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"Talan Memmott" <talan@percepticon.com> - anodzr !nkompetent xy kr!ket !mbez!l

t!pd 01 amalgam ov !nkompetent refusz
[muztnt dezpa!r - dze ss f!ltrz = shl protekt u]


>> Just yesterday I was lecturing in two of Mark Amerika's courses
>> at University of Colorado. I can assure you most assumptions here
>> are incorrect as to intent.
>>
>> What also must be mentioned concerns Mark's claim of net art
>> being dead...  Ever hear of IRONY, or HUMOR...?
>
>
>
>
>I was contacted back channel and asked to provide some clarification of my
>very brief critique of the 'net art histories' debate as it relates to
>comments made about the new program at University of Colorado, Boulder.
>
>I am forwarding this message to the list...
>
>
>
>First, I held off on making any comment (on the program) until I had
>attended (as a visiting artist) the courses to see for myself what was going
>on.
>
>There were a number of comments in this thread on net art history that I
>found presumptuous.
>
>1. the critique of the term "innovative ciriculum" being some sort of 'biz
>talk'... When this is in fact something Mark is working around... By this I
>mean, many of the students at this point seem to think that an Internet Art
>course is going to be some sort of software introduction and training
>course -- something that they believe will get them some cushy developers
>job... Where the course are geared more toward exposing, exploring and
>developing techniques in hypermedia.
>
>2. another comment in the thread that seemed a bit off is the idea that
>based on Mark's Transmediale presentation there is an assumption that there
>will be forthcoming 'necrologues' of net art... Hardly the case, as most of
>the students are at the beginning of a learning curve. Another note is that
>Mark is not teaching 'net art' only -- one of the courses I spoke in is
>called "Histories of Internet Art"... History is plural here because the
>media/um is so wide and exceeds any single definition, and Internet is used
>rather than NET to avoid some of the political issues surrounding the term
>'net art' and to keep the course open to a variety of work.
>
>
>
>(Concerning Mark's lack of engagement on Nettime, and being ONLY a
>writer...)
>
>I could give you that one, if the discussion of this issue on the list was
>not laid out in a third-hand fashion -- the comment that 'net art is dead'
>was relayed to nettime by Olia Lialina who had heard the comment second-hand
>from students that had attended the event. Mark's presentation was parodic
>of American culture in that the 'net art is dead' comment was actually
>placed in the context of a list -- "Top Ten Reasons Net Art is Dead"... The
>irony and humor of this was premeditated and intentional...
>
>I think it is an error to called Mark ONLY a writer. When you think of
>thinks like Phon.eme are we talking writing here? Also, some of the work
>that is coming down the pipe from Mark in the very near future extends the
>premise of Internet art to include live networked performance in some
>interesting ways. I would mention more about this forthcoming work, but it
>is not my place to spill the beans about an artist's work in progress...
>Also, the notion that Mark should be teaching hypertext or something seems
>odd to me -- both exclusionary and divisive -- as much of the discussion
>revolves around determing the terms which determine the media/um.
>As well, the notion of what writing 'is' is changing, and now includes the
>graphical, and interactive elements of the work as part of 'text'... This
>was very much a topic in my presentations, and one that draws into question
>the differnetiation of network based ART and WRITING.
>
>The two courses I spoke in -- "Histories of Internet Art" and "Digital
>Narrative" focus on a wide variety of work which includes everything from
>traditional hypertext to web art, net art, to games, and a number of other
>areas. And, some of the debate involves the 'naming' of the media/um.  At
>one point during my talks I placed all of the names for net.works under the
>heading "Creative Cultural Practice through Applied Technology" -- though a
>mouthful, and perhaps an overly academic heading, it seems to allow the
>delimiting of various practices without being exclusionary... (a nice
>convenience for teaching)...  One thing that I would NOT want to see come
>out of program like what is being established in Boulder is bunch of
>students coming out as say 'net artists' and producing work that is
>completely derivative of say, jodi.org... Or, saying they are 'hypertext
>artists' and producing work that looks like some Eastgate title... The
>courses are about continuing and furthering the media/um, while allowing the
>students to follow their own creative path.
>
>I was actually quite surprised that I was able to get into some fairly heady
>theory (particularly in the 'Digital Narative' course) about network
>identity, agency, performative language, and the genre/media busting that is
>so much a part of the over all network...
>
>__


-

Netochka Nezvanova     - r!ch.bored.edukated.all dolled up for autumn
f3.MASCHIN3NKUNST
@www.eusocial.com
17.hzV.tRL.478
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