[iDC] media curating & production

[John Hopkins]

Hi Pam --

>Thanks for your insightful post.  I do think that regardless how an artist
>receives support for their work, they are being patronized - whether it is
>an institution, a curator, foundation or federal agency.  The question is
>what is the breadth of the vision of that patron
>institution.  I agree that current trends have leaned toward as you state

I'd take one step further to say that it can be even better for a 
complete lack of vision on the patron's part -- so that the artist(s) 
do the forging of the vision.  Institutional vision is, well, 
problematic by its very nature.   I think that vision should be 
limited to providing/facilitating contexts, conditions, situations 
for autonomous zones to rise up -- even if it means controversy, 
scandal, limited temporal spans, instability, challenging 
propositions and actions, failure, inexplicable insurrections, etc, 
etc...

>"a feeding frenzy centered on super-stars, and that many (not all) prefer
>artists with work that is easy to explain, favoring one-trick work over
>multi-faceted complexity."  This work is entertaining in its aesthetics of

Although the chicken/egg question comes up, it would appear that a 
vast majority of 'creative' production is made to fit existing 
contexts (of funding and social (ir)relevance) rather than creating 
its own context, or simply existing in interstitial and unmapped 
spaces.  (having said that, it is so that there ARE legion spaces 
unmapped that ARE full of inspiring actions, objects, and energies -- 
thank gawd -- else the social landscape would be truly sterile, 
predictable, and wholly consumed.

>the screen, but often lays tethered like a buoy in the waves of
>mediocrity. I long to see the development of a practice that is just as
>celebrated by our institutions that celebrates the phenomenon of the
>technical tool with the vision of a purpose.

I'm not sure an institutional celebration  of any kind is either 
possible or even desireable.  The party would doubtless be held 
around a dead and festering carcass of creativity.   Properly cooked 
to socially acceptable done-ness, this carcass would then be simply 
consumed the party-goers until they were stuffed an unable even to 
pick up any tools to successfully fight their way out of the Master's 
house...

or so.

hmmm.

John