The Zooid Art Movement was founded by Yianni Johns in 2002.
How we experience Art is not fundamentally physical, it is about our thoughts and feelings, our fantasies and imaginative play, our responses to our natural and cultural milieux. Art is an essential ingredient which contributes to society by enriching its culture and the standard of living of those who participate in it.
We now find ourselves at an important crossroad in terms of where and how Art is to be taken into the new era, for the term The Death of Art is being currently used by both the academics and the wider general public, this is a term as Zooids we want to abolish.
Biologists and linguists who study living systems tell us that you can never really direct a living system, whether its an ecosystem, a company, a group of people or an individual - you can only disturb it. As Zooidians we should take it upon ourselves to disturb the very foundations of the art world and inturn instigate dramatic changes.
Everything around us is changing all the time: cells, individuals, systems, environments, rules, priorities - even change changes. It is impossible to stay with fixed thought and ideas, for things become stagnant. As Zooidians we should be ever aware of this factor and be flexible enough with our subject matter and techniques; they should reflect our times.
It seems that much of the contemporary art in circulation today is solely concerned with artistic materials, techniques, influences, what in a broad sense could be called engineering elements. These elements are a very important factor in the creation of art; however, first and foremost, art should be FELT. Emotion is the necessary filter through which impressions are processed in order to be capable of having any significant impact on the mind.
We are currently living in the Information Age; an era in which we are constantly bombarded with images through the television, advertising, magazines, newspapers and more recently the World Wide Web. It is our Challenge as Zooidians to present images that may imprint on the minds of our viewers, ones which are inspirational, confrontational and also which delve into the world of human fantasy.
As artists our works should connect with the viewer, speak to them through mental phenomena: its themes and symbols, its ambiguities and tensions, its ironies and paradoxes. We should seek to develop introspective and meditative skills which will sharpen our powers of perception, interpretation and criticism. These skills will help refine and deepen our thoughts and feelings, as well as enhance our expressions of them through our work.
As Albert Einstein said, problems cannot be solved within the mindset that created them. If this is true then we as Zooids should start shaking that tree, whether it be, the tree of life or the tree of knowledge and understanding (but just dont go near a frangipanni tree).
The ideal is to discover the significance and complexity of our personal responses to life and to express them in a concrete form, as it were the Song of our Experiences. Art is personal; however it should be shared in order to make an impact on the world.
As Zooids we want to Bring Art back to the People, to take our creativity from the inner circle of the fine arts establishment and to thrust it back into the faces of the general public. We are in the midst of setting up a network of gallery spaces within the centre of Sydney, three being already up and running within the past year and further negotiations are underway. These are all hotel settings, often taking over entire floors or establishments and have been attracting thousands of people.
The reasoning behind this focus is that people often feel intimidated venturing into the austere surroundings of most modern galleries. This is where the galleries in pubs come into play. There is no pressure and there is definitely no snobbery when it comes to this type of venue. When people buy it is because of the first rule of Art, they love the painting.
Most of the Openings are geared up to engage the public in the Art happening type of event. With rave reviews, both the punters and the artists love our events, 520 people at the biggest this year. 400 people at the opening of The Northern Exposure exhibition at The Captain Cook (Sept 04) and up to 800 people a week filter through the gallery. Very strong numbers.
The ITZA (International Talented Zooid Artists) Art Movement has been established as a direct consequence of this type of Art environment. We are dedicated to moving Art forward at the same time protecting it. This is serious stuff (and enormous fun).
You will here from the Zooids in the Future.
The audience is ready, ARE YOU?
Zooid... an organic body or cell capable of spontaneous movement and of an existence more or less apart from or independent of the parent organism.
