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Radical Boy Manifesto: Art must go for the gut
The artist has one target: the gut. Art serves the good of humanity when it undermines the false dichotomy of reason or instinct. The question of following reason or instinct is moot. Reason fails. Instinct fails. Wisdom fails. The challenge of History is trusting to progress. The best way to demonstrate one’s faith in progress is by doing the work.
Some people apply their energy toward defining progress. Some people apply their energy toward creating the tools of progress. Some people apply their energy toward pushing progress. Some people apply their energy toward profiting off progress. Some people apply their energy toward redirecting progress. Some people apply their energy toward resisting progress. Some people apply their energy toward derailing progress. Ironically, even the most strident Luddite has his place in the march of History, in the story of human progress, so long as he is doing the work.
The artist necessarily contributes to progress by doing the work. His role is special and peculiar in that his work is pure work. By pure work, I mean that he uses useful resources without creating anything that obviously contributes to survival. He creates things to be regarded and experienced, primarily at leisure. In this way, it has no clear value to the Practical Man.
Yet all but the most obtuse Practical Man must acknowledge the profound impact Art has had on History. Even the most obtuse Practical Man has been affected by Art (in the form of music, movies and, perhaps, books) even if he is not willing to acknowledge that Art as necessarily related to that Art.
So, by creating work without practical value but contributing to the progress of History regardless, the Artist testifies to the inherent value of work, vocational work, any vocational work, so long as it gets done.
The artist need not agree with any aspect of this Manifesto. He can disagree. He can remain oblivious. It doesn’t matter. The Artist testifies to its truth by doing his work and moving people.
And that’s why I contend that art must, primarily, appeal to the human gut. If Art can go further and, in fact, tap into its participant’s imaginations — if it can inspire a worker to return and do his work, perhaps in a new way, perhaps better — Art is downright triumphant.
In this way, it’s the work that accomplishes nothing, Art, that drives progress. Progress takes the shape of real and metaphorical building. Building yields institutions and institutions are man’s salvation. Institutions, however, are born of inspiration and artists know inspiration best.
That’s why the artist’s work is so needed and he must direct it at the gut because the gut needs inspiration to drive the work of others.
Radical Boy
Radical Boy Manifesto