[-empyre-] Nonsite as fashion trend

[John Haber]

You know, I didn't put it that way, because it hadn't occurred to me.  
But I see what you mean:  it's appealing, the thought that one reason to 
distinguish new media is as reaction to the physical excess. 

I don't mean that all the messes are bad.  For me, that room for Rist 
was the highpoint of the summer show at the Guggenheim, while something 
ALMOST more virtual, Piotr Uklanski's disco floor, was the low point 
because more tied to art commerce.  If there's one thing I look forward 
to in the city, it's seeing what someone will do next with that 
garage-like space at SculptureCenter in Long Island City.  I even have a 
soft spot for Rirkrit T.'s idealism. 

There's also the issue of not denigrating unnecessarily Smithson's own 
practices.  But obviously you're not going to do that!  Finally, there's 
some question in my mind how much new media can escape certain 
assemptions built into the system.  In sum, I wasn't singling out 
certain artistic practices as the problem, although I'm getting sick and 
tired of some shows that get widely praised.  It's more the question of 
how to keep from letting certain pressures make everyone more complicit 
than they think. 

But hey, the future is always open.  Tomorrow I promise one among 
several possible answers.  That and to praise everybody and everything, 
so to speak.  :-)

John