Exitism

This is an art cafe that opened (with my help) in Odessa, Ukraine around the time of the Orange Revolution. The club is called Exit or Vikhod in Russian. The idea was to formulate a new mental direction or attitude in regards to art. One of the things we were planning were some unusual exhibitions, that never happened. My notebook is full of ideas, some of them, probably quite impossible to realize, like wind sculptures. Their purpose was to illustrate the philosophy that the group of artists, myself included, were aiming for. This new "art movement" consisted of "laws" that governed how a piece of art was created by governing the artist's internal state when creating it.

In addition to the "laws" there was also a history that needed to be created. It is my wish to someday post some of it here.

For now, here are some laws:

29. A state that precedes an object or act; is independent of the object or act and yet defines the object or act.

41. To be aware of that part of oneself which does not react to the world around us.

42. Any aspect of reality that one could just as easily dream but not an aspect of a dream that could just as well be reality.

49. A piece of art that is independent of thought and emotion, that is thoughtless and emotionless yet triggers thoughts and emotions which lead the viewer to an exit from thinking and feeling.

50. The understanding that one cannot understand what one sees or hears or thinks from what one sees or hears or thinks. (What is considered real is actually the most unreal part of the real thing.)

51. Understanding that one does not understand what one thought one had understood.

52. To become aware of what is unnecessary to be aware of for the daily necessity of living but not to become unaware of what is necessary to be aware of for the daily necessity of living.

54. A piece of art that is independent from the source (that is independent of the artist who created the piece and whatever influenced the artist) yet clearly shows, reveals and admits the source from which it sprang.

56. (v.) To finish before one comes to the end. This refers to the rare two-death existence of mankind.

From here on the rest refer to what is not Exitism...

105. The act of not understanding something (whether consciously or unconsciously) when one thinks that one is actually trying to understand something by either trying to attach words to the thought or not.

107. The misguided belief that one’s self is the source of all that one is.

108. A piece of art that is dependent on its subject matter to transmit to the receiver an impression that does not actually represent the subject matter as it is interpreted by the receiver.

143. A piece of art that is admired only because of the instruments that were used in creating it.

144. The act of doing something in order to no longer be what one was before one started to do something.

etc, etc...

UPDATE: The cafe is closing...