In any event, the point is that unforeseeable circumstances that call into question an existing understanding of life, function to progress and move humanity forward. They prevent the rigidity of custom and tradition by forcing outdated modes of thought to be discarded in favour of those that more accurately represent the times. In this way, those moments of critical insight symbolise raw and energised potential. They offer the possibility for further development.
How, you might ask, does any of this relate to art and aesthetics? As discussed, while anything technically can be intuited aesthetically as art, great art commands a degree of pleasure and might rightly be classified as ‘beautiful’. This art facilitates a connection to the world that is inarticulate yet undeniable. It is not just a brilliant masterpiece hanging in a gallery but could be an inscription in the sand, chalk on pavement or a performance in the park. We cannot control how we respond to it aesthetically, it is automatic and reflexive.
–from the Spray Campaign manifesto.
(image from that site, from a stencil by Meek)
