Do I live in Canada or cyberspace?

A letter to horizonzero.ca I thought I'd send to the list. It is kind of my
own beef, but kind of not. I imagine the phenomenon is familiar to many on
the list in their own countries other than Canada. I suppose that, in part,
it arises out of the internationality of net.art, which is one of the
strengths of the art. Also, the institutions tend to get the art cash and
piss it away on silly projects. I imagine this is true in some places other
than Canada.

***************

At http://www.horizonzero.ca/textsite/flow.php?is&file=4&tlang=0 in your
new issue of horizonzero.ca on interactive audio, you identify me as
"UK-based". I live in Victoria BC and am Canadian. Have never been UK-based.

The article draws extensively on my work. You link to an article I wrote
about Steve Tanza (who is UK-based), talk about my ideas on interactive
audio, link to my site, mention two other articles I've written on
interactive audio, and mention some of my own interactive audio work.

Your horizonzero.ca project from Banff got a million dollars of funding, I
understand, from the Canadian government. It is the most-funded online
Canadian project concerning digital art that I am aware of. You claim to
represent the best in Canadian digital art, but you don't even do your
homework to know I'm Canadian. I have emailed horizonzero.ca several times
in the past and mostly my email went unanswered. I think you may have a
communications problem in your remote location and mindset.

Your new issue of horizonzero on interactive audio is edited by people from
Quebec, if I understand correctly. In the last round of funding from the
Canada Council, seven of nine of the Media Arts projects funded were by
artists who live in Montreal. People in the west are keenly aware of this
phenomenon in other spheres of life also. I realize that Montreal is an
exciting city with many fine artists concerning digital art. But with that
7/9 business and now this, I have to give myself a body check to see if I
still exist. Do I live here or just in cyberspace?

You're doing a web site, but the western Canadian artists I am aware of who
take art for the net seriously, namely Ted Warnell from Medicine Hat and
Kate Armstrong from Vancouver (who was just commissioned by turbulence.org
from New York, as I was earlier), have not been involved, as far as I know,
in any of the fifteen issues of horizonzero.ca. Sorry, but I wonder how
serious you are about digital art. There are some of us who take it
seriously and it is our life's work.

ja
http://vispo.com