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Verbalism, A New Art For the New Millennium. A Brief History of Verbalism. As the old millennium draws to a close, art works are still expected to be self-explanatory, to stand on their own unsupported by any verbal interpretation or justification. This state of affairs must end; a new millennium calls for a radical shift in our approach to art. Thus, the Verbalist Movement has been inaugurated by Orr Marshall on 09/09/99 in Eureka, California, U.S.A., establishing the Written Word as sine qua non of the Visual Arts. The Verbalist Manifesto: The Art of the Future will have meaning only through mediation of the Word. Henceforth, the essence of the Artwork is its Title. The first phase of Verbalism is Police Art. The second phase is Cow Art. The Verbalist Motto: What you see is NOT what you get. The Verbalist Mantra: Art is a Verb. « Глаголисты всех стран, Соединяйтесь! » (Translation from the Russian: “Verbalists of all lands, Unite!”) N.B.: If you have read this proclamation, U2 are a Verbalist.
Verbalist Manifesto, 1999