Dimanche 26 Novembre 2006 1:32:17 pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Melting borders

I'm interested in Christopher's 3D concept. But I also think there is a 4D version.

I agree that most national cultural systems are hierarchical in nature, and filled with individuals who are gatekeepers. The vertical nature of national cultural bureaucracy has a tendency to block trans-national collaboration and exchange. For example, most arts councils and departments of culture in Europe do not (for example) speak to each other directly, or if they do, this is usually done on a ceremonial basis (conferences etc).

Networks between independent or autonomous operators within nations provides a way of developing exchanges, not only of 'objects' and cultural productions but of ideas and practice that go around these structures. However many of the well-known networks currently operating in Europe were indeed founded over fifteen or twenty years ago and have developed impressive structures (IETM, TransEuropeHalles etc) which require funds to support them, and in some cases staff to run them. They too verge on the same highly structured, vertical, gatekeeping functions as the national structures and they exist mainly in 'real-time' - that is they meet in person at conferences, festivals and showcases, many of which are more like Sales Conferences.

In the last few years, new technology has increased a) the ability of the individual to consume culture and information and b) the amount of culture and information available to be consumed. Examples include YouTube, MySpace, Wikipedia etc. Many networks are currently reconsidering their function and their relevance, especially since now most cultural exchange takes place in Europe without the intervention of the nation states and their institutions or indeed through the well established networks. Nevertheless it is noticeable how few networks 'disband'. Instead many of the networks are reinventing themselves with new web-interfaces. The difficulty is that this is an unstructured process, throwing large amounts of data into the public domain but with little coordination between these real-time networks as they digitalise themselves. Lab4Culture illustrates this. Effectively, international cultural operators now have the situation that we are increasingly data rich but information poor. 2D was bad enough but if then introduce the 3D concept we are adding even more layers of information that need to be structured.

But I think we've also got another challenge (or a solution, I am not sure which) - a fourth dimension - time. A 4D network which exists briefly and then dissolves having brought people together to focus on a specific task. This I think is more flexible than the structures erected by institutional networking and is more driven by its membershio than by any top-down desire to overcome national borders. The topics could be very very narrow and detailed. So my thought/question is how should a network balance the data and free flow of information with the structuring of that information into useful knowledge? Many of the real-time networks are networks of similar organisations (theatre, visual arts, digital artists) - or rather they are 'collectives of similar organisations'. Now the opportunity is coming that non-similar organisations can link together and draw strength from the dissimilarity or diversity. Can we use this 'variety' to encourage a new ways of thinking about issues? I very much like the idea that a network could form and disband in a matter of weeks or days having 'done its job'. Rather than collectives can we speak of 'clusters' - in which different organisations cluster together to consider new challenges and opportunities or develop a project (connecting like friends on MySpace for example) but are then able to disband once they have done their task, ready to reform new clusters around new issues, while all the time maintaining a 'network' between them. I have come across this concept among digital artists - I wonder whether it would also work in oher artforms or cultural policy thinking.

Dimanche 10 Décembre 2006 3:22:31 am

Re: Cultural cooperation online: changing boundaries?

Dear friends, I would like to share with you some unpleasant experiences I had with some European forums on art, society and politics: Nettime and Syndicate mailing lists and 'Deep Europe' project at Documanta X. I recommend you to visit my web site 'Horror Episodes in the Net.art History' at:

http://www.at.ns.co.yu/Net.Art_Horror/