Re: [-empyre-] net art, curating and power

["Melinda Rackham" <melinda@unsw.edu.au>]

Tim wrote:
> The paradox of the system of remote control is, of course, that it too is
> subject to the return of the oppressed in the form of terroristic
termites,
> the disruptive viruses, virtual threats, commercial parodies, and even
> cloning of artistic sites. Viral parody is the new life form of net.art.
Christiane wrote:
> Bottom-line: openness to group collaboration, continual revision and
> momentary existence are high maintenance and require a serious commitment
on
> the museum's end (something that, from my experience, still has to
develop).

couldnt agree more.. its the approach that the medium itself necessitates..
the human computer technology relationship is  always totally high
maintenance whether it has to do with art or not..   has anyone even bought
a computer and taken it home and it just worked ? they just had to turn it
on and everything was always fine? dont think so.. computers tend to be
things which require an energetic investment - they detemine the rules of
engagement not us. i am reminded of one of my favourite quotes here on the
HCI from Ollivier Dyens.. " our body is the screen (the signifying surface)
by which the machine has access to reality."

 net.art  as a sort of organic life form  -the software/hardware bodied
creature, is  growing, mutating  and acting in ways that we cant always
predict and often don't like..  net art is not an obedient object that sits
down where it is told and behaves well. which is its charm and the root of
its uneasy fit into a museum system , one which is more used to passive
objects.

every thing that relies on the net for delivery ,even mailing lists which
look pretty straight forward for example, need constant attention, grooming
if you like ...  the nettime moderators (in thier transparent mode of
operating)  were saying the other day they  just had a big spring clean, and
discovered that 10% of their 3000 subscribers email addresses  no longer
existed, they are "dead" users,  dead wood which had to be pruned,  and they
have about 2000 spams a month to be flushed out of the system.

this topic also requires some self reflexivity.. empyre as a curated
net.forum space shares some of the same issues about the changing balance of
curatorial control and power.. you can invite guests but you never know how
the other subscribers will react. and its not like an offline forum as  in
electronic spaces social ettiquite is of a different order.   Empyre is
pretty polite list however i still have been stunned by a few posts and the
often unpredictable directions that discussions have taken. Sometimes things
which i think are fascinating won't get much response, othertimes things
which i think will appeal to only a specialist proportion of the subscribers
get lots of attention. every month ends up being an experiment.

its interresting that the crumb list has the same topic this month.. but i
notice crumb is much more structured than empyre .. im wondering Beryl how
you see curatorial control in this online forum context?

melinda