The Artists’ Statement Roundtable-Manifesto List of members
INFO Artists about ISA
September 12, 2005
To:
Mr. Kofi Annan
UN Secretary-General
From: INTERNATIONAL
SOCIETY OF ARTISTS (ISA)
Dear Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
TV reporters, who have been in Kosovo, Iraq, and in
New Orleans at the time of the recent catastrophes, reported that the
skirmishes with police and army in New Orleans looked worse than any war. This
is a situation where people have guns, but lack direction; it is an example of
the spiritual vacuum being filled up by horror, which has already stepped from
screens into real life by one of its legs. Rather than focusing on these horrific
things, please consider that world art resources are truly amazing and
interesting material for TV. Cultures and histories of different countries can
be told by artists from points of view of the artists’ personal lives; this
will be alive, this will touch people. Politics can be included as well, but
from a humane point of view, which is deeply understood by artists. Indeed,
“Art opens new door for learning, understanding, and peace among people and
nations”, as you have said.
A creation of such international TV shows is one of
the points in the program of the International Society of Artists (ISA). Our organization was founded at
Florence Biennale 2003 and registered in Sweden as a non-profit cultural
organization. Our Artists' Statement is based on An Open Letter from Artists http://www.incd.net/letter/letter.htm
. The signatories of this letter note that “Many human conflicts arise from a
failure to recognize cultural complexities or from perceived threats to
cultural values”, and that “It is time to secure the rights of artists
globally”. You can learn about our goals and strategy from the link http://www.geocities.com/i_societyofartists/page2 The members of our society are artists and
art organizations from all over the world http://www.geocities.com/i_societyofartists/members
, who agree with The Artists' Statement http://www.geocities.com/i_societyofartists/page2
. Human freedom is not concentrated in economic and political problems only;
freedom is important to the intellectual and spiritual aspects of life as well.
Humanity comes into the unlimited space of thinking and feeling – into the
space of human communications based on spirituality, imagination, creativity.
It is why Andre Malraux said concerning our time: "The 21st century will
be spiritual, or it will be nothing". It is why the prestige of Art must
be restored, Art must be recognized as an important part of human life which
relates to all people.
We believe that the contemporary world needs such
ideas, so we hope for the successful development of our organization. Please
help us in dispersing our ideas and realizing our goals for the benefit of all
humanity.
Kind regards,
International Society of Artists
Signatories to
the Open Letter to Kofi Annan from Artists
Message of Peace and Harmony through Art
We are living in the beginning of the twenty-first
century. The twentieth century was a century of bloody revolutions and wars; it
was a century of Hitler and Stalin. But the twentieth century was also a
century of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. People win in the war of evil
against humanity. The future depends on us who live now.
Life is something greater than we sometimes
passively agree to. The world and the human essential is a great and boundless
realm. People are tired of politics and business only. Art is able now to
restore a wholeness and fullness to human life. It is a role of art to support
a spiritual dimension of human life, to open new horizons of human meanings.
Art now and always is a way to peaceful understanding between people and
nations; art provides a deep human quest for peace, for individual and world
harmony. Art should give us a real feeling for life in the contemporary decisive
time. Art is humanism.
The arts now stand in very difficult position.
Artistic creations are now considered to be "no different from
conventional goods and services; the powerful cultural importance of works of
the human imagination is denied or ignored (www.incd.net/letter/letter.htm)
". As a result of such situation public interest in art is very low, and
the lives of individual artists are hardly possible. A mass culture is mostly
only able to exist in the contemporary business world of a mass trade. But,
artists are aware of the great importance of art, and it is our task to stand
against the isolation and elimination of art. This evil deprives people and
whole nations of the human right for a spiritual independence.
Vincent van Gogh said: "I tell you, the more I
think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love
people". It is true that Art is for the people, for the world, for life.
Art truly unites all of us by the best of human heart and soul, but a
battle-attack against human spiritual independence is not finished yet; and the
struggle against this evil continues with artists’ hands, with artists' hearts,
and with artists’ lives. Such struggle is a struggle with light heart. It is a
struggle not against the world; it is a struggle for the world, for the people,
and for life.
We have created the International
Society of Artists (ISA). Herein we have formulated goals and
strategies that have arisen out of our struggle. The main task is to restore a
prestige of Art all over the world. In this way a public interest in art will
be obtained for the benefit of all people. Art will become recognized as being
an important part of human life, and then artists will not be slaves any more.
We hope for people's understanding and support. Public support is a huge power.
For example, when India was struggling against British colonial slavery, the
British stopped selling salt to India. Salt is vital element. And then Mahatma
Gandhi said to the people: go to the ocean beach, make big fires and boil down
salt from the ocean water directly. Art is a vital element too, and our task is
not only to work in art, but also to make art widely accessible to people (Project
Art Direct).
In the process of ISA development, we have deeply
understood the contemporary role of art. Besides advocating for art, we are
happy to continue the best endeavors of Twentieth century. Now the role of art
is close to ideas of Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated for peaceful,
nonviolence and harmonic way of humanity. We are proud to be united with New York Metropolitan Martin
Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolence (MLK). We are happy that we are
a part of the International
Artists for Peace and World Harmony Organizing Committee created by MLK,
and that together with MKL we have represented in the 61st Annual
United Nations/Department of Public Information Non Governmental Organization Conference the ideas concerning role of art in building
bridges of understanding between people and nations.
The idea expressed by Kofi Annan that - "Art opens new doors for learning, understanding, and peace among people and nations" – receives interest and support over the entire world. This idea is very similar to the prophesy of Fyodor Dostoyevsky in which he stated: "Beauty will save the world". This is the motto of ISA. Mahatma Gandhi has written on the wall of his house: “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.” Martin Luther King has said: "If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought, and acted, inspired by the vision of humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony.", and: "I found in the nonviolent resistance philosophy of Gandhi... the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom."
The future of humanity is a peaceful way, of
freedom and of spiritual independence. Different nations and cultures can
enrich each other whilst maintaining their individual identities. Art is the
universal sphere of human activity where such a way is provided. Each man and
woman, each national culture and each religion has a deep inner beauty. The era
of the New Renaissance is coming!
MLK and
ISA in one moment has become one unit based on the above ideas. Our activity is
going to be wider. We stress themes that unite
and identify a common purpose that bring many people and organizations
together. But, our successful beginnings are developing slower than
we could wish. Of course, our efforts are aggravated by the world economical
crisis which harms the arts first, as a sphere situated outside of a mass
trade. We have no right to surrender in this situation. We hope for tireless
and enthusiastic people, and we remember the words of Edmund Burke: "The
only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing".
Best
wishes to you,
Sergej Jakovlev /President
of ISA/
The Artists’ Statement Roundtable-Manifesto List of members INFO Artists about ISA