> From: Michael Szpakowski <[email protected]> > Reply-To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected]> > Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:31:50 -0800 (PST) > To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [NetBehaviour] Call for Submissions: Multichannel > VariableEconomies Screening Programme Deadline 28th January (Helen Sloan) > > 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 didn¹t 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 70¹s, so > that wasn¹t 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 artist¹s 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 people¹s 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 education¹s 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/listinf > o/netbehaviour
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