mark cooley
Since 2002
Works in United States of America

ARTBASE (5)
PORTFOLIO (4)
BIO
Mark Cooley is an interdisciplinary artist interested in exploring the intersections of art, activism and institutional critique in a variety of contexts. Subjects of particular interest are U.S. foreign policy, corporate culture, and the political economy of new technologies. Recently, Mark has focused his attention on food production and consumption and the ways in which artists may mediate in these processes.

http://www.flawedart.net


The New American Dictionary


The Boston-based performance group Institute for Infinitely Small Things has published a book called The New American Dictionary.

The dictionary highlights the terminology of fear, security and war that has permeated American English post 9-11. It includes 68 new terms i.e. Preparedness and Freedom Fries as well as terms that have recently been redefined i.e. Torture.

The dictionary also has an interactive dimension. 58 terms are left undefined for the reader to pencil in their own definition. Furthermore, readers are invited to submit their additions to the institute for a possible inclusion in the 2nd edition.

The New American Dictionary is available at several online stores.

www.newamericandictionary.com

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exhaust emissions balloons


exhaust_emissions.jpg
a huge balloon, tied to a car�s vent-pipe, depicting the amount of exhaust emissions a car releases a day.

the "bursting earth" project is similar, but more dynamic. activists attach world globe balloons on exhaust pipes of cars in Berlin. the exhaust gas inflates the ballons. after the message becomes readable, there is a big "bang".

[link: frederiksamuel.com & adsoftheworld.com & 20to20.org]

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WoW!


Aram Bartholl is a german artist renowned for making physical abstractions of the digital world, particularly game-worlds.

One of Aram's not-to-be-missed performances is inspired by the popular computer game World of Warcraft (WoW).

In WoW, the nickname of the player's avatar is constantly hovering above the head of the player so that the identity is visible for everyone else in the game.

Aram took this little feature out of cyberspace to see how it would look if people's names would float above their heads in the physical world too.

WoW has been performed at different locations around the world. Luckily, it is well-documented!


Getting coffee WoW style Workshop in Ghent Project Site

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REALIZING THE IMPOSSIBLE: ART AGAINST AUTHORITY


reaimp.jpg

Aesthetics and Politics

REALIZING THE IMPOSSIBLE: ART AGAINST AUTHORITY by Josh MacPhee, Erik Reuland, editors :: There has always been a close relationship between aesthetics and politics in anti-authoritarian social movements. And those movements have in turn influenced many of the last century's most important art movements, including cubism, Dada, post-impressionism, abstract expressionism, surrealism, Fluxus, Situationism, and punk. Today, the movement against corporate globalization, with its creative acts of resistance, has brought anti-authoritarian politics into the forefront. This sprawling, inclusive collection explores this vibrant history, with topics ranging from turn-of-the-century French cartoonists to modern Indonesian printmaking, from people rolling giant balls of trash down Chicago streets to massive squatted urban villages and renegade playgrounds in Denmark, from stencil artists of Argentina to radical video collectives of the US and Mexico. Lots of illustrations, all b&w.;

READ ON »



Discussions (102) Opportunities (8) Events (39) Jobs (2)
DISCUSSION

US seizes independent media sites


US seizes independent media sites

The FBI has shut down some 20 sites which were part of an alternative media network known as Indymedia.

A US court order forced the firm hosting the material to hand over two servers in the UK used by the group.

Indymedia says it is a news source for the anti-globalisation movement and other social justice issues.

The reasons behind the seizure are unclear but the FBI has reportedly said the action was taken at the request of Italian and Swiss authorities.

Legal action

The servers affected were run by Rackspace, a US web hosting company with offices in London.

It said it had received a court order from the US authorities last Thursday to hand over the computer equipment at its UK hosting facility.

The way this has been done smacks more of intimidation of legitimate journalistic inquiry than crime-busting
Aidan White, International Federation of Journalists

"Rackspace is acting as a good corporate citizen and is cooperating with international law enforcement authorities," said a statement by the company.

It said it was responding to an order issued under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. Under the agreement, countries assist each other in investigations such as international terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering

The reasons behind the action against the Indymedia websites are unclear.

The group said the servers affected had hosted the sites of more then 20 local collectives and audio streams for several radio stations, as well as several other projects.

"Indymedia had been asked last month by the FBI to remove a story about Swiss undercover police from one of the websites hosted at Rackspace," said the group in a statement.

"It is not known, however, whether Thursday's order is related to that incident since the order was issued to Rackspace and not to Indymedia."

'Intolerable and intrusive'

A FBI spokesperson told the AFP news agency that it was not an FBI operation, saying the order had been issued at the request of Italian and Swiss authorities.

The seizure has sparked off protests from journalist groups.

"We have witnessed an intolerable and intrusive international police operation against a network specialising in independent journalism," said Aidan White, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists.

"The way this has been done smacks more of intimidation of legitimate journalistic inquiry than crime-busting."

The UK site of Indymedia is back up and running but several of the other 20 sites affected are still offline.

In the US, the civil liberties group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said it was working with Indymedia over how to react to the seizures.

"The constitution does not permit the government unilaterally to cut off the speech of an independent media outlet, especially without providing a reason or even allowing Indymedia the information necessary to contest the seizure," said EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl.

Story from BBC NEWS:

EVENT

Virtual Art@athica.org v.4: Regime Change


Dates:
Wed Oct 27, 2004 00:00 - Tue Oct 12, 2004

A Collection of New Media Artwork curated by Didi Dunphy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
***************************************************************************
ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art, Inc. presents:

Virtual Art@athica.org v.4: Regime Change
A Collection of New Media Artwork curated by Didi Dunphy
Launch Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2004

ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art is delighted to announce the launch of Regime Change, the fourth incarnation of its Virtual Art Gallery, which displays collections of online artwork created specifically for the Internet medium.
Regime Change was curated by Athens' artist Didi Dunphy, her third such venture for ATHICA. Ms Dunphy reviewed 50 submissions before deciding on the dozen sites described below, all of which the artists submitted with the current political environment and issues related to the upcoming election in mind. Many of the works deal with the Iraq war, others with the election itself, and still others with the part the Media plays in shaping opinion. Three of the artists, Kevin Hoth, Laura Floyd and Ben McCormick are Athens' locals who have shown non-virtual artworks at ATHICA, as has Nick Fox-Gieg from West Virginia, who exhibited animations in last January's Piece Process exhibit. The well-established new media artist team of Margaret Crane and Jon Winet, who appeared in Virtual Art Gallery V.2., weigh-in with complex a site that links users to current electoral votes polling data, among many other links. Other artists hail from Europe and around the nation, many employing lush audio tracks and online movies to express their strong feelings. All share the urgency of this vulnerable moment in our nation's history.
As Ms Dunphy states:
"All art is a political act. And we must act. With the 2004 elections around the corner, our personal and global media saturated with party grand-standing, the art community is feverously voicing fresh, strong, disturbing, satirical and much applauded opinions, many of which are at work in these web projects. With so many strong submissions, I can only hope that this number of significant artist investigations reflects the numbers of voters at the polls in November. Art for a stronger America, Art for a stronger World."
We hope you will log on to www.athica.org and explore these websites before you cast your vote. We would like to acknowledge the excellent labors of our volunteer website manager, Andrew Hollingsworth, who makes the Virtual Art gallery and the ATHICA website possible.

The artists of VA v.4 are:
Mark Cooley, Lionello Borean + Chiara Grandesso, Nick Fox-Gieg, Doran Golan, Kevin Hoth, Ben McCormick and Allison Rentz.

Their works are described below:

Mark Cooley
Springfield MO
War-Product-War
http://www.war-product-war.com
warProductwar represents an ongoing meditation on US war culture. Previously web published content is recontextualized @ war-product-war.com in efforts to promote active re-readings of US visual culture in reference to war, politics, and the global economy. Through the course of the project warProductwar will remain in a state of flux. Broken links and loose ends should be expected. Additions, deletions, and changes are continually pondered and infrequently enacted.

Jon Thomson & Craighead
United Kingdom
CNN Interactive
www.cnnextra.net
In ‘CNN Interactive just got more interactive’ artists Jon Thomson & Alison Craighead allow site visitors to add a variety of soundtracks to the monolithic CNN Interactive website in an attempt to further mediate a moment of infotainment--to bring a cinematic conceit to this ever changing global news feed. As such, the economy of the news is blurred ever more towards venerability and entertainment--forcing us to question ways in which we all distinguish between 'fact' and 'fiction.'

Michael Takeo Magruder
United Kingdom
FALLUJAH . IRAQ . 31/03/2004
http://www.takeo.org/nspace/ns011/
Fallujah, Iraq, 31/03/2004 - According to witnesses and U.S. officials,
four American 'civilians' were ambushed and shot or beaten to death by
Iraqi insurgents. Townspeople mutilated the bodies of the men, dragged
them through the streets, lynched them from a bridge, and burned them
while crowds danced and cheered...
notes:
- The desecration of the victims' bodies was filmed in its entirety by
an Associated Press camera crew.
- There was no intervention by collation forces during the attack or the
subsequent mutilations.
- The coverage of the event was highly censored on all international
media networks.
- The 'civilian' causalities were mercenaries employed by Blackwater
Security Consulting, of Moyock, N.C.
* This work is not intended as a discourse on the axiom of 'the evil
nature of war'. It is merely a consideration of an event we have (or
have not) witnessed and a reflection on the iconic nature of conflict in
the new millennium.

Margaret Crane and Jon Winet
No. & So. California
2004-America & The Globe
http://www.america-the-globe.net
The 2004 US presidential elections and democratic
practice in America.

Laura Floyd
Athens, GA
Jiffylux Girls
www.jiffylux.com/goya/jiffyluxgirls.html
Our very own 2004 campaign contribution!

Lionello Borean + Chiara Grandesso
Padova, Italy
Plug’n’Pray
http://www.plug-pray.org

A TV preacher is promoting a new way to deal with religious conflicts - a software application helps you get converted in a couple of clicks. You can choose the most suitable and convenient religion for you - anytime, anywhere. Fanatic crusades, bloodshed - get away with it without compromising your pacifist ideals and launch new religious marketing campaigns.
The website parodies these attitudes to elicit dialogue and thought sharing on serious issues like tolerance and religious wars.
The language you read and the graphics you see on the website pertain to the IT world - it is a typical e-commerce portal selling innovative, complete, but most of all plausible and convincing software kits.

The “Plug’n’Pray” concept borrows its name and reinterprets the famous idea behind “plug and play” technology. PnP is now a synonym for easy hardware installation and hassle-free software set up that allows you to immediately start using a new HW device or SW application. “Play” becomes “Pray” - your conversion is instantaneous, smooth and seamless.

Doran Golan
New York
'after the revolution'
http://www.the9th.com/04/revolution/index1.html

The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy. David Rovics sings 'after the revolution'.

Nick Fox-Gieg
West Virginia
Instant Memorial
www.fox-gieg.com/stuff/memorial
The Instant Memorial is capable of commemorating an infinite number of
tragic events that have yet to take place. Feel free to let it run in the
background as you go about your business, and be ready (if the opportunity
should present itself) to exploit the tragedies it generates to advance
the political goals of your choice.

Ben McCormick
Athens, GA
distortion
http://www.benmccormick.com/athica/distortion.html
music by vic chesnut

"Distortion” is a video piece commenting on the United States’ current obsession with war and the War on Terrorism specifically. Our view of the world is constantly distorted by the filter which exists between truth, government, and the media. We live in a culture of fear that is capitalized upon by media outlets which prey on our vulnerabilities by doling out our daily intake of governmental propaganda.

Kevin Hoth
Athens, GA
Casualties of War (WHITE REDUX)
http://www.orangemancreative.com/video/html/casualties.html

This video is meant to be a counter-action to the idea in other parts of the world that most Americans support our current president’s policies and his reasons for going to war in Iraq.

Allison Rentz
Atlanta, GA
http://www.imissamerrykuh.com

I perform “I Miss a Merry K UH” live, on the web, and through email.
This is an ongoing political project, which is critical of corporate greed and domination. Themes include anti-war, anti-corporation, and feminism.
There are multiple characters - such as Miss Marry, Snookums, and WorkEr. Miss Marry is the beauty queen, a spoof on Miss America. Snookums is the sexist CEO of the company. WorkEr is an employee of the I Miss a Merry K UH empire.

Print Quality Images available on request.
CONTACT INFO:
For more information about Virtual Art@athica.org, please contact:
Didi Dunphy, Curator, Didi@athica.org
(Home number not for publication 706.208-8242)
For more information on ATHICA please contact:

Lizzie Zucker Saltz, Director
Phone: 706-208-1613 - Email: info@athica.org - Website: www.athica.org
(Home #- Not for publication: 706.208.0702)

Address: ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art, Inc. Chase Street Warehouses, Unit 3 Entrance at 160 Tracy St. off Barber/Wynburn Streets.

Mailing Address: PO Box 1604, Athens, GA 30603-1604 USA.

ATHICA is an all-volunteer run, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which debuted in March 2002. Contributions are tax-deductible.



DISCUSSION

Re: Re: [Fwd: Google News Alert - Critical Art Ensemble] --- for comment


i don't know what steve means by "alternative world's quick dismissal of things that didn't work on day one as if they will never work and all that distbin of history stuff," but no matter.

one shouldn't have to rely on google - take a look at CAE's site - where the books have been all along
http://www.critical-art.net/books/index.html

lee wells wrote:

> A must read and way ahead of its time.
> All CAE's books and projects are that way.
>
> On 8/3/04 10:07 AM, "steve.kudlak@cruzrights.org"
> <steve.kudlak@cruzrights.org> wrote:
>
> >
> > I use the "News Alert" feature of Goggle and I set it
> > to topics I want to watch. Every once in awhile it comes
> > up with something interesting. I think the article is
> > pretty interesting. It has a good criticism but it has
> > some of the alternative world's quick dismissal of things
> > that didn't work on day one as if they will never work
> > and all that distbin of history stuff. Same the "X is
> > dead" stuff it can be equally shortsighted.
> >
> > Have Fun,
> > Sends Steve
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------- Original Message
> ----------------------------
> > Subject: Google News Alert - Critical Art Ensemble
> > From: "newsalerts-noreply@google.com"
> <newsalerts-noreply@google.com>
> > Date: Mon, August 2, 2004 11:23 pm
> > To: steve.kudlak@cruzrights.org
> >
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > �ELECTRONIC Civil Disobedience and Other Unpopular Ideas�
> > Buffalo Alt Press Online - Buffalo,NY,USA
> > ... American citizen's bookstore and library records, we decided to
> go to
> > our public library and check out the Critical Art Ensemble's
> revolutionary
> > manifesto ...
> >
> <http://www.altpressonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid"7>
> >
> > This daily-once News Alert is brought to you by Google News
> (BETA)... - -
> > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Remove
> > this News Alert:
> > http://www.google.com/newsalerts/remove?sfd8401e449cb4a&hl=en
> >
> > Create another News Alert:
> > http://www.google.com/newsalerts?hl=en
> >
> > Try Google News:
> > http://news.google.com/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > +
> > -> post: list@rhizome.org
> > -> questions: info@rhizome.org
> > -> subscribe/unsubscribe:
> http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> > -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> > -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
> > +
> > Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> > Membership Agreement available online at
> http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
> >
>
>

DISCUSSION