***  Haus der Kulturen der Welt: Forum1 Archive  ***
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   [Date]: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 10:55:55 -0500
   [From]: "Chris Drew" <cdrew#@orion.it.luc.edu>
     [To]: "Cultural Exchange via Internet" <forum1@herz.kbx.de>
[Subject]: Re: [forum1] Re: The Shrinking Web and What we are doing About it

First a few thoughts of my own...

Our ART-ACT (Anti-Racist T-shirt Art Contest Tour) is fighting the fact that a very large percentage of artists (probably 90% or more) who have strong
opinions on these issues are not on-line. This is not speculation. For ten
years I have worked hard to build an annual community exhibit of artists
work on T-shirts in Chicago. We have a mailing list of 600 or more artists.
It is diverse. Even many of the mainstream artists on this list are not
on-line. I have called and talked with most of these artists at one time or
another. Very few are engaging themselves in forums such as this, less than
one percent. This is a wealthy city in the U.S.A. Artists in other parts of
the globe with less resources are less likely to have access. The dream of a
democratic web is far from our grasp. Even though the Internet is inherently
a democratic medium - it is not free and far far far from a right for 80% of
the artists in the U.S.A. and 95-98% or more in many other places. Add to
this the time and technical skills required to participate and this reality
can not be ignored by the sane person.

To over come this we are trying to get our word about ART-ACT out to college
students who are connected to the Internet in most cases. We need to also
encourage those with Internet access to help those artists they know without
access to submit work. It is not perfect - nor is it easy. ART-ACT may be
ahead of its time as a global artist organizing attempt. As an attempt it
will teach our small agency much about use of the Internet to connect
artists. It is building our site and gives our small community arts group a
greater reach then we have enjoyed for the last twelve years of struggle. We
have been economically and structurally censored from contributing to our
full extent here in Chicago by the traditional methods of exclusion. The
Internet will make a difference for us - even given its great shortcomings.

Following are some of the thoughts that I found interesting but have no more
time to respond to from just two of the latest e-mails. This forum is
valuable - even to those who do not respond regularly

Chris Drew       <mailto:umcac@art-teez.org>
Uptown Multi-Cultural Art Center
http://www.art-teez.org   We dress Chicago and the
Internet in t-shirt art.  Come get some! 773/561-7676

Anjali Arora
It has been noted that on the Web, the
large multinational has no bigger advantage over the small business....

Anjali Arora
I strongly feel that the individual is today more powerful than ever before.
The transparency and democracy of information available, in fact, makes it
the perfect tool to break out of the old power-groups.


Juan Jose Diaz Infante
Internet is not a new solution to old problems.

Juan Jose Diaz Infante
The Third World
cannot afford to keep buying technology as a solution, It is not. Mercedes
Benz posted a note in his site when Lady D died that said: "It does not
matter how advanced the technology it can not defy the laws of physics".

Juan Jose Diaz Infante
You do not need a bus driver with a
masters degree in Biology=8A

Juan Jose Diaz Infante
Art can not live separated from our everyday way of life.

Juan Jose Diaz Infante
Our thought is influenced by the lack of coherence between our planned
reality and our "actual" reality. The process of troubleshooting requires
true premises and not assumed ones

Juan Jose Diaz Infante
Is the "great public" ready for the ways of the ideas?
The truth is that there is an absolute indifference to the ways of the
ideas. The crucifixion of Christ was not an administrative mistake. Art
should not fight mass media,


Juan Jose Diaz Infante
Robert Mapplethorpe versus Newt Gingrich
Who loses in the struggle to understand art? Who loses with the excess of
power and no knowledge? Newt Gingrich is the epitome of the politician of
the future, ready to fight against art.

Juan Jose Diaz Infante
The same creative vision has to be applied in the project of the future. 
In today=B9s picture of the world drawn by the administrator and the engineer,
the artist is only the "content provider".