Hi Helen,
Finally able to get involved in some of these conversations, now that I've
passed my PhD upgrade ;-)
>i am struggling to keep up with the conversation here, but i'm also very
>interested
>in the questions that ruth poses for further research. some of us UpStagers
>are currently
>working on a new cyberformance called "cashflow" which is exploring issues
>around the war
>on cash - from what money is & means to us socially to where cryptocurrencies
>are taking us.
When Ruth & I organised the DIWO CLICK Festival, Helsingør, Denmark, in 2014.
We had Richard Stallman as Key Speaker. It was quite an experience having such
an annoying individual come along, and demand so much in so many difficult
ways. However, I understood why he would not travel in Denmark via digital
monies and or credit cards, and anything that could be traced. He just wanted
to use everyday physical cash instead and was extremely stubborn about it.
Brett Scott said it well in a recent article in the Guardian, that "In granting
financial corporations complete control over the money system, our every
economic interaction ends up logged in their databases for analysis. Sweden may
end up being the first society in which every private economic action is
recorded."
And, "Corporations too are drooling over the potential to monitor customer
payment data. They can pass it through their machine-learning systems to
understand your traits and manipulate you with ever-increasing levels of
subtlety." http://bit.ly/2x0Ugh8
The massive surveillance implications should get people unnerved, yet, it seems
in our post-truth world of pro-ignorance, and constant denial in thinking about
dealing with the conditions we face in the world, whether it be fraud,
dominating power systems, and climate change; we are in for a bouncy ride.
>looking at the environmental impact of it all is really important, because
>huge amounts of
>resources are being devoted to something that - as far as i can see - serves
>very little
>actual purpose. with the exception of projects like julian's, the focus seems
>to be
>predominantly on personal wealth gain & speculation & any supposed social
>benefits of the
>technology are just a way to justify it.
Yes, I agree - to save the trouble. may be read my response to ken a bit
earlier today.
I am extremely interested in exploring different options (have & have done for
years), other than just the blockchain, which is a small part of my own
dedication in art, tech & social change.
You may be interested in a new paper I'm writing called 'Unlocking
Proprietorial Systems'
Can we build fresh, independent places, spaces and identities, in relation to
our own artistic and cultural practices individually and collectively – when
the dominant narratives handed down to us via neoliberal elites, are typically
in favour of their markets and technologies? Does this mean artistic and
cultural endeavours along with creatively led technological practices, are
locked in a perpetual state of submission within a proprietorial absolute?
In order to get around these locked systems we need to rediscover and rethink
our own and collective narratives again. To do this, we need to reconnect to
‘older stories and histories. Go back as far as The Diggers and The New
Levellers, to rediscover the spirit of why we need to reclaim who we are,
today, and build new paths at the same time. As well as looking at how artists,
thinkers, activists, and hacktivists, can construct grounded, social, artistic,
and cultural, contexts in their own, and or collective terms, that move beyond
the established approaches of ownership.
I'm thinking of posting more of the text on here for a wider discussion -- I
think the blockachain is not the only way, just one way out of many, even
off-grid is worth doing ;-)
Wishing you well.
marc
Marc Garrett
Co-Founder, Co-Director and main editor of Furtherfield.
Art, technology and social change, since 1996
http://www.furtherfield.org
Furtherfield Gallery & Commons in the park
Finsbury Park, London N4 2NQhttp://www.furtherfield.org/gallery
Currently writing a PhD at Birkbeck University, London
https://birkbeck.academia.edu/MarcGarrett
Just published: Artists Re:thinking the Blockchain
Eds, Ruth Catlow, Marc Garrett, Nathan Jones, & Sam Skinner
Liverpool Press - http://bit.ly/2x8XlMK
Sent with [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com) Secure Email.
Marc Garrett
Co-Founder, Co-Director and main editor of Furtherfield.
Art, technology and social change, since 1996
http://www.furtherfield.org
Furtherfield Gallery & Commons in the park
Finsbury Park, London N4 2NQhttp://www.furtherfield.org/gallery
Currently writing a PhD at Birkbeck University, London
https://birkbeck.academia.edu/MarcGarrett
Just published: Artists Re:thinking the Blockchain
Eds, Ruth Catlow, Marc Garrett, Nathan Jones, & Sam Skinner
Liverpool Press - http://bit.ly/2x8XlMK
Sent with [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com) Secure Email.
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