The Art of the New Time

FULL IMMERSION – Artist’s Manifesto

Teri Volini’s speech of 21 December 2012 at the opening of the exhibition Scatti per la Terra (Shots for the Earth)

Entering the new time on the right foot is, I believe, the intention of anyone who wants to pursue true fulfilment in personal and social life, rediscovering the meaning and purpose of life and contributing, even in a small way, to the elevation of the planet and of humanity.

In this planetary “rebirth”, Art – with a capital A – can play a very important role: thanks to its magnificent privilege of seeing what often escapes the ordinary eye, it can show – with the most varied, free, mature and original languages of its own – new ways of bearing witness to our presence on this earth, leaving behind the old, useless, harmful patterns that have often characterised it in historical times.

Indispensable and urgent, for example, is a different sensitivity towards the environment, which it falls precisely to the aware artist – often ahead of the times – to bear witness to, stressing the urgency of a change of course in our relationship with the Earth and with all beings.

I mean that, together with the radical renewal of society in the new time, an equal renewal will take place in art, which will redefine itself in relation to the special times we will live.

In this regard I refer in particular to Joseph Beuys, who spoke of an art that shapes culture and life.

The great German master expressed an expanded concept of art, a concept of social culture as the most important art; a system that transforms the whole social organism into a work of art, including the whole process of work – Goya’s as well as that of agriculture, science, education, technology… Where the principle of production and consumption takes on a form of true quality.

He said: “Not only the making of paintings and sculptures must be transformed, but the whole social form. It is a gigantic programme.”

One understands the greatness and foresight of Beuys’s thought, who proposed this as early as the 1970s, when he already spoke of defending the individual, human values and free creativity, of having a sense of life, of defending nature together with defending the individual.

My hope is that the artists of the new time will do their part in building new worlds, becoming active creators and communicators of new perspectives, choosing alternative ways to the commodification and cynical conformism that have prevailed until now, in parallel with the mad rules of an immature society.

No longer fatuous, self-centred, competing to win fame, success and wealth, fiercely or covertly enemies of one another as their “fathers” had been in the old time, the Protagonists of the new Art will be travelling companions and active subjects of communication strategies that celebrate the common good.

Finally aware of the great privilege offered by “making art in a nobler form”, they will help make “peace with the earth and with humanity” the purpose of the Planet’s new inhabitants.

Personally, for more than a decade I have been aware of this and have tried to put it into practice as a person and as an artist; and if with painting I already exalted the beauty and generosity of Mother Earth, today more than ever I practise an art directly aimed at defending and honouring the Planet, with research, publications, performances, symbolic actions, videos and installations – up to the most recent Artist’s Manifestos and works of collective self-awareness.

And it is about the latest of these works, created to conclude the series for Air, Water, Sun and Trees, that tonight I speak to you of Photographic Shots for the Earth: those who accept the invitation will have a photographic portrait taken which, together with many others, will make up the Collective Work in defence of the earth and its fruits.

The participants’ faces will be placed in tiny discs, and the final Image they compose together will be a large apple, of which each will symbolically be one of the cells; besides being offered for public display, it will activate a series of initiatives – meetings, talks, workshops and/or conferences – on themes such as food quality, organic and biodynamic farming, permaculture, seed patents, multinationals, GMOs and Art in defence of nature.

THE WORK REMINDS US THAT WE ARE ALL ONE, and demands that the fruits of the Earth we eat be as whole and healthy as possible, for our health and for the preservation of future generations and of the Planet we live on.