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The New Manifesto of Integral Naturalism
Frans Krajcberg and Claude Mollard, 2013
Thirty-five years after Pierre Restany’s Manifesto of Integral Naturalism, Frans Krajcberg and Claude Mollard launched the New Manifesto to affirm the primacy of the art of seeing nature as a source of creation.
In the face of threatening globalization, they assert the right to diversity and the duty to respect the planet—integrally and radically. They seek to mobilize artists and world citizens, and to initiate a global movement of actions in support of the most innovative and authentic forms of artistic creation.
They also aim to raise public awareness about the crisis facing the planet—too often hidden by a coalition of blind interests.
The Integral Naturalism Movement was officially born on January 1, 2013.
"In seeking to impose his law upon nature, in striving to create against nature, man condemns himself."
Pierre Restany – 1978
"By continually accepting mankind’s barbaric practices against nature, contemporary man has now set in motion the destruction of the planet—leading to his own self-destruction."
Frans Krajcberg and Claude Mollard – 2013
The 21st century has yet to open the path to an artistic creation that is truly committed to serving the balance of the planet, its environment, and its inhabitants. We denounce this failure.
Crushed by the globalization of cultures and economies, art is losing its meaning, while the universal domination of finance breeds shameless speculation and artificial bubbles. We denounce the grip of the markets on art, along with their harm and dead ends.
We are sounding a cry of alarm, calling for art to reclaim a sense of nature, of balance, and of harmony, and to restore its avant-garde role in serving the values of freedom, dignity, and respect.
We publish the “New Manifesto of Integral Naturalism” to spark a movement that mobilizes the expression of a planetary consciousness.
The New Manifesto of Integral Naturalism
Frans Krajcberg and Claude Mollard - January 1, 2013
We recognize in nature an unlimited source of inspiration, concepts, exploration, and forms.
We assert, as both a duty and a right, the full diversity of expression, an uncompromising secularism, and absolute creative freedom.
We speak not only to artists, but also to citizens of the world who refuse to remain passive spectators to the destruction of their planet.
Now more than ever, the artist must be at the heart of every project of civilization, both artist and global citizen, fully and radically.
Pierre Restany concluded the Rio Negro Manifesto with these words: “Original nature must be exalted as a hygiene of perception and a mental oxygen...”
1. We reaffirm and radicalize the terms of the 1978 Rio Negro Manifesto.
When the manifesto was written, ecology was still nascent, and it marked an initial awareness of nature’s overwhelming potential within artistic expression. As Pierre Restany stated, the fight must focus “much more on subjective pollution than objective pollution: pollution of the senses and the mind…”
Today, the planetary crisis is undeniable and demands urgent solutions. The destruction of the Amazon rainforest continues at the tragic cost of the silent and inexorable elimination of Indigenous peoples. The polar ice is melting at an accelerating rate, climate warming is underway. Global population growth fuels poverty, wars, and provides fertile ground for religious and political fanaticism.
Human rights and secular values are increasingly trampled. National and international political powers have bowed to global finance. The crisis facing art, which Restany warned of, has escalated. The proliferation of financial investments intended to democratize the arts has instead fostered a global entertainment industry. We denounce the domination of markets over art, along with its harmful side effects and dead ends.
2. The engagement of the contemporary artist is essential to renewing creative life.
In an era flooded with contemporary art, it has become increasingly detached from social, economic, and political realities. It centers on the individual and their indecision. Art no longer predicts or innovates—it illustrates. It no longer anticipates—it follows. It no longer denounces—it hides.
Intellectual movements that once linked artistic innovation to political and social commitment have disappeared. They are now subjects of study or retrospective exhibitions, while artist practice has become a purely individual career. Isolated, artists are less dangerous. They exhaust the art world instead of leading it. Art has become a commodity, oscillating between intellectual speculation and market speculation. It has become a power strategy, losing its critical edge.
We reaffirm the essential role of the artist—who is increasingly relegated to the role of mere decorator meant to mask crises rather than expose them.
3. Integral Naturalism calls for an ethical artistic creation.
Integral Naturalism is not only a stance of defiance but also a catalyst to critical thought. It fully opposes the destructive exploitation of nature and the transformation of art into disposable consumer objects. It is conceived as a tool for sustainable artistic development—even embedded within the cosmic spatio-temporal continuum.
Integral Naturalism connects the most contemporary cultures with the most ancestral ones, invoking the consciousness of what Restany called the “Magicians of the Earth.” It affirms the necessity of spiritual forces and investigates their origins from the dawn of life.
It echoes avant-gardes that anticipated major technical and urban transformations, citizen rights movements, and the liberation and evolution of imagery. It calls for the expression of a planetary consciousness capable of indignation, mobilization, and action.
4. Integral Naturalism is committed to protecting nature—as catalyst and world-builder.
Ecological activism will only resonate emotionally within society if it integrates artistic and cultural dimensions. Works by artists who engage with nature—in, for, by, and through it—must be gathered and amplified globally in intercultural dialogue. Integral Naturalism encourages a global, diverse artistic movement centered around safeguarding the planet’s fundamental balances.
5. Integral Naturalism prizes creation grounded in vision and meaning.
Nature provides an endless reservoir of animal and plant species, forms, and shapes. To look at a natural object or being is an inherently artistic act—seeing is itself creative. It must be learned, practiced, cultivated, and passed on. Integral Naturalism adds a poetic layer to scientific naturalism. It employs contemporary technologies that amplify or detail the vision of the world, exalting its beauty from the infinitesimal to the infinite.
This approach gives coherence and meaning to the myriad art works inspired by nature since the 1960s.
6. Integral Naturalism invests boundlessly in creation while favoring humble artistic practices.
Integral Naturalism seeks to depict or draw inspiration from nature’s multiplicity—revealing its forms as models or sources of energy. It understands art not only as creation but also as a life in harmony with nature. It calls each generation to pass on the portion of Earth they inherited, erasing the damage caused by the previous generation.
As Restany wrote: “To practice availability toward the natural given, is to admit the modesty of human perception and its own limits.”
7. Integral Naturalism is a response to globalization.
It cultivates the art of seeing, renewing the art of thinking and being. It seeks a deeper understanding of nature’s mysteries and supports planetary and cosmic cognitive sciences. Integral Naturalism opposes any human enterprise that erases diversity under dangerous globalization. It instead promotes dialogue, intercultural exchange, and the occasional meeting of opposites.
Artists must draw from this method the strength to reclaim their essential place in society—more than ever, artists should be its alpha and omega.