My Artist Manifesto...

KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND BEWARE OF GLITTER.
THE FAINTHEARTED WILL CRUMBLE AND AQUIT THEMSELVES.
THE IMPETUS FOR CREATING EMINATES FROM WITHIN
TO REVEAL AND TRANSFORM ANCIENT LIFE PATTERNS.

SMITHSONS ENTROPY IS VERY REAL.
WE MUST SURRENDER FEAR OR FACE EXTINCTION.
 YOU ARE A SERVANT TO NATURE AND TO NURTURE!

Monika Thomas 2013

I merged my manifesto text with an  image that represents "misery".  Misery can be an honest friend, producing new insights and inviting contemplation. For example, the  word "nature" in my  manifesto refers to its original meaning which is  "to give birth". Artists are meant to give birth to their work. The process can be  really messy - not unlike childbirth. 

For me things don’t fit neatly. Words attempt to create an illusion of stability and permanence about what is essentially fragile, transitory and elusive. Even this artist manifesto is history the moment it has been written. It becomes contestable but also serves as a loose framework to be fleshed out and tested by the artist and the future. So it stands as a sign post.

Art making is laborious and  always happens in somebody's presence. My philosophy is to evoke and  capture moments of insight before they escape me.  Visual art is much more than words can express but  they also adhere to visual symbols and hint at new meanings. 

Manifestos hold creative and political conviction.