Is there a mainstream art world? "The mainstream art world waited to utter the term "Internet art" until they could safely add the prefix "post-" to it" Jon Ippolito I think these reifications might be too simple, as are internet art, net art, post digital, digital, and so forth. I'm not interested in art about art in any sort of self-reflexive way, but I haven't anything against artists who explore that; for me while I agree completely with " We need to make work about things that matter more and are more grounded in the body, the land, in depth and real experience." - I worry about the underlying imperative here. There's depth in art about art, there's real experience there as well. All of these categories limit and limit ourselves, I think - for me, issues of communality, exploration, philosophy, the commons, diwo, diy, all of these are interrelated. I keep thinking of how Amerikkka at this point is all about drawing boundaries, and art history itself is one of those boundaries - canons, genera, media, new media, etc., etc. Just expressing a worry here, too many categories, maybe too many dismissals by virtue of the categories - Also, again where Marc says "- as in, take full control of its once grass roots identity, and own its history and future; and turn it all into its own pliable set of products." - as it was pointed out to me last night, a great deal of media-oriented art never was grass-roots for example. I can use myself here - I began in a terak mini-computer in the 70s creating drawing program w/ pascal etc. I had help - not course-wise, but academic help on the side; I used equipment that at that time would have cost tens and tens of thousands of USD - and a whole world opened up - in dialog with the institution that gave me freedom to work with the equipment. And I think there's a problem also with " but only so that all the typical top-down defaults of the mainstream can take it apart and force it to reflect its own intentions and belief systems" - I do understand what is meant by "mainstream," but after looking again at Atlanta art for example - ranging from the Printed Matter zinefest to an auction where artist exchange work among themselves to the current highly charged Atlanta Biennale at the Atlanta Contemporary, to Agnes Scott showing work dealing with southern identity and narrative, including an intense piece by Bessie Harvey etc. - I'm not sure where the "mainstream" actually is, or whether it serves any purpose to personify it. I'd like to see all these categories exploded so that we might proceed w/ looking and listening to everyone and anyone, finding our own paths through the creative debris ranging from monetary systems to zines to vr to the future of perception itself etc.
We just got in to Washington DC, discussing policy with one of the heads of a critical ngo, my head is reeling more than realing here. I bring this up because I feel more than ever the need for concrete politics and a breakdown of any barriers, aesthetic and otherise, at this point. Too many walls...
Hope this makes some sense - Alan _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
