Re: [Nettime-nl] Sebastian Olma: Ideology and the city: Pakhuis De Zwijger as an-aesthetic interface

[Walter van Holst <walter.van.holst@xs4all.nl>]

On 2019-05-12 19:35, Patrice Riemens wrote:

> In a recent Amsterdam Alternative talk, the US-American culture critic
> Brian Holmes argued that the ubiquitous use of mobile interfaces has
> led to an alarming cultural shift. He speaks of the emergence of an
> ‘interface aesthetic’ that amounts to a cultural an-aesthesia with
> regard to the great political challenges of our time. “The
> developments of cybernetically managed communications technology since
> the emergence of ubiquitous computing”, Holmes argues, “have shown the
> possibility of a thoroughly affective euphoria of mobility, perceptual
> agility, expressive virtuosity, and relational fluidity amidst steady
> progress toward complete ecological breakdown.” Yet, while the ongoing
> climate change protests by post-Millennials around the world could
> perhaps be seen as a first crack in the screen, there are aspects of
> neoliberalism’s ideological interface aesthetic that remain
> enigmatically intact.

Am getting flashbacks to my second year at university, which involved 
mandatory reading of a lot of hermetically written classic essays from 
the social sciences. If Holmes wishes to talk to a cozy little incrowd 
of fellow travelers for who these jargon-laden texts have meaning, 
congratulations, he has succeeded. If the goal is to reach broader 
audiences, this may be less fruitful, to the point of intellectual 
wankery. Intellectually satisfying as it may be, no meaningful social 
change will be conceived, let alone gestated.

TL;DR "What the fuck did I just read? About every single adjective in 
that quote deserves to be taken out back and to be shot in the head 
since it only detracted from any meaning that quote may have intended to 
convey instead of adding to it."

Regards,

 Walter
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