It’s
often difficult to maintain a coherent discussion in online environments,
especially where those discussions relate to net art or new media practice.
This isn’t to say that the level of discussion is incomprehensible;
merely that this is quite a fractious and open field. And, of course,
there’s definitely something to be said for the ‘free for
all’, cacophonic relays that take place in many lists. These
forums have the potential to reshape art writing including hierarchies
of criticism and practice as well as extend the artistic practice into
the writing space.
Having lurked on many discussion lists, there are quite structured
and moderated lists which I’ve come to rely on for exposure
to innovative thinking and practice in net art; most notably
those are -empyre- (Australia)
and the New
Media Curating list (UK).
This conclusion isn’t the result of a comprehensive survey of lists
nor does it result from the application of any stringent criteria. If
ethos counts for anything then these two lists seem to maintain a level
of discussion
in terms of volume and scope that is of consistent value and interest
to me as a researcher and writer.
Both projects were instigated as critical rather than chat spaces,
-empyre- in 2002 and the New Media Curating list in 2001. Both
are overtly moderated
and themed, often with guest ‘speakers’ although this is more
commonly the practice on empyre. Both have an eye on the global while bringing
to their discussions the particular inflections of locality or region.
By focusing on themed discussions, the lists provide intensive engagements
with topics, projects and people – subscribers switch on or off depending
on the theme. This means that rather than hearing from the same old voices,
as can be a tendency in some lists, there’s an attempt at bringing
in new voices, perhaps jolting some out of their perennial lurking and
engaging a more collaborative and non-hierarchical approach.
Everything
in moderation? In the context of these particular spaces, moderation
and facilitation works and works exceedingly well and -empyre- also
applies strict guidelines to posts. -empyre- was initiated by Melinda
Rackham who together with other moderators Jim Andrews, Christina
McPhee, Michael Arnold Mages and Felix Sattler chooses topics
and moderates
for thematic integrity. -empyre- is a voluntary undertaking with
little by way of institutional support. I recall Rackham once
saying
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that
it was a struggle to keep the list going – not for lack of interest
but for lack of resources. This may well be symptomatic of the saturation
of the media sphere by publications and forums where, instead of logging
in to existing networks, new endeavors are pursued and customized for
particular interests. Even so, what places -empyre- in good stead is
its grounding in the net art community in Australia and its consistency
in terms of delivering focused and intensive discussions with guests
from around the world, on a sweep of themes such as web-casting, networked
performance and gaming.
Under the careful moderation of Beryl Graham and Sarah Cook, the
New Media Curating list is part of a much larger project, CRUMB
(Curatorial Resource for Upstart
Media Bliss), at the University of Sunderland, which is dedicated to exploring
issues in curatorial practice in new media. While probably generating less
traffic than -empyre-, CRUMB’s discussions are equally compelling from the perspective
of contemporary curatorial practice. Recent themes have included research and
locative media.
Obviously, it’s impossible to ‘review’ an online discussion
list and much depends on what we need to get out of discussions or what we put
into those discussions. With their archives remaining accessible online, the
lists are valuable testaments of the debates, practices, technologies and ideas
which have in|formed and continue to in|form net art practice. Their ‘in
the moment’ urgency provides a lived-ness about what’s being said
and written about, expressing directly and intensely the concerns of all manner
of practitioners from the fields which might loosely comprise net art. In these
most simple of mediated interactive spaces, discussion lists do serve an extremely
useful purpose, reminding us of our connections to each other through our practices
and interests. We rely on them for information, we rely on them for criticism
and we rely on them to get to know each other.
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