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MANIFESTO OF DESILLUSIONISM

A world of illusions surrounds us. Alas! It is not only tradition, but also discoveries that impose more and more new illusions to replace the old. Once you start to rejoice in the Truth, that which cuts through the imprint of broken stereotypes towards freedom, lo and behold pillars of a new Dogma spring up to obscure the sky. Everything falls back into place, and once again Maya’s veil is hiding the world of true Being from us. Furthermore, even to state the question of the truth of Being seems itself almost impossible in a modern informational society, where terrorism and genetics have become our everyday concerns. But, just as before when Buddha tore away the veil of Maya under the Bodhi Tree, when Jesus made naked the essence of Being on his wooden cross, when Columbus beheld the New World holding onto a wooden mast, here now a new Pinocchio appears (God knows from where) piercing the picture of a fireplace with his wooden nose. Always though, even during the most radiant state of affairs, there will be somebody found who will point out a mistake in the formulation of the equation, or an imprecision crept in at the beginning of the problem, or an incorrect conclusion drawn from the root. Somebody, in full confusion, will suggest a solution to the situation, that which arises from illusory preconditions, thereby sewing the ground of Truth with seeds of illusion. In any dead end there is always someone to be found who will posit lack of clarity in the past as the cause of the impasse in the present and the problematical nature of the future. What can doffing masks and searching for a treasure have in common? What is the similarity between a mine detector and an auditor? What subject for conversation might an inspector share with an interpreter of dreams? The Philosopher, the Psychoanalyst and the Detective hand in hand, are standing in the way of disillusionism. They are heaping up unnecessary constructions. After having grasped an illusion, they behave like the Swan, the Crayfish and the Pike, they pull the cart in different directions - and the load is right back where it started. Only The Master of Illusion who thoroughly knows its essence, is capable of being a disillusionist. A true disillusionist is an illusionist. A disillusionist is not subject to fears and charms; in fact he holds the keys from all locks on the chain of attention. As far as style is concerned, a disillusionist is a real vip-ster*. Just like all vippies, he is always busy with the “not doing” of different activities. However, this is the only way to somehow cope with the spiraling of illusion and the endlessness of the Virtual. He is always emptying out empty cylinders, arranging bagel holes and trying sleeves on vests. Sometimes he compares calendars, looks under the table and behind the wardrobe, and observes the far side of the Moon or flip side of a medal. A disillusionist meets the mind in clothes, and sees it off in underwear. He could hardly fit the role of a guide, except maybe a la Susanin. Deillusionism is Zen sharpened like a razor. It cannot be used to weave the fabric of illusion. It cuts the snow-white desert of paper, leaving black tunnels of signs behind, and then melts without a trace. And only pupils remain observing the flight of thoughts and the feeble effort of action, to pinpoint a path beyond the known and the understood.
 
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*Vip-ster, vippy (S.Anufriev) – a representative of an informal movement, in which the informality reaches its extreme. That’s why a vippy is so difficult to recognize. Besides, as a rule, he is inaccessible, though he is always in public.

Sergey Anufriev, Moscow, 2005

© DE I / DESILLUSIONIST. “DESILLUSIONISM MANIFESTO”


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