On March 25, 2006, the Physicalists visited the 4th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art. Decked out in Physicalism jumpsuits, they hung Physicalism balloons along Auguststrasse (the street on which the Biennial was taking place in twelve different venues). They also distributed English and German Physicalist Manifestos.

The theme of this year’s biennial was rather dark; the Physicalists and their balloons provided a refreshing contrast amidst the somber mood and cold, rainy weather. They were greeted with enthusiasm and smiles from a wide variety international artists and art-viewers.

The Physicalists are currently planning installations for later this year in Los Angeles, Chicago, London, and Paris.

The Physicalists passed out over 300 balloons printed with the tenets of Physicalism (”refuse to bullshit”, “delight in creation”, “question art dogma”, “invent visual ideas”, and “emphasize beauty.”) Along with the balloons, they passed out over 400 copies of the Physicalist manifesto.

People were delighted. The exited crowds at the Armory show were greeted by sunny skies and smiling Physicalists in white jumpsuits.

The Armory show was the Physicalist’s second installation (the first was at Miami Art Basel and involved eggs). The Physicalists have installations already planned for Los Angeles and Berlin later this year.

For more information contact physicalists@physicalism.org

For those of you who do not know, Physicalism is the name of we have given the group of ideas we have in response to the current state of contemporary art. In short, Physicalism is pro-beauty and anti-bullshit. We embrace visual ideas and invention and are fed up with the dense, inaccessible, angst-filled, “deep,” and ugly art the art education, art institutions and the art market promote. We do not think that one should need a degree in art, art history, or philosophy in order to be able to “get” or appreciate a work of art. Whether the meaning in a work of art is contained in visual or non-visual ideas, we think that the meaning should be accessible through the physical piece of art itself. We are fed up with looking at ugly- but supposedly “very deep and insightful” - crap. Out with angst, we say! Back to beauty!

As most of you know, the first installation in the name of Physicalism was executed at Miami Art Basel, December 1-4. Over one hundred beautiful, white, and mysteriously hollow eggs with five phrases on them were strategically placed in and around the art that was officailly being shown this year. Many eggs were left in the Miami Beach Convention Center, where the main event was housed. Others were scattered throughout the Miami art scene, from South Beach to the Wynwood Art and Design District. (Venues that were “hit” included: the Rubell Collection, NADA Art Fair, Art Positions, the South Beach Boardwalk, The Fountainbleau and Delano Hotels, the News Cafe, the Chihuly exhibit at Fairchild Gardens, and many, many others.)

This is a picture of our eggs.

This is a picute of an egg installed at “Art Positions” on Miami Beach during Art Basel. The Physicalsim website is www.physicalsim.org. It has on it the five main tenets of the movement:

• Question art dogma.
• Create visual ideas.
• Refuse to bullshit.
• Delight in creation.
• Emphasize beauty.

More information, including a longer and more in-depth description of Physicalism, is soon to come.Please feel free to forward this message along to anyone you think might be interested, and we are open to any thoughts, feedback, criticism, and ideas that any of you have.

At last, we again delight in our senses!
– The Physicalists