Re: <nettime> oh, the gents they do protest too much!

["app][lick.ation][end.age" <netwurker@hotkey.net.au>]

  dear coco,

firstly, i'm presuming that after yr generic reply 2 several postings 
addressing elements of yr "modest proposal for josephine bosma" post, that 
u'd prefer 2 utilize a general correspondence pattern rather than direct 
response engagement. i'm by-passing this by choosing 2 [attempt 2] engage u 
[& others] in a direct forum x.change.

At 01:21 PM 31/08/2002 -0400, u wrote:
>Too all those nettimers who appear to have been irritated by my modest
>proposal:


.....in actuality i wasn't irritated by yr post, but more n.trigued|puzzled.


>It is quite enlightening and amusing to discover that the protagonists of
>a milieu that is famous for its irreverence toward anything considered
>established, its ironic attitude toward anything purporting to represent
>"truth", and its propensity for parasitical caricature, would be so very
>sincere, so incredibly earnest, and so absolutely righteous in their
>responses to a parody of the "scene" they are a part of. Apparently, it's
>fine to lampoon everything from multinationals to medecine as long as the
>holy temple of alt.net culture remains untouched.


...secondly, coco, a request 2 u b4 i begin 2 pursue a genuine reply - i'm 
becoming confused regarding yr communication _n.tent_; at the moment this 
puzzlement stems from various inconsistencies in yr dialogical 
approach.....u seem quite content 2 illustrate yr points with (failed 
satirical) references that endorse the m.plied pedagogy status of 2 dead 
_white_ _western_ males [one b.ing skakespeare (via yr allusion 2 the 
paraphrased hamlet quote in the subject line) & the other b.ing swift (yr 
reference 2 satire below)] whilst denigrating any valid form of 
participant|multilogue response ....

....i'm also curious regarding if u intend 2 elaborate past this satirical 
continency? do u choose 2 participate in forums such as these in order 2 
x.punge information regarding political|interpetative|analytical leanings 
only ie present a 1-sided critique that offers no hope of unfolding via 
considered discussion?

i do realise yr expository tracts r not destined 2 b absorbed through an 
_intent_ filter alone, coco, but it is x.ceedingly difficult 2 attempt 
cogent responses 2 yr assertions whilst this satirical-recourse-call is in 
constant (potential) operation.....


>It is also quite
>endearing to find that so many men have rushed to the aid of damsel Bosma
>- hence, I must conclude that chivalry is not dead in the realm of the
>posthuman, but humor appears to have evaporated! Herr Cramer, I'd say that
>if you are perceiving uptightness, it might be coming from the reflection
>in your mirror, as it seems you cannot take a joke when it's on you!


.....again, these constant generalisations regarding the 
practic][ition][e][rs][ of net art/wurk/forums act only 2 legitimize 
pat][hie][riarchic|cloistered methodologies of "the other" by yr consistent 
reliance on the lecture-form rather than participating in sustained 
dia|multilogues.............yr pin.pointing of the males that responded 
again acts 2 negate|over.write any females that _also_ responded [again 
surprising given yr ideological stance]........


>For those who apparently have not read Jonathan Swift, the Irish colonial
>satirist whose spirit and title I borrowed, I highly recommend his
>brilliant and hilarious tracts that artfully poke fun at the piety and
>hypocricy of the British. He's a great avatar, I'll say that.


...i'd prefer if u could recommend a non-male, non-white, non-western 
satirist as a more relevant x.ample, as this would seem 2 b more consistent 
in terms of yr assertions [and corresponding lament regarding 
non-discussion of such categorisations b.low]...................


>My main point, for those who had trouble discerning it on their own, was
>that Bosma's opinions were based on rather ludicrous, reductionist
>descriptions of the works she glossed over in her review. One could
>approach net.art in the same way, as I did, and the resulting appraisal
>would sound quite disturbing to those who felt themselves the object of
>such a critique. Bosma's attitude toward the artists and curators was
>arch, ignorant and at times even racist.  Ah yes, that terrible word. But
>nearly every time any non-white subscriber to this list makes an
>assessment of anything posted as being racist, that non-white subscriber
>is attacked -- by white, leftist, progressive, activists and theorists who
>embrace nomadism and deterritorialization but refuse to examine their
>prejudices or their own relentless need to micromanage all opposition to
>official discourses about people who have been deterritorialized and
>subjected to racism in Europe and America. We're dealing with is about a
>political project of territorial control. Doesn't matter to me if that
>territory is physical, intellectual or artistic. Hence, a parodic approach
>was a good tactic in such a repressive milieu.


...i agree that a *productive* parody would b effective. howeva, yr attempt 
at satire doesn't operate anywhere near a successful level, with its 
constant wavering b.tween hodgepodge critique & humourless character 
ridiculing .....also, claiming satirical n.gagement with objectionable (u 
term it racist) material only further acts 2 reiterate the nature 
&  _content_ of the material under treatment, s.pecially given that no 
alternative n.ceptions of such material r ][pr][offered by u, coco.....u r 
actively perpetuating this _repressive milieu_ . this unfortunate 
continuance, in turn, acts 2 muddy any n.teresting concepts u raise in this 
highly conflicting confab.............


>I have no doubt that Transmediale juries wade through zillions of
>applications. I have sat on dozens of such juries in my lifetime and have
>done the same - and know from experience it is in no guarantee of
>democratic procedure, or that the final selection will reflect a range of
>tastes or provenances - it usually just becomes a statistic that festivals
>can boast about (" Wow we are so omnicient that we reviewed 2 million
>applications in our search for the best of whatever...." ). Any good
>shopkeeper in a European city would know that a pastiche tray of goodies
>from around the world will sell - as long as nothing on the tray BITES THE
>HAND THAT FEEDS IT. Thus the number of entries reviewed, Herr Andreas,
>does little to alter the insularity of the milieu, the cliquishness of the
>scene, the narrowness of its aesthetic views, or the obsession of its
>proponents to restrict their view of the history of avant garde new media
>to the last ten years, (tossing in an occasional and unusually inaccurate
>reference to some early 20th century European avantgarde.) There was new
>media, intermedia, activist media and electronmic media before The Next
>Minutes and before nettime -- and alot of it continues without having any
>contact with this milieu.


.....i'm x.tremely n.terested in x.panding my knowledge base regarding 
arenas that predate & run parallel with a net.based environment...could u 
perhaps say more regarding this, coco?


>I find it quite symptomatic that the high priests of No Border
>consciousness, posthuman subjectivity, and new media chic always seek to
>trash postcolonial theory and dismiss the art they consider to flow from
>those ideas. The same European leftists who believe they have the solution
>ot the "refugee problem"  are the ones who do everything possible to force
>the expressions of refugees, exiles, immigrants and their offspring in the
>domain of intellectual discourse and art practice through their
>CHECKPOINT. Those who step around that BORDER are condemned to be exiled
>from the temple. We didn't pass quality control, oops. How come you don't
>like us anymore when we leave the refugee camp and get college degrees and
>speak your language(s)? Why might this be? Is it really about theoretical
>weaknesses of postcolonialist thinkers (whose ideas are rarely discussed
>in depth - all that I ever see here are blanket statements about
>"postcolonialism" as if it were singular)?


..also, i'm keen 2 learn further about these postcolonial thinkers.....can 
u give a rundown of some individuals that differ in their 
portrayal|participation in this singular, monochromatically-defined .ism?


>I doubt it. None of you who
>have responded have demonstrated enough openness, sensitivity,
>understanding or respect for anticolonialist struggles or postcolonial
>intellectual and cultural production for me to think for one minute that
>you know something significant about them.


.....i'm also keen 2 learn just how yr satirically-m.bued response pattern 
encourage][d][s open, sensitive, respectful communication? or, in contrast, 
how u've procured yr immunity 2 this response pattern via yr preemptive 
knowledge|affectivity structures?


>The resistance to any
>discussion of institutional racism in alt.net culture adds to my
>skepticism.  Forget about dealing with the outrageously obvious racist
>psychodynamics of internet porn and "artsy" erotica. That's another can of
>worms.

.........coco, do u perceive that yr use of anglomanic|westernised 
x.position as a legitimate method of discourse [via a practical validation 
of it as yr primary communication tool] is perplexing in relation 2 yr 
points x.pressed above, & that this could further alienate any legitimate 
_PoCo_ vocality that u seem keen 2 portray yr theory [& self] as embodying?

....yr proposal unpacks as a dreadful manifestation of a 
imperialistically-tinged dynamic [1 that surpasses the quasi-satirical & 
plunges straight in2 a progressively victim-discrediting|orientation 
structure, again hi-lighted by yr generalised naivete-of-response tone] 
that u criticize with such vigor above...........


.....please feel free 2 respond 2 my observations above, coco [& all], & i 
look 4ward 2 potential unfoldings beyond these largely ornamental + 
contradictory textings,
mez [aka app][lick.ation][end.age]




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app][lick.ation][end.age

www.cddc.vt.edu/host/netwurker/
http://www.montevideo.nl/www/english/current.htm

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