Information

Background & Philosophy

The I.A.M. is a grassroots movement, and it exists to create a continuing culture of change within the arts. Through the means of mass media, corporate sponsorship, and unjust privileges, the face of the arts across all genres vehemently resist change, which is not in the nature of, nor in the best interest of the arts themselves, nor in the best interests of those that study the arts in their current condition. Advantages based on class, culture, and a classically conditioned consumer environment have left the airways, bookshelves, playhouses, cinemas, and turntables empty of content and innovation. It is not the intention of the I.A.M. to dictate what should be in these locations, but to bring about the realization to the masses that something must replace what exists. The voice of the arts has dwindled down to catchy slogans, catch phrases, and attractive logos whose only purpose is capturing the consumer long enough to make a purchase, instead of capturing their imaginations and lives. Art is more than the marketing strategy or formula it has been placed within to make a quick buck, and I.A.M. is a vehicle created to threaten its current state, and reveal a more accurate representation of the arts as being what is actually on people’s hearts and minds, and a catalyst for change.

“I am” is simply “to be”, or “being” and nothing more. It is about self definition first and self expression last and the creation of these things in a culture that teaches collective thoughtlessness and dependence. The I.A.M. seeks to do three things:

Create a platform for artists and help them to discover, strengthen, and share their voice (esteem).
Make artists responsible for the voice that they decide to share as it concerns humanity (morality).
Create a new standard of excellence in the arts, by not only producing work, but by also promoting good works with readings, viewings, lists, and articles.

The Two Communities
Within all the organizations that fall under the umbrella of the I.A.M. there will be a dynamic, a relationship shared between two communities: The working community, which are those artists who have the ability and the desire to reach others, and the greater community, which is often the others that need reaching. The purpose of the IAM is to further the understanding and the meaning of the art and its purpose and to make the studied and produced works relevant to the working community, who will then use the discovered relevance to move the greater community.

Working Community: Those individuals that have proven an understanding concerning the nature of art and its usefulness as it concerns any community, and those that have disciplined themselves to the engagement of one of the many forms of art to spread a message.

Greater Community: Those individuals that, because of their level of exposure and day to day responsibilities, only see art as a means for escape and entertainment who unknowingly act as conduits to the messages they receive while being engaged.

Art and its Interpretive Nature
Since it is the intention of the I.A.M. to work through the arts, art or how the I.A.M. intends to use it must be defined and the interpretive nature of the arts must in some way be remedied if it is indeed to have purpose. Art is defined in many ways, and it is often defined through the subjective eye in dealing with the esthetic experience created, but the I.A.M. only needs to deal with the objective side of defining it. Objectively, art is simply a means of connection between the creator and the receiver. The connection itself is art. It is a simple thing to understand, but simple is not to be confused with easy. With this definition, any connection can be viewed as art, a stanza, a paragraph, a picture, a voice, a touch, a series of movements, anything that can create a connection between one and another, but the simplicity is complicated by the nature of the connection. In that nature, what must be discussed is the intention of the transmission from sender and the clarity of the reception to receiver, often called interpretation.

As many things are, that must travel between one and another, art is interpretive. Language itself is highly interpretable, and there whole division of philosophy (semantics) that only deals with the simplification of it to create concision. Art, often using language, is no different and also falls pray to misunderstandings. Because of this reason, with the intention of art being purposeful, the I.A.M. respects all art but it is focused upon works that are written. Most work begins in written form, outside of visual arts, so the scope of the I.A.M. is still tremendous. The only purpose of writing is communication, as it is just a recordable form of speech, also used for communication. With differences in culture, and levels of education, writing is still open to interpretation, but the space in which misunderstanding can fill is much smaller in writing than it is in visual works or music (scripted movies, plays, and songs are also products of writing). The I.A.M. intends to focus on writing, which is the beginning stage of most work, with the intention to have meaning, purpose, at the inception of these works. It must be the goal of purposeful artists, even within the realm of writing, to be exacting as possible in their message.

Art deals heavily with inference as it is difficult for the nature of emotional expression to be exacting, but the artist must intend to be exacting as possible. Because of the interpretative nature of art, the artist must be extremely exacting concerning motivation and intention to express a specific message instead of something that is open to interpretation. Open to interpretation only means something has no meaning at all. If something can be everything to everybody, it is no thing (nothing) at all because it only relies on he or she who defines it with their relevant personal experience. That is not the art that changes the world. All forms of art can give an esthetic experience, but few, anything beyond that, stripping it of purpose. So the I.A.M. will focus on writing, because it is the most apt to transmit clear message between one and another. Art has levels, and the deepest level of intended meaning comes through in writing.

Art Chart

Art: the means by which one connects to another.
* The conditions of the reader, or the community of its reading, often determine what category a piece falls within, concerning the first three groups. For example, a piece with a narrow scope such as the trials of a debutant may indeed be escapist for a person living in the projects (housing projects), but not for a debutant. The intended purpose is in the hands of the artist, but the actual purpose and the interpretation is in the hands of the audience.*

Escapist Art: Work that is escapist bears little to no resemblance to reality when concerning the reader. A person may choose a particular piece of this nature that has no bearing on his or her life, in an attempt to escape the conditions of their existence at least momentarily.
Abstract Art: Work that is abstract is grounded in the reality of the reader, but it is highly interpretive. It only seeks an emotional response with no regard as to whether it is positive or negative.
Reflective Art: Work that is reflective, deals with the current conditions of the reader. Whether it is set in the present or not, the conflicts and the emphasis placed upon them are intended to increase the readerâ€™s awareness of their condition.
*The I.A.M. wants to focus on reflective works as they have the highest potential in making a purposeful connection with an audience. The reflective art category can be broken down into smaller categories, some with a positive light on reality and some with a negative tone.*
Utopic: Work that predicts a positive future through the judgment of present trends (often religious).
Fulfillment: Work that involves a connection or completion of some sort. It can be a physical connection (love story) or an understanding or appreciation that is arrived at.
Data: Documentary or sometimes and autobiography where the opinion of the author is omitted and it is just a recounting of events.
Unfulfilled: Work that involves a missed connection or a wanted connection that is never fulfilled.
Reactive: A reactive piece is often a result of something unfulfilled. A reactive piece is a result of, the emotional reaction (often anger or sadness) of dissatisfaction or betrayal.
Dystopic: Work that predicts a negative future through the judgment of present trends.

Most pieces can fit somewhere within these categories with how they are intended to reach an audience and all have their strengths and weaknesses and it is up to the artist to chose how best to reach his or her audience.

Art and Meaning

Art Defined (General):

Art is simply expression, so regardless of intent or technique all can be classified as art or viewed as artistic. The creator’s intention is expression, because all who create are in fact expressing themselves, and if the receiver finds something to be expressive, it is art. It is at least art as it has been defined for the present culture.

Its current state is supported by most and has been whittled to its contemporary form by countless years of friction. What it is today, is what it is and resisting what it is, for those that believe it to be more, at least at the level of definition, is a waste of energy. Art is expression and it is unlimited.

Art Defined (Functional):

Functional art exists at a deeper level of definition than art in general, so it cannot be without limit. Function itself, is a product of definition, whereas the function is a prescribed movement that relies on a particular set of instructions. Functional art necessitates a deeper intimacy between the producing body and the receiving body, a standard by which it is to be measured, an understanding, an expectation.

This relationship defines a demand which is the difference between art that can only be defined as general art and art that is functional. At this level of definition, art has a desired function where the understanding artist can encourage movement, growth, or a displacement of some sort from the understanding audience.

General art falls outside of this definition, although still art and still expression, it lies beyond a definite standard by which one can create change, measure the change created, or even embed an expectation or purpose. General art is not the type of art that can be organized, nor can it organize others, so to further engagement in it, concerning the goal of this ministry, is futile. From this point on, only functional art will be discussed.

Aesthetics and Meaning:

Whether or not art is functional lies heavily upon the creator, his or her intended function with the art, and how successfully the function is expressed to the receiver. The strength of this connection is based entirely upon the shared standard mentioned in the previous paragraph and why an expectation must exist.

In the realm of functional art the question is not of the expression, as in “is there expression?” but rather a question that concerns what is being expressed, why is it being expressed, and why is this expression important to the receiving audience?

At the component level all art is both aesthetics and meaning. Aesthetics is the study of beauty or the emphasis on beauty as it applies to the senses. Meaning is the thing that is conveyed. The function of art that is intended to be functional lies in meaning of the work but the aesthetics of art also holds a very important role as without the proper aesthetics few will be engaged long enough to consider the meaning.

Genre and medium have within them expectations as the balance between aesthetics and meaning are concerned. Now everything can be meaningful, but in terms of what an artist can convey to his or her audience, the form of expression can heavily blur meaning.

Photography, for example, is not a medium where meaning is easily conveyed as compared to others. Photography is one of the more interpretive art forms because the language is not defined beyond its appeal to the eyes, just as music is not defined beyond its appeal to the ears. This is in no way a minimization of those art forms, or any art for that matter, but an acknowledgement of the limits certain genres have upon trying to convey thoughts.

It took thousands of years for man to develop language, and written and spoken words are still the best way to convey meaning.



	Background & Philosophy The I.A.M. is a grassroots movement, and it exists to create a continuing culture of change within the arts. Through the means of mass media, corporate sponsorship, and unjust privileges, the face of the arts across all genres vehemently resist change, which is not in the nature of, nor in the best interest of the arts themselves, nor in the best interests of those that study the arts in their current condition. Advantages based on class, culture, and a classically conditioned consumer environment have left the airways, bookshelves, playhouses, cinemas, and turntables empty of content and innovation. It is not the intention of the I.A.M. to dictate what should be in these locations, but to bring about the realization to the masses that something must replace what exists. The voice of the arts has dwindled down to catchy slogans, catch phrases, and attractive logos whose only purpose is capturing the consumer long enough to make a purchase, instead of capturing their imaginations and lives. Art is more than the marketing strategy or formula it has been placed within to make a quick buck, and I.A.M. is a vehicle created to threaten its current state, and reveal a more accurate representation of the arts as being what is actually on people’s hearts and minds, and a catalyst for change. “I am” is simply “to be”, or “being” and nothing more. It is about self definition first and self expression last and the creation of these things in a culture that teaches collective thoughtlessness and dependence. The I.A.M. seeks to do three things: Create a platform for artists and help them to discover, strengthen, and share their voice (esteem). Make artists responsible for the voice that they decide to share as it concerns humanity (morality). Create a new standard of excellence in the arts, by not only producing work, but by also promoting good works with readings, viewings, lists, and articles. The Two Communities Within all the organizations that fall under the umbrella of the I.A.M. there will be a dynamic, a relationship shared between two communities: The working community, which are those artists who have the ability and the desire to reach others, and the greater community, which is often the others that need reaching. The purpose of the IAM is to further the understanding and the meaning of the art and its purpose and to make the studied and produced works relevant to the working community, who will then use the discovered relevance to move the greater community. Working Community: Those individuals that have proven an understanding concerning the nature of art and its usefulness as it concerns any community, and those that have disciplined themselves to the engagement of one of the many forms of art to spread a message. Greater Community: Those individuals that, because of their level of exposure and day to day responsibilities, only see art as a means for escape and entertainment who unknowingly act as conduits to the messages they receive while being engaged. Art and its Interpretive Nature Since it is the intention of the I.A.M. to work through the arts, art or how the I.A.M. intends to use it must be defined and the interpretive nature of the arts must in some way be remedied if it is indeed to have purpose. Art is defined in many ways, and it is often defined through the subjective eye in dealing with the esthetic experience created, but the I.A.M. only needs to deal with the objective side of defining it. Objectively, art is simply a means of connection between the creator and the receiver. The connection itself is art. It is a simple thing to understand, but simple is not to be confused with easy. With this definition, any connection can be viewed as art, a stanza, a paragraph, a picture, a voice, a touch, a series of movements, anything that can create a connection between one and another, but the simplicity is complicated by the nature of the connection. In that nature, what must be discussed is the intention of the transmission from sender and the clarity of the reception to receiver, often called interpretation. As many things are, that must travel between one and another, art is interpretive. Language itself is highly interpretable, and there whole division of philosophy (semantics) that only deals with the simplification of it to create concision. Art, often using language, is no different and also falls pray to misunderstandings. Because of this reason, with the intention of art being purposeful, the I.A.M. respects all art but it is focused upon works that are written. Most work begins in written form, outside of visual arts, so the scope of the I.A.M. is still tremendous. The only purpose of writing is communication, as it is just a recordable form of speech, also used for communication. With differences in culture, and levels of education, writing is still open to interpretation, but the space in which misunderstanding can fill is much smaller in writing than it is in visual works or music (scripted movies, plays, and songs are also products of writing). The I.A.M. intends to focus on writing, which is the beginning stage of most work, with the intention to have meaning, purpose, at the inception of these works. It must be the goal of purposeful artists, even within the realm of writing, to be exacting as possible in their message. Art deals heavily with inference as it is difficult for the nature of emotional expression to be exacting, but the artist must intend to be exacting as possible. Because of the interpretative nature of art, the artist must be extremely exacting concerning motivation and intention to express a specific message instead of something that is open to interpretation. Open to interpretation only means something has no meaning at all. If something can be everything to everybody, it is no thing (nothing) at all because it only relies on he or she who defines it with their relevant personal experience. That is not the art that changes the world. All forms of art can give an esthetic experience, but few, anything beyond that, stripping it of purpose. So the I.A.M. will focus on writing, because it is the most apt to transmit clear message between one and another. Art has levels, and the deepest level of intended meaning comes through in writing. Art Chart

	Art: the means by which one connects to another. * The conditions of the reader, or the community of its reading, often determine what category a piece falls within, concerning the first three groups. For example, a piece with a narrow scope such as the trials of a debutant may indeed be escapist for a person living in the projects (housing projects), but not for a debutant. The intended purpose is in the hands of the artist, but the actual purpose and the interpretation is in the hands of the audience.* Escapist Art: Work that is escapist bears little to no resemblance to reality when concerning the reader. A person may choose a particular piece of this nature that has no bearing on his or her life, in an attempt to escape the conditions of their existence at least momentarily. Abstract Art: Work that is abstract is grounded in the reality of the reader, but it is highly interpretive. It only seeks an emotional response with no regard as to whether it is positive or negative. Reflective Art: Work that is reflective, deals with the current conditions of the reader. Whether it is set in the present or not, the conflicts and the emphasis placed upon them are intended to increase the readerâ€™s awareness of their condition. The I.A.M. wants to focus on reflective works as they have the highest potential in making a purposeful connection with an audience. The reflective art category can be broken down into smaller categories, some with a positive light on reality and some with a negative tone. Utopic: Work that predicts a positive future through the judgment of present trends (often religious). Fulfillment: Work that involves a connection or completion of some sort. It can be a physical connection (love story) or an understanding or appreciation that is arrived at. Data: Documentary or sometimes and autobiography where the opinion of the author is omitted and it is just a recounting of events. Unfulfilled: Work that involves a missed connection or a wanted connection that is never fulfilled. Reactive: A reactive piece is often a result of something unfulfilled. A reactive piece is a result of, the emotional reaction (often anger or sadness) of dissatisfaction or betrayal. Dystopic: Work that predicts a negative future through the judgment of present trends. Most pieces can fit somewhere within these categories with how they are intended to reach an audience and all have their strengths and weaknesses and it is up to the artist to chose how best to reach his or her audience. Art and Meaning Art Defined (General): Art is simply expression, so regardless of intent or technique all can be classified as art or viewed as artistic. The creator’s intention is expression, because all who create are in fact expressing themselves, and if the receiver finds something to be expressive, it is art. It is at least art as it has been defined for the present culture. Its current state is supported by most and has been whittled to its contemporary form by countless years of friction. What it is today, is what it is and resisting what it is, for those that believe it to be more, at least at the level of definition, is a waste of energy. Art is expression and it is unlimited. Art Defined (Functional): Functional art exists at a deeper level of definition than art in general, so it cannot be without limit. Function itself, is a product of definition, whereas the function is a prescribed movement that relies on a particular set of instructions. Functional art necessitates a deeper intimacy between the producing body and the receiving body, a standard by which it is to be measured, an understanding, an expectation. This relationship defines a demand which is the difference between art that can only be defined as general art and art that is functional. At this level of definition, art has a desired function where the understanding artist can encourage movement, growth, or a displacement of some sort from the understanding audience. General art falls outside of this definition, although still art and still expression, it lies beyond a definite standard by which one can create change, measure the change created, or even embed an expectation or purpose. General art is not the type of art that can be organized, nor can it organize others, so to further engagement in it, concerning the goal of this ministry, is futile. From this point on, only functional art will be discussed. Aesthetics and Meaning: Whether or not art is functional lies heavily upon the creator, his or her intended function with the art, and how successfully the function is expressed to the receiver. The strength of this connection is based entirely upon the shared standard mentioned in the previous paragraph and why an expectation must exist. In the realm of functional art the question is not of the expression, as in “is there expression?” but rather a question that concerns what is being expressed, why is it being expressed, and why is this expression important to the receiving audience? At the component level all art is both aesthetics and meaning. Aesthetics is the study of beauty or the emphasis on beauty as it applies to the senses. Meaning is the thing that is conveyed. The function of art that is intended to be functional lies in meaning of the work but the aesthetics of art also holds a very important role as without the proper aesthetics few will be engaged long enough to consider the meaning. Genre and medium have within them expectations as the balance between aesthetics and meaning are concerned. Now everything can be meaningful, but in terms of what an artist can convey to his or her audience, the form of expression can heavily blur meaning. Photography, for example, is not a medium where meaning is easily conveyed as compared to others. Photography is one of the more interpretive art forms because the language is not defined beyond its appeal to the eyes, just as music is not defined beyond its appeal to the ears. This is in no way a minimization of those art forms, or any art for that matter, but an acknowledgement of the limits certain genres have upon trying to convey thoughts. It took thousands of years for man to develop language, and written and spoken words are still the best way to convey meaning.