ARTBASE (1)
BIO
Michael Szpakowski is an artist, composer, writer and educator.
CV:
http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/szpakowski_cv.pdf
Video work:
http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/vlog/ScenesOfProvincialLife.cgi
Stills:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/szpako
12 Remixes:
http://www.michaelszpakowski.org/mickiewicz/
CV:
http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/szpakowski_cv.pdf
Video work:
http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/vlog/ScenesOfProvincialLife.cgi
Stills:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/szpako
12 Remixes:
http://www.michaelszpakowski.org/mickiewicz/
Blackness for Sale (2001) - Keith Obadike
Marc Garett apparently had some difficulty posting this earlier
& he mailed me & asked me to post it on his behalf..m
Hi Brian & all,
Yes, Ruth Catlow & myself asked many people in fact. We posted a request
to people who use the Internet world-wide, to support our pledge "we
won't fly for art" http://www.pledgebank.com/wewontflyforart. We posted
to various lists and Netbehaviour.org which is quite a collaborative
list in its nature, was one of them. If you are interested what the
other lists were, they include Nettime, Syndicate, Spectre, Nodel as
well as Rhizome.
The Pledgebank is a online platform existing outside of all of media art
communities. Here is a link to other pledges which were successful in
getting shared representation by users of the Internet -
http://www.pledgebank.com/list/succeeded - Our project on this page was
successful, but only because it was networked and connected
internationally. I doubt that it would of been as successful if we kept
it only within the furtherfield or Netbehaviour communities, it needed
to be part of larger thing to have meaning as well as survive.
We wanted to pose questions about the art world's relationship with
climate change, especially in respect of our dependencies on conferences
internationally and ask how we could explore this dichotomy together -
is there a way out of this trap that we all seem to be caught in? Just
because certain questions may be bringing about feelings of impossible
resolve, it really does not mean they should not be explored or
discussed. In fact, great things can come out of such shared visions and
ideas, which can offer positive ways around such issues being shared and
explored.
Moving onto your comment proposing that I am complaining, this 'word' in
itself really does not justify or take on the true complexity of what is
being discussed on here. I have a strong, personal place in my heart for
Rhizome and have grown with many others through the years, up with
Rhizome and its community. It did not used to be as unusual to be
discussing the nature, function, ideas around what Rhizome was, as it
seems now - it used to be a regular part of a shared dialogue,
functioning at many different levels which was one the many special
things and qualities that Rhizome shared with its community.
Having said this, I am beginning to realise how much Rhizome has
'really' changed - more than I originally had presumed. I can imagine
various subscribers of Rhizome lurking in the background, saying "Deal
with it, that's the way it is". In a way, I would agree with them, but I
also feel that it is important to share dialogue with others on subjects
that matter, and Rhizome does matter. I would go as far as saying that
it is because I value Rhizome so much, that I am willing to spend a
little snippet of my precious time in discussing this subject with you
and others on here in the first place. I get annoyed with Rhizome, like
one gets annoyed with a friend. I mean no harm but sometimes it is good
to air things rather than just keep things hidden under the carpet.
Rhizome is a part of A media art culture that I have spent a lot of my
time with, as an individual artist and director of furtherfield, and
other nodes and projects through the years. I have, with many others
invested in Rhizome, given it respect and quality time in supporting it,
whether it be culturally or by giving money to keep it going. In return,
Rhizome has also (in the past) been open in supporting myself and other
projects that I have been connected with, which is a kind of mutual
arrangement, unofficially of course. And yes, I will still remain a
subscriber to Rhizome because I believe that it is extremely important
to support other groups out there who are engaged in media arts as well
as related creativities.
I think what has been expounded from my own corner, is a position of
what one values. In no way would I want Rhizome to be just a place that
is only political. Art is big enough and flexible enough as a creative
endeavour to allow more than just a few specifically themed resources or
behaviours in this multifarious, ever changing movement of
internationally shared expressions. It is important to remember that
Rhizome's spirit grew out of net art, it is still a networked
environment but in contrast to other social networks, it is now more
closed than before, which is a remarkable achievement itself, even
though one may not necessarily agree with the reasoning behind it or be
happy with the consequences.
So, because I know that the Rhizome staff will probably be in the
background wishing I would just shut up, as well as other punters here.
I will.
I am really hoping that, those who are bothering to read this have the
vision and flexibility within themselves, in allowing space and time to
contemplate where I am coming from without turning to easy assumptions,
thus diverting their minds from what is really being discussed. It's
complicated...
Wishing everyone well, and I am sorry for being such a pain - it is not
intentional, I will try to be less passionate next time ;-)
& he mailed me & asked me to post it on his behalf..m
Hi Brian & all,
Yes, Ruth Catlow & myself asked many people in fact. We posted a request
to people who use the Internet world-wide, to support our pledge "we
won't fly for art" http://www.pledgebank.com/wewontflyforart. We posted
to various lists and Netbehaviour.org which is quite a collaborative
list in its nature, was one of them. If you are interested what the
other lists were, they include Nettime, Syndicate, Spectre, Nodel as
well as Rhizome.
The Pledgebank is a online platform existing outside of all of media art
communities. Here is a link to other pledges which were successful in
getting shared representation by users of the Internet -
http://www.pledgebank.com/list/succeeded - Our project on this page was
successful, but only because it was networked and connected
internationally. I doubt that it would of been as successful if we kept
it only within the furtherfield or Netbehaviour communities, it needed
to be part of larger thing to have meaning as well as survive.
We wanted to pose questions about the art world's relationship with
climate change, especially in respect of our dependencies on conferences
internationally and ask how we could explore this dichotomy together -
is there a way out of this trap that we all seem to be caught in? Just
because certain questions may be bringing about feelings of impossible
resolve, it really does not mean they should not be explored or
discussed. In fact, great things can come out of such shared visions and
ideas, which can offer positive ways around such issues being shared and
explored.
Moving onto your comment proposing that I am complaining, this 'word' in
itself really does not justify or take on the true complexity of what is
being discussed on here. I have a strong, personal place in my heart for
Rhizome and have grown with many others through the years, up with
Rhizome and its community. It did not used to be as unusual to be
discussing the nature, function, ideas around what Rhizome was, as it
seems now - it used to be a regular part of a shared dialogue,
functioning at many different levels which was one the many special
things and qualities that Rhizome shared with its community.
Having said this, I am beginning to realise how much Rhizome has
'really' changed - more than I originally had presumed. I can imagine
various subscribers of Rhizome lurking in the background, saying "Deal
with it, that's the way it is". In a way, I would agree with them, but I
also feel that it is important to share dialogue with others on subjects
that matter, and Rhizome does matter. I would go as far as saying that
it is because I value Rhizome so much, that I am willing to spend a
little snippet of my precious time in discussing this subject with you
and others on here in the first place. I get annoyed with Rhizome, like
one gets annoyed with a friend. I mean no harm but sometimes it is good
to air things rather than just keep things hidden under the carpet.
Rhizome is a part of A media art culture that I have spent a lot of my
time with, as an individual artist and director of furtherfield, and
other nodes and projects through the years. I have, with many others
invested in Rhizome, given it respect and quality time in supporting it,
whether it be culturally or by giving money to keep it going. In return,
Rhizome has also (in the past) been open in supporting myself and other
projects that I have been connected with, which is a kind of mutual
arrangement, unofficially of course. And yes, I will still remain a
subscriber to Rhizome because I believe that it is extremely important
to support other groups out there who are engaged in media arts as well
as related creativities.
I think what has been expounded from my own corner, is a position of
what one values. In no way would I want Rhizome to be just a place that
is only political. Art is big enough and flexible enough as a creative
endeavour to allow more than just a few specifically themed resources or
behaviours in this multifarious, ever changing movement of
internationally shared expressions. It is important to remember that
Rhizome's spirit grew out of net art, it is still a networked
environment but in contrast to other social networks, it is now more
closed than before, which is a remarkable achievement itself, even
though one may not necessarily agree with the reasoning behind it or be
happy with the consequences.
So, because I know that the Rhizome staff will probably be in the
background wishing I would just shut up, as well as other punters here.
I will.
I am really hoping that, those who are bothering to read this have the
vision and flexibility within themselves, in allowing space and time to
contemplate where I am coming from without turning to easy assumptions,
thus diverting their minds from what is really being discussed. It's
complicated...
Wishing everyone well, and I am sorry for being such a pain - it is not
intentional, I will try to be less passionate next time ;-)
Blackness for Sale (2001) - Keith Obadike
And I think one of FF's many great strengths is their campaigning/political work ( and in fairness it was something Marc and Ruth raised personally and tentatively rather than some kind of organisational diktat)
I can't imagine Rhizome doing that, nor would I expect them to.
This just underlines my point. Two excellent organisations, different base countries,
similar constituencies, somewhat ( but not that) different emphases.
I'd be miserable if either weren't there.
Where's the problem?
Oh... and a rare moment of disagreement with Curt -I don't believe for a moment that it's the blog format,
or the move from a mailing list that has somehow stifled discussion.
I understand that if it was *simply* a blog format with the priveleged poster and subordinate commenter then this would be the case, something I argued in a number of contexts & places from the very beginning when everyone was getting over excited about the erm.. latest new thing..um..blogs.
But there is a parallel "level" mechanism for starting a new thread - absolutely analagous to when one simply worte a mail & hit send - and it's hardly Rhizome's fault if people don't avail themselves of it.
In addition to that we get John Michael, Ceci and others labouring away daily to point up interesting work. What's to complain about?
If you look at a whole number of lists there simply isn't the volume of discussion there was a few years ago -I suspect we have to look further and deeper to discover the reasons. Anyway, it doesn't seem to inhibit you from posting comment & analysis &c, Curt, something I welcome...
cheers
michael
I can't imagine Rhizome doing that, nor would I expect them to.
This just underlines my point. Two excellent organisations, different base countries,
similar constituencies, somewhat ( but not that) different emphases.
I'd be miserable if either weren't there.
Where's the problem?
Oh... and a rare moment of disagreement with Curt -I don't believe for a moment that it's the blog format,
or the move from a mailing list that has somehow stifled discussion.
I understand that if it was *simply* a blog format with the priveleged poster and subordinate commenter then this would be the case, something I argued in a number of contexts & places from the very beginning when everyone was getting over excited about the erm.. latest new thing..um..blogs.
But there is a parallel "level" mechanism for starting a new thread - absolutely analagous to when one simply worte a mail & hit send - and it's hardly Rhizome's fault if people don't avail themselves of it.
In addition to that we get John Michael, Ceci and others labouring away daily to point up interesting work. What's to complain about?
If you look at a whole number of lists there simply isn't the volume of discussion there was a few years ago -I suspect we have to look further and deeper to discover the reasons. Anyway, it doesn't seem to inhibit you from posting comment & analysis &c, Curt, something I welcome...
cheers
michael
Blackness for Sale (2001) - Keith Obadike
Hi Marc
I simply don't understand in what respect an organisation that has to regularly resort to a laborious round of fundraising is "closer to a dot com than a dot org".
The main thrust of your criticisms seems to be an accusation of a USAcentric point of view. Perhaps, although that might be regarded as forgivable in an organisation based in the USA and whilst being made in the US isn't necessarily a guarantee that a work will be good neither is the converse the case either.
As you know, I love the work you do with Furtherfield, an organisation which which takes a somewhat ( but in the grand scheme of things not *that* much) different approach to Rhizome, and I'm pleased and proud to be associated with you. But, if you take a step back & discount the, frankly, silly notion that Rhizome's current state somehow involves some kind of sell-out ( in which case, again, why the fundraising?) is there really all that much ideologically at stake in the difference between the two approaches? I prefer to think of them complementing each other. They're certainly the two online presences I point my students to before anything else.
I prefer to celebrate both their achievements, which in both cases are considerable and remarkable.
As Curt Cloninger said in his nuanced and graceful post, if folk aren't happy with the kind of discourse around art there is on the Rhizome front page then we can discuss stuff here... I remember a time when you were a regular and vocal contributor to discussion here & it was a better place for that ( and this is true of many others too - I'm sorry T.Whid, for example, no longer posts much).
cheers
michael
I simply don't understand in what respect an organisation that has to regularly resort to a laborious round of fundraising is "closer to a dot com than a dot org".
The main thrust of your criticisms seems to be an accusation of a USAcentric point of view. Perhaps, although that might be regarded as forgivable in an organisation based in the USA and whilst being made in the US isn't necessarily a guarantee that a work will be good neither is the converse the case either.
As you know, I love the work you do with Furtherfield, an organisation which which takes a somewhat ( but in the grand scheme of things not *that* much) different approach to Rhizome, and I'm pleased and proud to be associated with you. But, if you take a step back & discount the, frankly, silly notion that Rhizome's current state somehow involves some kind of sell-out ( in which case, again, why the fundraising?) is there really all that much ideologically at stake in the difference between the two approaches? I prefer to think of them complementing each other. They're certainly the two online presences I point my students to before anything else.
I prefer to celebrate both their achievements, which in both cases are considerable and remarkable.
As Curt Cloninger said in his nuanced and graceful post, if folk aren't happy with the kind of discourse around art there is on the Rhizome front page then we can discuss stuff here... I remember a time when you were a regular and vocal contributor to discussion here & it was a better place for that ( and this is true of many others too - I'm sorry T.Whid, for example, no longer posts much).
cheers
michael
Blackness for Sale (2001) - Keith Obadike
On the contrary, I think the Rhizome front page is currently tremendous & those posting are doing a sterling job of publicising a lot of excellent&/interesting recent work and also really giving some sense of the historical development of the area in an actually pretty inclusive and non-tendentious way. Of course one would naturally have some small disagreements here and there but in general the sheer volume of stuff posted means accusations of partiality don't hold water.
The corporate comparison is just plain stupid - by embracing a facile surface comparison it manages to miss the essence of what distinguishes a not for profit arts organisation from its corporate polar opposite. Do you think perhaps the Rhizome folk should post *less stuff*? Would that make it better? How?
m.
The corporate comparison is just plain stupid - by embracing a facile surface comparison it manages to miss the essence of what distinguishes a not for profit arts organisation from its corporate polar opposite. Do you think perhaps the Rhizome folk should post *less stuff*? Would that make it better? How?
m.
On Tower Bridge
On Tower Bridge" & other recent stuff:
http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/vlog/ScenesOfProvincialLife.cgi
cheers
michael
http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/vlog/ScenesOfProvincialLife.cgi
cheers
michael