Rhizome has another pro-Facebook post up, in this case a strange argument by writer Dorothy Howard that gives reasons for not being on Facebook (anti-privacy, commercialization), gives several examples of "alternative publics" outside Facebook, and then concludes with a plug for the author's newly-created Facebook group. Why stay on there if it's so bad? "These days," Howard writes, "Facebook is so widely used that opting out constitutes an act of defiance of the norm."
The article has drawn a few comments. I questioned Howard's demographics but more to the point, isn't defying the norm what artists and radical politicos are supposed to be doing? Howard wants to defy the norm and also receive "likes."
July 2015
Forest Blob installation shots
Honey Ramka gallery has posted some installation shots from the "Control Panel" exhibition. Below is Forest Blob (a projected version of this animated GIF). A gallerygoer also Instagrammed it.
Below is an installation shot showing more of the work:
"Control Panel" is open through Aug. 2, at 156 Bogart in Bushwick, Brooklyn. A panel discussion of the show will be held this Saturday, July 25, at 4 pm -- more on that soon.
what did you mean by what you meant
Someone asked "what is the deal with these Computers R Stupid posts?"
Three components:
Computers not working as well as claimed, technically.
It's one thing when John Henry is replaced by a steam-powered railroad spike driver that's actually faster than he is. It's something else when he is replaced because a company merely claims that in a press release.
Computers (including social media) impeding communication.
Twitter is regularly mined as a news source when anyone who has used it can tell you it is a misunderstanding machine due to the character limit and terrible threading of conversations.
Computer mistakes and limitations providing fertile ground for artwork.
good citizens pay on credit with their phones
A few times a week I eat at one of those corporate delis that promises the food is fresh and local, although it's probably neither. For about six months I used their loyalty card, which meant I got five dollars off roughly every tenth purchase. Yesterday I was told the loyalty cards had been decommissioned. Now the only way to get the discount is to install a smart phone app and pay by credit or debit card.
Wanted: more friends who skulk around without phones, paying cash, so we can feel better about ourselves as everyone gleefully receives their Borg implants (provided free by one of the six large banks).
