Just what is the Art of Life?

'Without art," said George Bernard Shaw, "the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable." Perhaps this is what 50 artists had in mind yesterday when they began laying down their manifestos for the 21st century.

Gilbert and George, Yoko Ono and Mark Wallinger were among the most prominent of those offering their insights into the important things in life this weekend at the Serpentine Gallery in London.

Today, the musician Brian Eno and the 91-year-old historian Eric Hobsbawm will offer up their personal manifestos or, in Hobsbawm's case, anti-manifestos. Yesterday, Dame Vivienne Westwood told art lovers: "We have a choice to become more cultivated and therefore more human," in a 20-page pamphlet called Active Resistance to Propaganda.

So, what can they offer to lead us through the complexities of a globalised world on the brink of recession? Gilbert and George reiterated their manifesto from 1969, the "Laws of Sculptors", which includes the rules: "Always be smartly dressed, well groomed, relaxed and friendly, polite and in complete control"; "Make the world to believe in you and to pay heavily for this privilege"; "Never worry, assess, discuss or criticise, but remain quiet, respectful and calm"; and, "The Lord chisels still, so don't leave your bench for long". "Ban religion," they added for good measure.