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Brief introduction to Quantum Aesthetics
By Manolo Caro and John Murphy A
year and a half ago, an acquaintance of ours asked us to translate into
English a manifesto that a group of artists and writers had put together.
Even though these artists come from all over the world and work with
different kinds of materials and techniques, they joined efforts to
open a space for creation and debate that broke away from an artistic
paradigm that they considered to be passé, and even corrupt. This group
of artists, storytellers, poets, psychologists, photographers, and crafters
call themselves the Quantum Aesthetics Group, and propose a way of doing
art and producing literature that has its theoretical basis in quantum
physics. Although quantum principles have already revolutionized physics,
these artists believe that these ideas should also revolutionize artistic
and literary production, for all matter is made out of the same subatomic
particles that are the focus of quantum physics. Opposing the rigid and binary logic of the past, quantum artists propose
uncertainty, fuzziness, and the interpenetration of the opposites as
basic to their project. Rejecting the tyranny of social structures and
groups, these activists advocate a liberating process of individuation
and self-creation. Rather than differentiating reality into naturally
exclusive levels, quantum artists believe that these levels are intertwined
and thus inseparable. These three principles of quantum art presuppose
that the human being is at the basis of all knowledge and reality: human
beings are the creators of their worlds. The members of the group apply these—albeit not only—principles
to their work in a very personal and unique manner. However, they are
in permanent contact with and help each other in their creations by
sharing discoveries, interesting ideas, and artistic paths to explore.
Quantum artists are also engaged activists whose work is born with the
responsibility of contributing to the construction of a more fair and
humane society. Gregorio Morales, for example, bases his literary
work on the integration of quantum principles and Jungian psychology.
With his stories, characters, and novels, Morales fights against apathy
and standardization, and, accordingly, support self-actualization. For
José Gabriel Ceballos, the concept of synchronicity—for him, something
akin to a wishful chance—opens
infinite possibilities with respect to exploring the relationships between
matter and thought. Francisco Plata believes that poets are thieves
who steal realities because they are capable of invoking feelings, thoughts,
images, and worlds with their words. Writing is thus the process of
extending creation ad infinitum. The quantum poet, says Plata, creates
a path for exploring new worlds and realities for his/her readers. Xaverio,
on the other hand, bases his most recent work—little beautiful
paintings with suggestive colors and textures (see the cover page of
The Modern-Post)—on the wave-corpuscle duality of light, and makes
the observer create, recreate, and, in general, play with this duality.
Indeed, in one of Xaverio’s installations, “Colores para pasear”
(Waking colors), the audience changes the artwork—color, brightness,
etc.—by moving around the work. Thus, the work of art, and also
reality, is a process, a world of possibilities, a condition of fuzziness
that is brought to realization by the audience—or the artist, as
Andrés Monteagudo argues. The only way such a fuzzy and fluid situation
or field can be shown in one moment is through the simultaneous presentation
of the successive moments of existence. Slightly different “repetitions”
thus become the central theme in the work of Monteagudo (see for example
the back cover of the magazine). But we have talked enough! Should there be any questions or comments, please
contact us and we will be happy to provide you with several articles
we have written, and submitted to various journals, about quantum aesthetics.
Now let the artists express themselves through their works and words! The Modern Post, Spring Semester 2000, Volume V. No.
2, |
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