Resolution to Authorize Artistic Acts of Mediation

Ha. That it were true.

Napier is in New York, by the way Randall, not San Francisco.

"The Secretary, as head of the US Department of Art and Technology and chief media arts advisory
for the Federal Government, represents the United States in aesthetic and cultural matters
generally and gives advice and opinions to the President and to the heads of the executive
departments of the Government when so requested."

ha ha ha

That government is out of control and would never appoint or request the opinion of anyone who
took it upon themselves to seek their removal from office.

ja

A thoughtful friend forwarded me a petition purportedly organized by the UN gathering signatures
against attacking Iraq. I visited the UN site referenced in the petition. There was a note on
the legitimate UN site saying that they were aware of this petition but that they did not
initiate it, nor would they ever initiate such a petition, and that if people wanted to express
their concern, there are better ways, named a few, and provided URLs to the U.S. government
agencies to be contacted.

My friend is normally quite astute in these things. He wanted to believe it was true, however.
So did I, but I visited the referenced site just to check because the form of the petition was a
bit like so many other email spams.

Now we have Randall posing as having been appointed by the president of the united states to an
office in charge of art and technology, promising many splendid things, among which is seeking
the removal from office of the Bush government. The email Randall sent to the list looked
somewhat governmental and he has gone to the trouble also of purchasing www.usdept-arttech.net
(though not a .gov) and having the ID of the sender be the "US Department of Art and
Technology", which is easy to do in any email client.

I initially wanted to believe this was truly from the U.S. government. But the more one thinks
about it and what is said in the email and on the usdept-arttech.net site, the clearer it
becomes that not only is it not from the U.S. government, but that any possibility that it might
be is sheer American fantasy, given that the current U.S. government is a pseudo elected, highly
militaristic, out of control mockery of democracy and that the American people are hardly awake
to how out of control this government is from them and also from international cooperation.
American artists can still dream, like Randall, that the government might tolerate appointing
somebody to such a post and agency and that a governmental agent could say

"There is a need for the American public to understand the dangerous tendencies of the Bush
Regime," Secretary Packer stated in his office in Washington, DC. "There has been some public
discussion, but relatively little. This resolution calls for regime change in America by
authorizing acts of artistic mediation in an effort to bring the artist message to center stage
of the political process."

Government agents do not say such things. Or if they do, the media does not cover it. Such is
the manufacture of consent.

I am torn between wanting to applaud Randall for his fine fantasy, because he says some
important things that need to be said in the email and on the site, and feeling that such
fantasy only perpetuates the idea that there really does exist a free and open political
democracy in the USA.

ja














.













.

From: "Jim Andrews" <[email protected]>
> … and that the American people are hardly awake
> to how out of control this government is from them

How stupid the USAmerican people are!

> Government agents do not say such things. Or if they do, the media does
not cover it. Such is
> the manufacture of consent.

Then there is a need to get better at the manufacture of dissent, especially
inside dictatorshits where it is sorely needed.

Hello Jim
re
> I am torn between wanting to applaud Randall for his fine fantasy, because
he says some
> important things that need to be said in the email and on the site, and
feeling that such
> fantasy only perpetuates the idea that there really does exist a free and
open political
> democracy in the USA.

I have been creating a website documenting my participation and witnessing
of the march to stop the war against Iraq in London on 28th September. It's
turned into a real sweat. From what I see, lots of artists are struggling
(with various degrees of success) to engage with and reflect their
experiences of the current international conflict.

For a start, it is still taboo for an artist to aspire to explore the big
social, subjects like survival of the species in a way that aims to affect
social change. Artists' tools of persuation are in the hands of the admen,
who use them to huge effect in the service of consumerism.
The level of self-deconstructing critique encouraged in the institutions of
the rare, high art world does not facilitate in artists either a cooly
empirical approach (which might lead to flourishing research) or a
purposeful and effective action.

Randall's piece seems to me to come close however to purposeful and
effective action. He creates a fictive model that presents an alternative
(no matter that it's far fetched) reality. This vision is a rare alternative
to the fait accompli of imminent war presented by the news media. If not
right now, very soon it seems to promise. His fiction presents some
alternative and unfamiliar ideas to the mesmerised and paralysed, war
averse.

There was a posting a couple of days ago by the Bureau of Public secrets
listing Paul Goodman's article "Designing Pacifist
Films"http://www.bopsecrets.org/CF/goodman.htm

he starts by saying
"I am asked for my thoughts about the content and style of anti-war films,
and how to make such a film. First of all, such a film must at least not do
positive harm by predisposing its audience toward war. The images of
senseless violence, horror, and waste that are usually employed in the
commercially successful 'antiwar

That's a committed and concerned perspective, Ruth, thanks.

Also, best wishes to Randall; though I was somewhat critical, you do say things that should be
said, and you say them with hope and force, which may be more important, as Ruth points out,
than the things I criticized.

ja

> I have been creating a website documenting my participation and witnessing
> of the march to stop the war against Iraq in London on 28th September. It's
> turned into a real sweat. From what I see, lots of artists are struggling
> (with various degrees of success) to engage with and reflect their
> experiences of the current international conflict….

RP won't comment on G2K, and I even saw him give a lecture with my sister
spring '99 in SFCA, where the kid got grabbed off home plate.



>From: "Jim Andrews" <[email protected]>
>Reply-To: "Jim Andrews" <[email protected]>
>To: "List@Rhizome. Org" <[email protected]>
>Subject: RE: RHIZOME_RAW: Resolution to Authorize Artistic Acts of
>Mediation
>Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 23:18:39 -0700
>
>That's a committed and concerned perspective, Ruth, thanks.
>
>Also, best wishes to Randall; though I was somewhat critical, you do say
>things that should be
>said, and you say them with hope and force, which may be more important, as
>Ruth points out,
>than the things I criticized.
>
>ja
>
> > I have been creating a website documenting my participation and
>witnessing
> > of the march to stop the war against Iraq in London on 28th September.
>It's
> > turned into a real sweat. From what I see, lots of artists are
>struggling
> > (with various degrees of success) to engage with and reflect their
> > experiences of the current international conflict….
>
>+ new media rugby
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On Fri, 25 Oct 2002, Max Herman wrote:

> RP won't comment on G2K,

What a shame!

> and I even saw him give a lecture with my sister
> spring '99 in SFCA, where the kid got grabbed off home plate.

Feeding off your sister now?
Dontcha think that what your sister does is HER integrity,
and no reason whatsoever for anyone to treat you any different
because of her?