Syndicate: Re: SEAFair/Junction/Syndicate

["intim@" <igor.stromajer@guest.arnes.si>]

dear syndicalists,

for two days i've been on the seaside in order to recover from that
virus that i've got in skopje :)

i've read all the <so-far SEAFair> reports and i think it's good to
have them more and it's also good that they are as personal as they
can be. very nice.

but as i can see there are some misunderstandings and somehow i knew
before that they will appear (when the debate started).

> It's boring to type the same thing twice.
> It's also boring to read same thing twice.

wrote jaka (also called "yoakim" in skopje). so i'll be as 
concentrated as i can (and i'm also not very tasty if you eat me in
larger pieces :)

no, my dear melentie and the others, i'm not suggesting that the
meetings should not be open for the others, no, no, no. i only tried
to explain to tina and to myself why the selected net artist (inside
SEAFair98 - not Junction meeting) didn't get so much attention as they
would deserve. that's all i was talking about, but obviously i was not
precise enough. i apology for that. and of course i was searching for
several reasons - one of them (for me) was also the one i described
as: the organisers had too much to prepare for the syndicate meeting,
so they didn't have enough time to think about different (more
individual or something like that) ways to present net art projects
(image-, animation-, poetry-, text-based, mixed etc.)

and/or: what to do about/with selected net artists at all?

let's face it: it wasn't cheap to bring all those syndicalists in
skopje (to give them something to eat and to return them back home).
shall we compare that costs with the costs of bringing all the
selected net artists to the festival? aren't the selected artists
first on the list (and syndicalists the second - if there is some
extra money left...?) because it is their festival (of the artists:
they somehow own it, because there wouldn't be any festival without
their works - and the syndicate meeting wouldn't have to have the
possibility to be "in the frame" of the festival). but you see - i'm
improvising now, because i don't know where does the money come from
and if it is (or supposed to be) the same money for the selected
artists and syndicalists. that's why i'm asking questions: i can't
give any answers.

synicate meetings are important - i don't have to give any more 
arguments for that because we are all aware of it, but the 
artists are also or even more ...(?!?)...

it's hard to be selected for the festival and not going there in
person. what kind of the relationship can an artist and such a
festival have if they don't "meet"? we say: ok, one new point for my
CV and nothing allies. but if you are present there, the situation is
completely different.

and my focus was on the presentation of the net art projects only.
tina made me think about that problem because she is right: why the
sculptures? what about the sound (how would it be if we would go to
see the movie and they would show us "the night on the earth" by jim
jarmush without any sound? - what would he say? what would the
audience say)? how to describe the "festival's interface" between the
computer and the audience/spectator/surfer? is it different as at
home? and as i suggested: should virtual stay virtual? and so on and
so on.

so, the reports are fine, but as far as i'm concerned - i know i had a
great time in skopje (until i found that virus!) with all that nice
people, but that was not the issue of my involvement in the debate:
tina and i were talking about the very specific problem of the net art
exhibitions and festivals.

how to exhibit net art? - is my question and i'd like to hear some
comments about that: different experiences, different ways to do it,
so that we could all learn from each other and that several organisers
of those festivals would get some new ideas how to do that. that was
my only intention and that was why did tina's posting provoke me to
start doing what i'm doing right now.

all many other aspects of the problem i was involved in - inke, jaka
and the others kindly answered all the questions instead of me so i'm
not going to repeat "myself/inke/jaka/others..." :) 

you all know how much do i like skopje, seafair, the people i keep
meeting there etc. but the debate i'd like to observe is more general
and goes beyond one particular festival. and it has nothing to do with
how nice one person is, do i (does he/she) like(s) him/her or not etc.


ok. i also wanted to say something more, but i'm sleeping 
already... :)


igor