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artist's manifest
It is the viewer who determines what she/he wants to see.
It
is the artist who determines what she/he wants to make.
For half a century there have been art historians and the like who
poke their noses into contemporary art, positioning themselves between
the artist and the public for their own glory - give or take a handful of conscious
ones. Do they realize that it is not they, but the artist who is behind
the wheel?
Since the fifties it was the art historians who determined
in which way their information was medicated. The course of art has actually
been diverted due to their techniques and marketing tactics. Many
artists have catered to the tastes and distastes of these academics,
entertaining them to further their own goals; and many still do. It is
profitable!
saved by the internet
But we actually do not
have to put up with that anymore!
Since the appearance of the internet,
the old, strong but now obsolete, instrument of feeding of propaganda has been taken out of the hands of the academics.
We have been enabled to rise above their propaganda flow and avail
ourselves of this much more direct medium. Funds for printing posters
and books and organizing exhibitions were available to them. Now we can
reach a far greater public by using our skills and inventiveness to
structure our virtual efforts in such a way that we can enter the stage
and leave the academics behind us.
Publication has entered
a new era. This medium makes it possible to update anything at any given
moment. Inherently - the doubtlessly greatest - advantage is hypertext itself.
One no longer needs to page through a book in search of references. Few
people are yet aware of the effect this will have on writing itself. Imagine:
a novel without a beginning or end ! In hypertext documents, choices concerning
chronological- or thematic order are superfluous. That kind of order has
actually proven to be detrimental to an independent interpretation and appreciation
by the viewer.
We,
the artists can - and must - take the wheel again!
Lucien den Arend
1997
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3D anaglyph photographs of my sculpture
works©author: Lucien den Arend
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