Stuporism
Contact Us
Great things in business are never done one. They're done by a team of people.
Our Vision
MANIFESTO
Wow!But How?
Definition
Stuporism is a cultural, philosophical, and artistic movement championing experiences that inspire discovery. Stuporism highlights and promotes creative works that evoke wonder, and as an extension, the curiosity that drives new breakthroughs that advance humanity. Stuporists identify this effect across a wide range of scientific disciplines, artistic forms and cultural contexts: the common thread is a catalytic moment that transforms the “wow!” of enthusiasm and surprise into the “how?” that prompts a search for new understanding.
That is, Stuporist art doesn’t merely impress. It prompts viewers to ask “How does this work?” or “How is that possible?” but also “Where does this lead?” and “What am I missing?”—reframing a person’s worldview and sparking a quest for deeper meaning.
Essential Dynamic
Stuporism focuses on experiences that surpass predictions, expectations, and established knowledge. These moments fuel the quest for insight by creating an uncertainty that people naturally seek to resolve through exploration.
Stuporism in history
While the term “Stuporism” is a new coinage to encapsulate these ideas, there have been many manifestations of Stuporism across the centuries. Aristotle (Metaphysics, 982b) observed that “Through wonder (διὰ τὸ θαυμάζειν – dia to thavmazein), men began to philosophize, both now and in the beginning”. Inspired by this force were the works of one of the greatest artists of all time, Leonardo da Vinci, who created not only wondrous art but machines that could achieve what seemed impossible in his own time, and inspired many generations of scientists and visionaries. Many technological advances that have changed the course of our lives, can be directly traced to the influential work of people who could now be described as Stuporists, such as Georges Méliès, father of modern cinema. Visionary futurists like Sir Arthur C. Clarke have had enormous impact on science by igniting the imaginations of their readers with that Stuporist passion to discover “How?”
Experiencing Stuporism…
Orients our outlook toward altruism by reframing our perspective as one small part of a vast and wondrous universe.
Does not terrify or fuel superstition. Instead, it empowers people with the confidence that their own inquiry can illuminate what only seemed to be mysterious.
Creates a humanizing encounter. At a time when AI is disrupting our understanding of art and the role of artists, Stuporism recenters the human impact that art can achieve.
Shatters our expectations and forces us to seek new ways of understanding reality.
Influences a long-lasting shift in our habits of exploring new knowledge and instills an inward commitment to learning.
Origins of the Movement
The idea grew out of a conversation in 2017 between Professor Stephen Hawking and Dr Danilo Audiello, stage name Alexis Arts. Audiello is an economist, and world champion stage illusionist, who has broken several Guinness World Records in performing the art of magic. His performances involved creating moments of awe and wonder, while inspiring curiosity in the science behind the magic. This passion led him to co-found, with Antonia Symeonidou, the Cambridge Academy of Magic & Science, a youth STEM education foundation supported by the Judge Business School accelerator at the University of Cambridge. Through the Academy, Audiello was honored to meet Professor Hawking, who expressed how much the experience of wonder shaped his own scientific journey. This sparked a search for artistic works and scientific innovations that could evoke such wonder in millions of people. What began as Audiello’s personal quest has now grown into a rising tide of action that has united leading artists, scientists, and educators around the world. The name for this movement comes from “Stupor Mundi”, a Latin phrase meaning “marvel of the world,” an object of admiring bewilderment and wonder; it was originally used by the 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris to describe the Emperor Frederick II of Germany (1194–1250). Therefore, the word “stupor” has been chosen as the suitable language root from Italian that could describe the people, the actions, the feelings, and movements that can lead the person to an inspired state of openness, where they are engaged to explore, wonder, discover and innovate.
A Philosophy for an AI Age
When photography made it possible to capture images more realistic than painters could achieve, many wondered whether handmade art would be obsolete. But Claude Monet and the Impressionist movement gave painting new life—by representing subjective visual experiences like lighting and motion in ways photographs couldn’t. Similar questions now swirl around artificial intelligence making human creativity obsolete, and Stuporism provides an answer. AI can create wondrous things, but it takes humans to experience that wonder. Stuporism seeks to recenter this most human of experiences in the rapidly-shifting artistic landscape. AI may help us create, but the purpose of that creation must be connection among human beings and instilling the wonder that sets our souls on fire.
The Stuporists of today
Anyone can be a Stuporist, as long as they have experienced in their lives the transformative force of wonder. Properly , this force underlies most human endeavor—even seemingly uninspiring work can girecognizedve people the resources to seek moments of wonder, whether at their local theatre or cinema, or in travel far across the globe. We invite creators and first movers across all disciplines - musicians, painters, educators, actors, engineers, philosophers, scientists, writers, and everyone who can recognize themselves and their work in this manifesto to join our movement and champion the power of wonder and curiosity—to break the dull crust of the known as a sprout piercing the shell of its seed. We stand inspired, passionate, driven, curious and launch throughout the world this manifesto. With it, today, we establish Stuporism as a worldwide movement.
STUPORISM'S PILLARS
10 Pillars of Stuporism
2085+