Manifesto of Static Object

manifesto: Latin manifēstāre to make evident”, “to express”; Latin manifestus “evident”, “obvious”; Old Latin manifestus caught in the act”; Latin manu festus “caught by the hand”

Palpability is contained within the word manifesto. A proof. At the same time, the term has a demonstrative power. A manifesto is a clarification of the ideas that didn’t want to remain hidden. This text may not be perceived in the "strong" meaning of the term, it has the form of a "fragile" construction. It is based on the need to realize the present moment, the need to stop and reflect upon the meaning of things. We orient this text towards the following question: What is the meaning of an (art) object today?

Intermediality, performative forms of art or multimedia convergence motivate the perception and attention that the work "asks for". There is a growing demand for spectacularity and the works multisensorial stimulation, so that we could notice the work and appreciate it. A static sculptural object was pushed into the background—to the space between boredom and unnecessariness. But isn’t the object which demonstrates the signs of a stable position something that enables a different kind of interactivity—sharing by perception?

Back to invariability! Back to a specific place!

The object—in its possible motionlessness and materiality—can become a representation of the qualities and values which are permanent and which aren’t subject to tendencies and moods. Concentrated watching focuses on the realization of the present moment at a time when changes are frequently perceived as an emergent system of the progress. Theatricality can be transferred from objects to subjects. Experience with minimal art is the experience of the object in other situation which implies a viewer. We can talk about the presence of objects at which we realize the moment "here and now".

Objects exist independently from subjects. We are not able to watch the world from another place, only from "ourselves". The world can be interpreted—it is the way we perceive it and can mediate it. Things don’t adapt to our opinions of them and the world doesn’t correspond to our cognitive ideas. Man is not the measure of all things.

If we perceive the subject as a viewer and the object as an art object, then it is possible to realize that objects are deformed by our interpretations. The question of objects is the question of the form of representation. In the context of art, objects exist as items, things which form part of the world, but they also exist as items which can be interpreted and refer to other things—terms, feelings, etc.—that are based on a subjective approach towards them. Artistic work with objects, in their persistent form, also focuses on these relationships: the question of temporality, (in)variability, the subject-object relationship and the representative function of works.

Static objects contain urgency. Objects demand perception to be complete. The emphasis of the statement "to be seen" is transferred to the statement "to be seeing". The viewers "transformation" and his/her persistence in watching are essential. In the case of static objects, the viewer is confronted with a situation that he/she experiences as his/her own personal experience with the work, with the realization that the work is there for him/her. It displays itself in its "nudity"—materiality, shape and weight. The work manifests itself in its literality. As viewers, we are retrospectively convicted. Caught in the act.

This text is a result of a discussion between Martin Piaček, Matěj Smetana and Ján Kralovič