The axiom “measure twice, cut once”  is applied to one’s own intellectual and artistic stream of thought as your cursor lingers over the “Send” button; and you wonder upon the impact that your ephemeral words will have, suddenly pressed into eternity in the annals of the Internet.

Camaraderie, goodwill, the patience and maturity to hear out diverse thought and differing opinions and feelings; all of these have been ejected. I remember reading once that in East Germany 1 out of every 7 citizens was part of the Stasi. We have no need for Stalinist payrolls anymore. These people will do it for free.

I wanted to write here something more concrete about my philosophy, about my feelings on art under contemporary political and social conditions, and the necessary paths forward to the liberation of the human and social soul, but I find myself constrained—not by my own self-restraint but by the malicious caprice of others. Those who know my birth circumstances will understand why I am unable to fully exercise that capacity of free speech that we so prize in a free, democratic society; I have to hope that my art can speak for me. But I will say this.

Even in times of ‘peace’ the position of art and science has become completely intolerable.

In the contemporary world we must recognise the ever more widespread destruction of those conditions under which intellectual creation is possible. From this follows of necessity an increasingly manifest degradation not only of the work of art  but also of the specifically artistic personality. The artist sees himself threatened with the loss of the right to live and continue working ; and we know very well that thousands on thousands of isolated thinkers and artists are today scattered throughout the world, their voices drowned out by the loud choruses of well-disciplined liars.

Technology is no panacea, it is no silver bullet, it absolutely should never serve as a retreat into solipsism, of which I see increasingly of younger and younger artists. Artists must reach out. They must talk and even more importantly listen to people ; they must hear their pains and give voice to their aspirations, they must work with others, and study history; and engage with that dirty, frightening world that which endomes us on this Earth—so that we may all find ourselves elevated above the debris that claims our hopes and dreams, and the futures of our children.