Re: [-empyre-] Do You Still Your Own Reality?

Simon Taylor <swht@clear.net.nz> · Wed, 20 Oct 2004 21:57:52 +1300

I heard a Texan farmer, interviewed by BBC-World today, suggest that perhaps
Dubbya was the real terrorist. But, his neighbour averred, he is a
pragmatist. He will be voting Republican.
This can't be a vote for the GDB admin's domestic policies. It's certainly
not a vote for the incumbent's foreign policies. It has nothing to do with
the sort of complacency and self-interest seen in Australia as directing
voting trends. And it is contended that his is a vote for pragmatism! (Mebbe
he ain't heard of reskinning? Or then again mebbe he has.)
BBC opined that the withholding of votes by traditional Republican voters -
having no confidence in either candidate - might play a significant role,
indeed be a crunch issue, in the upcomings...
This is in striking incongruence with the real, either the psychotic real of
right-wing distortions or the neurotic real of left-wing strategies of
cultural reappropriation.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brett Stalbaum" <stalbaum@ucsd.edu>
To: "soft_skinned_space" <empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au>
Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2004 10:46 AM
Subject: Re: [-empyre-] Do You Still Your Own Reality?

> Do these ipod examples fit the idea of jamming "any such (nearly
> psychotic) right-wing reality distortions (using them as art supplies
> and comic fodder - seemingly easy to do)", or are they in some sense an
> analytic tools; the skinning of an ipod helping people situate their
> readings of the real in a manner more congruent with the real?
>
> Or are you proposing another model, where "successful art practice in
> this regards happens when the work becomes 'iconic' in the culture"? You
> may indeed be proposing this, and if so, I would like to point out that
> this is the market-finding-its-own-best-solution model; further that one
> of the major fantasies of the neo-conservative today is that the
> "invisible hand of the market place" is worthy of the same faith,
> reverence and deference as their God. Jesus rules, and Fox News rules.
> Reskin that.
>
> Jeff Gates wrote:
>
> > Brett, the most successful art practice in this regards happens when the
> > work becomes "iconic" in the culture. And then, when it is reskinned by
> > others after that. While this is not non-commercial art, the reskinning
of
> > Apple's iPod ads using an Abu Gareb silhouette is one example. Then
moving
> > on to this: http://www.happygolarry.com/2004/10/13/bulge
> >
> > Jeff
> >
> > On Tue, 19 Oct 2004, Brett Stalbaum wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Hi Randall,
> >>
> >>Given, yes. But it raises some interesting questions. At this moment
> >>(politically/tactically) is it most effective (or interesting) for
> >>artists to perform their own "pre-emptive reality annihilation" (or
> >>perhaps: envisioning an alternative future and trying to instantiate it
> >>as the Rove's of the world seem to do quite successfully), or to
> >>"culture jam" any such (nearly psychotic) right-wing reality distortions
> >>(using them as art supplies and comic fodder - seemingly easy to do), or
> >>perhaps to formulate an art practice that turns to and engages with (or
> >>grapples with) the real maintaining a general goal of producing tools
> >>(be they analytic, aesthetic, software, hardware), that are useful for
> >>individuals in terms of formulating their own, more congruent readings
> >>of the real? All? Something else?
> >>
> >>Randall Packer wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>This, Mathieu, is an example of pre-emptive reality annihilation. If
you
> >>>have all the military might in the world, and 50 million right-wing
> >>>Christian fundamentalists behind you, you can drive those nostalgic
> >>>reality worshippers into the ground. You can invent your own reality
and
> >>>you can take it all the way to Babylonia and create your own
apocalypse,
> >>>now...
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>Here is an extract from an extraordinary article by Ron Suskind which
> >>>>goes to the heart of who exactly George W. Bush is, what he stands for
> >>>>and what his faith-based convictions and policies means for the rest
> >>>>of us:
> >>>>
> >>>>In the summer of 2002, after I had written an article in Esquire that
> >>>>the White House didn't like about Bush's former communications
> >>>>director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush.
> >>>>He expressed the White House's displeasure, and then he told me
> >>>>something that at the time I didn't fully comprehend -- but which I
> >>>>now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency.
> >>>>The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the
> >>>>reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe
> >>>>that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible
> >>>>reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment
> >>>>principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ''That's not the way the
> >>>>world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and
> >>>>when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that
> >>>>reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other
> >>>>new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will
> >>>>sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be
> >>>>left to just study what we do.''
> >>>>
> >>>>You can read the rest there:
>
>>>>http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/magazine/17BUSH.html?oref=login&pagewa
nted=print&position=
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>_______________________________________________
> >>>>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
> >>>
> >>
> >>--
> >>Brett Stalbaum
> >>Lecturer, psoe
> >>Coordinator, ICAM
> >>Department of Visual Arts, mail code 0084
> >>University of California, San Diego
> >>9500 Gillman
> >>La Jolla CA 92093
> >>
> >>_______________________________________________
> >>empyre forum
> >>empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> >>http://www.subtle.net/empyre
> >>
> >
> >
> > ..................................................
> > Jeff Gates
> > Outtacontext.com
> >
> > Life Outtacontext: Farm Fresh Writing at a Fraction of the Cost!
> > http://life.outtacontext.com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > empyre forum
> > empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> > http://www.subtle.net/empyre
> >
>
> --
> Brett Stalbaum
> Lecturer, psoe
> Coordinator, ICAM
> Department of Visual Arts, mail code 0084
> University of California, San Diego
> 9500 Gillman
> La Jolla CA 92093
>
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>