Blog
on admitting to being an artist
when it comes up
i brace myself
take a deep breath
and call myself an artist.
as a way of being FOR art
FOR a tradition of willful (rather than submissive) practices – that I am not ready to give up on.
being the most artist that I can be
which is to be free and connected and alert and part of a conscious shaping force of the whole ecology of ideas, beings and things.
re-claiming art now
and using my elbows the best I can to make some space for future art freedoms
Re-rooting digital culture at ISEA 2011
Some thoughts on returning from ISEA 2011 in Istanbul.
It is ever more urgent for us to develop functional infrastructures for imaginative interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration.
A world where humans play with things
Overland – video shown as part of my presentation at Furtherfield’s Re-rooting Digital Culture unconference on Friday.
In September 2009, as part of our media art ecologies pyramid pledge, We Wont Fly For Art,* I took an overland trip to the Eclectic Tech Carnival (and art biennial) in Istanbul, breaking my journey in Linz. I was joined by Aileen and Rob. I blogged and documented the journey with unglamorous tools (a recycled computer and an old mobile phone).
Landscape – nature<>culture
Click above to view video (3mins, 7sec)
Just back from two weeks in the New Forest, UK and haven’t yet dared to download my email.
Every UK-based art worker I know at the moment is exhausted and crazed by the stresses of politics and questions of survival. Public funding, to support infrastructure, services and culture that is for the public, is being phased out in favour of a corporatization of culture supported by consumption-fuelled-growth and patronage by the rich; in a way that separates power from responsibility and constrains imagination.
Current – exhibition and collection at Harris Museum and Art Gallery
On Friday night the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston opened an exhibition called Current (produced in partnership with Folly). http://www.current-experiment.org.uk/
The first piece of digital art to be collected as part of the Harris Museum permanent collection was also announced as Thomson & Craighead’s piece ‘The distance travelled through our solar system this year and all the barrels of oil remaining’ (2011)
Is it ONLY art?
The P2P foundation have recently been discussing alternative, cooperative models for food production and distribution and one of their contributors highlighted Kate Rich’s Feral Trade project. Furtherfield hosted the first exhibition of Feral Trade as a working cafe, at HTTP Gallery in North London in 2009. (This page gives links to photos and a short video about the show. Watch out for the charismatic suppliers of locally made cake; )
Overland: Again in the future?
Given the opportunity I would certainly make this choice every-time.
Things I would do differently
1. Learn at least a few words in the language of every country I was passing through: hello, please, thank you, excuse me, help.
2. Learn a bit about the contemporary and historical relationship between bordering countries and my own where I’m making border crossings.
3. Take a knife a spoon and napkins
4. Take antiseptic cream and sticking plasters (would have been put to good use at least twice on my trip)
Overland: Home in a flash
I have been back nearly a week now from my overland journey to Linz and Istanbul. So before my recollections are wiped from my mind by the familiar choppy rhythm of activities, concerns and associated short journeys…
Overland: Neccessary improvisation->survivable unpleasantness
It’s an enormous relief to be sitting on the Austrian Railjet train for Munich (the seats have power sockets!) after a thwarted attempt to enjoy myself for 8 unplanned hours in Budapest from 5 0′ clock this morning.
I’ve been traveling alone for 41 hours now and have about another 23hrs to go if we stick to schedule.
notes for Aileen
Hi Aileen,
I can’t remember the password for my gmail account so this is the only way I can think of passing on the bits of knowledge I’ve picked up on the way. Hope you get it.
If you get the same bus as I did out of Istanbul, I think it will cost about E15 from Metro whose office is really near to where we get the Dolmus to Begums place.
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