~A Preterist's Manifesto~
The purpose of Preterist Art is to use retrograde techniques and philosophies that exhume and display the corpses of the height of art and aesthetic correctitude that walked hand in hand with man's long past golden age of civilization. I have defined this as of yet unworked aesthetic philosophy "preterism" because it acknowledges the fact that we are living in an age beyond the end. The great experiment called civilization lavishly bestowed upon man the gifts that it promised, and now it is in the process of slow decay. However, the gifts remain for those bold enough to seize them!
"The beauty of the present is that the rest is past." - Anton Szandor LaVey
It seems that the current thrust of the art world at present (if there is such a thing as the present in our postmodern age) is divided into two particular endeavors: Namely "concept" and "design".
The conceptualists hold higher esteem in the avant-garde art world. Their work seems radical and new; they posses an anti aesthetic that displays the condition that those living under the burden of late-capitalism suffer. Their work, per say, is essentially ritual, and it is meant to metaphorically capture the transient nature of all things through the act of NOT capturing it, but of simply calling attention to it.
They try and involve their audience in the ritual and make them a part of it. Their work is a sort of sham occultism, their rituals empty. Why? Because if their rituals had any lasting effect it would be contrary to the purpose of the ritual in the first place which was to call attention to the fact that nothing is lasting. Their acts and devices slip from memory as quickly as their patrons leave their galleries (usually abandoned or condemned spaces) and the process is short circuited in its very design. If they held or captured the audience's attention and produced a lasting effect or artifact of any sort their ritual would be a failure. Even their artifacts are generally disposable, or are composed of disposable objects without craftsmanship or regard to beauty to guarantee that they will in the future decay, or be indifferently destroyed.
Their art is a celebration of what they hate, because they offer no alternative.
See for example the "Plane of Heaven" event. Video (ironically) documenting the event can be found at www.creativetime.org
The conceptualist deals primarily with TIME and its effect upon perceived SPACE.
Those that deal with design, or create what is called "figurative" art are generally obsessed to a degree with photography. Photography is a means to capture for all time visuals that are instantly erased from reality. A photograph is proof positive that a moment existed, and through the image the space it represents will live forever. The space or object is given immortality. Or is it? In as much as this art is attempting to make concrete the transitory, when the moment has passed and all of the moderninity of the image (i.e. all the objects in the image that date it) has become ancient history the image seems like an exhumed corpse, a ghost of a time no one remembers, a monument to a moment that no one cares about any longer.
In this way it seems that the image, rather than grant the object or form immortality, unnaturally binds its spirit to the Earth, and it is cursed forever to be unrelieved of the life that was meaningless to it. Even the current popularity of erotic photography and art will in the next few decades seem to the viewers of that time the way the old black and white photographs of flappers from the 1920's in various stages of undress seem to us now. Ghostly and otherworldly, and hardly worth our concern despite a documentation for the sake of posterity of what once was.
These effigies do not create permanence, they only reinforce the fleeting nature of all things.
The modern figurative artist deals primarily with SPACE and its effect upon perceived TIME.
I propose a new philosophy in art, which I call Preterism. The Preterist artist is not concerned with expressing the "here and now" but with the creation of his own immortality through the exploration and expression of universal truths through personal experience and timeless metaphor, which are proven true through empirical evidence. The gothic cathedrals are still regarded with more awe than modern skyscrapers, and I will step out on a limb and explain that it is NOT because they are old (i.e. objects of posterity) or less plentiful (i.e. tourist attractions). It is because they are monuments to ideals that have proven true. It is because they are permanent, or they appear permanent. Even if they begin to decay they still appear permanent. This is because they are structured around, by, and for ideas of aesthetic correctitude that have outlasted the people and institutions that conceived and built them. They REPRESENT something that is permanent. In a disposable age what could be more enthralling? The thrones of kings outlast the kings that commissioned them; the pyramids outlive the corpses that are buried beneath. Not because the structures or artifacts are permanent in themselves but because the throne is the perfect symbol of monarchy, and the pyramid the perfect symbol of religious vanity. These objects show us ourselves, which we have forgotten in our haste to make something better and more useful. These objects are not mirrors, but windows into our souls.
Democracy and capitalism have thrown the baby out with the bath water. The Preterist applauds Gaudi, whose genius lied in his knowledge that all things immortal are inherently useless, decadent, and timeless.
The production for use has created the anti-aesthetic of postmodernism. Society and civilization now exist for their own sakes, because it is considered anathema to produce useless objects and devices simply as monuments to the human ego! What else does civilization exist for if not to surround the human being with beauty and a sumptuous living environment, a lifestyle of ease and grace and beauty, commonly referred to as sophistication? Unsophisticated = uncivilized, does it not?
It may seem like I am championing decorative art. I assure you that I am not. Art becomes decorative when it fades into the background of an environment, in which case the environment becomes the art piece, as a reflection of the creators ego and taste, and the object itself simply a small part of a greater whole. If a work of art lacks any aesthetic, human, moral, historical, or universal truth, then it is decorative. I will go on a limb once more and define abstract art, or art that only uncovers its own truth through display of technique, decorative art. And very little else is really just "decorative". Some images and objects are better or more evocative than others but even a painting of a simple flower can tell us something about ourselves. It tells us that we appreciate frailty and color. A flower does not hide in nature, it stands out, like a peacock, the peacock of plants, it's frail and bold and feminine (and many flowers imitate female genitalia), and this is what we regard as beautiful. A painting that does not evoke emotion in the viewer and only uncovers the truth of the artist in the act of making art is decorative art, if we can call it art at all. Corporate art. Lowest common denominator art. Art meant to please everyone that pleases no one because it is so obscure and impersonal.
We are afraid to feel and corporate heads are afraid to ask us to. Not only would we resent it, it would ultimately be unprofitable. Who needs a fancy car to impress girls when he can stare at the painting of the flower for hours and become just as satisfied? If people are prideful and surrounded by symbols of their own unique beauty and pride, we don't need to purchase superfluous consumer goods as status symbols to be proud of.
Art is a sexual relationship between artist and viewer and art that does not affect the viewer in a lasting way is masturbation; art for its own sake created under a system of civilization for its own sake.
The Preterist champions art that is a lasting monument to the greatness of mankind and the civilizations that he created. The Preterist, knowing full well that the golden age of civilization has past, reaches into that very past to uncover and dust off the tools and books of ancient masters. Preterist art is a-historical, universal, beautiful, engaging, figurative, and metaphorically permanent.
Preterist art combines concept and design. Preterist art combines space and time according to an alchemical and magical formula that will make it permanent.
The artist is given the gift to create and all you do is reflect! Abomination! If civilization goes to ruin its blood will be on your hands because you could have saved it and you cowered! You dogs, you starving artists deserve to starve! How can you expect civilization to feed you while you tear at it with your mockery? All it needs to save it is something to work toward, give it that and it will make you a God, as it did the artists of the past.
Mankind has always considered beautiful that which deviates from the path of nature. Civilization itself and its long lasting effects are proof positive of that. So let the hippies live in tepees and be one with the Earth while we sit in our palaces and rule over it.
In our current age what could be more dangerous or subversive to suggest?
