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STATEMENT,

A group of artists have joined together to discuss common problems and express their ideas on current trends in the art world. The work of the members of this group is highly diverse in style and point of view, but their common ground is a respect and love for the human qualities in painting. They are all, in the general use of the word, objective painters. The following statement represents their concerted opinion:
We believe in the exploration of all forms of art as a means of broadening human experience, but not as a means of narrowing and dehumanizing it. We have been witnessing mere textural novelty parading itself as a "profound" manifestation of the intuitive elements in art; whereas texture, color and even form are implements for a larger purpose, the complete expression of man.

The use of abstract techniques for their own sake has encouraged a contempuous attitude towards the public. The assertion is made that art is for the future, that art is a mystic ritual to be accepted at its own evaluation and questioned by no one. This rarefied philosophy, in turn, has given rise to an irrational jargon, incomprehensible to layman and artist alike.

The exploitation of this self-pronounced avant-gardisme is gravely menacing the health of american art. A score of [[strikethrough]] individuals, setting themselves up as an "elite" body [[/strikethrough]] individuals, including museum officials, gallery directors, educators and writers on art, setting themselves up as an "elite" body, have been boldly proclaiming this particular phase of art as the central movement of our era; creating an atmosphere of dilletantism, snobbery and pseudo-mysticism. They are sowing confusion among many young artists today, who are ready to accept the nervous excitation of texture and color as an end product, - even equating disorder with the creative process itself. We say, in the words of Delacroix -" the men of our profession deny to the fabricators of theories the right to thus dabble in our domain, and at our expense".

We reaffirm the right of artists to the control of their profession. We will work to restore art to its freedom and dignity as a vital language of communication.