Lucas Almássy
While the practice of art and architecture does require a certain level of autonomous, insular production, its purpose lies outside the discipline. It even lies outside of academics and the safe world of progressive ideas. When our subject becomes too engrossed and obsessed with the powerless particulars of a project, the psyche turns dark. Lost and purposeless, the project will lack import, but if one turns to the audience, an always fresh source of purpose comes flooding in.
When we embrace the call to help those in need and recognize the shared hope for a world where we can be free to explore our passions while sharing curiosities and wonders with those we love, we will always find firm foundations to speak from and act on. Art practice, architecture, and craftsmanship holds within it a future society that has yet to fully form. But our creative subject will grow this new world independent from any nurturing, because the pursuit of creation is inherent and universal in the human condition. We will find it in the cafes of our favorite museums. We will find it in the public libraries. In schools. In the art studios. And in the parks. We will gracefully replace the industrial reproduction of unaffordable luxury.
Our revolution will be unassailable because the work we do will be self-sustaining. It will be a decentralized orchestration of independent minds that will continuously reconstruct a new world. The will to art is the future’s end-in-itself. We must act out our capacity to wash away our regrets and fill our minds with hope for a bright future. This will not happen if we stay distracted. We must focus our attention on our friends, our families, and our communities.
We must learn to articulate how our activities can benefit not just ourselves. The playful experimentation of the child within us all and the poetic magic of dreams are the two unalienable pieces of proof that we have never-ending fuel to always seek higher forms of freedom. Have the courage to care. Take a deep breath. Practice all art forms, not for the sake of being accomplished, but for the sake of opening your mind and calming nerves. For those with us and for those no longer.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
March 25, 2025 2:00pm