<eyebeam><blast> net criticism

[Geert Lovink <geert@basis.Desk.nl>]

As Jordan Crandall invited me and Pit Schultz as guests this week, I
would like to contribute with some remarks. They are a result of our
common effort to build up expertise in the field of 'net criticism'. In
1995 we have set up a mailing list called 'nettime' which is more like a
movement  then just a cyber-virtual-digital dialogue. We are all, in one
way or another, involved in the building up of a public, non/low
commercial, independant infrastructures for artists, activists and
theorists. This means that our 'criticism' is rooted in alternative
practices (at least, that is what we are trying). We are organizing
meetings -in real life- and publications (the so-called 'zkps'). If you
want to know more, have a look at our webarchive:
http://www.factory.org/nettime and our homepage:
http://www.desk.nl/~nettime. You can subscribe by sending a message to:
majordomo@desk.nl.

-Net criticism should be rooted in a net practice, in one way or
another. As is the case with theatre, film and television we expect from
the critics that they (at least) have seen the play or film. But is not
with the so-called 'new media'. In general, the hype is still going on.
Too many academics, with no experience in the field of programming or
the day-to-day economics, are still defining the terms of the
discussions. 
 
-Art is a dead end street when it comes to a better understanding of the
emerging cyber economy. Okey, there is 'net.art'. Yes, there is the
older discipline of the 'electronic arts' (the ISEA-ZKM-V2-ICC-ARS
gangs), with its ties in video art, performance, conceptual industries
etc. But these art forms (with some exeptions) became deeply anti
poltical, obsessed with all kinds of bio metaphors, thereby taking away
the view on what is going on in the real world of global economics (and
its exclusions). This even  includes, in many cases, the Internet. The
established 'new media arts' institutions have no comprehensive idea
about the essence of networking because they themselves have become
bureaucratic and 'closed'. This is even more so in the case of the
'conceptual art' establishment, which can now finally deal with slides,
video and a bit of sound here and there, but has no expertise
whathowever in the field of multimedia and the Net (and does not want
to).

-Net criticism should try to bring together economic analyses, a
political awareness with a playfull sense of the new aesthetics, which
are written down in the software (and not in the 'fancy buttons' or high
tech images). This goes beyond 'cultural studies' which identified
itself with the poly ambivalent consumer. This is, in part, about old
school power broking between big firms, governments and banks. of course
there are plenty of historical exemples to learn from, like for instance
the (re)birth of the film criticism in the sixties or seventies, never
versions of the non-dogmatic marxist political economy, old and new
stuff on the tele-communication business, in general a lot of what you
can read on the financial pages, but then from a weird, intellectualist
point of view.

That's it from Amsterdam for now, it's dinner time now.

doei, geert
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