Massive Links! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Edition

by Art Fag City on April 3, 2008 · 36 comments Events

boingboingproops.jpg pearlearring.jpg
Image via: Boing Boing

Dan Proops and Boing Boing Nation:   Yet another Boing Boing artist producing art pablum for readers who can clearly handle more.  Says Mr. Proops,

I believe the influence of Cubist philosophy on the graphic user interface (ie operating systems like Windows' XP/Vista) has never been properly looked at. In my work I seek to set strong arguments for the connections between the many “viewpoints” set up in cubist paintings and the way PC and Mac operating systems set up multiple “windows” to allow the computer user to see and use and assimilate information.

Who knows how Proops examines these connections — the only image I’ve seen on his website and reproduced on others that has anything to do with this concept is “Painting downloading now”, which pictures exactly what you think it does [see above].  It’s hard to imagine a more lightweight investigation than what we’ve seen.  Proops latest series censors the private parts and whatever else the artist decides to obscure, largely by pixelating the crotches of classical paintings.  “His style of painting has been seen as anarchistic” says CR Blog, “but Proops sees the pixellated censor, usually associated with obscenity, as a humorous reaction to the shock values promoted by young British artists of the 90s: by censoring something that does not need to be censored points to the unnecessary”.   And yet, the artist has not censored a single middle finger; an oversight to be sure.

media-myth.jpg
Image copyright Tellus 

Now available on Ubuweb: Tellus #20, “Media Myth”, 1988. Curated by Joseph Nechvatal. Undoubtedly my favorite noise-art label of the 1980’s, produced by Tellus, an arm of Harvestworks Digital Media Center. Track recommends include #1, 2, 7, 9, 13, and 16

leonardo.jpg
Image via: TED 

TED, The True Face of Da Vinci. Admittedly, the fact that this lecture comes through TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) worries me despite the rather compelling evidence Siegfried Woldhek gives in the hopes of identifying Da Vinci’s face. Of course the crucial information not presented here is how this advances our understanding of the man’s work. I’m not saying Woldhek’s findings aren’t important, I’d just like to know a little bit more about why I should care.

rhizome_dash.jpg
Screengrab AFC 

Rhizome The Good News:  Ed Halter, who is easily amongst my favorite critics working today, now writes for Rhizome.   This means I’ll be reading him every day!  Also in Good News:  Rhizome has opened comments up on their blog, a great advance, since it is, in my opinion, the best way to foster discussion and create an invested online community.  The Bad News:  The comments have a few nasty bugs in them, including the one where it can take hours before the comment count for a particular post becomes visible on the front page.  They also don’t show up on the main page when the jump function is enabled on a post.  All in all these are very annoying quirks, that make it difficult for the comment threads to grow.

{ 36 comments }

Patrick May April 3, 2008 at 4:11 pm

Thanks for the note about the cache issues on the Rhizome front page. It has been fixed, let us know if you find anything else.

Cheers,

Patrick

Patrick May April 3, 2008 at 11:11 am

Thanks for the note about the cache issues on the Rhizome front page. It has been fixed, let us know if you find anything else.

Cheers,

Patrick

tom moody April 3, 2008 at 4:48 pm

I like Ed Halter’s writing and thinking too.

Yet Ed’s beginning in the new comment-enabled regime has not so far been auspicious, at least as far as defending shows he recommends (maybe he’s out of town).

A friend of mine who’s following the thread about “Rematerializing the Whatever” said:

“also, I didn’t get the feeling that ed would defend this show, it seemed like he was putting it out there with a shrug. “

tom moody April 3, 2008 at 4:48 pm

I like Ed Halter’s writing and thinking too.

Yet Ed’s beginning in the new comment-enabled regime has not so far been auspicious, at least as far as defending shows he recommends (maybe he’s out of town).

A friend of mine who’s following the thread about “Rematerializing the Whatever” said:

“also, I didn’t get the feeling that ed would defend this show, it seemed like he was putting it out there with a shrug. “

tom moody April 3, 2008 at 11:48 am

I like Ed Halter’s writing and thinking too.

Yet Ed’s beginning in the new comment-enabled regime has not so far been auspicious, at least as far as defending shows he recommends (maybe he’s out of town).

A friend of mine who’s following the thread about “Rematerializing the Whatever” said:

“also, I didn’t get the feeling that ed would defend this show, it seemed like he was putting it out there with a shrug. “

Art Fag City April 3, 2008 at 5:15 pm

Of course one of things I really like about Ed is his critical thinking which of course won’t show up too much on this blog in the form of negative opinions since it’s basically a fanzine. It’s a shame really, though I suppose I can see there being some problems in institutions taking critical positions, in the same way that it’s not considered good form for dealers to publicly critique other dealers. As for Ed’s comments on Rematerializing the Whatever, I also didn’t get the sense that this was a real plug for the show. I have my doubts that he’ll contribute to the conversation at all, given the tone of the blog, and the fact that he doesn’t seem so engaged with the show. I mean,

“Holy Fire curators Yves Bernard and Domenico Quaranta say that to speak of new media art “doesn’t really make sense today,” since “all contemporary art is, someway, new media art” and many artists prefer to state their concern as “just art.” With a panel moderated by Patrick Lichty of anti-corporate hoaxsters The Yes Men, the debate on that claim is guaranteed to be lively.”

Singling out a stupid quote and observing there’s likely to be a lot of disagreement with it doesn’t seem all that neutral to me, even if he doesn’t take an explicit stand on the issue. It’s just the panel, not the show, but I guess I read it as a glint of negativity on the issue.

Art Fag City April 3, 2008 at 5:15 pm

Of course one of things I really like about Ed is his critical thinking which of course won’t show up too much on this blog in the form of negative opinions since it’s basically a fanzine. It’s a shame really, though I suppose I can see there being some problems in institutions taking critical positions, in the same way that it’s not considered good form for dealers to publicly critique other dealers. As for Ed’s comments on Rematerializing the Whatever, I also didn’t get the sense that this was a real plug for the show. I have my doubts that he’ll contribute to the conversation at all, given the tone of the blog, and the fact that he doesn’t seem so engaged with the show. I mean,

“Holy Fire curators Yves Bernard and Domenico Quaranta say that to speak of new media art “doesn’t really make sense today,” since “all contemporary art is, someway, new media art” and many artists prefer to state their concern as “just art.” With a panel moderated by Patrick Lichty of anti-corporate hoaxsters The Yes Men, the debate on that claim is guaranteed to be lively.”

Singling out a stupid quote and observing there’s likely to be a lot of disagreement with it doesn’t seem all that neutral to me, even if he doesn’t take an explicit stand on the issue. It’s just the panel, not the show, but I guess I read it as a glint of negativity on the issue.

Art Fag City April 3, 2008 at 12:15 pm

Of course one of things I really like about Ed is his critical thinking which of course won’t show up too much on this blog in the form of negative opinions since it’s basically a fanzine. It’s a shame really, though I suppose I can see there being some problems in institutions taking critical positions, in the same way that it’s not considered good form for dealers to publicly critique other dealers. As for Ed’s comments on Rematerializing the Whatever, I also didn’t get the sense that this was a real plug for the show. I have my doubts that he’ll contribute to the conversation at all, given the tone of the blog, and the fact that he doesn’t seem so engaged with the show. I mean,

“Holy Fire curators Yves Bernard and Domenico Quaranta say that to speak of new media art “doesn’t really make sense today,” since “all contemporary art is, someway, new media art” and many artists prefer to state their concern as “just art.” With a panel moderated by Patrick Lichty of anti-corporate hoaxsters The Yes Men, the debate on that claim is guaranteed to be lively.”

Singling out a stupid quote and observing there’s likely to be a lot of disagreement with it doesn’t seem all that neutral to me, even if he doesn’t take an explicit stand on the issue. It’s just the panel, not the show, but I guess I read it as a glint of negativity on the issue.

tom moody April 3, 2008 at 5:39 pm

It has the potential not to be a fanzine if it can be opened up to serious pushback on all these press releases in the form of reviews. It’s pretty daunting–not sure if I’m up to it personally (I do have a life).

But it’s a big step up for the organization from its email listServ days, and comments at least mean a slight, potential counterweight to the NewMu’s institutional 16 ton block.

Ed should just write about things he’s passionate about, and be prepared to defend them to the plebes (within reason). The rest takes care of itself.

tom moody April 3, 2008 at 5:39 pm

It has the potential not to be a fanzine if it can be opened up to serious pushback on all these press releases in the form of reviews. It’s pretty daunting–not sure if I’m up to it personally (I do have a life).

But it’s a big step up for the organization from its email listServ days, and comments at least mean a slight, potential counterweight to the NewMu’s institutional 16 ton block.

Ed should just write about things he’s passionate about, and be prepared to defend them to the plebes (within reason). The rest takes care of itself.

tom moody April 3, 2008 at 5:39 pm

It has the potential not to be a fanzine if it can be opened up to serious pushback on all these press releases in the form of reviews. It’s pretty daunting–not sure if I’m up to it personally (I do have a life).

But it’s a big step up for the organization from its email listServ days, and comments at least mean a slight, potential counterweight to the NewMu’s institutional 16 ton block.

Ed should just write about things he’s passionate about, and be prepared to defend them to the plebes (within reason). The rest takes care of itself.

tom moody April 3, 2008 at 5:39 pm

It has the potential not to be a fanzine if it can be opened up to serious pushback on all these press releases in the form of reviews. It’s pretty daunting–not sure if I’m up to it personally (I do have a life).

But it’s a big step up for the organization from its email listServ days, and comments at least mean a slight, potential counterweight to the NewMu’s institutional 16 ton block.

Ed should just write about things he’s passionate about, and be prepared to defend them to the plebes (within reason). The rest takes care of itself.

tom moody April 3, 2008 at 5:39 pm

It has the potential not to be a fanzine if it can be opened up to serious pushback on all these press releases in the form of reviews. It’s pretty daunting–not sure if I’m up to it personally (I do have a life).

But it’s a big step up for the organization from its email listServ days, and comments at least mean a slight, potential counterweight to the NewMu’s institutional 16 ton block.

Ed should just write about things he’s passionate about, and be prepared to defend them to the plebes (within reason). The rest takes care of itself.

tom moody April 3, 2008 at 12:39 pm

It has the potential not to be a fanzine if it can be opened up to serious pushback on all these press releases in the form of reviews. It’s pretty daunting–not sure if I’m up to it personally (I do have a life).

But it’s a big step up for the organization from its email listServ days, and comments at least mean a slight, potential counterweight to the NewMu’s institutional 16 ton block.

Ed should just write about things he’s passionate about, and be prepared to defend them to the plebes (within reason). The rest takes care of itself.

ed halter April 4, 2008 at 7:03 am

Dearest P+T

I’ve commented on this at Rhizome. Briefly — I am going to contribute longer features that are more like my traditional writing, but the blog posts will be in this bite-size vein. I agree that the smaller format doesn’t leave tons of room for a deep engagement, but I don’t view that as its primary role anyway.

ed halter April 4, 2008 at 7:03 am

Dearest P+T

I’ve commented on this at Rhizome. Briefly — I am going to contribute longer features that are more like my traditional writing, but the blog posts will be in this bite-size vein. I agree that the smaller format doesn’t leave tons of room for a deep engagement, but I don’t view that as its primary role anyway.

ed halter April 4, 2008 at 7:03 am

Dearest P+T

I’ve commented on this at Rhizome. Briefly — I am going to contribute longer features that are more like my traditional writing, but the blog posts will be in this bite-size vein. I agree that the smaller format doesn’t leave tons of room for a deep engagement, but I don’t view that as its primary role anyway.

ed halter April 4, 2008 at 2:03 am

Dearest P+T

I’ve commented on this at Rhizome. Briefly — I am going to contribute longer features that are more like my traditional writing, but the blog posts will be in this bite-size vein. I agree that the smaller format doesn’t leave tons of room for a deep engagement, but I don’t view that as its primary role anyway.

ed halter April 4, 2008 at 7:05 am

“glint of negativity” — I like that.

To be more generous, I took the choice of panel moderator as a mark that perhaps what these curators say cannot merely be taken at face value.

ed halter April 4, 2008 at 7:05 am

“glint of negativity” — I like that.

To be more generous, I took the choice of panel moderator as a mark that perhaps what these curators say cannot merely be taken at face value.

ed halter April 4, 2008 at 2:05 am

“glint of negativity” — I like that.

To be more generous, I took the choice of panel moderator as a mark that perhaps what these curators say cannot merely be taken at face value.

Breeze April 5, 2008 at 5:12 pm

I like Rhizome, but my computer does not like it much. I always seem to get locked up. A fault of my computer I’m sure. I’m stuck with PAM (Perpetual Art Machine) and Myartspace until I can figure it out.

Breeze April 5, 2008 at 5:12 pm

I like Rhizome, but my computer does not like it much. I always seem to get locked up. A fault of my computer I’m sure. I’m stuck with PAM (Perpetual Art Machine) and Myartspace until I can figure it out.

Breeze April 5, 2008 at 5:12 pm

I like Rhizome, but my computer does not like it much. I always seem to get locked up. A fault of my computer I’m sure. I’m stuck with PAM (Perpetual Art Machine) and Myartspace until I can figure it out.

Breeze April 5, 2008 at 12:12 pm

I like Rhizome, but my computer does not like it much. I always seem to get locked up. A fault of my computer I’m sure. I’m stuck with PAM (Perpetual Art Machine) and Myartspace until I can figure it out.

chris l. April 11, 2008 at 4:20 pm

You can’t expect much from Boing Boing, and for the most part they’re entertaining, but the promotion of hack artists is definitely one of their greater offenses.

Oh yeah, don’t ever try to critique on their posts in the comments section, they’ll just delete you as a troll.

chris l. April 11, 2008 at 4:20 pm

You can’t expect much from Boing Boing, and for the most part they’re entertaining, but the promotion of hack artists is definitely one of their greater offenses.

Oh yeah, don’t ever try to critique on their posts in the comments section, they’ll just delete you as a troll.

chris l. April 11, 2008 at 4:20 pm

You can’t expect much from Boing Boing, and for the most part they’re entertaining, but the promotion of hack artists is definitely one of their greater offenses.

Oh yeah, don’t ever try to critique on their posts in the comments section, they’ll just delete you as a troll.

chris l. April 11, 2008 at 4:20 pm

You can’t expect much from Boing Boing, and for the most part they’re entertaining, but the promotion of hack artists is definitely one of their greater offenses.

Oh yeah, don’t ever try to critique on their posts in the comments section, they’ll just delete you as a troll.

chris l. April 11, 2008 at 4:20 pm

You can’t expect much from Boing Boing, and for the most part they’re entertaining, but the promotion of hack artists is definitely one of their greater offenses.

Oh yeah, don’t ever try to critique on their posts in the comments section, they’ll just delete you as a troll.

chris l. April 11, 2008 at 11:20 am

You can’t expect much from Boing Boing, and for the most part they’re entertaining, but the promotion of hack artists is definitely one of their greater offenses.

Oh yeah, don’t ever try to critique on their posts in the comments section, they’ll just delete you as a troll.

Art Fag City April 11, 2008 at 4:23 pm

Really? I guess there are certain kind of challenging comments they aren’t interested in.

Art Fag City April 11, 2008 at 4:23 pm

Really? I guess there are certain kind of challenging comments they aren’t interested in.

Art Fag City April 11, 2008 at 4:23 pm

Really? I guess there are certain kind of challenging comments they aren’t interested in.

Art Fag City April 11, 2008 at 4:23 pm

Really? I guess there are certain kind of challenging comments they aren’t interested in.

Art Fag City April 11, 2008 at 11:23 am

Really? I guess there are certain kind of challenging comments they aren’t interested in.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: