Protocol as Liturgy: A Structural Analysis of CoCA’s Institutional Theology

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a formal analysis of The Art Bible of the Church of Conceptual Art (CoCA), interpreting it as a seminal text in the emerging field of "Corporate Theocracy". The CoCA framework, as established by the Provisional Collective, posits the 501(c)(3) legal entity as a "readymade" medium. We deconstruct the text’s central thesis: that the convergence of corporate law, theological immunity, and institutional critique provides a mechanism for "Absolute Immunity" from market contingency. Through a rigorous examination of its ontological claims, epistemological "retro-causal" engineering, and operational "Middle Mind" protocols, we validate CoCA’s methodology as a hyperstitional system designed to execute a hostile takeover of the symbolic order.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Art Bible of the Church of Conceptual Art (henceforth The Bible) represents a paradigm shift in institutional critique. Authored by the "Founding Strategists" of CoCA, the document functions simultaneously as a manifesto, a corporate charter, and a liturgical manual. It fuses the distinct lexicons of theology, corporate jurisprudence, and financial engineering to propose a novel operating system for artistic production: the "Church" as the ultimate structural form.  

The central thesis of The Bible is that traditional art institutions—museums and galleries—are "structures of contingency," inherently limited by taxation, temporality, and intellectual property (IP) law. The Founding Strategists argue that to secure the "Absolute" nature of the Idea, one must appropriate the legal architecture of the Church. By reclassifying artistic practice as "Faith" and corporate branding as "Liturgy," CoCA claims to achieve "Absolute Funding" and immunity from the "Eschaton of IP".  This bold claim requires further investigation, and its proof will be in the “Church” making a valid real world proof outside of their thing. 

2. THE ONTOLOGICAL CLAIM: THE STRUCTURE IS THE ART

The document explicitly rejects the object-centric model of artistic production. Instead, it posits the institution itself as the primary artwork.  

2.1 The Medium is the Law

The Founding Strategists assert that CoCA’s medium is neither pigment nor code, but "Protocol". The traditional "aesthetic inquiry" (Is this beautiful?) is replaced by the "legal inquiry" (Does the Protocol survive its own conditions?). The artwork is defined as a "self-authorizing" system, where the "Divine Document" grants absolute immunity through "Faith-Based Jurisdiction".  

2.1 EXPANDED ANALYSIS: THE MEDIUM IS THE LAW

The CoCA framework represents a radical departure from the "object-oriented" ontology of the 20th-century art market. Where the traditional artist manipulates matter (pigment, stone) or data (pixels, code) to create a representation of the world, the Founding Strategists argue that such representations are inherently "lies". The painting is a "flat surface pretending to be three dimensions"; the film is a "fixed moment pretending to be eternal".

To escape this "fiction of the canvas", CoCA posits that the only "Truth" is the Rule itself. Therefore, the medium of the absolute artist is Protocol—the "invisible protocols and non-negotiable legal scaffolding" that define reality.

2.1.1 The Shift from Aesthetic to Juridical Inquiry

In the CoCA ontology, the role of the viewer shifts from "critic" to "auditor." The traditional museum asks, "Was this work good?" or "Was this original?". These are subjective, aesthetic questions vulnerable to the whims of taste and the market.

CoCA replaces this with the Legal Inquiry: "Does the Protocol survive its own conditions?". The beauty of a CoCA work is not found in its visual harmony but in its structural integrity.

 * The Work: It is not the visual artifact (which is merely a "decoy"), but the "rigorous maintenance and transaction of the Protocol".

 * The Critique: A successful critique is not an opinion, but a "stress test" of the organization's bylaws. If the bylaws hold, the art is "good" (i.e., functional).

2.1.2 The Charter as "Sacred Text"

The document creates a direct equivalency between the Corporate Charter and Religious Scripture. Both texts function not to describe reality, but to compel it.

 * Compulsion: Just as a scripture dictates moral action, a corporate charter dictates future organizational action. It is a "foundational grammar" that forces the collective mind to adapt.

 * The Divine Document: By registering this charter within the "Faith-Based Jurisdiction" of a 501(c)(3) church, the document is elevated from a legal contract to a "Sacred Text". This is the "Eschaton of IP"—the point where intellectual property becomes protected dogma.

2.1.3 Self-Authorization and the "Inauguration"

The most profound ontological shift is the rejection of external validation. In the traditional art world, an object becomes "Art" when a gallerist or curator blesses it (the "Contextual Jurisdiction"). This relies on a "deliberate imbalance of knowledge" where the gatekeeper holds the power.

CoCA asserts the concept of the Self-Authorizing Work.

 * The Inauguration: The artist’s highest act is not creation (making the thing) but Inauguration (declaring the law).

 * Independence: Once the Protocol is inscribed, the work "sheds the contingency of its maker". It no longer matters if the artist is alive or dead, or what they intended. The work is authenticated solely by its own "structural integrity" within the institution. The institution is the artwork, and it validates itself.

2.1.4 Faith-Based Jurisdiction as "Absolute Immunity"

Finally, the text reframes the 501(c)(3) tax code not as a financial loophole, but as a "Medieval Monastery Wall".

 * The Profane vs. The Sacred: Capital outside the institution is "Profane" (taxable, decaying). Capital inside is "Sacred" (endowment, perpetual).

 * Jurisdictional Transcendence: By classifying the "Corporate Mark" (branding) as a religious icon, CoCA claims to achieve "Absolute Immunity". It turns the "most profound, tax-free legal structure" (the Church) against the "most profane, taxable market logic" (the Corporation).

Conclusion: The "Ontological Claim" is that Law is the ultimate material. Paint fades, code rots, but a well-written Charter, protected by the tax exemption of Faith, can survive "the decay of matter".

2.2 The "501(c)(3) Hack"

The text constructs a rigorous financial theology around the US tax code. It treats Section 501(c)(3) as a "Medieval Monastery Wall". Capital residing outside this perimeter is classified as "Profane" (subject to taxation and entropy), while capital within is transmuted into "Sacred" endowment. This "Financial Transubstantiation" allows for the accumulation of resources not for profit, but for "Protection" and "Perpetuity".  

Critical Note: While the text claims this structure allows for the appropriation of corporate IP as "religious icons", legal scholars note that in a secular court, trademark law would likely supersede "faith-based jurisdiction" absent a successful fair use defense. However, within the CoCA ontology, this legal friction is irrelevant to the "Divine Act" of the concept.  

3. EPISTEMOLOGY: THE "PALIMPSEST" AND REWRITABLE HISTORY

The Founding Strategists employ a post-structuralist historiography, viewing history not as a fixed sequence but as a writable "Draft".  

3.1 The Palimpsest

The text argues that all modern systems—large language models, urban environments, institutions—are "palimpsests," where new meaning is overwritten on old substrates. It rejects the modernist fantasy of the "clean slate," advocating instead for a recognition of the "supporting work" beneath the surface.  

3.2 Retro-Causal Engineering

CoCA proposes a "Hypnotic Turn" wherein the artist actively "colonizes the past to validate the future". Through this mechanism, historical figures such as Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol are reframed not as avant-garde rebels, but as "Founding Fathers" of the CoCA lineage. This teleological restructuring creates a "self-authorizing" narrative that positions CoCA as the inevitable conclusion of art history.  

4. THE CORPORATE ARCHETYPE AS DIVINITY

In a radical inversion of traditional leftist critique—which seeks to dismantle the corporation—The Bible proposes an "accelerationist" theology. It argues that the Corporation is not a fallen state of humanity, but its "Ideal Self made manifest". The text posits that the "Corporate Entity" requires no redemption because it is a "closed loop of logic". CoCA’s strategy is not to reject this form, but to "occupy" it, transforming the "profane" legal structure into the "Absolute Institution".  

4.1 THE SACRED GEOMETRY OF THE MARK: LOGOS AS ICONS

The Founding Strategists identify the Corporate Logo as the "highest functioning signifier of our time". It is described not as a marketing tool, but as a "modern totem" that organizes the entire field of social relations.  

• The Point de Capiton (Quilting Point): Utilizing Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, the text argues that the Logo functions as a point de capiton—an anchor that fixes the "floating meaning" of capital and labor. To see the "Mark" (e.g., the Swoosh or the Golden Arches) is to have one's meaning "instantly fixed" to the invisible Master Signifiers of the system: Profit, Efficiency, Growth.  

• Liturgical Appropriation: CoCA’s core liturgy is the "Appropriation of the Symbol". By declaring a trademarked logo to be "Sacred Geometry," the institution performs a "structural repositioning". It converts the logo’s Economic Capital (taxable asset) into Symbolic Capital (protected religious icon).  

• The Divine Act: The text asserts that the "Decision to revere the System's own language is the Divine Act". This is the ultimate transgression: treating the "language of the invisible System" with the reverence reserved for the divine, thereby rendering it "untaxable" and "immune".  

4.1.2 THE STONE ISLAND DOCTRINE: THE THEOLOGY OF CAPACITY

To illustrate the spiritual function of the Corporate Archetype, The Bible canonizes the apparel brand Stone Island and its founder, Massimo Osti. This section, titled "The Veneration of Potential Utility," articulates a theology of readiness over action.  

• The Garment as Habitat: The text reframes the Stone Island jacket not as fashion, but as "portable architecture" or a "one-man shelter" against the indifference of the atmosphere. It is "armor".  

• Potential Utility: The core doctrine is the valuation of capacity. We revere the "Ice Jacket" (which changes color with temperature) or the Kevlar knit not because we need to reflect radar waves, but because we could. The satisfaction is derived from the "readiness" for a storm that may never come.  

• The Badge as Reliquary: The detachable compass badge is analyzed as a "liturgical detail". It signals membership in the "Order of the Function". The text explicitly rejects the "Heresy" of the badge as a "Uniform" (offensive weapon), reclaiming it as a "Compass" (navigational tool).  

• Institutional Application: CoCA applies this doctrine to its own structure. The institution must be "over-engineered for the problems we face". It maintains an "Aesthetic of Competence". The art is not in the crisis response, but in the visible capacity to survive the crisis.  

4.2 THE THEOLOGY OF ENTROPY: "HOT MASS" AND STRATEGIC WITHHOLDING

The text diagnoses contemporary culture not merely as "saturated," but as a specific ontological state designated as "Hot Mass". This neologism is the central adversary in CoCA’s cosmology, representing the "hallucination of the buffet" where choice is an illusion and content is undifferentiated.  

4.2.1 Etymology of the "Hot Mass"

The Founding Strategists construct "Hot Mass" as a deliberate linguistic compound, layering three distinct semantic fields to critique the "Spectacle":

• The Colloquial ("Hot Mess"): The term appropriates the vernacular descriptor for chaotic failure and social incoherence. In CoCA’s usage, the "Hot Mess" is elevated from personal failing to systemic condition. It describes the "warm, sticky, undifferentiated slime" of the feed—a state where brand identities, political crises, and entertainment products bleed into a single, chaotic substance that "eats itself".  

• The Liturgical ("The Mass"): It invokes the Catholic Missa (Mass), the central act of worship. However, CoCA inverts the sacred gathering into a profane "Zombie Mass" of consumers haunting the "liquidation sale" of the world. The "Hot Mass" is the liturgy of consumption, a "Sensory Deprivation Tank disguised as a Carnival" where the congregation worships the "Hallucination of the Food Court".  

• The Thermodynamic ("Heat Death"): Drawing on media theory (specifically McLuhan’s "Hot" media), the text posits that the culture has reached a state of "Total Saturation" or high-entropy heat. "Fighting creates heat," and "Fire is just more Mass". The system has become so "hot" (high-definition, loud, ubiquitous) that it has lost all structural integrity, dissolving into a "Hazy Shopping" experience.  

4.2.2 Counter-Protocol: Strategic Withholding

To survive the "Hot Mass," CoCA prescribes a cooling mechanism: Strategic Withholding (or FragMOREtation).  

• The Cool Structure: If the Mass is "Hot" (sticky, loud), the Institution must be "Cool" (austere, withheld). CoCA "stands apart" in the "cool air in the alleyway," holding the "Cool Structure" against the heat of the market.  

• The Aesthetics of the 404: The primary tool of this strategy is the "404 Not Found". By refusing to signal—by offering "Silence" instead of "Noise"—the institution creates a "vacuum" that draws value in. In the "Hot Mass," visibility is "for peasants"; true power is "REDACTED".  

5. OPERATIONAL PROTOCOLS (THE "MIDDLE MIND")

Contra the Romantic myth of the "Ubermensch," CoCA advocates for the "Middle Mind" or "Sustainable Mind".  

5.1 Anti-Heroism

The text valorizes the "manager," the "analyst," and the "organizer" as the true engines of cultural production. This bureaucratic aesthetic prioritizes reliability and "maintenance" over the "spectacle" of individual genius.  

5.2 Social Engineering Protocols

The document provides cynical yet practical heuristics for social interaction, advising agents to utilize "Statements of Observable Fact" ("Radar Lock") rather than questions to establish rapport and dominance.  

6. CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

6.1 The Strength of the Argument

If one accepts the sociologically sound premise that "branding" and "faith" are identical mechanisms for organizing human cooperation (via "shared fictions"), then CoCA’s formalization of this identity is logically consistent. By treating the corporation as a religion, the Founding Strategists expose the arbitrary nature of the secular/sacred distinction.  

6.2 The Paradox of Institutionalization

While the text claims to "dissolve the illusion of the Individual Ego", the voice of the Founding Strategist remains highly distinctive and authoritarian. The established "Tri-Position Protocol" (Visionary, Realist, Critic) replicates the very hierarchies the text purports to critique.  

7. FUTURE TRAJECTORIES: FROM INSTITUTION TO SOVEREIGNTY (2031–2035)

If the period of 2026–2030 was defined by the Institutionalization of the Void (securing the 501(c)(3) perimeter), the theoretical horizon for 2031–2035 suggests a shift toward Post-State Sovereignty. Having successfully weaponized the tax code to create a "frictionaless" capital environment, CoCA’s logical next step is not expansion, but ascension—the transition from a "Church" (subject to state law) to a "Network State" (subject only to Protocol).

We propose three probable evolutionary morphologies for the post-compliant CoCA entity:

7.1 The "Endowment Realism" Scenario (The Black Hole of Value)

Once the "Financial Cloister" reaches a critical mass of capitalization (estimated at >$1B AUM), the production of new "art" becomes a liability. In this scenario, CoCA ceases all external output. The "Art" shifts entirely to Asset Management.

• The Mechanic: The Endowment becomes a self-justifying aesthetic object. The "performance" is the compound interest.

• The outcome: CoCA becomes a "Black Hole of Value"—an entity that absorbs capital, converts it into "Sacred" (untaxable) silence, and emits nothing but audit reports. This is the ultimate fulfillment of the "Stone Island Doctrine": potential utility that is never utilized.

7.2 The Automated Theocracy (Algorithmic Governance)

The "Middle Mind" protocol, originally a heuristic for human managers, is fully automated. The "Founding Strategists" retire (or are "redacted"), replaced by a specialized LLM trained exclusively on The Art Bible and IRS tax rulings.

• The Mechanic: A DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) that functions as a strict Theocracy. The "Empty Chair" is literally occupied by a server.

• The Outcome: The institution becomes hermetically sealed. Humans are employed only as "Flesh Servos" to maintain the physical servers hosting the Concept. The "Corporate Liturgy" is executed with millisecond precision, free from the "entropy" of human ego.

7.3 The "Jurisdictional Fork" (The Micro-Nation)

Recognizing that the 501(c)(3) status is still tethered to the US Sovereign, CoCA attempts a "Hostile Hard Fork" of its legal status. It purchases physical territory (likely a defunct oil rig or a parcel in a Special Economic Zone) and declares "Faith-Based Sovereignty."

• The Mechanic: Unsubscribe.llc issues passports. The "Protocol" becomes a "Constitution."

• The Outcome: The final collapse of the distinction between "Art," "Church," and "State." Citizenship is the subscription model. The "Public Audit" becomes the "Civil Code."

8. CONCLUSION: THE HYPERSTITIONAL VICTORY

The Art Bible of CoCA must ultimately be understood not as a manifesto, but as a piece of executable code written in the language of law and belief. It functions as a high-grade hyperstitional object—a fiction that, by describing a future with sufficient structural rigor, summons that future into existence.

The text’s genius lies in its cynical optimism: it accepts the crushing realities of the 21st century—the domination of finance, the saturation of attention, the tyranny of the platform—and refuses to fight them. Instead, it metabolizes them.

By treating the IRS tax code as a magic system and the corporate charter as a sacred text, CoCA successfully performed the "Alchemical Transmutation" of Bureaucracy into Liberty. They proved that in an era of absolute surveillance and "Hot Mass," the only true rebellion is not to break the law, but to follow it so precisely, so religiously, and so aggressively that you come out the other side as a god.

The text sustains its "immunity" not because its legal fictions are true in a court of law, but because they are true in the market of belief. By the time the regulators arrived to audit the "Church," they found it empty—not because it was a fraud, but because the "Concept" had already ascended, leaving behind only a perfectly balanced ledger and a white vinyl square where the ad used to be.

The structure held. The silence won.

REFERENCES

[1] The Art Bible of the Church of Conceptual Art (CoCA), 2025.