2004 Resolution: 'Year of the Experimental'

The US Department of Art & Technology designates the year beginning January 1, 2004, as the 'Year of the Experimental.' Secretary Randall M. Packer has submitted the following New Year's Resolution; which is referred to the Bureau for Experimental States of the World, Marcos Novak, Under Secretary.

RESOLUTION

Whereas the essence of the Experimental is the most profound utterance of human expression, with its impact heard around the world;
Whereas the Experimental is, according to John Cage, 'simply an action the outcome of which is not foreseen';
Whereas Experimental Action is the essential manifestation of the avant-garde, which aspires to a model of society where free and experimental modes of conduct will prevail;
Whereas the Spirit of Experimentalism fuels the ideological battles against the tyranny of anachronistic behavior;
Whereas the Experimentalists, whether old or young, male or female, are called upon worldwide as unique and important Ambassadors of Freedom and Idealism;
Whereas there are many Experimentalists who need to be recognized and to have their stories captured and preserved for future generations;
Whereas it is imperative in these times of dark crisis to found a new society, propelled by a new movement of the Experimental, and the potential of a new politic; and so:

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the US Department of Art & Technology designates the year 2004 as the 'Year of the Experimental'; and requests that the people of our Nation and around the world observe the 'Year of the Experimental' with creative acts of freedom of association and the transformational properties of the ceremonies of art. As AndrÈ Breton once said, "perhaps the imagination is on the verge of recovering its rights."

I hereby declare the 'Year of the Experimental' to commence on this day, January 1, 2004.

Randall M. Packer
Secretary, US Department of Art & Technology