[iDC] iDC Art and Politics

[miriam schiran]

dear all,
since trebor invited me to join the discussion (thanks trebor!) i 
learned much from your ideas and terms ...
i am not a professor nor a well know artist.  i am an art-student in 
munich, germany and one of thouse who are
confused and sometimes scared of the artmarked, the artyfarty art world 
situation (produce like a factory,
make up an aura around your person, finde a gallery as soon as possible 
etc.pp.) very less we (professors and students)
talk about  realy important things like  resistance, time (for example 
long term visions and work), social/political conditions and surroundings.
or if then in a hopelessly  ironical or romantical way.
to be confused and scared is not very helpfull for nothing. thats why 
some of your ideas her are realy supportive.
i think the most important thing, and somehow - for me - the red line 
through this discussion: to notice that for activism/
resistance it is not very helpfull to be AGAINST something, against the 
system, but to create something new, a new system.
to put oneself into the shoes of another person, not onely to understand 
"the other" but also to get away from this individual psycho me/i,
 to play around. and  - perhaps - to get a connection to very old 
"strategies" like ritualization ( "play" for  one hour/one day
 the horse for a spirit)
cheers, miriam

"while I have great respect for people who choose resistance as a model 
for political expression,
I believe that more often than not, resistance simply acts as a 
counter-balancing prop that holds up
that-which-is-being-resisted....
revolution, on the other hand, seeks the unknown.  it does not seek to 
form and replicate itself through
 impressive contact with a dominant social system.  if anthing, it leans 
on the void....
a revolutionary praxis is a pathway that is not mapped before moving 
along it.
it does not shout.  it moves always.  it cannot be a target because when 
aimed at, it's gone. 
everything is possible."  John Hopkins

"culture must be reproduced if it is to survive.  So if we have a culture we are
heartily sick of, which threatens to make the future of our globe a future of
many slaves and an elite group of masters, why not just refuse to reproduce it?
Reasons why not that I have experienced: 1. People will hate you 2. survival is
a lot harder when people hate you.
those reasons just aren't good enough for me...... 

As Fuller said: don't fight the system, make the system obsolete by 
creating a new system.
In order to do that, we need to have the courage to put ourselves in the 
shoes of another person -
or even another species! Not as a goofy game, but to think, what if that 
was me...

In this society, empiricism has amputated our sixth sense.  Intuition is known
only through some old sexist cliches.  Spirituality is a sort of kitsch, very
quaint, that produces as a residue some aesthetically interesting objects.
Follow your stubbornest convictions and mistakes down to the bottom, 
they are wormholes that take you to dream destinations." malian lahey