marc garrett
Since the beginning
Works in London United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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BIO
Marc Garrett is co-director and co-founder, with artist Ruth Catlow of the Internet arts collectives and communities – Furtherfield.org, Furthernoise.org, Netbehaviour.org, also co-founder and co-curator/director of the gallery space formerly known as 'HTTP Gallery' now called the Furtherfield Gallery in London (Finsbury Park), UK. Co-curating various contemporary Media Arts exhibitions, projects nationally and internationally. Co-editor of 'Artists Re:Thinking Games' with Ruth Catlow and Corrado Morgana 2010. Hosted Furtherfield's critically acclaimed weekly broadcast on UK's Resonance FM Radio, a series of hour long live interviews with people working at the edge of contemporary practices in art, technology & social change. Currently doing an Art history Phd at the University of London, Birkbeck College.

Net artist, media artist, curator, writer, street artist, activist, educationalist and musician. Emerging in the late 80′s from the streets exploring creativity via agit-art tactics. Using unofficial, experimental platforms such as the streets, pirate radio such as the locally popular ‘Savage Yet Tender’ alternative broadcasting 1980′s group, net broadcasts, BBS systems, performance, intervention, events, pamphlets, warehouses and gallery spaces. In the early nineties, was co-sysop (systems operator) with Heath Bunting on Cybercafe BBS with Irational.org.

Our mission is to co-create extraordinary art that connects with contemporary audiences providing innovative, engaging and inclusive digital and physical spaces for appreciating and participating in practices in art, technology and social change. As well as finding alternative ways around already dominating hegemonies, thus claiming for ourselves and our peer networks a culturally aware and critical dialogue beyond traditional hierarchical behaviours. Influenced by situationist theory, fluxus, free and open source culture, and processes of self-education and peer learning, in an art, activist and community context.
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DISCUSSION

Re: Charlie puts NMA's down...


Hi Arn,

I have heard this kind of argument many times, when meeting curators
mostly.

I would have to disagree with Charlie here, because for one - not
everyone wants to be an artist. Plus - art does not always come from
places that one would prefer it to arrive from, it is more than just a
studied and inhereted creativity...

I have always been excited that the web has been bringing about
independent creativity, outside of the usual places, such as art
institutions myself.

It also challenges the too readily accepted hierarchies to take a
lookoutisde of their assumed vistas...

marc

another quote:
"The web, Charlie says, has the alarming potential of realising the idea
of the artist Joseph Beuys, that everyone is an artist. This could spell
the end of art as we know it, when everyone becomes a producer and we
all drown in a sea of mediocrity made up of billions of minutely-niched
microchannels."

i think this is great, so will better write:

"when everyone becomes a producer and we all grow in a great sea of
experimentations made up of billions of creative microchannels."

why being so alarmed by JB (& others) idea , Charlie ?

DISCUSSION

Re: Charlie puts NMA's down...


HI T.Whid & all,

>He's right about one thing. Artists aren't at the cutting-edge of
technology. The technocrats and scientists will always be ahead...with
the technology. (Though Golan Levin is working with one of the top
people in eye-tracking and face recognition at Carnegie-Mellon.)

And my answer would be to him, well 'so what?'

We know we cannot build a spaceship to splurt out happy patterns around
the galaxy and all that nonsense.

If media art is only measured by its supposed 'cutting edge' of
technology I would personally find it all pretty boring.

for me, it's the context, the communities that use it, the networked
nature of it, the ideas that come out of it, the content created with
it, the fact that it is free (almost) from historical control and lame
canons and htere is more, so much more - he seemed to miss all these
vital ingredients...

>Anyway, the 'thought-provoking" part of his statement is complete and
utter bullshit. Google Earth is cool and thought-provoking but you
don't need gee-whiz tech to be a thought-provoking artist. I think
that would be abundantly obvious to everyone.

It's like measuring the size of a male protrudence next to another I
think, mine is bigger and better than yours kind of thing.

If I was one of those artists mentioned in the article I would feel
pretty embraressed to aquainted to such a negative and non-visionary
stance. Perhaps Charlie is aiming to fill the shoes to be the 'Brian
Sewell' of the media art world. http://linkme2.net/9h

He manages make everything sound so boring and tired - completely
opposite to those who are actually doing it, why the heck is he writing
about it and invited to conferences about it - if he hates it so much?

I actually respected Charlie Gere and thought that he had some important
things to say regarding media art and its culture but, this has forced
me to re-evaluate my original feelings about him. If he can just
irresponsibly blabber on in the mass media press (a murdoch paper at
that) and flippantly diss a whole generation, with such misinformation
then something might have to be done about it - in a productive way of
course ;-)

marc

On 8/17/06, marc <marc.garrett@furtherfield.org> wrote:

> Wow - and now we have Charlie Gere putting us all down.
>
> "So are artists at the cutting edge of new-media technology? No, says
> Charlie. One of the problems is that other stuff on the net is so much
> more mind-blowing. A site such as Google Earth is so much more awesome
> and thought-provoking than something an arty hacktivist can knock up on
> her PC."
>
> I would love to have an open discussion with him about this stuff this
> on-line.
>
>
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mtaa/~3/13468813/the_times_uk_does_new_media.html
>
> Also check rhizome front page...
>
> Thanks Charlie, we love you two ;-)
>
> marc
>
> --
> Furtherfield - http://www.furtherfield.org
> HTTP - http://www.http.uk.net
> Node.London - http://www.nodel.org
>
> +
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--
<twhid>www.mteww.com</twhid>
+
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DISCUSSION

Charlie puts NMA's down...


Wow - and now we have Charlie Gere putting us all down.

"So are artists at the cutting edge of new-media technology? No, says
Charlie. One of the problems is that other stuff on the net is so much
more mind-blowing. A site such as Google Earth is so much more awesome
and thought-provoking than something an arty hacktivist can knock up on
her PC."

I would love to have an open discussion with him about this stuff this
on-line.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mtaa/~3/13468813/the_times_uk_does_new_media.html

Also check rhizome front page...

Thanks Charlie, we love you two ;-)

marc

--
Furtherfield - http://www.furtherfield.org
HTTP - http://www.http.uk.net
Node.London - http://www.nodel.org

DISCUSSION

Art Blog links at Furtherfield.org


Art Blog links at Furtherfield.org

We have been receiving and collecting links for Art Blogs on
furtherfield for a little while now. And we thought that it might be a
good idea to see who else is out there currently creating 'Art Blogs'.

We are particularly interested in finding 'art blogs' that are created
as 'art objects/pieces/works of art', and blogs observing, writing about
net art & meda arts culture.

Before sending, we advise you to check to see if you are not already on
there and to see that your blog might belong elsewhere in another links
section regarding its content and context.

If you wish to submit an Art Blog, please do it via email using this
email address - info@furtherfield.org

Submission Format (example):

title - The creative Nipper.
info (about) - no more than 200 words.
URL - http://www.artblogger.it

Art blog links section:
http://www.furtherfield.org/displaylinks.php?link_set

Thank you - Marc.

DISCUSSION

Re: New media art shouldn't suck


Hi T.Whid,

Yes - a problem.

We have recently been funding the making of some films about net
artists/media arts, with the aim of sending them to various education
organisations & to be part of some exhibitions - and also promoting them
to various television companies. Which seem to be quite popular - some
of the local audiences who have been coming to the space (HTTP) are
finding it a lot easier in viewing these films, about the artists and
the work. Usually before they view much of the work online itself.

We are also in the process of building an online facility where net
artists/media artists who wish to share their practise and want to
explain 'one' project - they can do, by uploading a film about it and
giving a story about it.

It will be up in a couple of weeks hopefully.

What I find in respect of many artists is, that if they are given the
chance to speak for themselves about their work - usually people get it
if it is not too bound up in jargon. But of course, we have to be
careful not to lower the standards I suppose - the art still needs it
raw dynamic and intensity.

wishing you well.

marc

> <http://www.mtaa.net/mtaaRR/news/twhid/new_media_art_shouldn_t_suck.html>
>
> AFC has a good post today
> <http://artfagcity.blogspot.com/2006/08/new-media-why-it-doesnt-suck-part-two.html>
>
> about the realities of new media artists crossing-over into the larger
> art world. Here's the bit that should be common sense to new media
> artists (but often isn't):
>
> +++
>
> AFC quote:
>
> Unlike many professions, there are a great number of people within the
> art world who could give a shit about the Internet. [