The Manifesto #2 comes alive!
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What we’re doing on the website revolves around the AR Manifesto and I’ve realised that what we’re building here can be transformed and published as a book with the Manifesto as its heart It could also include your insights.
I think the book should be called ‘The Art Lover and the Lost Generations’ – or even ‘Get a Life’, because that’s what it means.
AR’s speech is particularly relevant to ‘The Art Lover and the Lost Generations’. The idea is ’culture for beginners’ (I have already begun):
20th century progress was a bad idea. Smash the past and the future will take care of itself. Follow the trend, keep up with the times. Artists and intellectuals jumped on the bandwagon. Progress and future were automatically linked. March on! Don’t stop to think. You have nothing to lose but your chains.
What I mean is this: in the 20th century we were not engaged in the world. We took everything for granted – and also the future – so today we’re an endangered species. Culture comes from our engagement with the world
We launched the new Manifesto last evening, taking advantage of the first glorious day of spring to do the reading on the roof of our office in London. It was a real social event, with wine & snacks for the performers and audience.
The speakers were in prime form – everyone was completely engrossed in their roles – I felt very encouraged. The Manifesto is very clear to everyone. It just requires concentration on the part of the reader because it is heretical to received opinion. It would be great next time to combine the reading with a workshop.
Of course we had a lot of students here and they really enjoyed the acting – they were all cheering, right from the beginning – especially when Luca (design assistant to myself and Andreas) jumped in as Pinocchio.
Chiara, from our Purchasing Department, played the True poet and Brigitte, the Head of the Studio, played the Art Lover; I was very impressed with their performances of such important roles. Theo, who deals with the Japanese market, played Whistler – his long speech with its American accent was spellbinding.
We were delighted that Lily Cole (model, actress, studying History of Art at Cambridge) arrived from Paris to play the role of Alice. Although she hadn’t seen the part before she did a wonderful job.
My thanks to Andrew Steggal for directing the players and especially to my PA, Tizer, for such a great job of organising it all.
I was particularly happy to welcome our guest, Matthew Owen, Director of Cool Earth. I’m going to be working closely with this charity in the coming months. Matthew made the point that the best way to get anything done is do it yourself, referring to the work Cool Earth is doing to save the rainforests. Cool Earth uses a bottom-up method, working with the indigenous people who live in the rainforest to help them protect the land they own. This is already having a dramatic effect – over 150,000 acres have been saved in the last 18 months, protecting an additional million acres by their strategic location. I’ve decided to get involved with people who take the Do it Yourself approach to things, like Pamela Anderson’s boyfriend Jon Rose (check my Hollywood Diary in ‘The Latest’). This is what I meant when I called one of my collections ‘Do it Yourself’!
Everything each one of us do is so important. Don’t forget the statistics as they stand: only 1 billion of us will be left at end of this century if we wait for others to act for us.
Dear Vivienne,
this is Chiara.
I really enjoyed playing the True poet. Thank you very much for this opportunity.
The more I read and the more I realize how profound and important is the AR Manifesto giving a lot of ideas for our real life.
Chiara
Comment by Chiara on 21/04/2011 at 9:20 pm
What a fantastic idea, a book from the manifesto!
I really truly believe that this Manifesto can change lives, it certainly changed my outlook on life completely. Not only about how important culture and are are necessary for any true progress, but how much of an issue we have with Climate Change. If we do not act now then the only microcosm any artist will be able to represent will be one of depression and destruction.
Congratulations to everyone also for playing a part in the manifesto!
I would absolutely love to know the dates for any future Manifesto readings and if you ever get any more news on that book I would love to hear about it!
Thanks, James
Comment by James Emmett on 22/04/2011 at 5:42 am
And
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Comment by James Emmett on 22/04/2011 at 5:38 pm
Dear Vivienne
The reading was truly inspiring, I thought really hard about what the Art lover said the about microcosm and the idea that it imitates reality. Then I thought about how art this small world was in my hand and I could understand things more clearly through art. I took out a book called “The practise of oli painting and drawing by S.J. Solomon with some notes on the school of Titian and some of his methods and practises, if you hadn’t have mentioned Titian in your letter back I would have never have known about him and his methods.
After the reading a really nice lady told me about a set of anthologies i could get if I want to look at the history of art with essays on different artist set out in a series of every century. I’m still searching for the books but I can’t remember the lady’s name that told me about them.
The reading made me look back at my work and now I plan to go to the Royal academy after my exams and look at some of Watteau’s drawings and do some studies of them. And the Manifesto helped me look into what I draw and encode his drawings through vision onto paper. I’d love you show you some sketches when I’m finished.
Thank you
Adam
Comment by Adam Sullivan on 29/04/2011 at 12:01 pm
Dear Vivienne,
Absolutely love whats finally being written about the world within your recent manifesto. Too long have people been blind to their own culture, their habitat, forgetting that we are genuinely still a species in which inhabits the earth. The earth gives to us and we give nothing back. Finally however, people will eventually see, i hope, that it is what needs addressing today in education, – not to be taught about drugs and not to smoke – but how to become a human being.
I’d love to know about another reading of the Manifesto, please could anyone let me know the details via my email ; Greeneggsandvarnham@hotmail.com
All my best,
Sam Varnham
19 yearold Fine Art student
Comment by Sam Varnham on 10/05/2011 at 11:26 am
Dear Sam
Thank you for your post and for reading the AR Manifesto. A number of people have asked about dates for the next readings – we’ll be posting any upcoming dates on this website. No definite schedule has been set so far, but please keep checking the website for dates and venues in the future.
Comment by Vivienne on 16/05/2011 at 1:59 pm
Thank you so much for your reply !
Really made my day –
I was wondering If i could possibly send a painting to you in the post ? It will only be A4 in size – as a present ? I have your mailing address I think somewhere …
Sam
Comment by Sam Varnham on 23/05/2011 at 12:02 pm
I’m very happy for this Manifesto. I’m agree with us. Web and Television can’t be a only answer for yhe young people. The Life is the answer. People have the Power (Patty Smith)
If you want, you can leave a message on my blog
http://riservaitaliana.blogspot.com
Comment by francesca on 24/06/2011 at 6:12 pm