Re: [-empyre-] what we call what we do...

"Boat People" <io@boat-people.org> · Fri, 4 Jun 2004 04:52:31 -0400

this is just a little aside to say that in the boat-people group there 
are folk who totally love the idea that what we do could be called 
'tactical media', which sounds so fancy, and others (well, at least 
one) who's attached to the term 'culture jamming'  to describe what 
we do,  and that we have variously tried on the words 'cultural 
interventionists' or 'art activists' and ponced about thus arrayed. 

But this member of the boatie group thinks that the disputed 
territories of kinds of art &/or politics & the borders between them, 
and the defenders thereof are beside the point entirely of what 
interests me in doing what we do. 

> and hi from me.
> 
> I'm from the mob at http://www.escapefromwoomera.org
> 
> I'm glad Sam raised the spectre of tactical media, because it's a 
term 
> that has on occasion been applied to our project.
> 
> My perspective on the this subject is that of someone who's 
been out of 
> established art circles and academia, and spent all my adult life 
> hanging out with old left activist hacks (which i guess i classify 
as 
> now). 
> 
> >From the outside, it seems to me that not so long ago art that 
was 
> unapologetically political was considered rather naive and 
decidely 
> uncool, and would attract no small amount of po-mo sneering. 
But now, 
> radical political art seems to be considered hip in the art world 
> again. It's been rebranded with a new name, and not only that - it 
even 
> makes the bold claim to function as a form of political 
> action: "tactical media activism". I think this turn is generally a 
> positive sign, and very heartening. But one has to ask (again, 
from the 
> outside)- how long will this last? How much of this is based on 
> curatorial trends and how much on genuine political 
commitment? More of 
> the latter, I hope.
> 
> When I started to hear the phrase about the place it reminded 
me of a 
> similar sounding term that has also been used with great 
> enthusiasm: "Non-Violent Direct Action Tactician". This term 
seemed to 
> become extremely fasionable for a time in some of the 
campaigns i was 
> involved in a while ago (it probably always was, and probably still 
is 
> in some narrower circles). "NVDA Tactician" for short. I 
remember that 
> leading up to s11 (the blockade of the World Economic Forum in 
> Melbourne) everyone seemed to be running around either trying 
to find 
> one, claiming to be one, or arguing over just exactly what *is* 
one. 
> Regardless, everybody seemed convinced that it was 
inadvisable to be 
> seen in public without one.
> 
> I'm probably in danger of exaggerating here, but Tactical Media 
> Activism seems to me to be a phrase that's applied to almost all 
> political "new media" projects these days. However, from what 
i've read 
> (which is by no means a comprehensive survey of what's been 
written) 
> the original meaning behind the term is actually quite specific.
> 
> We were invited to present at the Next Five Minutes festival of 
> tactical media in Amsterdam last year - which was a very 
rewarding and 
> heartening experience for us. But based on what I understand to 
be the 
> original definition of TMA, I would imagine Escape From 
Woomera would 
> be classified by TMA theorists as a piece of what they call old-
> fashioned "strategic media", based on the context and intent of 
its 
> development. We as game developers are concerned with the 
development 
> of a form of independent media, rather than creating a rapid 
response 
> style reaction. We choose the game medium strategically (ie as 
game 
> developers, game development for most of the team is our 
means of 
> expression in the long term) rather than tactically (ie choosing 
the 
> medium for conjunctural reasons). 
> 
> Well anyway, there's a very pragmatic evaluation of how I think 
EFW 
> sits in relation to tactical media activism.
> 
> But from a more personal perspective, there are some 
underlying 
> political premises motivating some threads of the media activist 
> movement (if it's not oppressive of me to lump everyone in 
together 
> like that ;) ) - in particular the Critical Art Ensemble - that are at 
> odds with my particular take on the world.
> 
> k
> 
> > hi also,
> > 
> > i too am honoured to be invited :-) though i am not sure what 
> contribution i 
> > can make here.
> > 
> > maybe the following:
> > 
> > * tactical media is the cry/hype that occurs between the clicking 
and 
> > releasing of a mouse click
> > 
> > * tactical media gets you invited to conferences around world
> > 
> > * tactical media gets you guest lecturer spots 
> > 
> > * tactical media helps your career path
> > 
> > * tactical media helps sell books
> > 
> > * clap for tactical media. cluck for activism. clop for boredom.
> > 
> > see ya, sam :-)
> > 
> > ps. i started up and continue to run the myspinach server 
(which is 
> very very 
> > different to the spinach7 magazine) ... click for background: 
> > http://www.myspinach.org/sam/spinhistory.html
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On Thursday 03 June 2004 17:20, Boat People wrote:
> > > greetings to the Empyre list.
> > > Boat-people.org are honoured to be invited.
> > >
> > > I thought I'd start by saying that our bio statement originally 
said
> > > that our work has encompassed sending online instructions 
for
> > > 'subversive, er, origami'.
> > >
> > > That 'er' is critical to our understanding of ourselves: we wish 
we
> > > could claim with zero irony to be deadset subversive, but we 
can't.
> > >
> > > The boat-people crew rack our collective brains for ways to 
talk
> > > back to the miasma of mendacity characterising public life 
here in
> > > australia; how to be antidotes to amnesia, how to illuminate 
the
> > > lies & what they obscure, how to mobilise wit, passion & 
creativity
> > > to undermine the empires' rule over us... and everything we 
come
> > > up with is gestural, symbolic, frail at best.  It blows away.
> > >
> > > We wish it were possible to 'click for activism'.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > empyre forum
> > > empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> > > http://www.subtle.net/empyre
> > 
> > -- 
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > empyre forum
> > empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> > http://www.subtle.net/empyre
> > 
> > 
> 
> --
> "I am in command - obey me and be free! You are free to go!"
> - The Prisoner 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
> 
> 

-- 
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