New 'London' Manifesto by Michael St.Mark / 2005 Re-defining the true meaning of art... "The true artist and New Dadaist is a rare astronaut of inner space who explores hidden worlds and his/her art works portals of launch, being means through which others may uncover within themselves fantastic visions and realizations. On the other hand, common pseudo artists and their arrogant promoters are an insult to and betrayal of, the spirit of art itself, having no capacity to go beyond the surface sensation of things. Therefore they must constantly employ variations of superficial prettiness, pseudo-intellectual appreciations or else new bovine shock tactics in the promotion of their tawdry wares, to continue their deception and exploitation of the art- going public " "Counter shock tactics involving Dada counter works and direct anti-art action need to be used to loosen the stranglehold grip and the hypnotic hold that the cynical imposters of the "art" establishment have over the public." -Art Axis, Oct 2005 Story behind the Dada Resurrection. Following my Comments on Phil Simmon's great blog Devils and Muses @ www.philsimmons.blog.co.uk , about his visit to the Dada and Surrealism retro' exhibition at the Hayward way back in the 1980s, I passed the observation that as far as I remembered from my student days studying Dada and Surrealism, Dada had no London expression during its initial lifetime from 1916 to 1923. There had been Paris Dada, Zurich Dada, Berlin Dada, Hannover Dada( Kurt Schwitters ) and New York Dada ( Duchamp & Breton ) - but no London Dada. I queried why that should have been so. Phil replied, suggesting " Why don't you start one" and that was the impetus to create 691, the online journal of the London branch of the original Dada movement. As that lost link in the Dada movement, we are carrying on the torch of controversy from 1923, dedicated to upheaving and usurping the stagnant and corrupt arts scene in the 21st C. So big thanks to artist and writer Phil Simmons, who prompted the founding of London Dada. There is no way on God's earth that artistic talents with integrity who wish to express the full spectrum of their creativity without being severely fettered by political and religous censorship, are going to get even a look in, in the closed shop of the Saatchi/Serota /Arts Council world of superficial lame sterility passing for art today. So their abusive power base must be eroded from under them; here in cyber space where they cannot censor and via direct art action and publicity, coming soon. All free thinking people support us in this exciting new art movement, New Dada. Michael St.Mark / 691 London, October 2005