SURREALISM AND ITS ENEMIES by Keith Wigdor
Note: A Very Special Thanks to my Surrealist Friends and Comrades: Kris Kuksi, Carrie Ann Baade and Peter Lewis for their collaboration and art!
ALL ARTWORKS COPYRIGHT OF KEITH WIGDOR, KRIS KUKSI, PETER LEWIS and CARRIE ANN BAADE. ART IMAGES PROTECTED BY INT. COPYRIGHT
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| Artwork by KRIS KUKSI 2007 |
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The enemies of Surrealism need to be addressed for the benefit of understanding the movement and its principles. First, we must discuss WHO the enemies are and their impact on our lives and our daily activities. It is Capitalism and Religion who are the enemies of Surrealism. Both have taken their toll on the world, and not all for the better. Each system masks itself as the great benefactor of humanity and its progress, leaving behind those people existing outside of the parameters to suffer the alienation that these systems produce. Look at the history of the past 20th century and what we have inherited today.
I am writing this essay from the United States of America, where the current president is George W. Bush. The country, that is, the USA, is greatly divided over the issues of the War in Iraq, Global Warming, the Economy, and Domestic Issues: Hurricane Katrina Aid, still dealing with Racial issues and Prejudice, (the recent Don Imus Scandal, same sex marriage, etc). Upon contemplating and reflecting on Bush and the current administration under his leadership, its rather obvious that Bush and his network are really a, "SYMPTOM" of the problems of Capitalism (and Imperialism, Christianity, etc). Bush and Co. are just really opportunists taking advantage of a system, that is, a capitalist democratic system, that has always been corrupt at its very core.
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| THE OFFERING by Keith Wigdor Photomontage 2001 |
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Look at the above social issues at hand. Have they developed on their own over the course of the past century into the 21st century or have they been developed by failures of the established system over time? The question arises. The base and shape of Capitalism and Democracy is grounded in the abstract, that is Capitalism and Democracy exists as a static abstract concept that really does not exist in the natural sense. The illusion of these two particular systems has never proven its premise that they are truly representative of a natural state of affairs, that is of Nature itself.
In order for Capitalism and Democracy to carry on with its agenda, its purpose and proportion, it must maintain its essentially self-dissolving qualities, to engage the capabilities of what it intends to carry out. Armaments being used as "instruments of civilization" which supports the producer’s constant state of enforcement (the producers always being the owners of production). A strict and rigid "code of conduct" within the workplace and schools, etc., that patent their own claim to the products generated from induced labor, creation directed under the supervision of others.
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| AUTOMATIC SEDUCTION OF THE VIRTUAL DEMOCRACY by Keith Wigdor Photomontage 2002 |
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Any tactical concessions made by groups of working peoples are compromised by the inferred, "agreement", that in order to conform and be subjected to produce is assumed to be a natural state of affairs, in order to survive and maintain one’s well-being and life. This particular realm of existence under Capitalism and Democracy is not inevitable, it is not apprehended by the conditions of truth, but by a detailed contradiction masking itself as genuine. Liberating Iraq to install "Democracy and Freedom" to a region where all the standards of life are dictated by Islam is a perfect example of Capitalism and Democracy as an illusion, not the "all saving benefactor of progress and development".
How far can the dynasties maintain their accumulated wealth, while at the same time undoubtedly starting at a point of enormous advantage, where the rest world, (regarding those who exist out of the margins of interconnected families of wealth) do not have a chance to accumulate their own, "wealth"? The people of Iraq are a good example in this case, as with many people in under-developed countries. What is constantly expressed over and over again is the confidence and self-confidence of the architects of power who try to "explain" their agenda as an acute perfection of truth and triumph over "evil". Bush uses this word "evil" a great deal in his speeches, go figure.
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| FROM THE GARDENS OF THE BRAIN POLICE by Keith Wigdor Photomontage 2002 |
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Capitalism in general contains the greatest paradox of all. Competition, that is, economic competition, inevitably leads to concentrations of power, economic manipulation of markets by specialized firms, those led by the above mentioned families. This created a dependency of the under-developed countries to be reliant on the developed countries, thus, where does the paradigm of balance and fairness, relating to proper sharing of wealth takes place? It’s a total contradiction and very obvious.
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| Church Tank by KRIS KUKSI Mixed Media Sculpture |
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"But as the progress of democracy is the result of general social development, an advanced society, while commanding a greater share of political power, will, at the same time, protect the State from democratic excesses. If the latter should anywhere prevail, for a time, they will be promptly repressed.
Sir T. Erskine May, 1877
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| PROTEST IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF DEMOCRACY by Peter Lewis |
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The chief victims of this disillusion are us, who are grouped together and labeled as "consumers" and get their "social criticism" from the media, (the concentrated media), and are led to believe that this manufactured discourse is thoroughly authentic. This accounts for the confusion, the divided against the divided, who accept and adhere to the values of the current Roman Republic, that will eventually fall with time, as did the old one. We are the consumers of an outdated consciousness. It all relies on a common sentiment that only serves the self-serving reflection that it produces.
The New Imperialism is not like the New Imperialism of the late 1800’s, where there was a concentrated effort for exploration of land resources etc, but now there exists a concentrated effort for free market labor driven by technological progress, that is extremely static. Here, the human labor is being replaced by robotic assembly lines, also consider the fact that there are changes taking place in manufacturing on the molecular level as well. Powerful Multinational Investment and Banking Firms dictate the current capitalist agenda and its hegemony of oil, militarization and corporate martial law, etc., over the masses. The new machines that uproot countrymen are not steamships and internal combustion engines, but microchips and microprocessors.
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| PARANOID INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX by Peter Lewis |
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One product of Capitalism and Imperialism from the last century is Global Warming, a dynamic climate change where the earth’s atmosphere is building up enormous levels of greenhouse gas making the earth’s oceans rise and surface hotter. The predictions from scientists state that if this problem continues to go unchecked, life on earth will be in peril and they have the evidence to prove it. It makes you wonder why this issue was ignored for so long until now, but a lot of damage to the environment has already taken place. Will the benefactors of Capitalism come through to save the day and prevent the tragic predictions made from these scientists? IF there is a profit to be made from reversing this trend, as currently being done with this "Greener Cities" program sponsored by mayors from all over the world, maybe so, but it appears to be rather superficial at face value.
Halfway through this introduction, we are examining the very essence of Capitalism’s manipulation, the manipulation of external and inorganic nature: an outer world, one dictated by numbers, the virtual digits that are constantly in our minds, consciously and subconsciously. The modern temples of capitalism where the enormous concentrations of power exist always appear (this is a fact) to be fortified, under guard, separated from the public who are kept out of the "temple". The motto, (more precisely RULE) is, "LOOK, DON’T TOUCH". This external presentation of Capitalism’s inaccessible features falsely impart pleasantness to the external conditions of our lives. The price tags speak for themselves. Nothing exists to the level where it even masks itself as a remote acquaintance!
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| BOW DOWN BEFORE THE ONE YOU SERVE by Peter Lewis |
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This thought leads me to contemplate Religion, with three of the world’s leading religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The deception that takes place in all three of these belief systems is astounding! All three rely heavily on faith, a faith that presupposes the very core of man’s destiny, his own free will, which is to be subordinated to the political and cultural roles held by the aristocracy of each particular religion. How does the "Divine" revel its light to those not appointed? Does the "Divine" adhere to any universal validity without any intervention from clergy, cleric, rabbi, or council? The idea of sin is composed of the most prominent abstractions in the history of man’s thought. When can it be clarified that a sin against the "Divine" is a sin against "Society? Granted all three belief systems strive for the ultimate aim of moral improvement, but at what costs? Look at the current state of affairs between Judaism and Islam, and Christianity’s total incompetence and secularism ,or more precisely, detachment, in resolving the conflicts and its own internal ones. Even the History of all three faiths provide an enormous record of military and political struggles against conquered (and colonized) peoples. Speaking of Christianity, also, lets not forget the brutal murder of Hypatia of Alexandria, one of the most brilliant of all philosophers at the hands of the Christians.
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| ST.RAGE by Carrie Ann Baade 2006 |
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Surrealism, first and foremost, stands firm in its total objection to any institutions and belief systems where its teachings are harbored and governed by set and predetermined experiences and knowledge. This is considered to be total hypocrisy, for Surrealism strives towards the Automatic, where chance destroys all the root causes and social contexts of personal consequences. Total Liberation of the Mind comes when Total Resistance takes place. In order for Surrealism to keep on progressing well into the 21st century and beyond, all the barriers of Capitalism and Religion, along with Rationalism and Logic must be destroyed. This is not DaDa. This is where bell hooks RISES, this is where Freire, Bachelard, Foucault, etc, RISES! This is where SURREALISM RISES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| THE EXOTIC KISS OF DOGMA WHICH BREEDS MALICE by Keith Wigdor |
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After reading the above essay, you will probably reach a conclusion that this was a rant, another radical artist bitching about Capitalism and all its support systems. Well, before you reach any conclusions, why don't you take a good hard look at the Video below, its very revealing, trust me!
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