[iDC] media curating lists as pedagogical, exploratory and speculative texts

Tue Aug 21 21:45:14 UTC 2007

While saturation may have made such curatorial distribution practices *seem* 
less important/valuable than they once were, I don't know that it has made them 
*actually* less important.  Information overload seems to be a growing and 
legitimate problem, and that "middle man" you would like to cut out (we have the 
same phrase here in the US) very often has something your friends and network 
may not - expertise and the ability to cut through the signal-to-noise ratio 
quite effectively.  Personally, I'm quite grateful for a lot of middlemen, 
including the ones who build my roads and buildings for me, as well as the ones 
who farm my food for me.  Not sure I'd have the time to do all those things 
myself, quite frankly.  Likewise, I'm usually thankful for the Encyclopedias I 
find that can put me on the path towards the information I seek when I have 
neither the time nor the inclination to research every detail from scratch.

Of course, in day to day practice, one may not need much expertise - if you are 
simply looking for a quick answer to a specific question, or simply for what 
your friends know about, expertise is rather a waste of resources.  But for the 
instances where you wish to learn about something more in-depth/arcane/complex, 
that expert "middleman" may be worth his weight in gold.
-Alexis

On Mon, 20 Aug 2007, Danny Butt wrote:

::Hasn't the saturation of media availability and information  
::pertaining to media made such curatorial distribution practices less  
::important/valuable than it was? For example, I would like the media I  
::consume to be available more or less everywhere, because I don't rely  
::on distributors / compilers / curators to *discover* interesting work  
::in the same way that I did when I was photocopying fanzines and tape- 
::trading in the late 80s/early90s.
::
::If the curatorial function (but *not* the critical function) has to  
::some degree been commoditised, it appears perhaps akin to tagging or  
::database design. For me, the safer and more pedantic the framing  
::better, I'll get my aesthetic kicks from the work itself and the  
::historical/critical commentary which (increasingly) I'll track down  
::via trusted citation/friend networks which probably aren't linked to  
::the distribution process in any way (Amazon Listmania and their ilk  
::excepted perhaps). As they like to say in Australia, "cut out the  
::middle man!"
::
::Cheers,
::
::Danny
::
::--
::http://www.dannybutt.net
::
::On 20/08/2007, at 6:20 AM, Jerome Grand wrote:
::
::> Hi Barbara,
::>
::> Your description of the dvd compilations and most specifically this  
::> paragraph:
::>> However, many of these DVD compilations or, rather, their curatorial
::>> agendas, are bland and "safe". With few exceptions, a dry,  
::>> predictable
::>> and pedantic curatorial frame prevails, along with (and despite) the
::>> deserved excitement around the individual works that these  
::>> compilations
::>> bring.
::>
::> Reminded me of a chapter in the book (maybe you already know it):
::> Cutting Edge: Art Horror and the Horrific Avant-garde (University of
::> Minnesota Press, 2000)
::> where the author Joan Hawkins discusses trashy b-movie video
::> distribution zines in the 80/90s, especially of the horror and sci-fi
::> genre. I read the book a long time ago and don't have it with me to
::> refresh my memory, but if I remember correctly, she discusses these
::> "cut and paste" photocopied catalogs (a curatorial list) that compiled
::> hundreds of horrific/absurd bootleg videos available for purchase.
::> These catalogs included without hierarchy or distinction titles well
::> known to art-house audiences by directors such as Franju, Buñuel,
::> Browning, Warhol, Ono, etc, with a multitude of low brow b-films.
::> (Hawkins in her book is very interested in those areas where the
::> politics of taste cultures lose ground. There is a great chapter
::> paralleling the surrealists at the movie theater and contemporary tv
::> viewing habits!)
::>
::> There is a mix of distribution happening in these catalogs, unifying
::> titles that are produced, diffused, distributed and received in
::> different networks.  These titles are unified (and I think the
::> curatorial question comes in here) under common cinematographic
::> depiction of horror, absurdity, sexuality, violence, etc...
::>
::> It could be interesting to see how this model operates today (with the
::> internet and dvds). Unfortunately, I have no references of this type
::> of distribution, but maybe someone here does. It's definitely a less
::> 'pedantic' model.
::>
::> Also, I'm sure you already know it, but I didn't see it listed in your
::> list of distributors, so I am just going to plug it in.
::> http://www.ubu.com/ has an ever expanding archive of mp3, texts,
::> videos, etc of the things related to the 'avant-garde and beyond.'
::> They have regular curated lists that appear on the right side of the
::> website.
::>
::> Thanks for sharing your ideas, resources and screening list.
::>
::> Best,
::>
::> Jerome
::>
::> -- 
::> foldout.net
::>
::>
::>
::> On 8/18/07, Barbara Lattanzi <threads at wildernesspuppets.net> wrote:
::>> Greetings.
::>>
::>> Here is an introduction to some stuff that I am thinking about as I
::>> prepare for my 3rd semester of teaching electronic media at Alfred
::>> University's School of Art and Design.
::>>
::>> I will be following up this initial post with some examples of
::>> curatorial lists for screenings of film, video, and new media - both
::>> historical and newly-hatched.
::>>
::>> Maybe you can share lists of your own?  Or, over the next week or so,
::>> maybe you can modify or add to mine.
::>>
::>> --------------
::>>
::>> Finding a Groove in the Form of Curatorial Lists
::>>
::>> There are many newly available DVD compilations being sold on the  
::>> web.
::>> These include historical works from the archives and experimental  
::>> media
::>> by new artists. You can find them through independent distributors  
::>> such
::>> as Microcinema, Other Cinema, Peripheral Produce, Aspect, and larger
::>> entities such as Kino International and Facets.  These  
::>> distributors give
::>> individuals and institutions a new form of access to works of
::>> experimental cinema, experimental video, new media, works of the
::>> post-WWII avant-garde, as well as forgotten or marginal "early films"
::>> dating from 1894 to the 1930s.  Not only that, but internationally
::>> archives are making their way to the easily-circulated DVD format,
::>> widening the field in surprising ways.
::>>
::>> The DVD format (and earlier VHS) has helped produce this exciting
::>> circulation of archives.  One side-effect is how the DVD format  
::>> (and, of
::>> course, archives viewable on Internet) has enabled remediation of  
::>> works
::>> through the form of the remix.
::>>
::>> However, many of these DVD compilations or, rather, their curatorial
::>> agendas, are bland and "safe". With few exceptions, a dry,  
::>> predictable
::>> and pedantic curatorial frame prevails, along with (and despite) the
::>> deserved excitement around the individual works that these  
::>> compilations
::>> bring.
::>>
::>> As a teacher, my efforts focus on screening historical and  
::>> contemporary
::>> works as basis for conversation within the studio media art  
::>> classroom.
::>> Obviously, one vital function of these resources is connecting myself
::>> and students to histories and discovering models within discourses
::>> particular to the individual films, videos, new media works.
::>>
::>> Beyond that, screening these media works presents a possibility for
::>> discovery through improvised and experimental linkages - to  
::>> curatorially
::>> remix and resonate something there in the juxtapostion of one work  
::>> with
::>> the others selected. What gets shown with what? What follows what?  
::>> What
::>> archival work is made newly relevant through its association with an
::>> historically very different moment?  How conceptually and  
::>> contextually
::>> different can the experience of these linked works be, without the
::>> implied associations of their curated proximity totally  
::>> disintegrating?
::>> Which ways can the curatorial agenda get bent, twisted, and stressed
::>> until it either disintegrates or finds a groove?
::>>
::>> There is nothing new here, this intent to make meaningful  
::>> connections.
::>> And that is what makes curatorial selection-as-montage an obsessive
::>> task, i.e., there is nothing new here YET.
::>>
::>> -------
::>>
::>> Barbara Lattanzi
::>> www.wildernesspuppets.net
::>> www.wildernesspuppets.net/invaders/
::>>
::>>
::>>
::>>
::>> _______________________________________________
::>> iDC -- mailing list of the Institute for Distributed Creativity  
::>> (distributedcreativity.org)
::>> iDC at mailman.thing.net
::>> https://mailman.thing.net/mailman/listinfo/idc
::>>
::>> List Archive:
::>> http://mailman.thing.net/pipermail/idc/
::>>
::>> iDC Photo Stream:
::>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/idcnetwork/
::>>
::>> RSS feed:
::>> http://rss.gmane.org/gmane.culture.media.idc
::>>
::>> iDC Chat on Facebook:
::>> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2457237647
::>>
::>> Share relevant URLs on Del.icio.us by adding the tag iDCref
::>>
::> _______________________________________________
::> iDC -- mailing list of the Institute for Distributed Creativity  
::> (distributedcreativity.org)
::> iDC at mailman.thing.net
::> https://mailman.thing.net/mailman/listinfo/idc
::>
::> List Archive:
::> http://mailman.thing.net/pipermail/idc/
::>
::> iDC Photo Stream:
::> http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/idcnetwork/
::>
::> RSS feed:
::> http://rss.gmane.org/gmane.culture.media.idc
::>
::> iDC Chat on Facebook:
::> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2457237647
::>
::> Share relevant URLs on Del.icio.us by adding the tag iDCref
::
::
::
::
::
::
::_______________________________________________
::iDC -- mailing list of the Institute for Distributed Creativity (distributedcreativity.org)
::iDC at mailman.thing.net
::https://mailman.thing.net/mailman/listinfo/idc
::
::List Archive:
::http://mailman.thing.net/pipermail/idc/
::
::iDC Photo Stream:
::http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/idcnetwork/
::
::RSS feed:
::http://rss.gmane.org/gmane.culture.media.idc
::
::iDC Chat on Facebook:
::http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2457237647
::
::Share relevant URLs on Del.icio.us by adding the tag iDCref
::

+ --------
   redheadedstepchild.org
        ------- +