the manifesto

        'Sein und Werden' is the work of a loosely affiliated group of artists, writers, poets and photographers. The title comes from the Expressionist concept of Sein und Werden - 'being and becoming', the notion that we are born as nothing and only through experience do we become who we are (an idea shared with Sartre in his work 'Being and Nothingness'). Using certain techniques of cinematography to create lengthened shadows, twisted stairways and a distorted mise-en-scène, the Expressionists were able to depict a nightmare world that would later influence a number of other cinematic developments, such as film noir, aswell as leading artistic movements. One such group who owed much of their technique to Expressionism were the Surrealists, who played with these concepts to create bizarre images of the subconscious, making use of dreams and automatic writing. The goal of 'Sein und Werden' is to present works that evoke the spirit of the Expressionist, Existentialist and Surrealist movements within a modern context, which I like to call 'Werdenism'.

The aims of Sein und Werden are to:

- Publish a quarterly collection of multidisciplinary artwork that incorporates elements of Expressionism, Existentialism and Surrealism, both online and in print.

- Accept submissions that broaden and emphasize the ideas behind Werdenism. As it stands there are a core group of artists whose work I feel embodies the concept of "Werdenism". However, we are always looking for new blood and we are always open to submissions of new work as long as it exhibits the Werdenist gestalt. All work accepted shall remain copyright of the author/artist.

- Provide a theme for each issue, chosen by a different member each time, to be voted for by all members of the group. Submissions will not be restricted by the theme, although themed pieces will take preference and any other material may be held for use in a future issue, with the artist's permission.


Original e-zine concept, layout and design by Rachel Kendall
Print layout and design by Spyros Heniadis
All content is the respective authors and published here with their consent.