Re: [-empyre-] clarifications on what women

["Noora Zul" <noora@noorazul.net>]

hello everyone

i'll confess first that i'm a lurker on this list because i don't feel like
i have either enough experience or expertise but do enjoy very much
following the discussions. in relation to diane's & isabel's comments on
geography, etc, i thought maybe it might be of interest to note here that i
am from singapore and ethnically malay, thus offering an alternative context
to what might be dominant here.

singapore would however qualify as "the odd man in" in this region of
southeast asia, as english is the official language here and with a large
chinese majority (we're surrounded by preponderantly malay countries). i
guess most people would be familiar with the economic success story that
singapore is. what i'd like to highlight is singapore's ability to
copy/borrow from other countries, which i find very problematic...especially
i terms of arts development here. the nation itself is young.

so while we may be tech-savvy here with pretty good technological
infrastructure/education, and have abilities to communicate in english....in
a country where economic pragmatism is pretty much a dominant drive, the
attention or nurturing given to the arts is at best uneven, and at worst,
dismissive.

i'm not particularly sure what else to say though i feel maybe it would be
fruitful to compare experiences. anyway, what brought me out of lurking is
henry's comment below :-

> question: is it necessary to use a computer to make art of a
technologically
> contemporary nature?
>

which i particularly and very strongly resonate to. as someone who's
starting out to develop an artistic practice, i'm increasingly wondering and
wondering about this question. i find that i tend to want to work away from
screen-based work. perhaps it's a distinction between technological medium
and technology as subject matter?

cheers! ...noora zul