First things first—if you like what you read on this website, forward it on.

The ORIGINS newsletter is sometimes brief, but it’s always clearly focused on one topic: formalism and art. We begin each issue by looking at a single work of art—a painting, a drawing, even a fragment—and examine it carefully, thoughtfully, formally. This is a critical exercise for the eye. It trains you to look closely, and see why an object can be unusually expressive or…not so much. We’ll pinpoint the elements that excite the senses and create a mood or effect. But we’ll also explain why we believe many works are destined for oblivion. Looking is at the center of what we do—so we do it first.

We also send news from “the front”: an exhibition that uses art as a placard; a school that has dropped or added connoisseurship; a silly exhibition that is more about promoting an agenda than experiencing formal excellence. We’ll have fun (or else it’s too sad) finding examples of how the modern art establishment completely misses the primary point of art. We’re not prone to whining, so this comes second and will be brief.

Next up, readers can follow our progress; you can watch us — you and ORIGINS — grow. We will report events as they happen—a site under consideration, new members of our governance board, conversations with architects, a public lecture, a date for a gathering, interviews with artists, a naming gift for the museum. We’re “doers” and like to get things done, so this will be part of every issue.

And last, but certainly not least—we look forward to corresponding with you. Write to us about what you have recently seen or share your own formal analysis of a work. Tell us what we’re doing right and, yes, even what we can improve. We will print a serious letter when it earns a place and reply in public.

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Email us with your questions or comments at: founder@origins.institute. You can expect a very prompt response.