[spectre] Extending the Spectre to the Ukraine

[luc kendo]

Eric as you wrote - you are a dreamer ;) Media Art as a long arm of the Western Establishment - that is a magnificient and provocative idea, certainly requiring a high level of imagination, and so to say, dellusions.

gnd/


> Dear Spectrites,
> 
> I just had a thought - wouldn't it be possible
> to concern ourselves in a
> more directly productive and useful way with
> what is happening in the
> Ukraine right now? In the sense that there
> must be some form of media
> art activity, or media culture, over there
> that we can connect to and
> forge closer ties with.
> 
> First question, are there any people from the
> Ukraine on the list? Is it
> possible to receive some reports on media arts
> and media culture related
> activity there?
> 
> It is exciting to think of the prospect of the
> Ukraina making a U-turn
> in its development (politicaly and culturally)
> and moving in a new
> direction. From the West this is interpreted
> as a move towards the EU,
> and it might very well turn out that way.
> Maybe locally the first
> priority could be to turn away from the
> auhtoritarian and corrupted
> structures of the Kutsjma regime, rather than
> anything else.
> 
> If te society can manage to open up a bit it
> would be more than
> interesting to forge new ties with media
> culture groups over there, not
> just in Kiev. I still have for instance this
> romantic infatuation with
> Odessa and would love to go there and meet
> local artists, thinkers and
> so on - but that's just a personal
> obsession...
> 
> I'm also thinking of the time when on the
> Syndicate list we would often
> get reports from the inside while much of
> central and sourth-east Europe
> was going through such dramatic changes. On a
> list like this, there's
> not so much you can do, except build ties with
> like-minded dreamers in
> other places and develop some exciting and
> inspiring ideas and projects
> together. It really feels that the stage is
> set for the Ukraina right now.
> 
> If the otucome of the current turmoil is
> positive the Ukraine as a
> cultural border area, as a transition zone,
> might well play a role as a
> mediator and a bridge between Russia and the
> EU. It could also exert a
> positive influenece on what is going on in
> Belarus still, where the
> siocial/poltical situation is possibly even
> more depressing.
> 
> It was really interesting that on the day that
> the street-protests
> started in Kiev I was riding on a tram through
> The Hague picking up a
> visa or something (typical activity in that
> city for non-residents) and
> passed in front of the Parliament building. At
> the entrance porch to the
> "Binnehof" square some protestors had placed
> themselves with quite big
> banners (a usual sight there). The banners
> read "Russia, stop supporting
> Belarus". I was confused, wasn't there
> something going on in Kiev?? Then
> I suddenly realised, Putin is visiting Holland
> that day, and it was
> clear to whom the message was addressed. Maybe
> they should have used
> banners in Russian....
> 
> In any case, it feels like a significant shift
> is mounting and I would
> like it f we could somehow reflect upon that
> within our own field of
> interest, our own working area, media art and
> media culture. I wonder if
> other people feel the same?
> 
> many greetings from Mokum!
> Eric
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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