / / / ○ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
DRAFT 11
Incidentalism
Incidentalism is not a style of art, but rather an attitude towards the practice of art. Incidentalists are artists of any style, practice or medium who apply incidentalism in their work.
Articulating The New
The artist is a worker of boundries. To articulate is to express by manipulating boundries, boundaries in sounds and shapes, boundaries in beliefs and behaviour. Whether for a page, canvas, stage or a moment of pregnant silence, it is the task of the artist to express that which has never been. It is through this articulation, this boundary work, that new ideas, new knowledge and new techniques first emerge.
WHEREAS, it is the artist who is the bringer of the new, SO THEREFORE incidentalism is a strategy for provoking new expressions.
Beyond Preconception
The new cannot be achieved with skill or knowledge, both of which are rooted in the past, and are artifacts of the old. You cannot find the new by way of that which you have already conceived. If the outcome of an incident can be imagined, any enlightenment has already been perceived in the imagining; only the un-planned can reveal the un-preconcieved. Incidentalism seeks to introduce uncontrollable or unpredictable factors into the incident of art.
WHEREAS incidentalism strives to express the new, SO THEREFORE it is not our purpose to use art as a tool to demonstrate our own skill or knowledge, but rather to use art as an apparatus to incite expressions that are beyond our own preconceptions.
Art and Residue
Art is not an object, art happens. Art happens when the actions of artists bring expressions into a state where they can be perceived. All objects that result from an incident are merely the residue of the incident, not the art itself.
WHEREAS residue incites further incidents which produce more residue, SO THEREFORE an incident never truly ends; in fact all incidents change the world.
On Originality
All words, colours, shapes, movements, sounds and all other forms of expressions belong to all that have perceived them or wish to express them. All expressions are extensions of previous perceptions. Even if an expression is intentionally duplicated, it will always be affected and changed by the new incident of expression. Even if an expression is purposefully unique, the artifacts of the incident and previous perceptions will always be present. While no expression can ever be exactly repeated, neither can any expression be completely new.
WHEREAS, all expressions are both original and derivative, SO THEREFORE any attempt to claim ideas, knowledge or techniques as property is fraud.
Freedom of Resonance
Ideas, knowledge and techniques are the fuel of progress. Limits on expression are enforced by vested interests in order to retain power. The new is a threat to the power of the status quo. Since the freedom of expressions to resonate is of critical importance, incidentalism will strive to reclaim any expression stolen from the public wealth, and give resonance to expressions suppressed by censors or otherwise excluded from public dialogue.
WHEREAS, expressions belong to all, SO THEREFORE all things that restrict expression are tools of oppression.
Terms
Incident: The moment when art happens.
Incidentalist: An artist who practices incidentalism.
Coincidentalists: Anybody present or involved with an incident, including the other incidentalists. Coincidentalists are not necessarily Incidentalists or share the Incidentalists motives or beliefs. Incidentalist art has no audience, only coincidentalists.
Accidentalist: An accidentalist, also called a Rubist, is one who incites incidents with powerful and insightful resonance without any intention at all to do such. The work of the Accidentalist has the greatest potency because it is entirely unpreconcieved and therefore limitless in its potential to incite new and enlightening expressions.
Conventionist: Conventionists admire convention and feel important because of their relationship with, or knowledge of conventions, and usually these conventions are widely propagated by vested interests. They like conventional ideas and convention-like activities where people gather, frequently in a convention center, to worship conventions. They concern themselves with inane categorizations and judge value based on the fraud of authenticity. To a conventionist a thing has more value because it more closely replicates or mimics another thing, or is more similar to an idea or type that is well-defined, and is supposedly more authentic or genuine. They admire the well-planned and do not want the unpreconcieved to affect them.
Doctrines
Incidentalist Inferiority Doctrine: One cannot try to be an Accidentalist -- one either is or isn't one, and even that is not a state of being but rather a role in a particular incident. The Incidentalists accept that their work will always be secondary to the work of the Accidentalist. The Incidentalists accept that they must be merely artists; the Incidentalists admires and tries to learn from the Rubist, but does not try to be or become a Rubist, as that would be futile and the results predictable.
Failure Is Success Doctrine: An incidentalist does not rejoice when a test is passed with ease, but rather is disappointed because clearly the test has been too easy. If a goal is accomplished too readily, then the goal is deemed to have been set too low. If a plan goes off without a hitch, then the plan has lacked ambition. The Incidentalists are always reaching beyond their grasp, as nothing within their grasp will incite the new. Any plan of action with an easily predictable outcome is not worth doing.
Manifesto as Conventionism Doctrine: By virtue of defining conventions, these Manifestos themselves contain the seeds of conventionism; they are at best a point of departure for the practicing incidentalist and not of great value. These Manifestos are intended for those who are curious about incidentalism, be they admiring conventionists or emerging incidentalists. These Manifestos are not in any way complete, conclusive or binding and are subject to change without notice.
Written (c. 1997) by Dmytri Kleiner with intellectual contributions from Alexander Braun, John Magyar, Marc Hohmann, Jake Mitchell, William Wates, Anna Melnikoff, Vera Colley and many other distinguished members of Toronto based Idiosyntactix Strategic Arts and Sciences Alliance, The Brand Name of the Media Revolution (tm).
♡
_ \ \ | / / _
D R A F T V I
Jan. 20. 2000.
Comments? --> [email protected]
This document is an Open Expression and can be redistributed at will under the terms of the Idiosyntactix Open Expression License.Preamble:
Incidentalism is not a discovery, an invention or a style of art. Incidentalism is an attitude towards art, expression and enlightenment. It is a practice based upon observations and it's aims are to maximize the enlightenment of it's practitioners and to maximize the resonance of human expressions. It is our hope that in doing these things that our greater understanding of our lives will alow us to live more satisfied and authentic lives in a more satisfactory, just, and authentic environment.
Incidentalism is rooted in the idea that art is not an object, but rather art happens in the incident. Art happens when the actions of artists bring expressions into a state where they can be perceived and thereby can enlighten, art is in the moment of expression. It is not our purpose to use art as a tool to demonstrate our own skill and/or knowledge, rather to use art as an apparatus to provoke the incident to incite expressions that are beyond our own preconceptions. The incidentalist's goal is to express that which is beyond their skill and or knowledge, not to educate through their work but be enlightened by it and allow these enlightening expressions to resonate unhindered.
"We" are The Incidentalists. We do not include or exclude anyone from being such. It is up to you whether or not to include yourself in our open ended "We" as is convenient for your experience, change your mind whenever you like.
The Principals:
- The Principal of Open Expression
All Expressions are at the same time Original and Derivative. Therefor we hold all attempts to claim ownership or exclusive authorship of an Expression to be the essential FRAUD. Any and all attempts to control intellectual property are THEFT. Words, Colours, Shapes, Movements, Sounds and all other forms of expressions can not be owned and can not be inherently good or bad. We accept that enlightenment and the resonance of expressions to be the only legitimate reward expected from the act of art. Stealing ideas by way of the enforced ownership of expressions and direct material gain from the problematic concept of "exclusive authorship" is opposed along with all other societal constructs that thwart the authentic resonance of expressions such as censorship and unnaturally small circles of editorial prerogative in our public spaces and media.
- The Principal of the Recipe
Incidentalist art results from a 'recipe.' The recipe is carefully prepared by the Incidentalist, in the preparation of the recipe the Incidentalist draws upon the sum of their knowledge and experience to construct an incident where all factors the incidentalist wants to control are skillfully planned in order to maximize the potential for enlightenment and the resonance of the associated expressions.
- The Principal of Enlightenment
You can not be enlightened by that which you have already conceived, therefore the Incidentalist always seeks to introduce uncontrollable or unpredictable factors into the incident of art, even as simply as leaving certain things unplanned and out of the recipe. If the outcome of an incident can be imagined by the Incidentalist, then whatever potential for enlightenment that exists from that action has already been perceived in the imagining.
In preparing a recipe, the Incidentalist must take great care in not restricting the potential outcome with over planning, because it is the unplanned, un-preconceived component of the recipe that allows for the greatest potential enlightenment. When the incidentalist has enough experience and confidence, a recipe can be as minimal as a hunch and a wild idea. While the incidentalist must not avoid planning, especially when their experience tells them that such neglect will have predictable results, the incidentalist must always keep in mind that the unplanned has much more capacity for potent expression than the planned, because it can reveal the un-preconceived and thereby enlighten.
♡
_ \ \ | / / _