Discussion of New Media and Political Economy
19/01/2003
This is a solicitation for an open discussion of the political economy of "new media" and patronage. As part of a project called "Contextin' Art" artofficial construction media would like to document, consolidate, and archive such a discussion through the Rhizome platform.
While we don't want to limit or control the discussion (as if...), we have our own starting points/questions. These are of course, up for argument.
Refering back to methods of institutional critique, there are different tactics. One positions (or can be read that way) deliberate relationships between invested interests and the support of culture, and is a critique of conscious power, such as the popular reading of Haacke's work. Another looks for power in "unconcious," yet systematic, actions that don't necessarily add up to cultural conspiracies, yet still create environments of control, surveillance, and censorship, as in Andrea Fraser's work.
The DMCA issue, as exemplified by the Thing/Verio/Dow incident, brings up other questions regarding support.
What are the implications of the support structure for institutional level new media culture, whether overt or not, like Honeywell's major support for the Walker's program.
With the current US marching and defense build up, the support and connection between new media culture and the defense/IT industry presents something to consider.
And also with all the posturing of open source and gift economics in art, what can these practices/concepts mean in this context? What about the reciprocal relationships between initiatives like Rhizome and larger institutions?
Also, why does there seem to be such a lack of networked art that continues the strategy of institutional critique when there's so much overtly political work being done?
It's all "talk," but what do people think?
artofficial construction media
"a collaborative effort to screw in a light bulb"
