Monday, April 13th, 2009
so I’m a subscriber to this e-list and we ocassionally forward each other notices about events and art happenings and opportunities in the arts and general going-ons in New York City. One just came in, and it reads a little something like this,
Spindle 7 is an ongoing performance in which I bring my drop spindle on the #7 train during its run in Queens. As I spin wool, I invite other passengers to comment and participate, teaching them how to spin and giving out homemade spindles and fleece along the way. Part counterpoint to the sea of iPods, iPhones and other electronic gadgets on the train, part conversation starter among the diverse communities who use the #7, and 100% fun, Spindle 7 is funded, in part, by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
So there’s that phrase ‘part counterpoint to the sea of iPods, iPhones and other electronic gadgets”, and frankly it disturbs me.
As a matter of fact, this email about happenings in the city I read on my electronic gadget, a phone which downloads emails while I’m walking so I can read them while I wait for and ride the train. It’s how I multitask. This way I can stay informed of as many events and activities in the city as possible.
And I’m concerned with what is implied by ‘part counterpoint’. That phrase imposes faith in an idea that proclaims everyone on the subways are e-Zombies and somehow gadgets do not Connect Us.
Case in point: when in the history of NYC’s subways have you ever seen anyone carry a photo album onto the subway and share it with their fellow straphangers? When? I’m talking analog color-negative prints behind those sticky clear cellophane pages in 3-ring binders. Have you ever seen that on the subway, do you ever think that existed? Could you imagine someone pulling out their point-n-shoot film camera and wanting to share their celluloid film with their mates, as they pop open the back only to expose the film and lose their memories. Sounds pretty ridiculous, right?
Now, conversely, how often have you looked at someone’s digital photos, shared memories, discussed collectively-shared moments thanks to your gadget containing documentation of said memories? Sure a parent may carry a single solitary picture of their child in their wallet but I currently carry 200 images of some of my best friends and moments in my gadget.
‘Part counterpoint’ reminds me of groups of people that are antagonistic towards sub-groups of other cultures simply because they don’t take part in that culture, and more often than not because they do not understand it.
I understand that MOST people employing these gadgets don’t use them the way I do, don’t connect to networks the way I do or multitask to the same mechanisms I do, but ARTISTS need to stop positing their ideas in opposition to a popularly held belief or format. Tell me actually what are you doing! Don’t tell me you’re doing this in ‘counterpoint’ to that, actually tell me WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? I’m tired of artists, Artists (with a capital A it appears as though you have more Responsibility), assuming a critical position of technology or groups of people that use technologies as somehow being un-connected to their analog world. Tell me less about that and more about you.
Don’t get me wrong, I truly dislike people listening to iPods on the subway. You miss announcements (I saw that happen yesterday), you miss people telling you you’re beautiful, and you’re unaware when someone yells, “There’s a Gorilla on the train! RUN!” But artists need to be more particular with the language they choose, else it comes across as a type of plebean antagonism.
And no I do not know this artist.
And yes I do love the 7 train.
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
quit your job.
you deserve better.
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
an unordered list of reflections of life in New Orleans:
- they don’t have laundromats in New Orleans, they have washaterias
- Uptown is latitudinally south of the downtown
- if you ask for water at a restaurant, expect to drink 750mL; glasses here are huge!
- Dr. Bob has a visual stake in absolutely every single commercial establishment
- while sitting in the bathtub, it’s entirely possible you’ll be bitten by a mosquito. in January.
- some restaurants “don’t do change” – they round up
- if you don’t say hello to a stranger, you’re rude
- ZAPP’S!
- directions? don’t expect a cross street
- swagger is synonymous with walk
- depending on where you’re going, you might have to sit tight for a while. In order to let the railroad train pass. “The tracks” here routinely control the flow of traffic (pedestrian, bike, car) and they don’t move fast.
- Overheard in New Orleans (OHNO): “Cold is not the word!” – when it’s 55F with a slight breeze.
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
more wisdom than advice really:
and happy today by the way, I hope you will be enjoying some time away from the grind with friends or family or whatever makes you tickled.
As for dancing, if you’re itching to shake your rump I recommend London Calling this Saturday, which will be the final Calling at the Upstairs Lounge on South Grand near Tower Grove Park. It’s $10 to get in but it’s a guaranteed good time as long as you like to dance! At 4am after the previous set at a local diner I was kindly referred to by one of the DJs as ‘the guy on the dance floor’. I don’t think he meant THE guy, but I definitely like to boogie down & let loose. What’s really incredible about their set is they’re largely VJed, as in Video Jockeyed. The music is banging, and that they have accompanying music videos for about 80% of what they spin (with downloadable set lists and mp3s also!) is downright incredible! It’s a layer of culture often overlooked in clubs and provides visual stimulus when your legs are otherwise out of the game (even I need a water break). They’re also very clever at documenting all of their crowd, including me from their previous gig:
while talking with my friend Andrew, note the Sheffield belt-knife and the bling ring.
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
There will be enough blog posts in the next 24 hours out there regarding Obama’s victory to rival the amount of sequences in the human genome. As such, I don’t really feel it necessary to write about. But I would like to say two words:
FUCK YEAH!
Okay, a few more words: We did it. We won. The longest presidential campaigns in US history, and I gotta say this time we got it right. After the electoral coup of 2000, and the flop of 2004, thankfully the Dems, no doubt enlivened by social media and technological advancement, employed all the correct and creative mediums to not only capture an overwhelming majority electoral vote, but in doing so smash record voter turnout numbers. Meanwhile the Republicans stuck to some petty Karl Rove maneuvers and it backlashed, it backlashed big. Compounded by McCain’s trophy of a VP candidate, and the Republican party will be in civil strife for some time, as it attempts to re-define it’s image and Conservatives disagree with each other and realize the fear-mongering politics of post-9/11 no longer work to capture general elections.
People who know me know I’ve been campaigning for Obama since before he announced his presidential bid. And while I can concur that his track record is nothing to be marveled, he is a signifier. A signifier of hope and the now-very imminent possibility of change. Not only in the presidential sense, but in the local sense. Obama will make it possible for other minorities to advance at the political level. His campaign also showed how an honest deployment of social media – a degree of transparency – can catapult the right person at the right time. I don’t believe this movement (for lack of a better word) would have been possible in 2004. But now, it was not only possible but necessary and desired. Desired, as shown by the 250,000 people who gathered in Chicago to hear Obama’s victory speech. Desired, as shown by the hordes of people in NYC who flooded into the streets, honking, waving signs, shouting, Yes We Can. I can’t say I could have ever imagined the American people so energized and politicized by the possibility of change and progress.
As I embark on a path of homelessness and unemployment, I can actually say I feel quite good. I’m looking forward to digging in, and fighting for what I believe in. Wow.
