Minerva,
I'm not sure that results in the real world are the only thing that
matters here. For example, I began involvement in a movement by the
Lotronex Action Group (http://www.geocities.com/lotronexactiongroup/) to
restore a medication to the market after it had been withdrawn. The
medication may or not be returned, but real world accomplishments include
giving others the feeling that they can take some control away from the drug
and advertising corporations and influence the activities of federal
regulatory bodies.
It will also produce a work of art (when I get time to do it) and
hopefully exert some influence on the internet and real art worlds, much as
the cancer poetry project, Reiner's pink project, DOC(K)S war, etc.
tom bell
----- Original Message -----
From: "Minerva Cuevas" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2001 10:43 AM
Subject: Re: from Grant Kester
> > Or is it just that that the _rhetoric_ of the medium says it will be
> > good for the job of international communication and networking? I'm
> > struck by the relatively few examples of successful international
> > net.art activism (irational being amongst them) and I'd be very
> > interested to hear about what does work, and what is just rhetoric.
> > I'm also interested that artists like Susan Collins and Paul Sermon
> > have work which is very much about skills of enabling dialogue,
> > although it may not be explicitly activist.
>
> For MVC the important thing about online strategies is to target an off
line
> social context.
>
> I do reject the idea of net activism, the net is only one of the tools or
> mediums to reach people, there is no such a thing as "political art" or
"art as
> activism", activism is there if the real concern is to make a social
> statement/action as a political actor.
>
> I like to think about irational.org as one of this political actors, not
an
> online server, and results are there: work/campaigns are developed via
online
> tools. MVC has target the public assistance that should be provided by the
> national lottery (Mexico), the inclusion of the homeless people as part of
the
> national census (Mexico), or the discounts/free admision to cultural
centres
> and public transport using student ID cards (international), pirate radio
> stations are opened, help is provided, statements are made.
>
> I think results should not be expected on line but in the idea of the
world we
> want to live in and in daily life...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
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