Hello, all.
Have been a bit submerged in classes and the annual tenure chase.
I spent a wonderful afternoon with Emma in January last year before we spoke at Video Vortex, and I applaud her efforts. I think she was taking that institution in very positive directions which were in line with its rich traditions.
It's really sad that this continues to be the pattern. Institutions like the Whitney, Gugggenheim, and ICA London follow the historically tenuous viabilty of New Media at the intsitutional level. It is forttunate that there are places like ARS, EMPAC, IMAL, ZKM, DAM, Beecher, (Yukiko, is ICC back? I thought it was..) and a few others.
But patterns emerge that I find troubling but expectd.
1: Moves like this continue to impede the integration of practices into the larger holstic art discourse. The reasons are fairly well trodden, and I will not revisit this.
2: The separation of practices at the "Contemporary" insitutions doubly impede cultural progress, as it prevents cross-community communication (Contemporary<->New Media), and reinforces the perception of "ghettoization" of New Media. Yes, there are the above museums, but NM is their focus.
3: It forces New Media (on larger scales) into free-range practice, curatorial and participatory. It makes us "independent curators", curating "Independent Shows" by and large.
The above is inequal parts truth and polemic, but it is what I call "Essentially true".
At thsi time, I remain a "free Range" (non-institutional) curator, and tentatively have two shows slotted next year.
Thsi sort of thing is just unfortunate and sad, but those of us devoted to new forms keep going.
I've been doing research on visionaries liek Douglas Englebart, Louis Fein, annevar Bush, and other revolutionaries of the computer age, and so many have foretold so much, but are (relartively) unlauded. I feel this is the price for vision.
I am confident that New Media will be as celebrated as the movements of the Early 20th Century, but we may be old before they are, if history follows its trends.
In my opinion, it's just part of meing part of history.
My thanks to Emma for the great work she was doing.
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