Ah! I knew some of Marc's history but not yours Simon - this is fascinating and really helps to put into context some of the things you have argued here. There's nothing I'd disagree with here. It's often (well it is for me) nerve racking to post something more personal, especially when a lot of heat has been generated in a discussion, but I'm glad you have. regards michael
--- On Sun, 1/10/10, Simon Biggs <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Simon Biggs <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [NetBehaviour] Call for Submissions: Multichannel > VariableEconomies Screening Programme Deadline 28th January (Helen Sloan) > To: "NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity" > <[email protected]> > Date: Sunday, January 10, 2010, 3:35 PM > > > Re: [NetBehaviour] Call for Submissions: > Multichannel VariableEconomies Screening Programme Deadline > 28th January (Helen Sloan) > > > I am with > Marc on this, in more ways than one. > > > > I come from what could be considered a privileged > background, compared to what Marc describes. Mine was a > middle class academic family growing up on a beautiful wild > beach in Australia (as different from Southend on Sea as you > could get, except for the presence of the sea). However, > like Marc, I didn’t school well. I ran away from home > at 15, living on communes and in surfer communities around > the country (this was the beginning of the 70’s, so > that wasn’t that unusual then). My parents, being > liberals, could not find any way of dealing with this. The > result was I never acquired a school or University > qualification and am effectively self-taught. > > > > Hippy life can burn you out. Too many drugs and too much > disorder eventually get to you. I went off to live on my > own, quietly, to concentrate on what I felt I could do well > – painting. I was again lucky, as in my childhood the > family friends were mostly artists (my mother was a poet) so > I learned both technical knowledge from a young age and also > an appreciation of what the artist’s life can be. It > was an easy thing for me to slip into being. I never went to > art college. So, it is strange for me that throughout my > professional life I have often found myself working in art > colleges and other academic environments. They are not alien > to me, as I grew up in a studious context, with books and > art. But it can be weird to teach when you can only imagine > what it is like to be a student. However, one advantage I > have is that I can argue, with conviction, that a degree is > not a pre-requisite to being an artist. I can describe > education as being about a personal journey into knowledge > and creativity, not a piece of paper that will eventually > validate you. My own experience can stand as evidence that > you do not need to fulfil other people’s expectations > to achieve what you want. > > > > Education is the most effective force for social change I > have come across and it should be the right of every > individual to have as much of it as they want (or can > stand). Education can (should) be a primary resource for > transformation. It does not need to be formalised, but to > create substantial resource infrastructure you sometimes > need large institutions. When I argue the case for artists > working in academic environments I do so from a conviction > concerning education’s transformative capacity, not > from some idea that everyone needs to be appropriately > validated. That validation is part of the problem with > education. > > > > Best > > > > Simon > > > > > > Simon Biggs > > > > Research Professor > > edinburgh college of art > > [email protected] > > www.eca.ac.uk > > > > Creative Interdisciplinary Research into CoLlaborative Environments > > CIRCLE research group > > www.eca.ac.uk/circle/ > > > > [email protected] > > www.littlepig.org.uk > > AIM/Skype: simonbiggsuk > > > > > > From: marc > garrett <[email protected]> > > Reply-To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed > creativity <[email protected]> > > Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:44:25 +0000 > > To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed > creativity <[email protected]> > > Subject: Re: [NetBehaviour] Call for Submissions: > Multichannel VariableEconomies Screening Programme Deadline > 28th January (Helen Sloan) > > > > Hi Curt & all, > > > > As someone who mainly comes from a self-education position, > or rather > > from a place where I come from a very poor and violent > working class > > family - which spent most of the time either being put in > social care, > > whether this be in borstals and prison, plus family members > vanishing > > because of the failures of 70's social (un)care > systems. Just think of > > 'Cathy Come Home' by Ken Loach - > > http://en.wikipediaorg/wiki/Cathy_Come_Home > and may get some idea of my > > own personal history. Moving on from that I wish to mention > that, for me > > education is one of the most important aspects of human > development and > > a human right. > > > > Because I was not fortunate when younger to be able to > experience a > > decent education, I had to discover various sneaky ways in > finding > > information that the terrible school I was at, was not > teaching me. My > > passion to discover what was going in the world beyond the > chaos of my > > everyday circumstance was strong - even obsessed, whether > it was in > > science, politics, technology, history, philosophy or art, > I would bunk > > school regularly and spend an awful lot of my time in the > Essex Library, > > which thankfully was in Southend-on-Sea, a town 50 miles > from London. > > Some examples of what I read from the age of 12 and 13 and > (of course) > > onwards, were books such as the The Mass Psychology of > Fascism by > > Wilhelm Reich, The Divided Self by R. D. Laing, James > Joyce, T. S. Eliot > > and D. H. Lawrence. Carl Jung, Fear of Flying by Erica > Jong, Herbert > > Read - especially Education Through Art and The Paradox of > Anarchism, > > loads of art books. I am not saying that I understood these > > > publications, but I am saying that it encouraged me to > learn more and I > > have not stopped since. > > > > So, when I think of education I do not immediately think of > official > > education as in universities or colleges. For I am a strong > advocate of > > self-education, which also involves one being self critical > as well. > > There is larger and broader context where individuals have > the choice to > > explore life, art and all the other equally important > subjects outside > > institution environments as well. One of my personal > worries in respect > > of UK culture, which may be also the same regarding USA, > although > > influenced through different historical, political > situations is that, > > my own class - as in, working class has turned into a mass > of gibbering > > X Factor driven bimbos. Of course, this is not a universal > issue, but > > the consumer orientated mediation of our cultures via neo > liberal > > agendas have not helped. > > > > I personally do not think that individuals themselves > should deny any > > official forms of education. For there are some good > educators here and > > there who are decent and authentic in appreciating how to > learn > > themselves, and are active in the process of engaging with > students in > > ways that attempt in spirit, to transcend beyond the bland > and > > over-efficient trappings of slack management structures > that manner are > > dealing with. Not just this, economics is factor in the > real world and > > gaining degrees and learning via institutional means gets > you a job. > > From that, if you are artist you get some proper > money to fund your own > > projects on your own terms etc... > > > > The irony of learning outside of my school environment at > that age was > > that, at 14 I was asked to go to college at weekends by the > Essex > > council. Which was strange because all the other students > were on > > average 17-20 years of age. I was told to go back to school > or they > > would put me in a Borstal, so I did in the end. > > > > From this experience ideas around education have also > been informed by > > writers such as 'Deschooling Society' by Ivan > Illich, and other works > > such "Pedagogy of the Oppressed' by Paulo Friere. > Yet, in contrast to > > all of this art (whatever medium) as a from of creative > expression has > > always been my main agenda and always will be :-) > > > > wishing you well. > > > > marc > > > Hi Rob (and all), > > > > > > Fun quotes (for the prose alone). Yes. stones, glass > houses, logs in > > > eyes and specks in eyes. The following quote is from > the > > > acknowledgements of Rita Raley's 2009 > "Tactical Media" book (which I > > > will teach this semester in a freshman "liberal > studies introductory > > > colloquium" course called "Tactical Media / > D.I.Y. Anarchy"): > > > > > > "It is my fervent wish that this book will become > obsolete becaues > > > the world will have changed so dramatically that this > study of > > > art-activism could only appar as a quaint historical > artifact, its > > > latent pessimism misguided, its failure to imagine > otherwise > > > indicative of the author's poverty of imagination. > Until such a > > > point, I will continue to look to tactical media > artists for > > > inspiration and guidance." (xii) > > > > > > Not that I myself look to "tactical media > artists" for much > > > inspiration or guidance, and probably by the end of > the course we > > > will have critiqued their approaches from > contradictory perspectives > > > -- the work is too didactic/hamfisted/pragmatic; the > work is too > > > disengaged/esoteric/impotent. (Throw a critical stone > in the air and > > > you will hit a tactical media artist.) > > > > > > It is always amusing to me when artists and/or > educators try to > > > out-ethicalize each other, as if any of us are all > that directly, > > > pragmatically, quantitatively, measurably changing > anything. For me, > > > art and teaching are a gamble -- a gamble that some > kind of abstract > > > affective agency will eventually modulate actual > aspects of the world > > > in some way that will "matter." > Consequently, I admire others who are > > > making similar wagers. But I don't ever fool > myself into believing > > > that I'm on the street feeding the poor. Because > I've done that kind > > > of work as well, and it's quite a different > thing. > > > > > > Rock & Roll Ain't No Pollution, > > > Curt > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >> There's more irony to be had in the quotes, > that's why I posted them. > > >> That and, as Michael points out, they are funny. > > >> > > >> Art & Language are anti-academic but started > and have often ended up in > > >> academia. They are politically committed but show > at a gentrifying, > > >> market-leading gallery. Despite protests to the > contrary they are > > >> radical artists who have artworld careers. I like > them. > > >> > > >> It's very easy to criticise academia, artistic > careerism, the art > > >> market, politically/socially committed art etc. > from the security of > > >> one's own, virtuous, position outside of them. > But there's no point > > >> outside the world where we can stand and point and > laugh at it. > > >> > > >> We all need to be careful about glass houses, or > at least work on > > >> smashing our own windows, whether our teaching > means we are objectively > > >> in academia or our radical socially committed > artistic practice means we > > >> are objectively part of gentrification. > > >> > > >> The most important criticism is self-criticism, > although this may > > >> sometimes mean that we have to admit we are not > criticising others > > >> enough. ;-) I've taught, I've wired up > abandoned warehouses, I've > > >> attended private views, I write reviews for a > techno-art-and-society web > > >> community. We are all guilty... > > >> > > >> - Rob. > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> NetBehaviour mailing list > > >> [email protected] > > >> http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > >> > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > NetBehaviour mailing list > > > [email protected] > > > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > NetBehaviour mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > > > > > > > Edinburgh College of Art (eca) is a charity registered > in Scotland, number SC009201 > > > > > > > > > > > -----Inline Attachment Follows----- > > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
