..on Mon, Oct 05, 2009 at 10:20:32AM +1300, Stella wrote:
> hi,
> as one of those fat-cat, non-hacker artists who's just deinstalled a
> cnz-supported
>
> > for-sale, month-long solo-show somewhere in Ponsonby
>
> (actually, Starkwhite in Karangahape Road, but close enough!
> (http://eyecontactartforum.blogspot.com/2009/09/between-culture-and-nature.html)
>
> ) I thought I might have something to contribute. I have to say, too,
> that just because it is possible to buy something, doesn't mean it's a
> likely prospect, or that the commercial artworld is entirely evil.
I doubt anyone is insinuating that here. I am also increasingly in contact with
the fine art world, gallery exhibitions, art dealers etc, but don't see that to
be the right place for public funding at all, let alone funding with public
strategy in mind.
Indeed those are my (rather rare) views and perhaps not at all useful here.
> Perhaps this preponderance of artist vs. hacker spaces has something
> to do with the historical fact of CNZ not funding digital art
> separately, whereas Australia used to have a pot labelled 'new
> media'. This is one reason, perhaps, that digital practices in NZ
> often exist within, say, a sound art/music or screen innovation realm,
> and perhaps is also why this particular area seems more developed in
> Australia (correct me, please, if I'm wrong).
>
> I agree that the area of public culture is something we don't
> necessarily do very well at in NZ, and is something it would be great
> to think of ways around improving.
I agree and I think this is motivation enough to look into ways in which
strategic funding could be spent to this end.
> On the other hand, as Douglas pointed out, collaborative environments are not
> productive for every artist (I find them often really pleasant socially, but
> impossible to get work done in). The idea of trying to work in a room full
> of computers and other people fills me with dread, which is why Adam's
> mention of Sarai was useful, because, although I've never been there, it
> seems distant from that model.
I gave Sarai as an example as it shows that a 'hacklab' can be grown inside a
host organisation and as such doesn't necessitate developing an entirely new
administrative structure.
Admittedly I find it surprising that there's an assumption that the kind of
space Damian is suggesting - which may well already exist in New Zealand in a
less developed form - was intended primarily for Ada'ers or 'established'
artists.
I'm fairly sure Damian was suggesting a space that was in fact very 'strategic'
in that it would act as a skill-sharing platform and working space for those
interested in creative applications for technology yet don't know where to
start. As with many other 'hacklabs' I've seen (or whatever they call
themselves) they are most often frequented by those just starting out.
That said they can also be extremely useful for those that are already
technically experienced in some areas but are venturing into new territory. I've
found it very valuable to head down to the Medialab Prado's 'Open Lab' on a
Friday afternoon and chat with people from science professors to engineering
students to artists about how I might solve a very complex aspect of a new
project in a technical area of which I have little experience. It would take me
months to resolve some of these problems on my own, outside of a high-level
academic framework.
http://medialab-prado.es/article/viernes_openlab2
http://medialab-prado.es/
Necessarily these labs are spaces outside of the public and private education
systems, polytechnics and art schools and as such fill a unique role.
>
> > I meet heaps of people in my travels that tell me they'd love to go
> > to New Zealand, that ask about medialabs or residencies there.
>
>
> Well of course! New Zealand has just been ranked in the world’s top
> five best destinations by readers of prestigious Condé Nast Traveller
> magazine for the sixth year running!
>
> The tenor of this conversation seems to be that 'this is something
> that someone should provide for us because we'd like to use it',
> rather than 'this is something I've found valuable, and would like to
> help build... here's some thoughts on how. I'll do this bit...'.
Not necessarily, we're just getting going after all. Perhaps a better angle
would be to talk with those that have already put their mouth where their money
is about where they want to go and see how CNZ funding could help them out.
CoLab, MakerSpace or Creative Space could be perfect in this regard, if they are
at all interested and have a desire to grow..
> I think it would be useful to turn the conversation in this direction,
> but also to recognise what already exists, like Makerspace in
> Wellington (http://makerspace.org.nz), or the Audio Foundation
> (www.audiofoundation.org.nz
> ), working in a related realm.
Indeed.
> In terms of the actual lab stuff, in Auckland, there is Colab
> (http://www.colab.org.nz
> ), which, you can see by the extensive lineup of logos on the bottom
> of the page is a project by AUT University and MIC (which receives by
> far the largest wodges of public money for digital arts and "promotes
> a dynamic and growing culture of interdisciplinary media-arts practice
> in Auckland and New Zealand, supporting an environment of innovation,
> in which fusion of art and technology is developed and
> nurtured." (according to MIC's own website).
>
> Perhaps this might be a good place to point prospective visitors?
Thanks to this thread I now know of them and look forward to visiting them when
next home.
Perhaps it'd be good to return to now is Douglas's earlier question as to just
how well strategic funding suits a hacklab anyway. While I see such places to
have a great and almost entirely positive impact on 'digital arts' practice in
each city they reside, they may be more considered community projects than
platforms intended to stimulate cultural growth from CNZs perspective (I'd argue
they can acheive both).
Is this true? Can anyone in tune with the scope of this fund think of an
area/project that better fits?
Cheers,
Julian
>
>
> On 5/10/2009, at 4:45 AM, Julian Oliver wrote:
>
> > ..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/
>
> _______________________________________________
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> http://aotearoadigitalarts.org.nz/
--
Julian Oliver
home: New Zealand
based: Berlin, Germany
currently: Berlin, Germany
about: http://julianoliver.com
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