The Detritus Manifesto

felipefonseca — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:28:34 +0000

http://idash.org/pipermail/my-ci/2006-October/000178.html

 The Detritus Manifesto
(The Cheap Asshole Manifesto)
It is obvious at this point that one constant of bourgeois society is
the production of waste. Some of this waste is unpleasant, unusable or
downright dangerous but a large proportion of this waste is in fact a
simple matter of fashion. People of means throw out perfectly good stuff
every day, not for lack of utility, but because these objects have gone
out of style. 
For artists who lack benefactors, survival is a key question and art and
lifestyles are often compromised in the name of economic survival. Our
revolutionary goal is to become parasites of the bourgeois. Like fungi
and dung beetles, we must learn to live on the detritus of those more
affluent than us as their production of waste is guaranteed.
The true revolutionary must be cheap cheap cheap! And the cheapest
things are in fact free. Always remember that for every $5.15 saved you
have one hour to indulge in your art.
The revolutionary cheapskate must define himself in constant dialectical
opposition to fashion. When “exposed brick” becomes the backdrop to
every yuppie porn scene, we will shift to cinder blocks, form-stone or
aluminum siding. If your 60's bric-a-brac is the hot item on eBay, it's
time to sell. 
In much the same way, the revolutionary cheapskate must chose her medium
in defiance of trends. As the Jones toss their VCR, take up the helm of
analog video. Eschew the pricey flat-screen in favor of the free CRT.
Breathe new life into nearly defunct cassette tapes. Relish in the
aesthetic of the scratchy, the imperfect and the obsolete.
Media-culture is even more subject to the whims of popularity. Hence,
the cheap asshole must also mine the landfill of junk film, stale print
and audio of expired copyright. Unlike the contrived appropriation of
the postmodernists, the cheapskate artist steals images out of necessity
and proximity. 
Refuse to upgrade. Does the 10 year old PC not send email, print essays
and surf the web? Does the '91 Mazda hatchback not go from point A to
point B? New things are shiny and the lights are blue instead of red but
new functions are superfluous. Resist the seduction of the new. The rat
race is tough but you can't lose if you don't play.
Sentimental attachment to material is the greatest threat to our
revolution. Any cultural innovation can be co opted by power structures
and the only resistance is to give it away willingly and freely. As soon
as a material or mode of production becomes hip or expensive, it must be
abandoned like a sinking ship.
Cheapskate artists of the world unite!
Brendan Howell
October 30, 2006"
Baltimore, USA

Re: Too much technology

felipefonseca — Mon, 28 May 2007 21:15:00 +0000

Just sent this email to the people involved with the panel I'd be joining in IETM plenary session "Technophobia vs Technophilia", this week in Montreal.

I think that following this kind of perspective I could be seen
as leaning to technophilia, although assuming a critical position.
I'm part of a network here in Brasil - MetaReciclagem - that
proposes a de-constructive approach to technology, meaning
an almost intimate human-machine relationship. But that does
not mean we are seduced by the so techno-fetishism that is
unfortunately so common. We criticize exactly the programmed
obsolescence of technologies - why shouldn't our equipment
last longer if we knew how to do it, hack it, customize it?
Coming from that, the more intimate we get to technology -
free and open source software, freeing hardware and the
such - likely more open are the possibilities.

I mean, I'm talking here of a kind of sensibility and a kind
of perspective in which technology should not be seen as
something apart from human culture. Technology is culture,
technology is human. It's a matter of understanding technology
in a broader sense - a toothbrush, an axe, the ability to control
fire and language, are all examples of technology, of knowledge
applied in order to make life easier.

One could spend some time talking about greek drama and the
idea of machina - deus ex machina and all that stuff. In that
sense, technology and the performing arts can always bring
back the idea of ritualizing the use of applied knowledge. A
flying belt or a sensor-arduino-pd-operated PC are all in the
same level, as I see it.

efeefe - low tech

The Detritus Manifesto

Re: Too much technology