ORIGINS Art Institute
ORIGINS
Discover the Future of Art Through the Gates of Tradition
ORIGINS: An Introduction
Whether you make art, study it, or—like so many of us—simply love to look at it, you may have noticed a change in how art is now approached.
In museums and universities, art in the service of ideology has become the order of the day. The object is treated as if its true value were to illustrate ideas.
Quality, formal excellence, and the pursuit of beauty come second—if they are remembered at all.
ORIGINS is inspired by a different approach—one grounded in the Western tradition.
Formalism is the study of art’s formal elements and of how their arrangement creates expression. We hold that what is primary in art is the profound emotional experience that occurs between the viewer and the physical composition of an artistically expressive object.
The point is simple. Ideas—and ideology—are abstract. They have no presence in art until they are given form. They are therefore of secondary importance.
More than that, ORIGINS holds that the appreciation of form is innate. It is not an acquired taste of the academy. It is part of the human being, and it has its roots in our origins.
The ORIGINS view of art is inspired partly by recent advances in the modern science of neuroaesthetics. We can now trace how the brain processes a work of art. It begins by evaluating the form of a work first—in about one-third the time it takes to blink, and well before conscious thought can construe subject matter.
The significance of a work’s formal composition is ranked ahead of ideas.
As the evaluation of form continues, networks of the brain ordinarily devoted to inward thought and self-reflection remain in play. This was totally unexpected. The brain views a work of art as more than a mere object in the room. The visual sensation of the work—its formal structure— is absorbed into the viewer’s inner life and assigned personal meaning. And it happens naturally, without prompting.
Confronting form triggers an involuntary and innate response in the human brain. This supports ORIGINS’ foundational belief: the appreciation of form is a magnificent part of our human origins.
The power of the art experience derives from the excellence of an object’s formal composition. Ideas, biography, historical context, political theory and ideology do not create that power. Form does.
ORIGINS asks only that the viewer be allowed to encounter the work. The brain will evaluate the form without being instructed. If the object is formally compelling enough, the response will come—involuntarily, deeply felt, and personal. That is not naïveté. It is trust in a capacity we already possess.
Beauty has a biology. Because it does, we do not have to be told what to feel. We just have to let the experience happen.
Understanding this is easy—it’s in our origins.
ORIGINS is dedicated to the teaching and advocacy of a tradition-based formalist approach to art. We publish and lecture on the topic. Neuroaesthetics is foundational to our mission. It shapes how we write about art, advocate for art, and design exhibitions.
It is also guiding the design and construction of our new museum building. The new museum—we call it a “sanctuary”—will possess all the innovations that we have developed to create
We are currently recruiting members to our Board of Trustees, an international body that provides governance and direction to ORIGINS. If you have an interest or questions, please contact us at this link
Index of the ORIGINS Website:
ORIGINS: An Introduction Formalism has been nearly abandoned in museums and universities in favor of ideology. Origins demonstrates that this is a misunderstanding of how the human brain innately evaluates art—it prioritizes form over ideas.
I. A Crisis of Meaning
Universities and museums have redefined art as an intellectual and political exercise. Counter to this is the tradition of formalism, which places the primary emphasis on the viewer’s transcendent experience of an object’s formal design.
II. The Biology of Form
From early hominin collecting to Neanderthal marks, childhood scribbling, and Paleolithic cave painting, the evidence converges: the human instinct to create, evaluate and appreciate form is innate.
III. The Brain on Art—Neuroaesthetics Neuroaesthetics traces the viewer’s brain experiences during an encounter with a “compelling” formal composition. Form is judged in a fraction of a second; and reward follows before the subject matter can be evaluated. When the work is strong enough, inward reflection stays in play, and the object is absorbed into the viewer’s inner life.
IV. The Shape of Ideas
Ideas depend on form for expression; form does not depend on a great idea. A slight subject, masterfully made, can become a masterpiece—hence Cezanne’s Apples and van Gogh’s Chair. Even the most significant and relevant content cannot rescue a weak formal composition.
V. Our New Museum
ORIGINS will not be a warehouse of objects and wall text. It will be a cultural village of small pavilions and gardens, built so that a few masterpieces can be met without fatigue, ideology, or haste.
VI. Join the ORIGINS Movement Simply sign up for our newsletter and you can stay informed of everything in the art world that relates to ORIGINS. We always provide a list of our events and activities…it’s free!
VII. Our Founder Meet our founder—Dr. Michael DeMarsche
You see, no matter how many times people tell you stories about what music means, forget them. Stories are not what the music means at all. Music is never about anything. Music just is. Music is notes, beautiful notes and sounds put together in such a way that we get pleasure out of listening to them, and that's all there is to it.
—Leonard Bernstein, from his Young People’s Concerts
