..on Mon, Oct 05, 2009 at 12:40:43AM +1300, Douglas Bagnall wrote: > > > that's what it means to me, and that's why i care, because i know there > > are other people back home dealing with the same shit i was dealing with > > in my head, and that since such a place would have helped me, it could > > help them too. > > > You know Damian, probably not. Young men, early twenties, feeling > isolated and confused, think they might be artists? There is nothing > that can help them.
Hehe. Well, people aren't annointed 'Artist' by some Divine Paintbrush at birth, bearing that mark with unbridled self-determination until death. Much of the time people find that they have made something that someone else considers 'Art' and as such are then called 'the artist'. The term only has value in the context of what's made, where and how it is read. I've taught "young men, early twenties, feeling isolated and confused" in workshops or university contexts in Europe, The Americas, Asia and Australia. I've found that all it often takes is just a little guidance and encouragement, some basic resources, documentation in their language, time and space and they're coming out with great work, 'Art' or not, in no time. Some of that work has gone on to do very well in the electronic art circuit. Good ideas are everywhere. Implementations are not. An advantage to a 'hacklab' (read: central working space, talks, tools, library, coffee machine and bandwidth) is that it provides direction and facilities to those still learning and/or making their minds up about where to take their ideas. Anyway, as I say, you know the weather in NZ better than I. The picture you paint is of a country of careerists too self-interested to publicly dissemenate skills and knowledge. If so, that's both boring and sad. No wonder media artists I know that've visited NZ return entirely lost as to why they couldn't find or connect with any local scene of makers. Perhaps that's because there just isn't one! Cheers, -- Julian Oliver home: New Zealand based: Berlin, Germany currently: Berlin, Germany about: http://julianoliver.com _______________________________________________ Ada_list mailing list [email protected] http://aotearoadigitalarts.org.nz/
