Manustuprare is the latin root of masturbate. Literally, it means to defile with one’s hand.
The Manustuprare School of Art posits that there is no good in art beyond the joy of it. There need not be any point, no moral, and if one exists (and is driven by profit) then that doesn’t matter either.
Put simply, art deserves to exist simply because someone thought to create it. There is no difference between high and low art from any objective stance, and there is no such thing as “bad” art. Any division or “merit” is a subjective exercise that says more of the audience than the art itself. Art is an intrinsically selfish act; something that is successful or unsuccessful gauged only on the creator’s whim.
There are no credentials to become an artist, there is no fail state, and there are no requirements beyond “I wanted to make this”.
Culminating the above; if you have ever created something, regardless of the intended purpose or supposed quality, you are an artist. Furthermore, if you have ever created something, regardless of what you’ve said or implied, you did it because you wanted to (and that is good).
None of that is to say that art is without consequence, in fact the opposite is true. The art as a multi-dimensional whole (including preparation, methodology, technique, subject, medium, interpretation, experience, recollection, and so on) has deep felt and lasting consequences on both the artist and the audience. The core of Manustuprare then is that the above is true for all art objects that are created, regardless of any other variable.
