[-empyre-] Layers of ISEA2011: Corporate/Financial

[Simon Biggs]

I'm on my way reading empyre :| and horror stories about istanbul taxis on the web ;((((. Looking forward to a little glass of wine. Best. Simon

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Simon Biggs
simon at littlepig.org.uk
www.littlepig.org.uk
s.biggs at ed.ac.uk

On 17 Sep 2011, at 09:55, James Leach <james.leach at abdn.ac.uk> wrote:

> Hi Simon,
> Sitting with Kriss in the hotel and just seen these messages. Can you confirm intentions?
> (We were planning on sitting up waiting with nice wine for your arrival late tonight.)
> Thanks
> 
> On 17 Sep 2011, at 01:36, Simon Biggs wrote:
> 
>> Great. I'm flying in tomorrow. I think I'll cancel.
>> 
>> best
>> 
>> Simon
>> 
>> 
>> On 16 Sep 2011, at 16:04, Nicholas Knouf wrote:
>> 
>>> Hello -empyre-,
>>> 
>>> I'd like to add another layer to the list: the corporate/financial one.
>>> 
>>> I want to write about the experience of entering into the main location
>>> for the conference, Sabanci Towers.  This requires being checked off of
>>> a list and then traveling through a metal detector with your belongings
>>> x-rayed.  You find yourself in front of two gleaming towers of uncountable
>>> numbers of floors that reflect
>>> the blue sky.  You realize that this is
>>> not the university, but rather the headquarters for Sabanci Holding
>>> (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Sabanci_Group), which
>>> appears to be the largest industrial and financial conglomerate in
>>> Turkey, while also the organization behind the founding of Sabanci
>>> University.  Once you make your way through men and women in perfectly
>>> tailored business suits and executives being escorted into Mercedes to be
>>> driven to power lunches, you find yourself in front of another metal
>>> detector and x-ray machine which may or may not be used (I didn't have
>>> to go through it when I entered).  Inside is bland corporate decor not
>>> unlike anything else in the globalized world.  Hacker or DIY space this
>>> certainly is not, and the internet seems to block anything that doesn't
>>> travel on ports 80 or 443 (meaning any local e-mail clients on computers
>>> or smartphones won't work; Blackberries won't work; and seemingly only web traffic will go through).  For your
>>> 400EURO fee you are still required to pay for pastries.
>>> 
>>> I find the totality of this environment rather problematic for an ostensibly academic
>>> and artistic conference and could write much more about it, but will
>>> refrain for the moment.  But I did want to describe this for those of
>>> you who are not in Istanbul.
>>> 
>>> Best,
>>> 
>>> nick knouf
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> empyre forum
>>> empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
>>> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Simon Biggs
>> simon at littlepig.org.uk www.littlepig.org.uk @SimonBiggsUK skype: simonbiggsuk
>> 
>> s.biggs at ed.ac.uk Edinburgh College of Art University of Edinburgh
>> www.eca.ac.uk/circle www.elmcip.net www.movingtargets.co.uk
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> empyre forum
>> empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
>> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
> 
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