Artists unite! Reclaim the CCA! Director Graham Mckenzie is a woof-woof and a oink-oink. Add your name, copy and circulate. Torsten Lauschmann
----- Original Message ----- From: "Gair" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "ambit" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "rob tufnell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "rose frain" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2002 7:08 PM Subject: <ambit> Centre for Contemporary Armaments > "We glorify war as the sole hygiene....." Marinetti, Futurist manifesto. > > The CCA in Glasgow may be modest about its programme; all the more > surprising that one of the largest gatherings in the building recently > has gone without mention in its October publicity. > > A seminar organised by Scottish Enterprise and the Ministry of Defence > on Thursday 3rd October featured Anthony Ingram MP ( Minister of State > for the Armed Forces), representatives from Nobel Industries, The > Defence Export Services Organisation, Defence Supply Service, and > representatives from the Glasgow Universities, mingling with Glasgows' > would-be body bag suppliers and weapons makers. The Defence > Diversification Agency exists to diffuse the expertise from Britains' > defence laboratories into industry, and vice versa. > > A session on "the inventor and the MOD" featured exemplary tales such as > that of the man who invented a new hygienic non/piercing syringe, now > used for mass innoculation in the US and UK armies. Unfortunately the > "percent for art" formula was not applied to this public gathering; > artists use of the building was strictly confined to CCA6 where Bill Drummonds' > journey from Southampton to Dounreay traced parallel lines of nuclear force. > > When the CCA re-opened, many of us felt a bit puzzled: there seemed to > be little extra functional space, and a corporate style atrium cafe > which squeezed artists out. Even more startling was the news that this > mismatch of environment to its expected uses was up for major > architectural prizes. > > Now it's clear that these reservations were due to our complete > misunderstanding of the purpose of Lottery Revamps on arts structures. > The hermetically sealed CCA5 makes a secure and confidential venue for > any variety of military-industrial encounters. Assorted nooks and spaces > make for quiet discussion zones, excellent service from the cafe > sweetens each encounter. > > It's good to see the CCA devoting its soul to the necessary expenditure > on future mayhem. But why leave artists out? If British Airways can > commission a series of ethnic tailfins, think what contemporary artists > could do with an F16. Defoliants have huge possibilities in Land Art. > And a chic desert camouflage motif on the CCA cafe cups will convey an > ideal zeitgeist punch this autumn. > Why shouldn't artists get their hands on the incredible beauty > represented in the apocalypses of tomorrow? > > http://www.topps.com/enduringfreedom.html > > ------------------------------------------------- > a m b i t : networking media arts in scotland > post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > info: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > and write "info ambit" in the message body > ------------------------------------------------- > ------------------------------------------------- a m b i t : networking media arts in scotland post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] info: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and write "info ambit" in the message body -------------------------------------------------
