Re: [-empyre-] contestations ... and pieces of history

["cpr@mindspring.com" <cpr@mindspring.com>]

Hey Nick,

I will address some of these concerns point by point as it may be easier to
follow ?


Quite to contrary.  This term proffered is being positioned for wide spread
acceptance in daily 
parlance ? scholarly and pedestrian.   Thus an acceptance of this term and
its?s definition will 
become a necessity in order to establish a foundation for any meaningful
communicative 
exchange.

>The term isn't necessary for everyone: if the computer is just a tool,
>platform, or means of delivery to you ("or is it simply just another
>mechanism?") rather than a new way of thinking, presenting simulated
>worlds, and connecting and computing upon media in radically different
>ways, you may be more interested in the fruits of the new media field than
>in participating directly in the investigations, explorations, and
>discussions that are taking place.




Perhaps it might be more useful to ? and not to belabor the point - think
of ?the computer ? as 
a filtering device rather than a raison d?etre.  

Further to the point, it strikes me that there is a conflict of interest
when one considers the 
logic inherent to the legacies of contemporary art practice ( western, ie.
conceptualism ) to the 
logic seemingly engendered by the generalized grouping and directives of
what has been 
referred to here as ?New Media.?  Sorry, but I don?t see many remedies here
? especially in 
light of such an arbitrary prioritization to ?focus on what they mean in
light of the computer.?  
Just for the sake of discussion, lets consider what ? the computer ? means
in light of these 
?different traditions??  I see these relationship as an equilateral
exchange, respect and 
reciprocity rather than a relationship of privilege. Obviously, coding and
algorithims set the 
stage and determines (perhaps overdetermines) the rules of play of our
networked virtual 
worlds but this singularly speaks to formalist concerns, no?  It seems to
me that there is good 
deal else going on these days.


>But the work being done in new media today certainly does seek to remedy
>the bifurcation of art and technology that you mention, drawing on many
>different traditions but focusing on what they mean in light of the
>computer.

>> There are some core power dynamics being played out here ... on this
>> list as well as elsewhere in this nascent field.




WOW ? how can I respond?. this is simply a stupefying statement ? 

have to sign off ....

ciao,

©



>People are doing different sorts of work and have
>different interests, so of course there will be different answers, with
>some people thinking that transitions in media, or the avant-garde, or
>particular directions in critical theory are more important than the new
>capabilities afforded by the computer.

-Nick Montfort
 http://nickm.com  nickm@nickm.com
 My new book, Twisty Little Passages: http://nickm.com/twisty

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Nick Montfort nickm@linc.cis.upenn.edu
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 13:47:35 -0500 (EST)
To: cpr@mindspring.com, empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
Subject: Re: [-empyre-] old discussion,  and pieces of history



On Thu, 8 Jan 2004, cpr@mindspring.com wrote:

> What I am beginning to sense from some participating in this on-line
> discussion is a subtle posture of covert defensiveness in regard to the
> construction ( if necessary at all ) of this term:  New Media.

I think the term is being explicitly attacked and defended, so perhaps I'm
missing the subtleties.

The term isn't necessary for everyone: if the computer is just a tool,
platform, or means of delivery to you ("or is it simply just another
mechanism?") rather than a new way of thinking, presenting simulated
worlds, and connecting and computing upon media in radically different
ways, you may be more interested in the fruits of the new media field than
in participating directly in the investigations, explorations, and
discussions that are taking place.

But the work being done in new media today certainly does seek to remedy
the bifurcation of art and technology that you mention, drawing on many
different traditions but focusing on what they mean in light of the
computer.

> There are some core power dynamics being played out here ... on this
> list as well as elsewhere in this nascent field.

Hopefully some of that play of power dynamics is a genuine attempt to
understand what the interesting aspects of new media work are (whether we
like the term or not). People are doing different sorts of work and have
different interests, so of course there will be different answers, with
some people thinking that transitions in media, or the avant-garde, or
particular directions in critical theory are more important than the new
capabilities afforded by the computer.

-Nick Montfort
 http://nickm.com  nickm@nickm.com
 My new book, Twisty Little Passages: http://nickm.com/twisty
_______________________________________________
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