I think what Marc has written about Node is very thoughtful and clear and of
course it causes one to question a lack of involvement with Node.
Although I do not currently live in London I still identify myself as, if
anything, a Londoner. But I guess the four hour drive puts me off getting to
meetings. I am also very busy. That is no excuse of course, as everybody is
busy.
Perhaps there is the perception that Node is all about a new generation of
artists? It is wrong to say there has never been anything like it in London
before. Anybody who was involved, in whatever way, in earlier grass-roots
initiatives in London around live art, video art or media art will know that
the same sort of buzz was the case. These were all very exciting
developments, with a real sense of momentum and the emergent sense that
things might change. It is possible that some of those who were involved in
previous events, who might be expected to be involved this time, are
standing back letting a different group of people take the intitiative
(although I am aware that some "old hands" are involved in Node).
It should also be observed that due to those earlier initiatives things did
change, a little. Not enough to avoid a sense of disillusionment for some,
but they did change. It will be interesting to see what happens this time.
The question of curated, or not curated, events is another issue. Of course
there are good and bad curators. One therefore needs to ask what the
function of the curator is in this context (a good subject for this list).
It could be observed that the role of the curator here could have been to
establish a vision of this terrain and to articulate that within a
questioning critique such that it would be evident to an observing public
just what it is that is happening in London with new media art and artists.
What is interesting here is that Node is a grass roots self organising
network of individuals, groups and networks. In a sense Node, and its
genesis, is the main "event" here, and the projects that will make it up are
the material of that event. As a self organising non-curated phenomenon it
is probable it will reveal more about the nature of certain practices,
involving certain media and modes, in certain places than a curated show
would have. Whether that suggests the Node model will have currency beyond
this one event is another question.
I have no good excuse for not being involved. Just the usual lament of "too
busy and too far away", which I recognise is not sufficient. The thought of
getting to go to an exciting party in London is of course tempting and I am
sure I will regret not having been involved in an event that might, just
might, make a difference. But you cannot be involved in everything and I
have been and continue to be involved in plenty of other stuff, so I do not
feel too guilty.
I hope it goes really well...and if possible I will try to get to see some
of it too. I hope the parties also make it worthwhile ;)
Best
Simon
On 14.02.06 00:05, " marc <[log in to unmask]>" wrote:
> Some personal thoughts on NODE.London.
>
> Last Wednesday NODE.London launched its catalogue and website at E:vent
> space. The party went on till early morning. It was an excellent evening
> and the abundance of visitors included those from the press and of
> course NODE.L's various organisers, interns, subscribers, artists,
> funders and the just plain interested. People just kept on arriving and
> filling, and refilling in their droves, fascinated and excited by this
> strange new project that many have heard about that involves so many who
> reside in London, also from elsewhere.
>
> There are those who have made a clear and conscious decision not be
> involved with NODE.L which of course is fair enough. But there are some
> who keep a seemingly nervous, low profile whose previous work in media
> arts curation might (mistakenly) lead one to imagine they would love to
> be involved in some form or another, or at least be part of some
> dialogue around it. Let's face it- there has been nothing like it in
> London before.
>
> So, what's going on? Shouldn't there be an influx of discussions by the
> main media art lists about it, especially this list? What is it about
> NODE.London that certain media curators are scared of? I would like to
> know, as well as many of the people who have worked extremely hard to
> get this project underway, they would also like to know why the main
> cultural instigators on here are ignoring and blanking out something as
> significant as this? I would love to be wrong...
>
Simon Biggs
[log in to unmask]
http://www.littlepig.org.uk/
Professor, Art and Design Research Centre
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cs/cri/adrc/research2/
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