Re: Buy Nothing Day

in the context of this piece, for which the internal content and premise of
buy nothing day both depend on a critique of western consumerism, it made
sense to me to mention thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day – that day
is actually a huge event on the financial radars. it's just relevant to this
art work/collective effort. sorry that you don't care, or if the information
offended art sensibilties or seemed only us-inclusive, rachel



> Rhizome.org: Net Art News> Buy Nothing Day
>> What better way to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving, which is both Buy
> Nothing Day and the biggest shopping day in the Western World,
>> than by enjoying some rebellious tactical media? – Rachel Greene
>
> It is not the 'day after Thanksgiving' to most of the worlds populace. While
> Europe is certainly in the Western World, yesterday was not 'the biggest
> shopping day' in Europe. Most of the world doesn't have a clue when
> Thanksgiving falls. Nor do they care. Is Net Art News and American service?
> Remember, strange as it may seem, most of us don't know when Thanksgiving
> day or Labor day is. We don't know what a nickel or a dime is. And we don't
> care very much.
> Cheers,
> Ivan
>
> —– Original Message —–
> From: Net Art News
> Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 5:06 AM
> Subject: Buy Nothing Day
>
>
> November 25, 2002
> launch rhizome | contact us | support rhizome | info
>
> Buy Nothing Day
> What better way to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving, which is both Buy
> Nothing Day and the biggest shopping day in the Western World, than by
> enjoying some rebellious tactical media? We've got just the caper: a
> subvertisement contest sponsored by the Banner Art Collective. Peruse the
> entries, or enter your own subversive banner in the contest by November 28.
> The winning entry, which will be announced the 29th, will win a prize of
> $0.00 (zero US dollars), as one would expect from a parodic, semiotic
> contest such as this one. There weren't many subvertisements posted as of
> press date, but one, 'Apocolyspe Soon,' was amusing. – Rachel Greene
> http://www.bannerart.org/
>
>
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> + hey don't use my white background
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First of all, if we're going to be technical about things we really should be using the term "United States" and not "America", since America is actually two whole continents.

And although some of the references in the NAN piece could've been explained for the benefit of non-USian members, overall I don't see why its topicality should be in question, considering how political this list is. In the U.S., we consume a tremendous amount of junk, and then our government enforces economic imperialism using a number of brutal mechanisms, ranging from armed intervention to the Bretton Woods institutions. It's a problem that comes out of the U.S., but it affects the entire world in a fairly direct way.

Saying U.S. consumerism is only of interest to U.S. citizens is like saying the Holocaust is only of interest to Germans.

F.

Ivan Pope wrote:
>> Rhizome.org: Net Art News> Buy Nothing Day
>>What better way to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving, which
>>is both Buy
>>Nothing Day and the biggest shopping day in the Western World,
>>than by enjoying some rebellious tactical media? – Rachel Greene
>
> It is not the 'day after Thanksgiving' to most of the worlds
> populace. While
> Europe is certainly in the Western World, yesterday was not 'the biggest
> shopping day' in Europe. Most of the world doesn't have a clue when
> Thanksgiving falls. Nor do they care. Is Net Art News and
> American service?
> Remember, strange as it may seem, most of us don't know when Thanksgiving
> day or Labor day is. We don't know what a nickel or a dime is.
> And we don't
> care very much.
> Cheers,
> Ivan
>

Buy Nothing Day orginated in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and
is organized each year by Adbusters, a Vancouver publication and activist
group. While it is a global event, its origins are in North America
precisely because it is examining/critiquing Western capitalism and its
buying habits.

Buy Nothing Day has events staged all over the world, but the date(s) were
orginally picked to coincide with consumer buying habits in the US (the
biggest/worst offender in the eyes of BND organizers). Thanksgiving is a
important US holiday which has oddly incorporated the biggest holiday
shopping day as a part of its tradition. In other words, I think BND is
US-centric because the US is its main target. Does that make sense?

At any rate, I understand your feelings. We did not organize the annual BND
event; we simply are running this contest to coincide with the dates. At
any rate, if you want to participate in Buy Nothing Day, the date
(regardless of whether you know when Thanksgiving is) is November 29th in
the US and Canada, November 30th in Europe and elsewhere. Note that the
Banner Art Collective's announcment of the contest (which I have attached
below), doesn't mention "Thanksgiving"–it only mentions the dates.

All the best,
Brandon Barr
Banner Art Collective

—
The Banner Art Collective (http://www.bannerart.org/) creates, collects, and
distributes net.art and poetry within the limitations and context of web
advertisements.


+———————————————————–+

Hello everyone

In connection with Buy Nothing Day (November 29th in the US and Canada,
November 30th in Europe), an annual international event held to protest the
unoffical opening day of holiday shopping, the Banner Art Collective is
holding a contest for the best presentation of net.art and subvertisements
in online advertising space.

Entries will be accepted up until November 28th (the day before Buy Nothing
Day state side). The winner will be announced on Buy Nothing Day (November
the 29th), both on the site and to the press. A Grand Prize of $0 (USD)
will be distributed to the winner, and the winning banner will be featured
on the front page of the Banner Art Collective's website for one month. All
entries will be added to bannerart.org's permanent collection of net.art in
advertising space.

To submit work, go to www.bannerart.org, review the requirements and
limitations detailed on the site, and use the submission form upload your
work for review. Please mark in the "special requirements" field on the
upload form that your submission is for the contest and not just for normal
entry on the site's continuing bannerart exhibition, submissions for which
are continuing as usual.

Best,
Brandon Barr & Garrett Lynch
Banner Art Collective

+———————————————————–+


+———————————————————–+

Salut tous

Au cause de "Buy Nothing Day" - achete rien jour (Novembre le 29 en Etais
Unis et Canada, Novembre 30 en Europe), un fete international contre cette
saison de Noel qui est de plus en plus un vacances commercialise, le Banner
Art Collective annonce un concours pour le meilleur oeuvre de net.art et
subvertisement (un travaille contre publicite) dans un espace de publicite
internet.

Soumissions sont accepte jusque a le 28 de Novembre (le jour avant "Buy
Nothing day" en Etais Unis). Le gagnant va ete annonce le 29 de Novembre,
sur le site et le internet. Un grand prix de $0 (USD) (soit 0

What!

You mean it's 'American Net Art News'…?

marc


> Rhizome.org: Net Art News> Buy Nothing Day
> >What better way to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving, which is both
Buy
> Nothing Day and the biggest shopping day in the Western World,
> >than by enjoying some rebellious tactical media? – Rachel Greene
>
> It is not the 'day after Thanksgiving' to most of the worlds populace.
While
> Europe is certainly in the Western World, yesterday was not 'the biggest
> shopping day' in Europe. Most of the world doesn't have a clue when
> Thanksgiving falls. Nor do they care. Is Net Art News and American
service?
> Remember, strange as it may seem, most of us don't know when Thanksgiving
> day or Labor day is. We don't know what a nickel or a dime is. And we
don't
> care very much.
> Cheers,
> Ivan
>
> —– Original Message —–
> From: Net Art News
> Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 5:06 AM
> Subject: Buy Nothing Day
>
>
> November 25, 2002
> launch rhizome | contact us | support rhizome | info
>
> Buy Nothing Day
> What better way to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving, which is both Buy
> Nothing Day and the biggest shopping day in the Western World, than by
> enjoying some rebellious tactical media? We've got just the caper: a
> subvertisement contest sponsored by the Banner Art Collective. Peruse the
> entries, or enter your own subversive banner in the contest by November
28.
> The winning entry, which will be announced the 29th, will win a prize of
> $0.00 (zero US dollars), as one would expect from a parodic, semiotic
> contest such as this one. There weren't many subvertisements posted as of
> press date, but one, 'Apocolyspe Soon,' was amusing. – Rachel Greene
> http://www.bannerart.org/
>
>
> SEND NET ART NEWS TO A FRIEND
> ADD NET ART NEWS TO YOUR WEB SITE
>
> Rhizome.org is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization. If you value this free
> publication, please consider making a contribution within your means.
> We accept online credit card contributions at http://rhizome.org/support.
> Checks may be sent to Rhizome.org, 115 Mercer Street, New York, NY 10012,
> USA. Or call us at +1.212.625.3191.
> Contributors are gratefully acknowledged on our web site at
> http://rhizome.org/info/10.php.
>
> To subscribe/unsubscribe please visit http://rhizome.org/subscribe.
>
> Net Art News is edited by Rachel Greene. Ideas for Net Art News are
welcome,
> must relate to new media art, and can be emailed to [email protected]
with
> 'Net Art News' in the subject line.
> Net Art News is supported by grants from The Charles Engelhard Foundation,
> The Rockefeller Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual
Arts,
> and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state
> agency.
>
>
> + hey don't use my white background
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
>

>
Right, Francis…the U.S. tends to spread its consumerism like a virus…I'm waiting for the kids in Afghanistan to quit killing themselves over religion and ideology and start shooting themselves over tennis shoes…(my god, that's awful cynical, Mr. LaCook)….
…or maybe break free of it all? (my god, Mr. LaCook, that's naive)—-
(quite possibly, speaking of oneself in the third person is a form of commoditization of the self)
bliss
l

—– Original Message —–
From: Francis Hwang <[email protected]>
> And although some of the references in the NAN piece could've been
explained for the benefit of non-USian members, overall I don't see why its
topicality should be in question, considering how political this list is. In
the U.S., we consume a tremendous amount of junk, and then our government
enforces economic imperialism using a number of brutal mechanisms, ranging
from armed intervention to the Bretton Woods institutions. It's a problem
that comes out of the U.S., but it affects the entire world in a fairly
direct way.
>
> Saying U.S. consumerism is only of interest to U.S. citizens is like
saying the Holocaust is only of interest to Germans.

Actually I was saying that Thanksgiving Day only means anything to citizens
of the US. In the UK there is no buying surge at this point of the calendar.
And we don't know when Thanksgiving Day is or why. So to tie a no buying day
to a purely US event means the day is at least conceptually a US thing.
I know its sometimes hard for US residents to see that we do not
automatically understand your cultural references - but surely that is part
of the problem.
Cheers,
Ivan

Hi Ivan
I think you're being a tad curmudgeonly here.
It hardly takes a massive intellectual effort to
relate to US cultural events/traditions,
certainly less than to read Levi, or Dickens or
Shakespeare and it strikes me as philistinism to boast
of one's ignorance of any field ( even national
holidays, traditions or currency - don't you read
American literature? - it's more interesting and far
less smug and parochial than anything being produced
on our side of the Atlantic)
I worry about this UK/USA, us & them tone that
occasionally creeps into posts (I mean in general -
I'm not singling you out for some sort of attack),
after all the point of the original post was broadly
speaking a progressive one.
best
Michael


— Ivan Pope <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> —– Original Message —–
> From: Francis Hwang <[email protected]>
> > And although some of the references in the NAN
> piece could've been
> explained for the benefit of non-USian members,
> overall I don't see why its
> topicality should be in question, considering how
> political this list is. In
> the U.S., we consume a tremendous amount of junk,
> and then our government
> enforces economic imperialism using a number of
> brutal mechanisms, ranging
> from armed intervention to the Bretton Woods
> institutions. It's a problem
> that comes out of the U.S., but it affects the
> entire world in a fairly
> direct way.
> >
> > Saying U.S. consumerism is only of interest to
> U.S. citizens is like
> saying the Holocaust is only of interest to Germans.
>
> Actually I was saying that Thanksgiving Day only
> means anything to citizens
> of the US. In the UK there is no buying surge at
> this point of the calendar.
> And we don't know when Thanksgiving Day is or why.
> So to tie a no buying day
> to a purely US event means the day is at least
> conceptually a US thing.
> I know its sometimes hard for US residents to see
> that we do not
> automatically understand your cultural references -
> but surely that is part
> of the problem.
> Cheers,
> Ivan
>
> + the internet is not your life.
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe:
> http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set
> out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at
http://rhizome.org/info/29.php


=====
http://www.somedancersandmusicians.com/

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—– Original Message —–
From: Michael Szpakowski <[email protected]>

> I think you're being a tad curmudgeonly here.
> It hardly takes a massive intellectual effort to
> relate to US cultural events/traditions,
> certainly less than to read Levi, or Dickens or
> Shakespeare and it strikes me as philistinism to boast
> of one's ignorance of any field ( even national
> holidays, traditions or currency - don't you read
> American literature? - it's more interesting and far
> less smug and parochial than anything being produced
> on our side of the Atlantic)
> I worry about this UK/USA, us & them tone that
> occasionally creeps into posts

Well, for sure I am a professional curmudgeon.
But that aside, I was just trying to point out that Thanksgiving day only
occurs in the US, so to relate what is surely a much wider concept to that
day leaves a lot of us cold … what, we've just passed the busyest buying
day in the year, how could I have worked through it.
I mean, I am going to a Thanksgiving meal on Friday that is held every two
years by a good american friend of mine. But, I have to admit that I
approach it much as a muslim in the west must approach Xmas: I'm
enthusiastic for the general friendly event and it is good fun, but beyond
that it leaves me cold. It's not coded into my culture gene. What is the
national holiday in Egypt? What date is Liberation day in China? When is Yom
Kippur?
Anyway, my aim is not to make big points or to hurt anyone, but to niggle at
the interstices of communication.
Cheers,
Ivan

—– Original Message —–
From: "Ivan Pope" <[email protected]>

> Well, for sure I am a professional curmudgeon.
> But that aside, I was just trying to point out that Thanksgiving day only
> occurs in the US, so to relate what is surely a much wider concept to that
> day leaves a lot of us cold … what, we've just passed the busyest buying
> day in the year, how could I have worked through it.
> I mean, I am going to a Thanksgiving meal on Friday that is held every two
> years by a good american friend of mine. But, I have to admit that I
> approach it much as a muslim in the west must approach Xmas: I'm
> enthusiastic for the general friendly event and it is good fun, but beyond
> that it leaves me cold. It's not coded into my culture gene. What is the
> national holiday in Egypt? What date is Liberation day in China? When is
Yom
> Kippur?

As a side note, that's more or less how most Americans view Thanksgiving, I
think. Its origins almost seem darkly camp these days: Indians feed
Pilgrims, so that the descendants of the Pilgrims can one day commit
genocide upon the descendants of the Indians. You've never witnessed the
goofiness of U.S. cultural "heritage" until you've seen a third-grader
dressed up as a turkey at the school's Thanksgiving play.

But in practice, Thanksgiving is nice and pleasant. Lots of food and cooking
and sitting around watching TV or catching up with relatives or whatever.
Like Christmas, only you don't have to pretend to be excited when you open
that magnetic ball-point pen you got from your cousin.

F.

Hi,

I thought this "quiproquo" was quite interesting, since the buynothingday
belongs to an anti-globalization and anti-imperialism process, but it's true
that the way it was presented here is full of irony : as if the very people
who support this movement were unaware that the rest of the world (the World
minus the U.S, Canada or so) doesn't give a shit of Thanksgiving, as Ivan
pointed out. We would have expected that at least THEM, know this. If not
even, how can we get out if this? Please don't take this as personal, to me
it's just a funny situation. But which deserved to be noticed I think.

Anyway does it mean that we have to adopt first US hollidays (as we did
recently for Halloween in France) in order to fight this globalization and
the "unique thought" phenomenon properly ?

cheers

Christophe Bruno
http://www.unbehagen.com

—– Original Message —–
From: "Ivan Pope" <[email protected]>
To: "Francis Hwang" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 12:20 PM
Subject: Re: RHIZOME_RAW: Buy Nothing Day


>
> —– Original Message —–
> From: Francis Hwang <[email protected]>
> > And although some of the references in the NAN piece could've been
> explained for the benefit of non-USian members, overall I don't see why
its
> topicality should be in question, considering how political this list is.
In
> the U.S., we consume a tremendous amount of junk, and then our government
> enforces economic imperialism using a number of brutal mechanisms, ranging
> from armed intervention to the Bretton Woods institutions. It's a problem
> that comes out of the U.S., but it affects the entire world in a fairly
> direct way.
> >
> > Saying U.S. consumerism is only of interest to U.S. citizens is like
> saying the Holocaust is only of interest to Germans.
>
> Actually I was saying that Thanksgiving Day only means anything to
citizens
> of the US. In the UK there is no buying surge at this point of the
calendar.
> And we don't know when Thanksgiving Day is or why. So to tie a no buying
day
> to a purely US event means the day is at least conceptually a US thing.
> I know its sometimes hard for US residents to see that we do not
> automatically understand your cultural references - but surely that is
part
> of the problem.
> Cheers,
> Ivan
>
> + the internet is not your life.
> -> post: [email protected]
> -> questions: [email protected]
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
> -> give: http://rhizome.org/support
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php

On Wed, 27 Nov 2002, joseph (yes) wrote:

> Quoting "-IID42 Kandinskij @27+" <[email protected]>:
>
> > And very soon, there will be nothing left to improve.
>
> The sky is not falling little chicken.

My statement didn't imply anything about any sky falling, dearest.
It is not I_ who has anything to lose dearest. It is humans in general.

Your myopic projections are only symptomatic of your psychotic
'hunt-down' ignorant ape behavior, reflective of an idiot reacting
out of pure fear and impotence.

You have demonstrated on a number of occasions complete failure
to read_ at all. You're dense, unintelligent, uneducated, base,
and flat. This all in itself is not a problem, however what is_
is that you've thrown away all chances of not being so, and having
willfully self-destructed are now attempting to persecute any life
-form which does possess any or ability of conscious development.

Go back to your pen, and spare us your idiotic commentaries.

On Tue, 26 Nov 2002, Lewis LaCook wrote:

> Right, Francis…the U.S. tends to spread its consumerism like a virus…I'm waiting for the kids in Afghanistan to quit killing themselves over religion and ideology and start shooting themselves over tennis shoes…(my god, that's awful cynical, Mr. LaCook)….
> …or maybe break free of it all? (my god, Mr. LaCook, that's naive)—-
> (quite possibly, speaking of oneself in the third person is a form of commoditization of the self)
> bliss


More like hypocritical to all of the above.

Because none of what you're depicting is occurring,
and not one of you wants to actually see what is_ going on.

And unless you do, nothing will improve.

And very soon, there will be nothing left to improve.

Quoting "-IID42 Kandinskij @27+" <[email protected]>:

> And very soon, there will be nothing left to improve.

The sky is not falling little chicken.

(out and about)

joseph (cor e form art) + (porat per ance ist)
frank + lyn - mc + El + roy

go shopping -> http://www.electrichands.com/shopindex.htm
call me 646 279 2309

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