Notes #4

Paul Feyerabend wrote: “Anything goes”. Thereby, he was referring to the fact that the axioms of science have always been changing and that the history of science is the demonstration of how science itself is socially moderated. There are no ultimate axioms and science is always contemporary. The same applies to art. There are no criteria for the successful creation of art or its final definition.
But living today and thus being contemporary creates also the obligation of adressing contemporary issues. The meaning of art can be described as the sum of the issue’s relevance and the depth of its development. But we should rather say the meaning has been described in that way. Because we have no security that it will be described like this in the future and it will never be possible to calculate artistic relevance and meaning. The bare attempt to do so makes the result turn into a cheap copy. In accordance to “anything goes” the future of the axioms is uncertain. Looking for them may even become the only issue of art. What may seem troubling is also the center of freedom. There is no art per definitionem, neither is there an artist’s biography per definitionem. Everything is open all the time and undecided – in both ways.