Oro Bourous, On "Community"

"When I talk about community, I am really looking for the support of the co=
mmunity. A community is a support group- when I feel like my art doesn't ma=
ke any sense to anyone else, or is aesthetically bland, my community is the=
re to remind me that these things don't matter, and may in fact be a streng=
th. Brilliance and Genius is rarely understood exept by those who posess it=
. The only thing that matters, in the end, is the context it was created in=
, and what the community gets out of it. Without community, an artist never=
has to waste his time coming face to face with any doubts or insecurities =
imposed by the world outside of the understanding nature of the community. =
If his self selected community supports him, then the work can safely be ca=
lled valid and is, in fact, even an _important_ work of art. Context is eve=
rything!

In the best communities, there is no such thing as mediocre art, or bad art=
. These are simply assertions made by the outside world and are, as I've ex=
plained, irrelevant to art's actual social value. The community is united p=
rimarily by one thing- that the outside world doesn't understand what happe=
ns inside of our community. When the community accepts this agreement, it a=
ccepts that all the art being made is of vital importance, no matter who ma=
kes it or what it is, or how it is received.

When an artist breaks this agreement, he breaks the safety of our insulatio=
n. Mostly, an artist who breaks the agreement is jealous, trying to rise to=
the top of the community totem pole by giving importance to the irrational=
ity of insider points of view and presenting them as "important." Or else t=
hey are a type of spy, sent in from those on the inside who don't understan=
d us, trying to get us to conform. It is clear in all cases that the artist=
is trying to destroy the community when they ask questions that violate th=
e space of understanding that is created within a community. In these cases=
, the insider from outside is best served with dramatic reaffirmation of th=
e goals of our community."

-Oro Bouros, Net.Art Outsider