My manifesto relates to spirituality, palm reading and other forms of supernatural connection that have an impact o the way society sees the world. Though the practice of meditation, humanity could have been much more awakened to the higher purposes in life instead of the constant focus on topics like financial success, relationships ad other things that, ultimately, don't matter once you visualize life differently.

I decided to make my manifesto in the form of a poem because I wanted to include part of my research from the Lyric Conceptualism Manifesto as well as the arty format of  Women's Art: A Manifesto by Valie Export.

As well as religious symbols, I researched on more spiritual and super-natural pathways such as palm reading and astrology and the symbology within the study of stars to inform societal behavior.

Personally, I find palm reading and horoscopes very reassuring and use them regularly when I need guidance in some aspects of my life however I always question its credibility because of the vagueness of the horoscopes themselves. I wonder to myself: How could the stars predict how I'll be feeling? How could the stars have such a strong role in our lives when we think were the ones in control of the decisions we make? To argue against that, I could simply have faith that whatever Higher Power is the universe itself, therefor including the stars we see and rely for advice.

When reading about Poulains work, I came across the religion Shintoism, which is one of Poulain's inspiration for his work.

I was very fascinated with the religion and decided to look into it.

I found Shintoism because it actually has no specific God or religious Higher Power to which people look up to.

It was often mixed up with Buddhism but it became clearer through the years that it wasn't, through its community growth and constant practice.

Shintō is more readily observed in the social life of the Japanese people and in their personal motivations than in a pattern of formal belief or philosophy. It remains closely connected with the Japanese value system and the Japanese people’s ways of thinking and acting.

Shintoism focuses on 4 specific affirmations which are:

I wanted to diversify my research on manifestos so I looked into some more pacific manifestos rather than such angry protest-led manifestos such as the Women's Art Led by Vallie Export.

The brief research of Shintoism led me to the research on spirituality and meditation as they are much more personal to my own beliefs. I also didn't want to base my project with a religion that I don't practice because it could be taken a cultural appropriation which goes against my principles.

Shintoism has its own symbology, which also led me to the research of other spiritual and supernatural symbology.

A Manifesto on Lyrical Conceptualism by Paul Hartal, 1975

Paul Hartal's 1975 manifesto on Lyrical Conceptualism put forward a theory of art that expressed the creative process as a journey of emotion and intellect, which denies the traditional belief that they are at odds with one another.

He writes: "Lyrical Conceptualism does not impose any formal limitations on the artist’s freedom. It merely suggests. Instead of competition it advocates cooperation.

Hartal was a strong believer of collaboration and expressed it through his writing, paintings and photography.

Much later,  Sina Queyras updated Hartal's version on the Manifesto and called it: Lyric Conceptualism: A Manifesto in Progress.

Queyras expresses that it was time for the Manifesto to grow from the complicated language in order for it to be used contemporarily. As an example, Queyras writes: 

"Lyric Conceptualism accepts the tension between the self and the poetic subject, wrestling always with the desire to give over to the poem and to be the poet in the poem."

I believe the update on the manifesto expresses some struggles within the poetry community and clarifies other misconceptions on poetry. I found this Manifesto intriguing because it was relevant enough for people to feel the need to update it.

Symbolist Manifesto: Published on September 18th, 1886 by Jean Moréas

The whole manifesto can be read here: http://theoria.art-zoo.com/symbolist-manifesto-jean-moreas/

In this case, the manifesto unfolds as an introduction of the document and then three stages: an opening argument, a dramatic intermezzo, and a closing argument. I believe this manifesto interested me through its use of straightforward language, although written in a complicated manner, it intrigues the viewer through its impactful statements. 

The manifesto expresses an angry revolt against early Romanticism and Naturalism in literature and art in general.

Moréas screams: "So Romanticism, having sounded all the tumultuous warning bells of uprising, had its days of glory and battle, lost of its force and its favour, abdicated its heroic boldness" I believe all of this anger comes from the need to change the narrative of Romanticism as Moréas felt that poets were no longer being creative in the way they expressed their ideas. "In this art, scenes from nature, human activities, and all other real-world phenomena will not be described for their own sake; here, they are perceptible surfaces created to represent their esoteric affinities with the primordial Ideals" Again, Moréas is saying that realism is a not acceptable in the art of writing because it doesn't give anything new to the reader. 

I want my own manifesto to revolutionise against something big within society, therefore I wanted to look at manifestos that were expressed in an angry manner. Although I don't agree fully with the Symbolist Manifesto itself as I believe that the existing can also make up very important art.