Hi all, All the archives for netbehaviour are here - http://www.netbehaviour.org/pipermail/netbehaviour/
So, if you have missed out on posts and discussions this would be the place to find them :-) wishing all well. marc > Hi Simon, > > I agree with what you are saying here. As usual, the artists are pushed > aside like 'economical fodder' for the patriarch, in this case by a > ego-centric, journalist who is onto a good thing through, exploiting > sensational contexts whilst promoting his own position/status. The other > dodgey thing here is that Eshun, is actually quite high up within the > Arts Council himself, making decisions as a high-profile board member. > This surely has an influence on the outcome regarding how much support > they get from the Arts Council... > > Another aspect of the article I found curious was Eshen's idea of > exploring new territories which may relate to our own way of working, > some of the processes he has proposed seem to be influenced by media art > culture's own strategies in survival, as well as similar to festival > behaviours - I fear that all it means is that he will steal many of the > contemporary/imaginative ideas as part of a strategy to put himself and > perhaps like Nicolas Bourriaud's top-down related solution for moving > forward. Thus, exploiting the ideas of smaller groups like ourselves to > promote those who are already considered safe or viable items for > profile rather than content or 'real' change. So, supporting a > modernist, capitalist and neo-liberalism agenda in the guise of supposed > 'radicalism'. > > The power positions remain in place but the interface changes, just > another brand to sell... > > marc > > > The main point of the article is that Eshun has sought to agrandise > himself and his position as a pundit in the media at the expense of the > ICA and the artists that support it and who are in turn meant to be > supported by it. This is what happens when journalists take over > cultural organisations. A bit like bankers taking over industries. The > new BBC arts blogger Will Gompertz was recently the focus of some > alarmed discussion as it became clear BBC Online has appointed a > journalist and marketing person as their key arts commentator. It could > be assumed that the UK arts scene is being taken over by such people. > The ICA was the original “artists’ run” space in the UK but has somehow, > over the past 60 years, transformed into a Hela cell. Perhaps it needs a > little chemotherapy – but I don’t think Eshun is part of the cure. For > him the art is irrelevant. > > Best > > Simon > > > Simon Biggs > > s.biggs@ eca .ac.uk [email protected] Skype: simonbiggsuk > http://www.littlepig.org.uk/ > Research Professor edinburgh college of art http://www. eca .ac.uk/ > C reative I nterdisciplinary R esearch into C o L laborative E > nvironments http://www. eca .ac.uk/circle/ > E lectronic L iterature as a M odel of C reativity and I nnovation in P > ractice http://www.elmcip.net/ > > > From: Jim Andrews <[email protected]> > Reply-To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected]> > Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:26:06 -0800 > To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [NetBehaviour] Crisis at the ICA: Ekow Eshun’s Experiment > in Deinstitutionalisation > > i'm only very remotely interested in what's going on at the ica, but the > article was interesting in its picture of the relation of art and artists to > the ica and, by extension, many other institutions of art. > > in the picture charlesworth draws, the art itself is irrelevant compared > with the buzz, and the buzz not even about the art as the moment in which > the art is situated. > > ja > http://vispo.com > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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
