[-empyre-] -gifts of generosity, time, and thought-

[Renate Terese Ferro]

Welcome back Melinda, 
It is always such a joy to see you reappear in soft-skinned space.  Glad to hear it is hot and humid there as we in upstate NY get ready for a major snowstorm tomorrow.  

Yes “Contamination” was an amazing month and I also learned so much that month and met new subscribers including Andrea who just wrote a post  a few days ago. So happy to hear about your new article and hope you will post the link as a follow up when its published.

Melinda in conceiving this online community you intentionally envisioned, a third space, or you called it a “soft-space.”  Originally, most of the participants were from areas specifically not including the United States and Western Europe.  Though now we are a community of 2,059 (as of today February 5, 2018), our subscribers are world-wide. 

Most of our long-time –empyreans- know that Tim Murray and I have been involved as moderators of the listserv since 2007.  We began as co-moderators where we worked collaboratively-me with an artist’s perspective and Tim that of the theoretician.  Through the multitudes of months that we have hosted both collaboratively and individually each one was begun with a hunch or instinct for an idea or topic. –empyre- is exhausting to say the least but the brilliant collaborators who come and go are what sustain the collective intellectual and creative zones of the list.  To agree to be an –empyre- moderator or guest or writer necessitates gifts of generosity, time, thought, and so much more. Yes, as you write it is a symbiosis, where others words and thoughts meddle together, to form new generative knowledge. The remixes are at times exceedingly so fast I can hardly catch my breath and at other times painfully slow.  Despite the speed, time, flow our mission has been to nurture a space where giftedness is nurtured for and by all.  You wrote, “It[-empyre-] maintains a policy to not feature only the usual suspects or media stars, although some of the guests are very well known, but to provide a level platform for artists and theorists working in interesting critical and artistic interstices.” 

Thanks as always Melinda, It is wonderful to hear from you. Renate




Renate Ferro
Visiting Associate Professor
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Department of Art
Tjaden Hall 306
rferro at cornell.edu

edu