A.S.A. Manifesto

1. The practice of Great Art is primarily about invention and true to life, and the creation of something explorative and abstract is NOT art.

2. ‘The people’ hold age-old views about what constitutes art, or what constitutes artistic talent, this is true should be respected, other forms being explored or utilized should be discouraged and stamped out with passion and gusto.

3. The creation of Great Art is NOT more important than its consumption. Therefore, aesthetics are rated as a judgment of the worth of art.

4. Great Art is created slowly and thoughtfully and in low quantities. This work contains more merit and is more likely to be successful. True artists should pledge to the 20%/80% "rule": 80% of the effort is needed to get 20% of the quality, by being true to this rule artists will always remain diligent and proud.

5. Great Art can NEVER exist on the Internet or in ANY digital form, thus can NEVER be produced by machines or robots.

6. Great Art is always accessible without the need for any clandestine or oblique language or the interference of an art critic. Great Art stands by itself and does NOT need the written word to justify it. The relationship of common humanity shared by both the artist and the spectator should be enough.

7. Great Art coexists with life and is the result of the artist looking thoughtfully at the human situation, as he or she perceives it.

8. Great Art goes beyond time because human nature and human needs do NOT change.

9. Great Art is ONLY ever achieved through the highest standards of technical accomplishment and application because permanence is a characteristic of high merit.

10. Great Art grows out of a reverence for the Great Art there has been in the past. There is no purpose in the conscious search for innovation or originality. Those gifted few that are original by nature cannot help being so and must be shown the highest respect and those who are not cannot become so by contrivance.

11. Great Art is developed in the form of a spiral acquiring strength and muse from the past in order to thrust itself forwards.

12. Great Art is only ever shown in the context of a respectable gallery or museum, anything outside this context masquerading as art, is NOT art. (Except in the case of historical context e.g. the pyramids or ancient Rome.)

13. Great Art must support the status quo and simultaneously reflect the glory of Gods creation. Great Art is made to honor nature and the highest ideals of mankind and should NOT touch on mankind's darker, irrational side.

14. Great Artists MUST behave responsibly and respectfully, and through diligence and dedication to their technique demonstrate to young people the virtues and rewards of hard work. A Great work of Art is always made by a skilled craftsman over several weeks or months in order to be considered great or serious.

15. The value of Great Art must always be calculated by this equation: -
Craftsmanship X Time= Value/Greatness/Worth

16. Graffiti is NOT art; there is too much overt sexuality and violence (both mental and physical) in society today both expressed in noisy rock music and in many forms of contemporary art. As a direct result young people are disrespectful and antisocial. Graffiti is a type of anti-social behavior and must be dealt with using zero tolerance methods. In some parts of the country graffiti is destroying whole communities, and it is beginning to threaten Cornwall.

*NOTE
The ‘Anti Swiftie Association’ supports elitism and backs up a more “artistic than thou” approach, which successfully keeps the creation of art solely in the hands of the "audience". NOT everyone can make art. The name ‘Anti Swiftie Association’ does not mean to indicate that we are against the work of one artist only, but all artists we deem as a charlatans, this name serves as a ‘figure of speech’ for all barely discernible ‘so called artists’ practicing in Cornwall.

A.S.A. 2007