Pit Schultz on Thu, 27 Feb 97 22:30 MET |
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nettime: representation again |
[re: rhizome-digest, 02/21/96] >Students must re-examine the >rules of representation. > >+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + > >5. > >Date: 2.13.97 >From: ISEA97 (isea97@artic.edu) >Subject: ISEA97 Initiative to Promote Diversity > >Announcement: ISEA97 Initiative to Promote Diversity > >The International Symposium on the Electronic Arts will be held from >Sept. 22-27 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In order to >promote a geographically, culturally, and economically diverse group of >presenters, we are announcing an initiative to provide fee waivers, >housing assistance, and possible travel assistance to presenters from >geographic regions or cultural backgrounds which have in the past been >underrepresented at ISEA symposia. hello, just a short and maybe provocative note.. I strongly doubt that the model of representation helps in any way here. I doubt that 'the cultural field' functions like 'Congress' or 'UNO'. Representation is a bad model, especially for so called 'global' media art. Representation works uni-directional and is following an optical metaphoric. Isn't the utopia of the great all-to-all-conversation based on a fundamental obsolescent of representants-as-persons? Doesn't the new netizen's 'meme of the meme' relate to a non-representative non-subject centered and machinic model of a history of ideas and culture? And aren't these tendencies problematic enough to discuss in the context of bias, 'geographically, culturally, and economically'? The model of representation, applied in minority politics is based on the logic of Television and other broadcast media. It should be questioned on the net. You can put up your own server, which can get as many clicks as MSN.com. Take the example of B92. Who believes that inviting coloured people in a talk show does anything against racism? The alienating effects of TV itself are not representated i this way. Same with 'Hi Culture'. This is a difficult subject, and it should get more difficult and conflictuous especially in context of global media to become productive. Applying the model of representation to the cultural politics of global electronic media implies the affirmation of centralisation and a hirarchic model of communication. Such a logic gives place for all kinds of 'inverted racism', the market strategies of adressing bad consciousness, political opportunism and other sad symptoms of a cultural paradigm which hopefully gets replaced soon, by a more processual more distributed and more direct model of 'symbolic power'. Conflict and not the forced harmony of the 'menues' of multiculturalism, symbolic fight and not the kind invitation of the 'Other', seems to drive cultural production. On the other hand we have the model of representation as a 'writing process' into a history book, musealisation etc. which produces exactly the 'priviliged culture' representing marginalization and economic inequality, and today amplified through electronic media technology. Did Jazz, Salsa, HipHop, Jungle, Dub, or Raga need the credits of the representational centers of a self-announced Hi-Culture? No, it created it's own social media spaces and imaginary cartographies, and technological practises, even if was getting commodified within this process, at least the model of 'hi cultural representation' seems to be a obsolete in popular culture and its (electronic) media. Even if there are some good intentions - why was there never an ISEA in all the continents you mention to 'better representate now'? Little reforms are sometimes worse then fully realising needed changes. I find it disappointing that especially from an ISEA in the US and the reported extreme socio-economic problems there, such half-hearted 'promotion of diversity' is getting announced. In the context of the US-centered Internet and its questions regarding overcoding and homogenizing regional cultural differences and establishing a 'digital pax americana' it just becomes more dubious. And i doubt that Cultural Diversity is something which can be easyly planned or announced. Instead of an amorph diversity i could experience the problems and the productivity of a hard cultural difference. I am working+living in East Berlin. If i would get invited to an 'exhibition' not because of my work, but because where i come from, i would tend to feel embarrased about getting treated like a tourist attraction. (i fact im not even a real Ossi or Berliner) Many of the cultural producers in the East experienced inner alienation in their 'local scenes' when it came to certain 'careers' in representing authentic otherness to the West. I don't want to come with a solution here, the adressed problems are important and complex enough, but i strongly doubt any fast adapted tactiques of correctness to update the own outdated models of defining culture and harmonizing difference. It is not the place to criticize the pragmatism of artist struggling to make a living. I also don't want to say that these problems don't exist in Europe. We soon will be able to discuss and criticize similar problems within the centralized model of representation of 'marginal' cultural practises at the Dokumenta X in Kassel which made 'globalization' as one of its top topics. It would be very good, for example, if ISEA would start an open mailinglist for open discussion. Where projects could get presented, abstracts sent, different englishes mixed and representational diversity emerge and clash. Instead of 'pushing' centralised models of representation through electronic media into the finest fabrics of regional cultures, we have a real chance that 'the other calls back' - perhaps via e-mail. Providing free Server space, especially for the upcoming net-video standards would be also very useful. The result may be not what one is expecting as 'good art' within 'academic standards'. oops it wasn't short enough.. maybe i'm totally wrong and already hurted some sensitive souls, so please respond. (and forgive me for the frequent use of 'I' - it is a write error too) best -pit # nettime-owner@is.in-berlin.de # news.thing.at/alt.nettime # www.desk.nl/~nettime -- * distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission * <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, * collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets * more info: majordomo@is.in-berlin.de and "info nettime" in the msg body * URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: nettime-owner@is.in-berlin.de