Via: "dr.woooo"
amatorka a to g8-int
show details
Apr 29 (1 day ago) Call out for No Border Camp in Ukraine 2007
The camp will take place from the 11th to the 20th of August 2007 in
the main region of transit and labor migration in Ukraine:
Transcarpathia.
The eastward expansion of the European Union has resulted in moving
the walls of "Fortress Europe" to the Western border of Ukraine. The
Ukrainian region of Transcarpatia, of which the biggest cities are
Uzhgorod and Mukachevo, has become a new borderline, with increasing
militarization and major concentration of detention camps for refugees
from the countries of Global South and former USSR, who try to escape
war, totalitarianism or misery to the European Union countries. It is
hard to find any "open" information about the conditions in the
majority of these camps.
The condition of the refugees in Ukraine is very unstable: freedom of
movement is restricted; it is hard to get a job or medical care, and
no social security is provided. When one gets refugee status, the only
support they get from the state is a single payment of a petty 3
euros.
In recent years Ukraine has even extradited asylum seekers to places
like Uzbekistan, where they were imprisoned for years in the notorious
authoritarian regime's gulags.
The increase of border controls makes a big impact on lives of local
people in the depressed region of Transcarpathia. The region is
situated on the intersection of borders of five countries: Ukraine,
Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Romania. Four of them are now in the
European Union, but Ukraine will not be its member in the near future.
So "Fortress Europe" strengthens its Eastern frontiers on the
borderline of Western Ukraine. Still, up to half of the working
population of Transcarpathia works abroad. Ukraine cancelled the visa
regime for EU nationals, but the EU has not made the access of
Ukrainians to the European labor market (or even European countries'
territory) any easier, although it would be hard to imagine for
example agriculture in the EU today without Ukrainian guest workers.
At the same time, Transcarpathia has been for a long time a very
special region with its unique blend of local cultures and traditions,
and now it turned out to be one of the main routes for international
migration. Therefore, local border guards, security services and
media, using xenophobic language, help to spread prejudices towards
migrants among local population, which resulted in rising tensions in
the region.
We demand the right of free movement for everyone, asylum for all the
persecuted people and the right of people to migrate from depressed
areas to work in other countries, if it can make their lives better.
We demand abolishing all visa regimes. We want to tear down "Fortress
Europe" contemporary border regime, which has lead to the
state-sanctioned murder of thousands of people in its borders during
recent years. The "Global Apartheid" policy should be stopped!
We continue the tradition of No Border camps on Eastern borders of the
Fortress Europe, which were organized 1998-2000 on the border of
Germany and Poland, in 2000-2003 on the Eastern border of Poland, in
2001 in Slovenia, in 2003 in Romania, in 2003 and 2005 on the border
between Greece and Bulgaria and in Finland in 2004. The camps have
also been organized on the Southern borders of Europe (on Sicily 2000
and on Tarifa of Spain 2001), inside Europe at airports and main
sites of European surveillance and decision-making system (such as in
Strasbourg 2002), on the border between Mexico and USA and in
Australia. This year our international movement makes a major step
forward, as the camp in Ukraine will be first ever organized on the
territory of the former Soviet Union.
Some of the aims of this camp are:
1) To create a ground for communication between activists from Eastern
and Western Europe and from everywhere else: meeting, establishing
contacts, sharing skills, knowledge and experience, etc. (workshops,
discussions, practical trainings, concerts and much more).
2) To attract the attention of the people in Ukraine (but also in
Russia and in the world) to the racist policy on migration; to address
the questions of contemporary forms of racism and xenophobia.
3) To create contact with local people in the region of
Transcarpathia: anti-racist education, open public events, film
screenings, exhibitions, concerts and discussions, with an aim to
improve local people's attitude towards migrants, refugees and asylum
seekers.
4) To exchange information between us: how the authorities in
different countries criminalize migration, what are the situations
with deportation prisons, and to share the experiences of resistance
in different countries. One of the practical results of the camp is
going to be the publication of a brochure with the information from
different countries on all these issues to reinforce our struggle
(call-out with approximate questions is coming!).
5) To get more people from different anti-authoritarian collectives
and movements in Ukraine, Russia and other 'post-soviet' countries
involved with the migration-related issues; mobilize people for
struggle against racism, criminalization of migration and deportation
camps system.
We will discuss the possible ways and perhaps we will do some actions
(but not in the very region of camp; it has been advised by everybody
who's in touch with the region that any confrontational actions done
by activists from "outside" on such a sensitive issue could make the
situation worse, not better). So first of all it will not be an action
camp but a camp for communication, networking, planning and popular
education.
Another event that is going to take place in the camp is an
International Food Not Bombs gathering. There is an explosion of Food
Not Bombs activities in Eastern Europe. In Russia alone there are
about 50 groups that are regularly doing actions.
We already started to form a program of workshops, discussions,
practical trainings etc. But we prefer the program of the camp to be
formed by the people who will come there. So if you've got something
to share or contribute ? please let us know now! It can be any topic
you are interested in, not only the main topic of the camp.
Please take into account that Ukraine has cancelled the visa regime
for the citizens of the European Union, the USA and some other
countries, so if you have a passport of some Western country you
probably do not need any visa to join us.
Feel free to spread this call-out through your contacts.
More information and contact: noborder2007@riseup.net
To subscribe/unsubscribe, change your address on the list etc. you can find
help at: http://help.riseup.net/lists/subscribers/
Via: Eduardo Navas
To read this text with all the proper links, visit:
http://remixtheory.net/?p=174
The Three Basic Forms of Remix: a Point of Entry, by Eduardo Navas
Image source: Turbulence.org
Layout by Ludmil Trenkov
Duchamp source: Art History Birmington
Levine source: Artnet
(This text has been recently added to the section titled Remix Defined
to expand my general definition of Remix.)
The following summary is a copy and paste collage (a
type of literary remix) of my lectures and preliminary
writings since 2005. My definition of Remix was first
introduced in one of my most recent texts: Turbulence:
Remixes + Bonus Beats, commissioned by Turbulence.org:
http://transition.turbulence.org/texts/nmf/Navas_EN.html . Many of
the ideas I entertain in the text for Turbulence were first discussed
in various presentations during the Summer of 2006. (See the list
of places here plus an earlier version of my definition of Remix
http://navasse.net/remixCCEBA/). Below, the section titled remixes
takes parts from the section by the same name in the Turbulence text,
and the section titled remix defined consists of excerpts of my
definitions which have been revised for an upcoming text soon to
be released in English and Spanish by Telefonica in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. The full text will be released online once it is officially
published.
REMIX DEFINED
To understand Remix as a cultural phenomenon, we must first define
it in music. A music remix, in general, is a reinterpretation of
a pre-existing song, meaning that the aura of the original will
be dominant in the remixed version. Of course some of the most
challenging remixes can question this generalization. But based on
its history, it can be stated that there are three types of remixes.
The first remix is extended, that is a longer version of the original
song containing long instrumental sections making it more mixable for
the club DJ. The first known disco song to be extended to ten minutes
is Ten Percent, by Double Exposure, remixed by Walter Gibbons in
1976.[1]
Image source: Vinyl Masterpiece
The second remix is selective; it consists of adding or subtracting
material from the original song. This is the type of remix which
made DJs popular producers in the music mainstream. One of the most
successful selective remixes is Eric B. & Rakims Paid in Full,
remixed by Coldcut in 1987. [2] In this case Coldcut produced two
remixes, the most popular version not only extended the original
recording, following the tradition of the club mix (like Gibbons), but
it also contained new sections as well as new sounds, while others
were subtracted, always keeping the essence of the song intact.
Image source: Rate Your Music
The third remix is reflexive; it allegorizes and extends the aesthetic
of sampling, where the remixed version challenges the aura of the
original and claims autonomy even when it carries the name of the
original; material is added or deleted, but the original tracks are
largely left intact to be recognizable. An example of this is Mad
Professors famous dub/trip hop album No Protection, which is a remix
of Massive Attacks Protection. In this case both albums, the original
and the remixed versions, are considered works on their own, yet
the remixed version is completely dependent on Massives original
production for validation.[3] The fact that both albums were released
at the same time in 1994 further complicates Mad Professors allegory.
This complexity lies in the fact that Mad Professors production is
part of the tradition of Jamaicas dub, where the term version
was often used to refer to remixes which due to their extensive
manipulation in the studio pushed for allegorical autonomy.[4]
Image source: Last FM
Allegory is often deconstructed in more advanced remixes following
this third form, and quickly moves to be a reflexive exercise that at
times leads to a remix in which the only thing that is recognizable
from the original is the title. But, to be clearno matter whatthe
remix will always rely on the authority of the original song. When
this activity is extended to culture at large, the remix is in the end
a re-mixthat is a rearrangement of something already recognizable;
it functions at a second level: a meta-level. This implies that
the originality of the remix is non-existent, therefore it must
acknowledge its source of validation self-reflexively. In brief,
the remix when extended as a cultural practice is a second mix of
something pre-existent; the material that is mixed at least for a
second time must be recognized otherwise it could be misunderstood as
something new, and it would become plagiarism. Without a history, the
remix cannot be Remix.[5]
The extended, selective and reflexive remixes can quickly crossover
and blur their own definitions. Based on a materialist historical
analysis, it can be noted that DJs became invested in remixes which
inherited a rich practice of appropriation that had been at play in
culture at large for many decades. Below are brief definitions with
visual examples.
REMIXES
Extended Remixes
The Extended Remix was an early form of remix in which DJs from
New York City became invested. On close examination this was a
reaction against the status quo, where everything was made as brief as
possible, from radio songs to novels. I argue that due to this, the
extended remix is not found in mass culture prior to this period.
The Disco DJs, going against the grain, actually extended music
compositions to make them more danceable. They took 3 to 4 minute
compositions that would be friendly to radio play, and extended them
as long as 10 minutes.[6] In the seventies this was quite radical
because in fact, it is the summary of long material that is constantly
privileged in the mainstreamwhich is true even today. The reason
behind this tendency has to do in part with the efficiency that
popular culture demands. That is, everything is optimized to be
quickly delivered and consumed by as many people as possible. An
obvious example of this tendency from history is the popularity of
publications like Readers Digest, which offers condensed versions of
books as well as stories for people who want to be informed but do
not have the time to read the original material, which is often more
extensive. [7]
Image source: E Bay
Another recent activity that is now emerging on the web is the
two-minute replay available for TV shows like Studio 60 on the
Sunset Strip.[8] If you missed the show when it aired, you can spend
just two minutes online catching up on the plot; in essence, this
is a more efficient version of Readers Digest for TV delivered to
your Internet doorstep. This two-minute replay is also called video
highlights. At the same time, this optimization of information allows
entire programs to be uploaded by average consumers in short segments
to community websites like Youtube, which in the end function as
promotion for TV media.[9]
Image source: Youtube
Selective Remixes
For the Selective Remix the DJ takes and adds parts to the original
composition, while leaving its spectacular aura intact. An example
from art history in which key codes of the Selective Remix are at
play is Marcel Duchamps Fountain (1917); [10] this work consists
of an untouched urinal (save for a traditional artist signature) to
reinforce the question, what is art? And codes of a second level
remix on Duchamp can be found in Fountain (after Marcel Duchamp)
by Sherrie Levine who, in 1991, questioned Duchamp as a privileged
male artist and his urinal as art, leaving intact Duchamps aura as
an artist but not the Urinals spectacular aura as a mass produced
object. [11] In both of these cases there is subtraction and addition
(selectivelyhence the term, Selective Remixes).
Image source: Turbulence.org
Layout by Ludmil Trenkov
Duchamp source: Art History Birmington
Levine source: Artnet
A second example where key codes of the Selective Remix are at play
can be found in DJ culture itself. Notice how the CD remixer gains
authority by allegorizing the turntable. In this case the Technics
1210 functions similarly to Duchamps urinal: the basic turntable
designed for listening was appropriated by the DJ to mix and scratch
music live; it was used as an actual musical instrument, and Duchamp
appropriated a urinal to recontextualize it as art. It is crucial to
note that the necessity for precision in performance by turntablists
led to developing a specialized turntable that could withstand
physical abuse, while for Duchamp, it was enough to leave the urinal
intact, save for the artists signature (R. Mutt). Then the Technics
SL-DZ 1200 similarly to Levines urinal, selectively allegorizes
and appropriates elements from the Technics 1210 turntable; in this
instance the critical elements that validate the turntable in DJ
Culture are not only left intact, but in fact celebrated.
Images source: Panasonic Europe
Reflexive Remixes
The Reflexive Remix differs in various ways from the Selective Remix;
it directly allegorizes and extends the aesthetic of sampling as
practiced in the music studio by seventies DJs, where the remixed
version challenges the aura of the original and claims autonomy
even when it carries the originals name. In culture at large, the
Reflexive Remix takes parts from different sources and mixes them
aiming for autonomy. The spectacular aura of the original(s), whether
fully recognizable or not must remain a vital part if the remix is
to find cultural acceptance. This strategy demands that the viewer
reflect on the meaning of the work and its sources-even when knowing
the origin may not be possible.
An example from art history in which the codes of the Reflexive Remix
are at play is the work of John Heartfield, who takes material out of
context to create social commentary. His Photo-montages like Adolf the
Superman: Swallows Gold and Spouts Junk[12] and Hurrah, the Butter is
All Gone,[13] question the very subject that gives them the power to
comment. In the former, Hitler, as the title connotes, is presented
swallowing gold and is questioned as a leader of Germany; while in the
latter, a German family is having dinner, eating military weapons,
thus the stability of the home is questioned due to German politics.
In his case, the spectacular aura of the source image (like in the
second remix) is left intact-but only to be questioned along with
everything else: we believe the image but question it at the same time
due to the dual transparency of a montage and the realism expected of
a photo-image; the work then gains access to social commentary based
on the combination of recognizable images.
Image source: Turbulence.org
Layout by Ludmil Trenkov
Sources: towson.edu
Another example from art history where the codes of the reflexive
remix can be found is the work of Hannah Hoch. Her collages blur
the origin of the images she appropriates; the result is open-ended
propositions. Her work often questions notions of identity and gender
roles. Yet, even when it is not clear where the material comes from,
her work is still fully dependent on an allegorical recognition of
such forms in culture at large in order to attain meaning. This is
the case in pieces like Grotesque [14] and Tamar. [15] Although
they were made 30 years apart, both decontextualze the objects they
appropriate. Here we have body parts of men and women remixed to
create a collage of de-gendered figures. The authority of the image
lies in the acknowledgment of each fragment individually, and a
specific social commentary like the one found in Heartfields work is
no longer at play; instead, each individual fragment in Hochs work
needs to hold on to its cultural code in order to create meaning,
although with a much more open-ended position.
Image source: Turbulence.org
Layout by Ludmil Trenkov
Tamar source (left): yellowbellywebdesign
Grotesque source (right): Adam Art Gallery
For Heartfield and Hoch the subject which gives the work of art its
authority is actually questioned; the result is a friction, a tension
that demands that the viewers reconsider everything in front of them.
This is what makes their art powerful.
An example of the Reflexive Remix in culture at large is Wikipedia.
The entries to the online encyclopedia are constantly revised and
updated by different contributors; when a controversial entry is made,
a discussion ensues and a posting is placed at the top of the site
explaining the current state of debate.
Image source: Wikipedia.org
Another example is Youtube, a community site, which like Wikipedia
is driven by the community. If a video is offensive or deemed
inappropriate the community will let Youtube staff know immediately.
Youtube also has a complex tie in with the corporate media, in which
copyright infringement is always present, and it is quite common
that when a corporation finds it to their benefit, they demand their
material to be removed if it was posted without permission. This
opens the door to the complexiies brought about by the creative
possibilities of free culture and remix culture. For a detailed
analysis of how the Selective and Extended Remixes are at play in new
media art, please read the section Remixes in Turbulence: Remixes +
Bonus Beats.
There are many other examples from art history and popular culture
which can be presented. Neo-dada material by Robert Rauschenberg,
Jasper Johns and their contemporaries can be connected to the
reflexive remix, while work by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein can be
related to the Selective Remix. The Extended Remix, however remains
unusual, except in the club remixes and art projects. The reasons for
this are constantly entertained in Remixtheory.net.
In conclusion, what is crucial at the moment is understanding how
different acts of appropriation throughout history, such as the
ones revisited above, enable us to entertain Remix as part of the
consumer/producer model currently at play in culture.
[1] Brewster, 178-79.
[2] Paid in full was actually a B side release meant to complement Move the
Crowd. Eric B. & Rakim, Paid in Full, Re-mix engineer: Derek B., Produced
by Eric B. & Rakim, Island Records, 1987.
[3] Ulf Poschardt, DJ Culture (London: Quartet Books, 1995), 297.
[4] Dick Hebdige, Cut N Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music,
(London: Comedia, 1987), 12-16.
[5] DJ producers who sampled during the eighties found themselves having to
acknowledge History by complying with the law; see the landmark law-suit
against Biz Markie in Brewster, 246.
[6] Brewster, 178-79.
[7] Readers Digest, , (October, 2006).
[8] Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, nbc.com, September 2006,
[9] The 2007 Grammys can be seen in pieces almost in its entirety. See
Grammys 2007, Youtube.org 2007 (April 15, 2007),
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=grammys+2007&search=Search.
[10] For an online reproduction of the famous Richard Stieglitz photograph
visit: FountainArt History
Birmington,http://arthist.binghamton.edu/duchamp/fountain.html , (November
2006).
[11] For an online reproduction of Levines appropriation visit Sherrie
Levine, Artnet,
http://www.artnet.com/magazine/features/cfinch/finch5-7-4.asp, (October,
2006).
[12] For an image of Heartfields Superman, see: Towson.edu,
http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/images/Adolf_the_Superman.jpg, (October,
2006).
[13] For an image of Heartfields Butters all Gone, see
http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/images/Hurrah_the_Butter_is_all_gone.jpg,
(October, 2006).
[14] For an image of Grotesque visit Adam Art Gallery
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/adamartgal/exhibitions/2002/big/lightsandshadows-Hch-l
g.html, (October, 2006).
[15] For an image of Tamar ,visit Hannah Hch: Dompteuse(Tamar),
http://www.yellowbellywebdesign.com/Hch/dompu.html, (October, 2006).
Via: Felix Stalder
[This is from one of the most interesting sources analyzing organized
criminality, from a staunchly structural point of view. New modes of
organisation (terrorist/criminal networks) operate against old modes
of organisation (states and armies) and transform each other in the
process. Or, as the subtitle of the blog says, "networked tribes,
infrastructure disruption, and the emerging bazaar of violence.
An open notebook on the first epochal war of the 21st Century".
Frightening but enlightening. Felix (the blog contains numerous links,
which are not reproduced here).]
INFO WARFARE, NARCOCORRIDOS, AND YOUTUBE
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2007/04/journal_the_neg.html
"Many of these ballads [narcocorridos, or drug trafficker's
ballad] are in the classic Medieval style, and they are an
anachronistic link between the earliest European poetic traditions and
the world of crack cocaine and gangsta rap." Elija Wald.
"Following the model of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda,
the cartels have discovered the Web as a powerful means of
transmitting threats, recruiting members and glorifying the
narco-trafficker lifestyle of big money, big guns and big thrills."
Manuel Roig-Franzia, writing for the Washington Post
The best way to view Mexican narcocorridos, or ballads to drug
traffickers, is as a form of information warfare directed
simultaneously at:
* internal/general audiences (to enhance the prestige of
affiliation and attract adherents),
* the opposition (to demoralize and provoke),
* the state (to demonstrate its impotence through
brazen announcements of intent).
Here's an example. The popular Mexican singer, Valentin "The Golden
Rooster" Elizalde wrote a paean to the Sinaloan cartel that villified
the Zetas/Gulf Cartel. The song's video was posted on YouTube
(featuring bodies of killed cartel members from news clips). The
Gulf Cartel/Zetas sent a return message by killing Elizalde and his
manager outside a concert, punctuated by a YouTube video of Elizalde's
autopsy.
Popular Infowar
Historically, information warfare was restricted to elites
(government, media, parties, etc.). The onrush of Jihadi videos,
political pro-war/anti-war blogs, and narcocorrido videos have
categorically demonstrated that this state of affairs has changed. We
now live in a world where infowarfare is accomplished by individual
practitioners through an open source framework. Over time, the gap
between those in the open source framework and the elites will widen
in the favor of the former -- we ave only scratched the surface of
where this empowering technology can go.
While the new media infowar will be chaotic (as much as against each
other as for or against the state), the bulk of the momentum will be
with those that represent revisionist forces. Namely, those groups
that want to change the status quo. Here's an example: Lee Garnett
at PostPolitical notes an important transition already occurring in
Narcocorridos:
However, more recent slayings have shown a marked tendency to try
to transcend the limits of revenge. The videos have begun depicting
the killers as vigilantes, bringing justice to the streets by killing
off members of their hated rival cartels, which are depicted as the
enemies of the people.
--- http://felix.openflows.com ----------------------------- out now:
*|Manuel Castells and the Theory of the Network Society. Polity, 2006
*|Open Cultures and the Nature of Networks. Ed. Futura/Revolver, 2005
----- End forwarded message -----
Via: David garcia
I heard just yesterday upsetting (given his youth the shocking) news
of Ricardo's death.
I came to know Ricardo first through reading and admiring his writing.
His texts (I refuse to say was) are so valuable because they offer a
window into vibrant world of Brazilian free media activism. They are
illuminating precisely because he refuses to buy into the hype of the
revolutionary 'open source Brazil' that is maybe still fashionable.
The writing is critical but without rancor his observations always
diffused the observed through a sensibility which is simultaneously
gentle and rigorous, affectionate and skeptical.
But because his critique is delivered not in text alone but by
practicing alternatives it is able to show the particular power and
potential of Brazilian media activism. My encounter with this aspect
of Ricardo's work came from the piece which Brian Holmes describes
earlier in this thread. The Autolabs project in which he was part of a
team and a passionate advocate. Worked actively mentoring teen agers
in free media practice in the poor districts of Sao Paulo The power
of the Autolabs project is that embodied everything which the state
sponsored Telecenters claimed to be but in Ricardo's view were not.
I know he did many other things which have been identified by Lucas
Bambozzi and I am sure there is much more that will emerge but these
are my memories
While I stayed in Sao Paulo Ricardo (and others in the team) gave me
so much in terms of hospitality, warmth and education, changing the
way I saw many things.
As Ricardo is no longer here in person nettime (I hope he might agree)
is as good a place as anywhere to say goodbye.
David Garcia
Via: Benedict Seymour
Hi, hope these stories will be of interest to some people on this list -
excuse the spamming.
Ben
M | U | T | E | __ rrrrrread it!
______________________________________________27 April 07 _
OUT NOW ON METAMUTE.ORG:
Take Me I'm Yours: Neoliberalising the Cultural Institution
by Anthony Davies
'"Talking about precariousness in the McBa is like taking a nutrition
seminar at McDonalds"'
The discourse of precariousness is thriving in cultural and political
forums. But 'progressive institutions - from museums to art schools -
do not always practice what they preach. Anthony Davies looks behind the
scenes of radical reformism.
http://www.metamute.org/en/Take-Me-Im-Yours
*
The End of Copenhagen?
by Stewart Home
'[Alex] Fotis anarcho-syndicalism is a variant of Leninist vanguardism,
the old idealist fallacy of Holy Spirit descending into unconscious (or
at best semi-conscious) matter, of (white) 'consciousness being brought
in from outside'.
The Situationists and the Creative Class are neck and neck in the
competition for most mythologised avant garde. In riot-torn Copenhagen
at the end of last month the two converged.
While the conference There's Life After Death Scandinavian
Situationism in Perspective was laying to rest delusions about the SI,
partisans of the creative class seized on the riots as a victory for the
new creative vanguardists. Stewart Home rattles some cage.
http://www.metamute.org/en/End-of-Copenhagen
*
SUBSCRIBE TO MUTE MAGAZINE HERE:
http://www.metamute.org/taxonomy/term/3480
FOR A LIST OF STOCKISTS:
http://www.metamute.org/node/254
Via: Brian Holmes
It is truly sad news to learn of Ricardo Rosas' untimely death.
Ricardo was so unusual, a selfless person full of enthusiasm and
originality, constantly producing texts and then increasingly,
events, but modestly, with what seemed to be only a concern for the
possible participation of others, and for opening up democratic and
popular spaces in Brazilian media culture. I remember going far out
to the edge of Sao Paulo where he had worked to helped organize
tactical media labs, the so-called "autolabs," that crossed class
lines. Immediately he had introduced me to everyone, while the local
teenagers involved were getting ready to do a video of their workshops
on safe sex! I think we met each time I was in Brazil and a couple
times abroad as well, but for some reason the time I remember is
walking through Sao Paolo at night after some kind of event at one of
the SESCs, late night, quiet city, air the temperature of your skin,
Ricardo talking purposefully and with curiosity and with that steady,
autonomous, critical reserve he had, a sense that many things might
have been done in other times and places, but that the results would
be a lot clearer when they were done right here and now. And then he
disappeared into the metro.
Ricardo, thanks for the feeling of welcome that you brought to the
world.
Brian Holmes
Via: Felix Stalder
This is very sad news, indeed. As Trebor Scholz wrote Ricardo Rosas
saw and established connections where few people could perceive them,
let alone could make them work. Yet, once he pointed them out and set
out to bring them into the world, they were natural. He introduced a
lot of people, including myself, to Brazil and to a world of ideas,
cosmoplitan and uniquely personal at the same time. He did so in the
most humane way possible, by having long conversations, zig-zaging
through Sao Paolo, disappearing and turing up again with more people,
more connections, more things to do. I was always convinced our paths
would cross again, there would be plenty of time for more drinks,
walks, and conversations. It would have been the most natural thing in
the world. Now it won't be.
Felix
--- http://felix.openflows.com ----------------------------- out now:
*|Manuel Castells and the Theory of the Network Society. Polity, 2006
*|Open Cultures and the Nature of Networks. Ed. Futura/Revolver, 2005
Via: Lucas Bambozzi
This is sad news for us Brazilians and friends of
Ricardo Rosas. He passed away on the 11th of
April, in Fortaleza, where he was born. It was a
shock for most of his friends, like me, as the
recent lack of news about him unfortunately came
followed by such cheerless information.
As far as I know, many participants of this lists
[such as Brian Holmes, David Garcia, Felix
Stalder, Geert Lovink, Trebor Scholz, Derek
Holzer and other ones] were aware about his
consistent contributions regarding the
dissemination of critical ideas around new media,
always raising political concerns embedded on new
technologies.
Ricardo was moderator of nettime-br [actually an
enthusiast of such nettime version], editor of
the electronic magazine Rizoma [www.rizoma.net -
currently off-line] and member of the
Midiatatica.org network. He participated actively
in the organization of the Mdia Ttica Brasil,
in 2003, a key event in So Paulo where many
groups were able to meet, discuss and see that
some spare initiatives could be better understood
as a movement aiming 'tactical' actions, opposing
hegemonic media, questioning the art system, etc.
I got to better know him personally by this
occasion, as I was in a consultant condition that
helped to convince Casa das Rosas, a cultural
institution, to host this Midia Tatica event. We
then joined forces for the organization of
Digitofagia at MIS in 2004 [in which participated
Ricardo M. Zuiga, Felix Stalder and others] and
for writing articles such as the Urgency,
describing the context of art collectives dealing
with urban concerns, for a special issue of
Parachute Magazine. Many other collaborations
followed this one, as true collaboration was one
of his most foremost qualities. Differently from
others that would speech in the name of openness
merely as a strategy, Rosas really worked to
widen the access to open knowledge and open
practices.
He was currently taking part on the Documenta's
publication project for the Documenta 2007 and
was about to publish 'Net Cultura', a book
commissioned by Waag-Sarai, co-organized by
Giseli Vasconcelos -- another key person on free
culture in Brazil.
Well, sorry for such a personal approach for
contextualizing his contributions. I speak in the
name of others: we will all miss Ricardo Rosas.
Best,
L.
I have collected some spare URLs [sorry, some of
them are only available in Portuguese]:
http://tinyurl.com/2233fj [really fresh hommage by Trebor Scholz]
http://www.rizoma.net [off line for the moment]
http://midiatatica.org
http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-br-0609/msg00001.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1913/is_200410/ai_n6493511
http://forumpermanente.incubadora.fapesp.br/portal/.convidados/ricardorosas/
http://www.sescsp.org.br/sesc/videobrasil/up/arquivos/200611/20061117_160212_CadernoVB02_p.36-53_P.pdf
http://www.sescsp.org.br/sesc/videobrasil/up/arquivos/200611/20061117_160212_CadernoVB02_p.36-53_P.pdf
http://www.midiaindependente.org/pt/blue/2007/04/380125.shtml
Via: David garcia
A Creative (Un)commons
In September 2006 the Amsterdam organisation Virtual Platform acted
as a catalyst for a small group of artists, designers and researchers
to organize a small meeting (of about 50 people) designed to take a
closer look at the dynamics and wider implications in the growth of
multi-dimensional interdisciplinary collaboration.
The meeting was a process of comparative analysis between a small
spectrum of case studies. Presenters of the case studies were
encouraged (begged) to avoid the usual parade of success stories and
bring us problems and loose ends-that might even be tied up across
projects!-. Presentations were short and most of the meeting was spent
with each case study being unpicked by our invited interlocutors made
up of practitioners, organizers and thinkers (even a few policy wonks
were allowed in).
The case studies we identified represented different categories of
collaborative practice from pragmatic projects with pre-defined
outcomes through to individual artist's placements with open ended
expectations. We looked at new educational models, lab cultures
-innovation or media labs- and of course the ubiquitous profession of
the cultural broker, mediator, connector, translator. In short those
whose practices which involves finding the 'structural hole or gaps
between social clusters with complementary resources'. Later on, once
the book (below) was in pre-production, we drew on a wider spectrum of
categories with more critical perspectives.
Why (Un)common Ground The term (Un)common Ground emerged during the
early planning stages. We had been working on the lazy assumption
that when very different (apparently irreconcilable) cultures succeed
in connecting it was as a result of identifying 'common ground'. But
actually far more frequently we found the opposite to be the case. The
most successful encounters were in fact founded on a willingness (in
fact a desire) to occupy 'uncommon ground'. The generally unexpressed
need was for a kind of creative estrangement from the assumptions that
underpinned the usual networks and rituals. Creative energy actually
flowed fro being able to dramatize differences and allowing for the
dissonances that attend genuine pluralism. We found that many were
happy to dwell in uncommonness, and we enjoyed imagining a 'creative
un- commons'.
The notion of uncommon ground helped to bring many hybrid practices,
professions and organizations into a new kind of focus, for example
the ubiquitous and hard to define phenomenon of the media lab
suddenly seemed to have a clearer function of either bridging or
'being' uncommon ground, triggering and supporting conversations to
occur across difference. The term offered an appealing heuristic
suggesting ways of avoiding many of the risks of 'common ground' as a
default setting, with its implicit reductiveness and presumptions of
convergence of either interests or outcomes.
Later
The meeting last September generated enough interest (and critique)
to make a book possible. So we moved quickly to widen our network and
enter into multiple dialogues with possible contributors (the book
has four editors). Currently with continuing institutional support we
will continue to track our early case studies whilst continuing to
widen our network. On the 26th of April (this Thursday as I write)
we will develop the discussion to begin with at the Enter Unknown
Territories Festival in Cambridge (UK) www.enternet.org.uk with both
a panel discussion, informal planning sessions and the book launch.
These small sessions will be the basis from which to plan the more
substantial (Un)common Ground expert meeting planned in Amsterdam for
September 2007, as a partner event at Picnic 07.
Below (for those interested) is a more formal announcement about the
book and its contents and its contributors.
David Garcia
Via: _manu Luksch
Soon my sci fi movie 'FACELESS' -made from authentic cctv recordings- will
be released; at this occasion I'd like to post its manifesto below ,
Manu
