MANIFESTO MUISTARDEAUX II
April 21,
2009 - present
These are a bunch of things we think we know and believe right now
about art making and us. Claiming
anything more than that runs the risk of becoming a hard and fast philosophy,
which runs the risk of becoming an ideology - and that is a crazy ridiculous
idea, having an ideology about art making and yourself. We make no authoritarian claims. We approach art as explorers charting
new land each and every time. In
fact, what we discover to be true is entirely malleable, and purposefully so.
1. Greet them with
honesty. TheyÕll understand.
2. Making art, at itÕs very
best, is like making music. We
have gotten to this point a handful of incredibly satisfying times in the
Muistardeaux Collective, the point where making art feels like sitting down and
jamming together, and the results of those sessions have been some of the best
work weÕve made to date. Jamming,
playing improvisational music, requires openness. It demands of its players the ability to listen. It demands trust in oneself and the
other players. ItÕs about knowing
when to be loud and when to be silent. And when itÕs working, the players naturally let go of any preconceived
notions or sounds or styles. ŌWorkingÕ means that it is satisfying something in us. This is often a feeling that is hard to
articulate. It may satisfy a
thirst for the absurd, or the succinct. It may satisfy in its ability to provoke or annoy or it may simply be
funny. Funny is usually good - in
fact itÕs almost always good. Zen
Buddhists have known that for a long time.
3. We think it was
Schopenhauer who said that music was the only real art, the only pure art. And just ŅthinkingÓ that it was
Schopenhauer who said this is a liberating place to be in the Information
Age. We could Wikipedia that to
find out if it was in fact Schopenhauer or if it was someone else. But if it were someone else would that
make it any less or more true? And
if it turned out that no one actually said it, and it was actually just us who
said it right there above this line, then what?
4. Music, Schopenhauer
said, is the only art that doesnÕt sound or look or feel like anything else
other than music, other than itself. Whereas, the visual arts, he said, in some way are always a reflection
or interpretation or abstraction or critique of something that already
exists. In other words, the visual
arts are a projection of something else. WeÕre not entirely sure we always agree with SchopenhauerÕs point, but
weÕre also not entirely sure we donÕt always agree with his point. WhatÕs important for us is this: when
we create or experience a piece of music or art that we really like, we donÕt
worry about what it means or why it was made – unless the ŅwhyÓ is why we
are enjoying it, the conceptual ingredient that is getting us off - we
acknowledge that this thing that we love, in whatever form it takes, is coming
directly and authentically from the source of something. Listening to it is touching that source
of something. And that feels
good. Playing it, actually
creating it, is being that source. And that feels amazing. We
love good music. We love lots of
good music.
5. Deconstruction is all
too often just another way to miss the point.
6. The object isnÕt always
the objective, but sometimes it is. The good objects are a manifestation of the source of something.
7. We do tangents. We also do gay. Know what we mean?
8. Tom Borden is a sculptor,
painter, videographer, musician, photographer, drawer, performer, and
ceramicist from East Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. Borden is the recipient of the Murphy and Cadogan Merit
Scholarship for Bay Area MFA Students. His work has been exhibited throughout California, in Oregon and New
York City. Adeptly applying absurd
logic to the absurd, Mr. BordenÕs work effectively dislocated expectation of
the nature of art making. He is
something not ordinary.
9. Eric Gibbons is a
sculptor, painter, videographer, musician, photographer, drawer, performer, and
ceramicist originally from San Angelo, Texas, a repugnant bedroom community
boasting the erroneous claim of ŅMohair Capital of the WorldÓ. Mr. GibbonsÕ work has been featured in
New American Paintings, Artlies Magazine, and Glasstire Online Arts Journal for
Texas. His work has been exhibited
throughout the United States and in Ventura, California. A perpetual linguist with a penchant
for pop culture slang, Mr. GibbonsÕ work is wrought with dumb humor that
transcends the expectations of the intelligent. He is handsome to a fault.
10. Play is integral to
our work. ThereÕs smart play and
dumb play. Smart play is playing
based on previous thought and ideas and training and practice and exercises and
maybe some established structures, or a conscious decision to not have pre-set
structure. And now that we have
written that out like that, the less appealing it sounds even though the
original point was going to be that smart play is usually better than dumb
play. Dumb playing, at its purest,
is unbridled play that isnÕt based at all on thought. It is acting purely on natural impulses. Rousseau and Sade called this the real
reality of nature, meaning that the most Ōtrue to natureÕ a person can be, in
SadeÕs and RousseauÕs minds, is by acting purely on the Id, purely for personal
pleasure. For Sade at least, this
was about primordial passion, but it was also about rejecting societyÕs desire
for structure and codes of behavior and conduct. Sade felt that all these things – things that are core
to society - are actually counter to the natural order. The Surrealists took that and ran with
it and their manifesto said a lot of things about eliminating the rational and
answering only to the unrehearsed murmurs of your unconscious. WeÕre pretty sure we think thatÕs
uninteresting, and maybe even bullshit. Why would we want to answer only to our unconscious murmurs? WeÕre conscious human beings living in
America in the early 21st century, this is our reality. WeÕre not children anymore, so why go
back to our inner children? Why
choose to ignore the reality of exactly who we are and when we are and where we
are? We celebrate us, our place
and our time, right now. We are
acutely aware of our context in our society and we use it to our
advantage. As fucked up as the
world and America and the art world and anything else may seem to some people,
it is actually a boon served up on an HD silver platter precisely for us to use
as we please. And that is
something that we think everyone can and should claim. And now weÕre a little lost, but
the original point was leading to the fact that we make conscious
decisions. We make conscious
decisions about everything – aesthetics, content, juxtaposition and
wardrobe - all along the way in our process up to the point when we sit down
and play. We also feel that SadeÕs
best song was not ŅSmooth OperatorÓ, but the more eloquent ŅBy Your SideÓ, a
B-side on the Smooth Operator LP.
11. Often, ignorance truly
is bliss, and a lot of fun. Making
lots of sense is a cheap thrill that doesnÕt last very long or feel
particularly satisfying down the road. Think Ed RuschaÕs ŅÕWow! Huh?Õ versus ŌHuh? Wow!ÕÓ
theory. But we prefer ŅHuh? Wow! Huh?Ó a hell of a lot more.
12. The Gooding Jr. Family
= Eric Gibbons Blows the Entire Mets Lineup = asianboywhiteguypug.com
There is something undeniably satisfying to us about all three of these
phrases, and they are satisfying to us in very similar ways. It isnÕt a huge point, but it is a
point worth making. ItÕs not
something that we can really articulate very well. But thereÕs a lot of America in there, which means thereÕs a
lot of us in there. Stuff like TV,
cinema, sports, ignorance and TV.
13. The Muistardeaux
Collective explores masculinity, partnership and the Information Age from a
fairly two white guys from Connecticut and Texas perspective. We are native Americans with a lower
case ŌnÕ, meaning that we are native to this very American culture we were
reared in and all that that is. We
are the products of everything that weÕve done and everything that has happened
to us, as well as every environment that weÕve lived in our whole lives. And weÕre objectifying ourselves in a
four-dimensional way.
14. We live in a land
where 'nativeÕ has almost become a clichˇ. It's an ideal that might not even exist anymore, other than
in the minds of some well-meaning thinkers. And if this ideal does actually exist, should we care? When an outsider species or person or
idea is introduced and proliferates in a beautiful, sublime or even ugly way,
is that not American? Is this not
maybe more American even than the species that it subsumed? This is America the Beautiful, the
country of consumption and subsumption. We are a people and a culture and a place that is constantly changing,
constantly consuming itself. And
in that consumption comes new growth - bigger, smaller, better, worse, more
beautiful and ugly than ever before. A lot of it defies logic – the Snuggie Blanket With Sleeves
recently exceeded $100M in sales since September, in the midst of the worst
financial crisis in the past 80 years, howÕs them apples? – but that
logic-defying outrageousness is America 100% through and through. America invented it and it is
constantly re-inventing us. As
Americans, that is something we should celebrate. Because to deny it and fight it is to deny and fight
ourselves. No-Doz, Kenpo jeans,
Eucalyptus trees, Tom SelleckÕs mustache and a stripper with a hammer and nails
– from sea to shining sea!
15. We are easy, we are
open, that is our gift. We can
roll with the punches, we can drift with the drift.
16. Bifurcation is the
process of dividing a single organism into two equal or unequal parts. ItÕs about heaven and hell, life and
death, iconic maleness and females that are and are not having sex. ItÕs about the kids who like Sonic
Youth and the ones that donÕt. ItÕs about Me and Eric. ItÕs about Yin and Yang joining together two extremities. So do hermaphrodites.
17. WeÕre Eastern
Philosophers, not assholes. Not
being an asshole is extremely important. What we make or do is either a genuine self-portrait of us and the way
we think, or it is not. When it
is, itÕs good. It feels good. When it isnÕt, it doesnÕt necessarily
feel bad, but it does feel less good. And the goal is to feel more good and
have other people feel more good. Not less.
18. Making sense is played
out. And surrealism doesnÕt really
exist anymore. Just look around
the world and try to tell us that either of these statements isnÕt true. There really isnÕt any counterpart to
how fucked up the world is right now, and how fun that can be.
19. A bad system is better
than no system at all. Our system embraces absolute freedom and acceptance
during the early stages of any new idea. We donÕt want to limit ourselves. We canÕt edit the crap out of ourselves, because we must have a lot to
work with. And we do, just look
around you.
20. There is a moment right at the instant of germination of a new idea
– and we believe this holds true for every free thinking human being
– when we can choose to either act on that idea or wait for a better
one. We choose to act. Because we have to be able to conceive
and act on the stupid idea and the confusing idea as well as the offensive idea
and the idea thatÕs simply not going to work. ItÕs the pursuit of all these ideas that allows us to
ultimately intelligently determine the good from the bad. Inevitably, by the time we get to that
point where we realize that an idea is not going to work our brains have
already branched off into a tangent thatÕs somewhat related and is
working. Without the initial bad
idea there wouldnÕt be a tangent to begin with. We trust this process implicitly.
21. ThereÕs a lot weÕd
like to say about knowledge and how important it is or isnÕt to art making.
22. Materials are
important, but ideas are more important. The idea usually dictates the materials, and the materials rarely drive
the idea. But sometimes they
do. If you want to buy materials,
go to Home Depot or a really nice fine art photography store.
23. Aesthetics is a tough
one. We have it down, though, just
look at our website: www.muistardeaux.com <http://www.muistardeaux.com>.
24. Chaos is great, itÕs
how the world works. Chaos has its
own crazy order and logic. The
Lorenz Theory, also known as the Butterfly Effect, is based in Chaos
Theory. It was developed by a guy
whose last name was Lorenz and basically it showed that a variation in a
mathematical equation as seemingly small and impactless as the single flutter
of a butterflyÕs wings in Brazil can cause a weather shift in Texas so severe
as to cause a tornado. Lorenz
originally used the metaphor of a seagullÕs wings but later changed it to the
more poetic butterfly.
25. We employ deliberate
decision making, even when weÕre doing spectacle.
26. We consider and
utilize all of our available information when weÕre creating. ItÕs a holistic process of alchemy that
uses the site, the materials, the attitude, the audience, the time and the
conversations that weÕre having while weÕre making whatever weÕre making. Everything is context and essential to
the formula. But after this
information is processed, our final edit ultimately happens very organically
– what stays or gets thrown away is based on what simply feels right to
us.
27. Loose ends are
liberating.
28. Uniqueness is
important. There have never been
and never will be anyone exactly like us in the world, physically,
psychologically or spiritually. Every being on Earth can and should claim that. Uniqueness is not in itself unique at
all, but it is precious. It should
be celebrated as often as possible. These celebrations make the world an interesting wonderful place. If that sounds airy fairy, who cares?
29. We just cut our first
album and it is fantastic. Side A
is live at Dirk & NicoÕs house. Side B is studio recordings from Eric & ElizabethÕs place and a lot
more heavily produced.
30. Eric Gibbons is a
British-born rocker from Texas.
31. Tom Borden is a filthy
emu farmer from E. Hartford CT.
32. Nobody can give you
freedom. Nobody can give you
equality or justice or anything. If youÕre a man, you take it. ThatÕs Malcolm X. Like all
great thinkers and great people in history, when heÕs talking about his
specific experience, in this case the Black American experience, heÕs also
speaking very much to the human experience, about what it is to be a human
being. That resonates strongly
with us. ItÕs why we respond
strongly to the words and actions of Gandhi, Frank Zappa, Philip Petit, Mother
Theresa, Paul Simon, the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Yoko Ono, Miles Davis,
Simon Bolivar, Siddhattha Gotama, Nelson Mandela, Tecumseh and The Cars. When the true greats speak or act to
the specifics of their situation, their words and actions resonate for all of
us.
33. WeÕd like to get back
to the aesthetics issue because itÕs an important one. Looking at art shouldnÕt be too easy,
it should be a somewhat of a challenge, a treasure hunt that you might never
get to the end of, but you do pick up little slices of pleasure and interest
and challenge and fun along the way. If the aesthetics are always ŌgoodÕ then weÕve removed one important
element of challenge, for us the makers and you the viewer. Sometimes our aesthetics are not
pleasing to the casual eye but that is very carefully thought out.
34. We do contemporary
relevance. We do us, right now.
35. There was a 6-day
period recently – actually the past six days – where we really
thought that we were better than the Beatles. But one of us is listening to Abbey Road right now and
thereÕs no question that those guys are better than us, and thatÕs OK because
theyÕre the Kings.
36. Turns out ŅBy Your
SideÓ is an A-side on Lovers Rock.
37. kings die, then there
are new kings.
38. people yelling
people screaming
people getting drunk
drunk people getting kicked out of bars
San Francisco 49ers
San Jose Sharks
Golden State Warriors
COPS
Jeff Gordon
people getting killed
car accidents
people getting caught in forest fires
floods
cars going through red lights
fans getting into fights at sporting events
sports teams brawling
golden retrievers
vases
eyeglasses
volcanoes
hot lava
kitchen disasters
living room disasters
people getting evacuated
ocean tsunamis
people crying
kids getting hurt
people laughing
people cheering at basketball games
cats
Barry Bonds hitting a home run
kids escaping fires
tigers loose at the zoo
elephants getting squirted by water
rhinos loose on the street
monkeys and lions escaping from cages
pit bulls attacking policemen
a big shark bite
fans throwing bottles and glass and beer onto the ice at hockey games
fans throwing chairs at basketball games
people throwing hats at baseball games
football players throwing helmets
people getting mad
boxing match riots
funny stuff like Anne Frank and people getting loose from concentration
camps
Point Break
Mad Max
Forever Young
Lethal Weapon 4
39. All works of art are
self-portraits, some more flattering than others. The ones that are most flattering are the authentic
ones. The most authentic ones are
the ones that are a pure reflection of the artist. The least authentic ones are the ones that are a reflection
of what the artist wants the viewer to think is the artist. Those suck.
40. Jimmy, we appreciate
your explanation. And we
understand what you are talking about there. It's a very good lesson for you,
and us - failure always is, weÕre big fans of it. The 'real world' is everywhere and you should look at your
entire life that way. It's one of
the reasons that, as we told you in our first meeting, we firmly believe no
matter how old or young or inexperienced someone is and regardless of the task
they are performing, they should be paid for their work. Some kind of payment, even if it is
just a trade for services. This is
how the entire world goes round and always has, commerce and barter. It creates
responsibility and accountability and rewards people properly. Treat someone like an adult and they
will hopefully behave like one. That's why we prefer to adopt a no bullshit attitude - it's not at all
to simply be an asshole, although we have been called one before. In fact, it's the exact opposite - our
objective is to be honest and clear. We find that when we are very clear and direct in terms of what we want
and expect, the world responds with clarity and directness. Sometimes the answer is "no",
but at least then we know that quickly and we can move on to someone or
something else where the answer is "yes". Communication is essential - it's what makes the world
work. And not work, when it
doesn't happen transparently. Muistardeaux Collective employs a lot of play in our work - we do and
play what we like to do and play, first and foremost because it feels good and
is true to what we like to do and play. ThatÕs how we feel good as artists, being honest and
clear with our audience about us and about what makes us tick, and importantly
about what we find interesting, strange and amusing in the world around us,
because no one can deny that the world is an outrageously interesting, strange
and amusing place. Sometimes
someone might interpret our playfulness and absurdity as meaning that we lack
seriousness in our work and are just having a good time - and we have been
confronted with that in the past, don't worry you are not the first. But this
is incorrect and shortsighted. We
are very serious about our play and our absurdity, and we are very deliberate
about it and how it interacts with our environment and context, because we are
very serious about presenting a fully authentic expression of us and who we
are, how our minds work and how we see the world today right now. The ultimate goal in life, for anyone
we believe, is to be happy. And
the best way we've found to do that is by being ourselves 100%. The art world struggles with an
authenticity problem, many artists do and write and say and create things that
they believe will look good or sound good or be impressive to others. That stuff sucks. Mainly because it's not real, created
by people who live at least partially in fear. Good luck with your work - you know by now that we wouldn't
say that unless we meant it. Enjoy
yourself.
41. eric has something to say now
42.5 Hi, my name is
Eric Gibbons. I am an artist
working on photographs.
43. I am very concerned with craft! YouÕre damn right I am committed to the photographic image
not because of Lacan or, or , or
Barthes; more because of Narcissus.
The image is the signifier . The photographic image has transformed all prior concepts of knowledge,
and by extension all of art.
By working solely in photography, I am mining and exploiting the
seductive image of the truth.
Finding the reasons why the photographic image, while pervasively
manipulated, still, as an object, signifies fact.
My images are completely devoid of fact, yet they exist (or existed) in the physical world.But I
control them, I place them, I light them, and of course, I frame them.
A feeling is the most nuanced experience a human being can have.
Walking on the moon wouldnÕt mean much without the feeling attached to
the factual event.
Through all ways a photographic image can be explored I find the routes
to document the nuance of feeling under the guise of the cameraÕs insistence on
documented fact.
44.
.........................
45. the streets are full of tears and it
means Clarence on the bass, but Clarence is actual laying down some slide
guitar. And the sky is crying.
46. Honestly, we donÕt
like being told what to do.
47. But we are lifelong
learners. If the guy from the
beatles was all like: try it this
way mate, weÕd be all like: OK.
48. Hubris!!!!!!
49. If any of this sounds
contradictory or redundant, a lot of it probably is in a number of spots. Shit, we are sorry. The world doesnÕt always make sense to
us.
50. What we think we know
and believe right now is what we think we know and believe right now. If we have pricked you in some way, if
any of this rings particularly true or if you simply like what you see or read
or hear here, then by all means buy a slice of us. Buy lots. If
not, then please find another artist or any other something or someone that
does prick your interest, and buy a slice of them. There are a lot of things in the world. Tally Ho!
51. ThereÕs a saying that goes something like: Take one step towards
Allah, and Allah takes a two step toward you. Our work is about trust and about faith. ItÕs about having the trust to take a
leap of faith on something thatÕs impossible to completely define or even
confirm, knowing full well that when we believe in it, it responds.
52. We do collaboration. Khyssup Muistardeaux is no longer with
us. Her spot is now undeniably
filled by Muistardeaux, something that we can only describe as God.
53. What we do with rhythm and melody and art is create our own version
of perfection. And the way that we do that together is by being acutely aware
of what the other person is creating and by feeding off it and by being
absorbed by it but also by not being beholden to what the other person is
playing. Perfection is about letting go when you innately know that it is
right.
54. Clement
Greenberg=Identity=Group Identity=Sucks
Okwui Enwezor=Identity=Group Identity=Yeah!
Muistardeaux=Identity=Muistardeaux
55. Knowledge can be boring. Smart rarely is.
56. "Wouldn't it be great if we _________?" This is a
question that we often ask ourselves, sometimes a bunch of times a day, and
very often when we are discussing a project. The answer is almost always
"Fuck yeah!"
71. California is a great
place, there is always lots of sunshine and ways to enjoy yourself.
88. Khyssup Muistardeaux
is an ancient being that spent a lot of time on mountain tops eating milky ways
and surveying.
57. We are selling 100% commitment.
58. The notion of 'community' is a contentious issue right now in the
art world. It is a foundation for multiculturalists who believe in the power of
the community and the importance of giving voice to all communities. But
theorists like Slavoj Zizek, and to a certain extent Giorgio Agambem and Michel
Foucault, argue that community is toxic, corrupting - community breeds the
exclusion of the 'other' - and that it plays into the hands of the ruling polis
and the play of power relations that dominates every society. Ultimately,
community strips away the power of the individual. Muistardeaux Collective
celebrates the notion of the individual - "yes, you CAN do that." But
this celebration is for the collective individual, the collective id, the
collective ego. This is the power of the couple. The 'duo' is the only
potential community without the dangers and toxicity of community.
59. Lighting a fart on fire is ALWAYS funny.
60. Is this the manifest two? Lots of good information , specially "Schopenhawer"( can't ever
spell it right...) ideas about Music , Lorenzo 's atractor and Jack Derrida's
deconstruction pointers , i myself are inclined to feel very Dada about
everything that relates to art... having said that , music is the only thing i
take a bit more seriuosly , yet ,
a la Cage... Looking forward to
spend some time with you and your extremely handsome friend , gay is welcome ,
so are agnostic , atheous and
anarquic inclinations , long live Evo Morales , salud !! m.
61. What it all boils down to is that our work is about world peace.
62. Our Collective is a two-person monarchy, which is essentially a
single all-encompassing two-person entity made up of two smaller, complementary
but still separate one-person entities. Like a continent made up of two
countries, both monarchical, that work seamlessly and peacefully together, to
make the whole shebang a much better shebang. It's a deauxarchy. Our experiment
is like any other: testing a hypotheses at its simplest and most stripped down
level to prove that something is scientifically possible when and if it is
expanded onto a grand scale. But instead of working to prove that synthetic
biology can successfully manufacture a living organism from scratch, we are
working to prove that world peace is achievable.
74. iPhones are way cooler
than Blackberries, but have crap reception and a lot of dropped calls. This is to say, listen to your heart.
87. Music is a great way
to speak from the heart. Art is
too, but there's always someone who wants to call your heart a liar-NOT COOL.
82. Mustaches come and go,
lips remain.
63. The Blue Angels are worth every single penny of our taxpayer
dollars. Anyone who doesn't believe that is not an American who has seen those
people buzz Coit Tower with a howling arcing turn not 50 feet from the top of
the tower and rip through hundreds of cubic miles of three-dimensional
atmospheric space in seconds with a power and grace that makes birds seem
stupid, clumsy and self-conscious. These pilots are the most talented humans on
earth, uberbeings on the physical and mental level of the very best six
physicists in the world, operating machines that are the absolute pinnacle of
engineering. The only thing on the planet that potentially rivals these guys is
the black panther.
64. Most of this stuff can be learned from the Star Wars Trilogy; i.e.
"Do or do not, there is no try"
69. Truth.
75. We do all of the
social sciences. We do pre-med and
post-med. We work as an
electrician for a year. Or
litigate a divorce trial. This is
economic geography. Counseling. Infomercials. Chemistry. ItÕs
playing the baritone saxophone for the first time. And singing the best John Denver cover you can without
knowing any of the words. We do
alchemy. We do alchemy.
83. Congratulations everyone! Enjoy everything!
81. a decent movie is
Carlito's Way.
65. Some day we're going to be gone and people will be looking and
listening and either conjuring us up or not. In order for that to happen, we
have to put something of ourselves in it.
66. Ying - Yang. WeÕd love
to talk a lot about this, because itÕs really ALL there is to talk about and
itÕs also the most important thing weÕve brought to the table today. But thereÕs no time right now. Pull us aside later if you are
interested.
67. We donÕt know if "Life is short" is the oldest clichˇ in
the book. But weÕre pretty sure
that someday it will be.
69. Whoever said that a great artist couldn't make a lot of money in
the infomercial business?
70. Kimmerly is a pretty
sweet album.