MON FEB 27 2012
Joel Kuennen wrote:
Hi jon, I just wanted to write to you since I feel bad that I was not able to get to cite your contribution in the creation of the term Dirty New Media, let alone your creation and contribution to an aesthetic genre and discourse, in my article on ArtSlant. It was meant to be somewhat of a colloquial prehistory for the scene as it exists at the moment. I had appended a Further Reading and Links section to the article including your work and sites as well as Jake's presentation but it was cut by the editor for some reason (probably word count). I had had just such a wonderful talk with Dan that it took up the majority of the article and then I was left with a few paragraphs for the obligatory "what is new media art" section which needs to happen when publishing for your average art enthusiast.
Again, I hope I have not rubbed you the wrong way, it was not my intention to ignore your vital contribution. You definitely should have been mentioned and I hope we may have a chance to talk in the near future concerning Dirty New Media, et al.
Best,
Joel
THURS MAR 1 2012
jonCates wrote:
hi Joel
thnx for writing + friending on FB
i understand these types of situations quite well rly: publishing, deadlines, working w/editors, Arts journalism, working w/journalists, attribution, being credited +/or uncredited, quoted, etc...
yes, as you say, i did develop + deploy the term "Dirty New Media" as i explain in my essay for this year's GLI.TC/H READER[ORR] which is online && continuing @ HTTP://GL1TCH.US (1)
+ yes, as you also wrote, i have created a community here in Chicago + contributed fundamentally to international aestheticonceptechniques in glitchscenes && their discourses
my work is primarily expressed through my artistic && organizational efforts as well as my teaching. yr aware of my teaching b/c im sure yr aware that Nick was my student (as was Jon Satrom && many other now internationally recognized glitch.errs). my artistic theorypractice && my events organizing / exhibition curating are also points of origin in the local community. this is especially the case, as you say, in the concept of Dirty New Media, a phrase i developed && deployed starting in 2005 after having been thinking/feeling through BEIGE's Dirt Style for a few years, after splitting w/ the organizational effort of the Version Festivals (which i was involved in for the 1rst 3 years) && as i began to organize the r4WB1t5 micro.Fests w/ Jon Satrom, Jake Elliott, Amanda Guiterrez + others (2)
still, even more deeply && foundational to yr article on Dirty New Media, or the art-now-known-as Glitch Art, is the idea of connecting the early Video Art moment && current New Media Art theorypractice in Chicago. furthermore, making these connections through the ethic of COPY-IT-RIGHT as developed by Phil Morton && deployed by Morton + Sandin in the Distribution Religion, is a particularly specific contribution of mine
when it comes to my work on Morton (whose legacy i literally maintain + have reintroduced to New Media Art && Media Art Histories discourses), the Phil Morton Memorial Research Archive (which i founded in 2007) (3) && criticalartware before that (since 2001) (4) have bin the sites for the preservation && extension of Morton's Media Art && his COPY-IT-RIGHT ethic as an approach to openness. we (criticalartware) digitized && distributed the Distribution Religion online, (5) interviewed Sandin (6) + many others && defended the idea of these connections being meaningful through our engagements, actions + artware. (7) && as i wrote about ArtForum's embrace of our approach (8) + my research (9), its good to be able to have become a part of the fabric of Arts cultures on various levels, even if && when mine is an unacknowledged influence or inspiration
i dont mind reading my ideas filtered + versioned through others ppls' experiences, perspectives && vector-views. if i was opposed to that i would not be teaching nor would i be freely && openly sharing my work online. but, of course attribution is always rewarding && in my experience helps to establish && build communities of trust + open exchange. but such is the difficult work of community building
Nicholas O'Brien (also my former student) made a set of similar claims to these Media Art Hystories connections in sum of his writings about a different New Media Art community in Chicago. (10) again, its interesting && important that ppl such as yrself, O'Brien, Rosa Menkman + others interpret && re:interpret the ongoing impact of ethics of openness + sharing such as COPY-IT-RIGHT on New Media Art
of course, i also dont mind reading Nick's work connected to Sandin's + being celebrated/championed/validated in Media Art Hystorical patterns of contemporary relevancy. in fact, im happy to read yr comparison of Nick && Sandin + yr portrait of them both. i believe this is in fact a better description of yr ArtSlant piece. rather than yr description of the piece as "a colloquial prehistory for the scene as it exists at the moment" as you wrote to me, it seems to me to be a portrait piece on both of them, comparing them. so in that sense it is not about a community or glitchscene && it makes sense in that context that you would simply focus on Dan && Nick
but if you meant it to be more broadly defined && definitive of our communities than i understand yr impulse to write to me to kinda apologize or check in w/ me about yr omission of my contributions. it reminds me of sumthin Sandin said to me bax in 2003 when we (criticalartware) interviewed him. in reply to a question about if he feels frustrations when ppl or even students of his rediscover his approaches or even reinvent his contributions he said no, it didnt bother him b/c everyOne has to find their own way. or as the saying goes there are many paths to the same locations
if yr feeling (as you suggested in yr msg) that nfo is missing then 01 simple && obvious solution for you to add any nfo you feel is missing would be for you to add nfo to the comments section of yr ArtSalant Chicago post. but thats just an observation on my part, not a request b/c i was certainly content && comfortable enough to editorialize my posting of yr article on FB && to be openly yr article on FB + in openly discussing this w/you as part of my ongoing discursive GL1TCHt theorypractice
// jonCates
HTTP://GL1TCH.US
1. HTTP://GL1TCH.US - jonCates (2011 - present)
2. r4WB1t5 micro.Fest - jonCates, Jon Satrom, Jake Elliott, Amanda Guiterrez + others (2005 - 2007)
http://r4WB1t5.org
3. The Phil Morton Memorial Research Archive - jonCates (2007 - present)
http://www.copyitright.org
4. criticalartware - (currently constituted by) jonCates && Jake Elliott (2001 - present)
http://criticalartware.net
5. The Distribution Religion - Phil Morton and Dan Sandin (1971 - 1973)
http://criticalartware.net/DistributionReligion/
6. Dan Sandin interviewed by criticalartware - jonCates, Jon Satrom and Ben Syverson (2003)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3100159088801019891
7. http://criticalartware.net/was/
8. ARTFORUM goes CRITICALARTWARE" - jonCates (2009)
http://joncates.blogspot.com/2009/03/artforum-goes-criticalartware.html
9. http://artforum.com/video/mode=large&id=28019
10. Is Locale Needed? Netart in the Midwest - Nicholas O'Brien (2010)
http://blog.art21.org/2010/11/23/center-field-is-locale-needed-netart-in-the-midwest/