| computer on Tue, 31 Dec 2002 19:26:49 +0100 (CET) |
[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
| <nettime> newsletter - the thing - and happy 2003 |
--------------------------------- CFAs - computerfinearts.com greetings and happy 2003 from NYC --------------------------------- contents/topics --- 1. new site launched. 2. new projects were added to the collection. 3. COMPUTERFINEART'S SERVER IMPERILED OPEN LETTER TO DOW CHEMICAL CORPORATION 4. 2x Warhol's prints for sale. --------------------------------- 1. new site launched. computerfinearts.com has launched the site 'dialoque.ws' > http://www.dialoque.ws the on-going project is a portal and public space for political, social and critical artworks. dialoque.ws is hosted by thing.net --------------------------------- 2. new projects were added to the collection. mark tribe - revelation 2.0 > http://www.computerfinearts.com/collection/tribe/revelation2/index.htm coyarzun - wIPhOME > http://www.computerfinearts.com/collection/coyarzun/wIPhOME/index.htm --------------------------------- 3. COMPUTERFINEART'S SERVER IMPERILED This is part of a much larger action instituted by Dow Chemical Corp. Please review the information provided below. --------------------------------- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 23, 2002 ACTIVIST NETWORK IN NY EVICTED FROM INTERNET BY DOW, VERIO http://www.rtmark.com/thingpr.html --------------------------------- Cyberspace Artists Paint Themselves Into a Corner By MATTHEW MIRAPAUL NYTimes ARTS ONLINE, December 23, 2002 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/23/arts/design/23ARTS.html --------------------------------- VERIO SETS OFF FREE THOUGHT ALARM AGAINST THE THING posted by Rachel Greene, 12/24/02 Rhizome - http://www.rhizome.org Advocate of online art and culture since 1991, The Thing, may have itīs pipeline terminated by provider Verio. This termination, scheduled for February, could affect hundreds of sites and users, many of them artists, activists or art-related businesses. Verio lawyers told Thing founder Wolfgang Staehle that their contract for service was unilaterally null and void because of "violations" -- likely the parody site http://dow-chem ical.com by the Yes Men, and perhaps the persistently provocative campaigns of Rtmark or the Electronic Disturbance Theater (both hosted by The Thing). How to stand up for services geared towards artists and activists? Write to Verio and express your outrage, and make a contribution to The Thing: https://secure.thing.net/backbone/ Staehle is looking for new pipelines as you read this. --------------------------------- Principal Links Dow, Verio evict Bhopal activists from the Web The Digital Opportunity Channel (New Delhi) - Dec. 24, 2002: http://www.digitalopportunity.org/fulltext/bhopal20021224.shtml How low can Dow go? Dow sues penniless Bhopal survivors Greenpeace - Mon 23 December 2002: http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/news/details?news_id=95504 --------------------------------- OPEN LETTER TO DOW CHEMICAL CORPORATION The following may be freely redistributed. Director, Media Relations Division Dow Chemical Corporation, Fax: (989) 636-3518 Dear Sir or Madam, I am a professional art critic specializing in so-called "new media" or digital art, as well as a consultant on Theory of Media. I recently received an announcement of a work of fine art which took the form of what you may term a "parody site" with the URL <http://dow-chemical.com>. This piece was the work of an art collective known as "ŪtMark" which has a long & well-documented history of corporate critique. Your response to the appearance of this art-work was to induce the upstream provider, Verio, to shut down the host carrying this site. However this was not done with any care or delicacy & the fine art resource site, "The Thing", was shut down as well -- thus denying legitimate service to many, many subscribers who have less than nothing to do with ŪtMark & may not even approve of their various "interventions", among them several corporate clients who might conceivably otherwise have taken your side in any discussion of the affair. It is not my place here to discuss the actions taken by your firm which doubtless prompted the portion of the art-piece that functioned as satirical commentary (& which portion, though not of course identity theft, is a protected right of all Americans), nor will I discuss the validity of this variety of art practice (thought it is precedented & well-documented), nor the aesthetic merits of this specific piece, not even the implicit legality of the work or your response... it is not my place to tell you anything about contemporary art practice -- merely that in acting in as precipitous & heavy-handed a manner as you have here, you have done more damage to yourself in the sphere of public- & media-relations than anything the original artwork might have accomplished. In shutting down The Thing's upstream provider you have alienated & disenfranchised a relatively small (by your standards) yet disproportionately influential group of individuals (again, many of whom are themselves trying to operate perfectly legal businesses) -- by that I mean those people who author culture. Do we control vast mass-media resources? No. Do we invest millions in the markets? No. Do we influence state foreign policy as to which strategic resources will or will not be available to US corporations? No. However when a major hollywood producer is thinking of funding or killing this picture or that, they might come to us, an old school friend, & ask our opinion over coffee. When a leading advertising executive is considering the tone & form of a major international campaign, they might come to us, a friendly social acquaintance, & ask our opinion over lunch. When a well respected market analyst is wondering whether or not a Fortune 500 firm with an unsavory public image can or cannot resuscitate that image through the agency of expenditure for cultural projects, they might come to us, someone they've previously retained as a consultant, & commission a small report to advise them. When a world-famous journalist needs to take the pulse of corporate America & report on their findings for major news-media, they might come to us, who they've read in our much smaller columns, reviews, & essays, & ask for our take as a professional courtesy. To restate the above with extreme brevity; you alienate us at your peril. I hope with every fiber of my being that you have not somehow convinced yourself that you are beyond the legitimate criticisms represented in ŪtMark's parody. I have no interest in saying, for once & all, who are heroes & who are villains in contemporary life. Many would consider that your firm has already perpetrated great villainy... congratulations, you have just cemented that appreciation for the foreseeable future. sincerely, Blackhawk. 12/05/02 --------------------------------- Dow media relations. Global Media Relations Leslie Hatfield (U.S.) Phone: +01 989-636-0626 Fax : +01 989-636-3518 Rebecca Evans (U.S.) Phone: +01 989-636-0626 Fax : +01 989-636-3518 Europe and North America Leslie Hatfield (U.S.) Phone: +01 989-636-0626 Fax : +01 989-636-3518 Chris Huntley (Europe) External Affairs Manager Phone: +41-1-728-2232 Fax : +41--1728-3048 Asia-Pacific Kay Yau (Hong Kong) Phone: +852 2-879-7616 Fax : +852 2-827-0201 Latin America Luiz Carlos Dutra (Brazil) Phone: +55 1151-88-9767 Fax : +55 1151-88-9712 --------------------------------- Please don't let Dow and their ilk get away with this! Do whatever you can; Voice your concern through the Media, Protest to Dow, Notify your elected representative, Support The Thing directly. Do what you can. --------------------------------- 4. not without regrets! I put up two 1968 Warhol prints for sale. check them out on ebay > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=933714042 background > http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/home.htm thanks, doron -------------==================-% CFAs newsletter - monthly (+) apologies for cross-posting -------------==================-% unsubscribe@computerfinearts.com subscribe@computerfinearts.com # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net