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[- I'd Like to teach the World to Sing (via New Media Conference #5,844)
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By Rachel Beth Egenhoefer, Section whatever...
Posted on Fri May 23rd, 2003 at 04:20:22 PM EURODISCORDIA TIME
Here I am at yet another one of our favorite self-validating events- the ever present "New Media Conference". What better way to begin the momentous multi-day gathering, than with an ice breaker game! Our moderator has placed words into a hat. We are each to draw a word and use it in a sentence about the goals for the weekend, a sort of group manifesto using contrived words from the magicians hat... But here is my question, where did these words come from? The very words in which we are supposed to describe our selves, define ourselves, our goals, our objectives. Are these not contrived, preassigned, ordered from the new media dictionary via the man behind the curtain?

 

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Here I am at yet another one of our favorite self-validating events- the ever present "New Media Conference", although this one is called a "summit". And what better way to begin the momentous multi-day gathering, but to break the ice with a game! Our moderator has placed words into a hat. We are each to draw a word and use it in a sentence about the goals for the weekend, a sort of group manifesto using contrived words from the magicians hat.

But here is my question, where did these words come from? The very words in which we are supposed to describe our selves, define ourselves, our goals, our objectives. Are these not contrived, preassigned, ordered from the new media dictionary via our moderator?

Perhaps this is one of the problems with "new media" and the language of it. Again and again these panel discussions all boil down to a never ending circular discussion trying to define "new media" from a list of preset buzzwords we pull from a hat. Wouldn't it be more effective to ditch the game and make some art?

Where exactly did this list o' important words come from? Why is that each panel discussion will include the disclaimer; "I don't like the term new media, but...". Then why are we using it? Why are we sitting here in pow-wows trying to validate ourselves with words we don't like?

Where did this language come from? Why are we still using it if we don't like it and it obviously has not been effective thus far? When will we be able to make art without a week-long conference of expanded intellectual content to support it? Maybe when the art stops talking to its discussion group and starts being about something else?

Remember the Coke commercials they play around the time of the Olympics with the multi-cultural children? They don't speak the same language but somehow are able to make friends through the beauty of Coca-Cola. Our lesson here is that we don't need words, or fancy languages to communicate (just Coke).

Is it too idealistic to ask why we can not aim to make art (regardless of the newness of its media) more like Coke- cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary, without a fancy contrived buzzwordology language? (of course without the all the cola corporate capitalism.)

I'm starting to wonder about the purpose of these conference events? Why are we so concerned with defining ourselves to ourselves? Developing an identity for our identity within our identity. Beating to death what exactly we mean when we say "new media". And then complaining about the difficulties of "new media", of collaboration with other artists, about acceptance in the larger art world? How would these things be easy? We haven't yet offered them a Coke.






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I'd Like to teach the World to Sing (via New Media Conference #5,844) | 5 comments
[new] Defining what for whom? (Avg. Score: none / Raters: 0) (#2)
by Aileen on Sat May 24th, 2003 at 09:54:27 AM EURODISCORDIA TIME
(User Info)

Why are we so concerned with defining ourselves to ourselves? Developing an identity for our identity within our identity. Beating to death what exactly we mean when we say "new media".

It seems to me that this question also has something to do with what I was wondering about in the question I just posted (now waiting to be voted onto the site - hint, hint), and I think Amy has a good point about not stopping with "the larger art world". I don't think "new media conferences" are pointless, although that may be because I still enjoy going to them, since I don't get to go to very many. I think it does make a difference to be able to meet other people, hear about other work that is being done, ideas that are changing - and noticing which terms have been worn out, as Peter pointed out in his comment. But I am also interested in where the intersections are with other areas; at which point is it important for "expert discourse" to interact with "the general public"? Is that important?



 
[new] Who do you want to buy a Coke for? (Avg. Score: none / Raters: 0) (#1)
by amy on Fri May 23rd, 2003 at 07:54:54 PM EURODISCORDIA TIME
(User Info) http://plagiarist.org

And then complaining about the difficulties of "new media", of collaboration with other artists, about acceptance in the larger art world? How would these things be easy? We haven't yet offered them a Coke.

Great point, Rachel! But why stop at the "larger art world"? Why not think about culture at large? Lots of new media artists are already doing this: making projects that engage people outside of an "art audience" - sometimes without even framing them as art at all. Natalie's Metapet would be an example of a recent project which was designed as an "art" project but also with the explicit intent of drawing people in from outside the "art world." The internet is a public place, it provides an excellent setting for such activity. Another example is software art: it's often made by people who don't consider themselves artists or new-media-artists at all (programmers, etc.) Part of what we try to do at runme (sorry for plug :-) ) is to acknowledge and bring together software art's two geneaologies (software culture and art culture.)

Then, there's also tactical media: stuff like rtmark.com and the yesmen to grab some overly-easy examples - which explicitly aren't about "art" or "new media art" at all, and wouldn't really work if they were.... but can and of course have been framed as such.

But of course, these are also issues of Discordia itself, which is an explicit attempt to encourage sometimes fragmented but related cultures (art, theory, politics, tech culture) to work more with their overlaps than with their differences...

Of course, more can be done in all these areas: the question is, "who do you want to buy a coke for?" (woops, i mean, "who do you want to squeeze an organic orange juice for?" :-) )


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-- Discordia is nice.
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I'd Like to teach the World to Sing (via New Media Conference #5,844) | 5 comments
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