So we had to write manifestos i.e. write in 5 sentences, then 3 and then just one measly sentence what kind of art we'll make and how the hell we're going to go about it. It was hard. I'm 22. I don't know! Don't force me to make decisions I don't want to make. Or worse yet, force me to voice out loud what my deepest, most secret dreams are, just in case I don't achieve them and I'll have evidence and then in later life I can pretend to be satisfied with mediocrity and can't pretend I didn't have dreams and no-one look back and say "oh shame, you tried and failed."Anyway! *Author decides to end emotional, scared and self-deprecating rant*
This is the manifesto for Dogme 95 (Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg's film collective), which I thought was kind of inspiring:
The goal of the Dogme collective is to purify filmmaking by refusing
expensive and spectacular special effects, post-production modifications
and other technical gimmicks.
The filmmakers concentrate on the story and the actors' performances.
They believe this approach may better engage the audience, as they are
not alienated or distracted by overproduction. To this end, Lars von
Trier and Thomas Vinterberg produced ten rules to which any Dogme film
must conform. These rules, referred to as the "Vow of Chastity," are as
follows:
- Filming must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in. If a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found.
- The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed.
- The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. The film must not take place where the camera is standing; filming must take place where the action takes place.
- The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable (if there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
- Optical work and filters are forbidden.
- The film must not contain superficial action (murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
- Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden (that is to say that the film takes place here and now).
- Genre movies are not acceptable.
- The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
With that inspiration in mind, how do I go about my manifesto? *Author sighs and has to admit that even she knows that if she doesn't put it out there, it ain't never going to come true... also, it's pretty general and doesn't go into the detail that exists in her head about actual dreams and goals... like living in Paris and Tokyo, studying curating and design, being a REAL ARTIST... oh shit, now I said them*
I endeavour, as a contemporary artist, to act as a cultural agent:
to observe, document and comment on my perception and experience of society. I will create work that is both visually and intellectually evocative
but not didactic. I will use every skill, tool and medium available to me to a multidisciplinary body of work.
