Re: [-empyre-] Curatorial Dynamics

[Renee <geuzen@xs4all.nl>]

Sorry, this mail bounced so it is a bit out of sync.


Hello Raul, Eduardo and everyone on the list,

> I had been involved in electronic lists for a long time and 
> understand that there, as well as in the physical world, there is a 
> diverse population, interested in many issues and make presence 
> according to their personal interests. As I said before, for me 
> silence is also writing, therefore I can assume that what is been 
> writing here is an ambivalent discourse that had place the list in 
> an alert situation. If that is the case, power to all.

In my mind I have written so many mails, formulated several responses 
only to sit in front of my computer and stare blankly before the 
screen.   Why?  I guess to think and process takes time; in other 
words, it seems to be an uncomfortably long journey from my brain to 
my typing fingers.

Also, because so many issues have been raised on the list, like James 
I felt the need to do a little homework, to map out the gaps in my 
own knowledge (and believe me there are many).  So please accept my 
apologies for that silence.  It is funny but if we were all sitting 
around a table carrying on the same discussion, in my silence, my 
body language would still convey a profound interest in the 
discussion.  Here, in the white and black world of text, there is 
only communication and non-communication. (is there a designer in the 
house who can bring that body language into list dynamics...sometimes 
smiley faces are just not enough... : - (

> Perhaps as Said and Rocha have argued before, the written silence in 
> this list is a proof of the absence of knowledge about our cultural 
> production or an uncanny manifestation of the peripheral condition 
> in which some people still want to place our cultures. I want to 
> believe that the silence is a written code transgressing all 
> territories, empowering each of us as we find new ways of co-exist 
> along the cosmic energies.

It is true that silence can be a sign of an absence of knowledge and 
something highly codified.   But I also think about those gaps as 
space for listening.  If only there was a way to track listening, 
make it visible and valued in the same way as speech.

There have been so many threads in this discussion, so many that 
deserve time to consider. I am hoping that I can collect my thoughts 
in a slightly more cohesive way over the weekend...

Eduardo, I am also glad that you remain in the discussion.  Yes, 
cultural backgrounds are different but I suppose that since we have 
gathered around the "conceptual table" of Empyre, I hope this shows a 
keen desire to engage with each other and discover more about our 
respective contexts.

hopefully more from this not so-speedy brain soon...


Renee