Album 2023 INTERNATIONAL SALON OF PRESS CARTOONS AND SATIRICAL VISUAL ARTS 11TH EDITION

International Salon of Press Cartoons and Satirical Visual Arts
!ART with capital A cannot be stolen!
By Petronela Daniela SOLOVASTRU
Throughout its entire journey on
this beautiful blue planet, humanity
has documented the pearls of its own
evolution through its artistic
expression, as the pinnacle of its
consciousness. Thus, all known
civilizations to date have documented
their own systems of thinking, feeling,
and experiencing through everything
that visual artistic expression
accompanied by mathematical
precision has meant.
Axis Mundi of Satirical Visual
Arts, The City of Timisoara,
Romania celebrates the title of World
Capital of Press Cartoons and
Satirical Visual Arts in 2023, reaching
th
its 11 edition, a jubilee edition
featuring the most significant satirical
visual artworks from around the world
over the past decade. It represents
the epicenter for visual artists,
caricaturists from all six continents.
"To develop a complete mind,
study the science of art, study the art
of science, and most importantly,
learn to see how everything connects
to everything else." - Leonardo da
Vinci
With this awareness in mind,
visual art and its evolution play a vital
f u n c t i o n i n t h e c o l l e c t i v e
subconscious. In simpler terms, it is a
mirror through which all of humanity
gazes at itself from it's past towards
it's future. That's why I love satirical
visual art: it has the courage and
madness to anchor itself in the
present like no other art can, with
perfect ease and the rigor of a
samurai spirit.
Satirical art becomes a sharp
sword that cuts through the illusions
society intoxicates itself with, serving
only cold water. Why is it a katana?
Because it has a sacred mission and
a precise purpose: to reveal the true
truth as it actually is. Even if it disturbs
or offends, the satirical artist holds a
vital function, especially in today's
society: it lifts the veil from the eyes
and directs the viewer's gaze towards
revelatory truths that often hurt.
Deception, half-truths, the
repetitive chorus lies that have
become the modern man's mantra,
confused about what he is and what
he wants to become: these are the
realities that the satirical artist paints
on canvas, achieving the nearly
i m p o s s i b l e p h e n o m e n o n o f
awareness in minds that have
become confused. Gangrene must be
cut to heal the sick, and so it is with the
human conscience: repeated lies can
become a common false truth, yet
once the eyes have gazed upon the
Light of Truth, the conscience knows
how to recognize the traps of illusion.
The story of caricaturists is
always about the courage to
express what is necessary to live
beautifully and harmoniously. It is
about the overflowing creativity of
those who constantly find new
methods and techniques to capture
what others have never dared to think
of: they are the pioneers and visionaries
of the World of Tomorrow,
nourished by the Live Fire of Present
Truth, creating ever-new perspectives
on the beautiful and luminous
potential of Man in Harmony with the
Universe and all of Humankind.
5