MANIFESTO FOR A MINOR REVOLUTION.

This is a manifesto for those of us who crave primal, sensual art (=music, film, photo, paint etc).

We intend to reclaim a stake in our culture.

Our tastes were once everywhere, both in the underground and the mainstream. The much-maligned 1980s and early 90s were spiked with colorful thrills. The Birthday Party! the Jesus Lizard! Love and Rockets! the Sugarcubes! Prince! Foetus! David Lynch!...and before them, their spiritual ancestors: the wild artists of 50s RnB, rockabilly and country and 70s punk...not to mention other vivid art forms, such as 40s film noir, 50s-60s pinups, and 60s-70s psychotronic cinema...

In recent years, we have seen dark times. At present, the mainstream is mean and petty, and our greatest subcultures are numb, obscure, or clever. Cold, cold, cold!

There are glorious exceptions, of course. And the pendulum may swing back slowly, as it always does. But we need to make haste! There is no time to lose! We must not only celebrate our favorite genres past, but also demand new art, infused with the same elemental values:

1. At the center of our darkness, disorientation, and fear, we want warmth. Heat! Tender, subterranean love! Hate, depression, and self-loathing do not inspire...better to use our incandescent art to throw sparks into the abyss!

2. We want visceral, tactile art, spiky or luxurious. Art that provokes the auditory and visual senses, thus inciting endorphins, transcendence, reverence. The physical stimulating the metaphysical!

3. We need art to feel genuine. We feel it in our guts when an artist taps into something real inside them, something uncensored, inspired, or even self-conflicting. When individuality is expressed so vividly and honestly, we can, paradoxically, relate. By the same token, generic emotional shortcuts from easy crowd-pleasers (modern Nashville, commercial "punk pop", etc.) lead to maddeningly empty art.

4. We want healthy desire in our art! Playfulness and real bodies! We do not believe the modern body prototype - starved, shaved, and plasticized - is the only ideal. Our desire is full-bodied, imperfect, and vivacious, with lively eyes and untamed places! "Too vulnerable"? "unclean"? But this is what makes us such wild, sympathetic animals!

5. We want "non-realistic" art! Why must all art be plausible, or socially responsible, or safe from being made fun of? We like epic, fantastical, moody art because it best relates to those most vivid moments from our own lives. Most modern films (even those with superheroes) strive not to appear "fake". Such a meager goal! We like "b-movies" with amateur-esque talent, because they convey personality, excitement, and atmosphere, unfettered by self-consciousness, or imitation of mundane reality. Calling them "bad" or even "so bad it's good" misses the point! These folks are not trying to accomplish a naturalistic portrayal.

Long live visceral, vulnerable desire! Long live fierce, playful art!

--JW 11/16/08


THE TUNNEL
JEFF WAGNER'S TUNNEL OF LOVE