[spectre] Post-Autonomy on-line

[Geert Lovink]

> From: "David Goldenberg" <dged03 at hotmail.com>
>
> Post-Autonomy on-line
> From David Goldenberg  http://www.postautonomy.co.uk/blog
>  
> Please download, print and distribute
>   
> An invitation for you to participate in a project looking at the 
> relationship of an audience to the space of art, and the future of art 
> by answering some questions and/or taking part in a discussion.
>  
> Contents:
>  
> 0. Introduction
> 1. Participating in the project
> 2. Introduction to the questions
> 3. Questions
> 4. Options for extending a debate
>  
> 0. Introduction
>  
> Currently my project, “Move into the domain of Post-Autonomy” is being 
> exhibited in the group show “Jump into Cold Water”, curated by Sonke 
> Gau and Katharina Schlieben, at the Shedhalle, Zurich, Switzerland 
> until the 30th July 2006.
> http://www.shedhalle.ch/dt/presse/index.shtml
> “Move into the domain of Post-Autonomy” is an on-line project located 
> on the Post-Autonomy web site; comprising text, questions, a schedule 
> of daily on-line discussions, which will be updated and changed 
> throughout the exhibition.
> http://www.postautonomy.co.uk/blog
> I have proposed to the Shedhalle that the next phase of this project, 
> which is planned to take place during July, will take the form of a 
> collaborative debate. A debate that proposes to focus on issues that 
> start by examining what is commonly understood as an “Audience for 
> art”, the relationship between an audience and Art, extending an 
> Audience’s Autonomy in Art, leading onto a discussion looking at 
> developing an Art for the future. For this to take place I am asking a 
> selection of people for their views on these topics.
>  
> 1. Participating in the project if you want to take part.
>  
> I have devised a series of questions and would very much appreciate 
> you taking the time to answer them. These questions and subsequent 
> answers will be made available to the public on the Post-Autonomy 
> website and will remain online for the duration of the “Jump into Cold 
> Water” exhibition. Below I have made a few suggestions of the form 
> your responses may take, but if you have any other ideas or 
> suggestions please feel free to use them.
>  
> Practicalities
>  
> a)       If you agree to take part please make sure to include your 
> name so that you will be fully credited.
> b)       You can email your responses to david at postautonomy.co.uk
> c)       Locate material on the PA website yourself.
> d)       Or you can book time to talk about your answers and any other 
> issues in the PA chat room.
>  
> To locate material on the website will only take a few minutes. To do 
> this you will need to go to the PA homepage, 
> http://www.postautonomy.co.uk/blog enter a user name and apply for a 
> password, which will be sent back to your email automatically. Once 
> you have this, enter both your user name and password and you will be 
> able to add your material to the site. A space for your content will 
> be clearly visible on the homepage.
>  
> If you want to discuss issues raised by this information sheet in more 
> depth or open up a discussion topic of your own, you can book a time 
> to talk about these in the PA website chat room with myself or anyone 
> else who enters the chat room. I can usually be found in the chat room 
> from Monday-Friday between 6-7 BST.
>  
> English language version
> Post-Autonomy on-line
> From David Goldenberg  http://www.postautonomy.co.uk/blog
>  
> 2) Introduction to Questions
>  
> Expanding the role of an audience in Art as a point of departure for 
> making changes in Art
>  
> Examining the role of an audience in Art is much more than a question 
> of how to reach new or untapped consumers, it is also much more than 
> the fashionable cynical use of an audience as free labour. 
> Nevertheless how is it possible to address and rethink the issue of an 
> Audience in Art in its complexity, in a manner that allows the 
> possibility to break through the current dead end, and that over comes 
> the suggestion that the problem of an audience for Art is already 
> solved? In the quest to develop ideas for making changes in Art it is, 
> I think, important to start by looking at ungluing and renegotiating 
> these existing positions in Art. By “positions” I understand this to 
> mean recognition of those persons who want to take part in Art, as 
> opposed to those persons who ought to take part, and who is and who is 
> not allowed entrance into Art to take part.  This is what is 
> understood as the Politics of Art. And when I discuss ideas for change 
> I specifically refer to the possibility for making alterations or 
> improvements to a Euro-centric Art tradition, and when I refer to an 
> end of Art, or an end or development of aesthetic Autonomy, again it 
> is in specific reference to the construction of this Euro-centric Art 
> tradition. We can take that further by looking at breaking the link 
> between this model of Art and its symbolic role in promoting the 
> expansion of Western values.
>  
> Entry points into the questions
> A point of departure for the project must start by looking at whether 
> there is a realistic possibility for freeing up and renegotiating the 
> space of what is recognised as the space of the Audience, in order for 
> the audience to acquire an extended  role.
>  
> I therefore want to start with the following preliminary questions as 
> a guide for you to enter the project.
>
> How should any audiences contribution to a project be acknowledged?
>
> What is an audience in Art?
>  
> What constitutes an audience for Art?
> Why should an audience engage with Art?
> What is the role an audience plays in shaping an Art event?
> How does an audience acquire information about Art?
> Should an audience be interested in expanding their role? And if they 
> do in what way do you think this is possible and how do they do this 
> effectively?
> What system requires to be put in place to assist an audience to be 
> able to do this?
> (If you want to address any of these questions specifically please do)
>  
> These concerns, I think you will agree, are of interest to many of us.
>  
> For a non specialised audience to begin to engage with these issues 
> and go onto make an informed decision within the space of Art, a 
> system of acquiring a body of specialist knowledge and  concepts, and 
> learning about art through a working channel for communicating is 
> obviously necessary, and this is what I want to look at putting into 
> practice during this project. But having said, please note, that I 
> have out of necessity tried to cut out as much specialist language as 
> I can, by falling back to familiar terms that a general audience 
> understands, but they are not necessarily the terms I would employ in 
> describing the field of Post Autonomy, which I hope doesn't lead to 
> further misunderstandings!
>  
> Changing a Euro-centric tradition of art
>  
> An audience’s Autonomy
>  
> What I would like to ask you next are a number of questions about what 
> you think about Art today; whether you think there is a realistic 
> possibility for its development or change, including the expansion of 
> the role of the audience and the space for an audience to make 
> decisions about the shape of any Art practice. This can be described 
> as an audience’s “Autonomy in Art”. Development of an audience’s 
> Autonomy in Art can also be understood as its “Post-Autonomy”, through 
> expanding beyond a standard or normalised idea of Autonomy.
>  
> English language version
> Post-Autonomy on-line
> From David Goldenberg  http://www.postautonomy.co.uk/blog
>   
> Bureau for research into Post-Autonomy, Post-Autonomy on-line, and the 
> Post-Autonomy website, established 2006
>  
> What is Post-Autonomy?
>  
> The debate and understanding of Post-Autonomy, which is in its 
> infancy, is proposed as another way of thinking and staging 
> contemporary culture. A debate that taps into and builds on recent 
> research carried out by the theorists and philosophers Luhmann, 
> Lingner and Ranciere, into the history of the invention of 
> contemporary Art, or what is more correctly understood as a 
> Euro-centric art tradition. This research examines the physical make 
> up that embodies this tradition, in order to then go onto staging a 
> fundamental rethinking into how that tradition has been translated and 
> transmitted. All agree that our current understanding of this 
> tradition is seriously flawed and that a complete rethinking is 
> required. Key to this revision and rethinking revolves around the 
> notion of Aesthetic Autonomy, and here these authors can be seen to 
> belong to the tradition that opens up and expands any closed or 
> restricted reading of Aesthetic Autonomy, including how and where it 
> is applied. This process of how we rethink, reinvent, expand or go 
> beyond Autonomy is what we understand as Post-Autonomy; this reading 
> of Post-Autonomy feeds into Political Sciences concrete example and 
> understanding of Post-Autonomy as the completion or conclusion of a 
> Nation States Autonomy. Since this moment allows for the fundamental 
> revision of all aspects of how we rethink and stage a contemporary 
> cultural practice, it can also be seen as a moment that coincides with 
> developing a new model for the future of art, a new model, which we 
> have termed Post-Autonomy.
>  
> Recently 16 Beaver Group described Post Autonomy as follows:
>  
> “Post-Autonomous art describes a mode of making art at a time when the 
> artist’s presumed autonomy has become rather problematic. A 
> post-autonomous mode of production is no longer concerned with 
> creating singular works of art attributable to a particular artist or 
> author. Instead, a post-autonomous art practice employs a 
> collaborative or dialogical mode of production, for example, via 
> face-to face or on-line dialogues, conversations or events, wiki’s, 
> salons, bulletin boards, chat rooms, or collaborative visual editing 
> environments.
>  
> The aim of post-autonomous artistic production is not (or not 
> primarily) to create objects (electronic or physical) or to document 
> the traces of the productive process. Rather, it is to support and 
> embody a political transformation whereby the human participants 
> subscribes to an open ended mutual learning process and define and 
> activate a productive space outside capitalism and its competitive 
> mode of production.”
>  
> Ola Stahl of Ccred has written:
>  
> In relation to the post-autonomy project, the comment was made that 
> the project raises a significant question: What is a concept? How does 
> a concept operate? Referring specifically to the notion of 
> post-autonomy, for instance, is it meant to be an art historical 
> concept (used to group together and define a number of practices as 
> being post-autonomous), or is it an ‘inventive’ concept (i.e. is it 
> used to crack open habitual practices of thought (and practice in 
> itself) to open up to different parameters of cultural 
> production/practice)?
>  
> English language version
> Post-Autonomy on-line
> From David Goldenberg  http://www.postautonomy.co.uk/blog
>  
> Questions
>  
> Introduction
>  
> An Audiences role in taking responsibility for shaping an Art of the 
> future by building a new model that we understand as Post Autonomy.
>  
> Your contribution to this project can be seen to extend and test out 
> how we understand Autonomy in Art, and in that respect develops a 
> debate into understanding a notion of “Post-Autonomy”. Through 
> expanding the Autonomy of your role relocates you into a central 
> position where you have the responsibility, if you wish to take up the 
> challenge, for discussing how you can contribute to making fundamental 
> changes to a normalised model of Art.
>  
> How do we understand this use of language in art?
>  
> I now want to make a number of tentative observations, concerning the 
> form this language and questioning has taken so far, and where I think 
> it is leading. And these have to be tentative since I want to see 
> whether it is at last feasible to begin to pin down the 
> characteristics of a recognisable language and inherent logic that 
> allow us to understand this new and unexplored terrain of 
> Post-Autonomy.
>  
> How can we characterise the logic of using language in art, the use of 
> this form of questioning, the process of rethinking through all 
> aspects of what we understand as a Euro-centric tradition of art, and 
> how do we go onto understand this or a similar methodology transferred 
> into the space of PA?
>  
> So far it is possible to make the following observations:
>  
> .  Use of language and questioning as a continuation of PA projects 
> exploring the stripping down or away of formal and conceptual 
> trappings of a 
>    Euro-centric tradition. (I do of course that this continues a 
> reductive rather than additive form of developing a practice and 
> system of building
>    thinking, with all of its inherent  problems, art historical 
> ideologies  and mythologies.)
> .  Working in a “gap” that bares no resemblance to any existing means 
> of presenting, staging and thinking within  the tradition of a 
> Euro-centric
>    tradition, but nevertheless allows the possibility of moving 
> forward.
> .  Recognising the end, or suspension, of this Euro-centric tradition.
> .  Recognising a space where a language doesn’t have to rely on the 
> resources and logic of this Euro-centric tradition.
> .  Use of a type of language and questioning that allows for the 
> possibility for rebuilding and navigating around the space of Post 
> Autonomy. I
>    understand this use of language inside PA, dislocated from its 
> context and comprehension within a Euro centric tradition, to full 
> fill another role
>    and function inside the space of PA, where language can be seen as 
> more or less than language.
>  
> 1) What is Autonomy?
>  
> In discussions looking into the future of art, in talks and texts into 
> “Post-Autonomy” on the Post-Autonomy website, we start by asking 
> ourselves what is Autonomy? In most people’s thinking the idea of 
> Autonomy is linked to Democracy, freedom and Art. But when we try to 
> put our thoughts into words it proves notoriously illusive and 
> difficult to pin down exactly what Autonomy is. However, given that 
> the issue of Autonomy is so significant, particularly it’s central 
> role in any understanding of Contemporary Art, I would like to ask 
> you:
>  
> 1a) How, would you put into words and define your own idea of Autonomy?
> 1b) If you cannot do this maybe you can provide visual examples?
> 1c) But how useful is the continued application of the notion of 
> Autonomy to our daily lives? Is there an alternative notion we can 
> point too?
> 1d) Do you think an understanding of Autonomy in Art and Politics is 
> equivalent? If it is, I now want to ask the following. If the notion 
> of Autonomy is such a distant notion, and it is necessary to remember 
> or recall what Autonomy is in order to think about Autonomy; and, if a 
> recent reading of Autonomy can be linked to Western expansionism, 
> Neo-Liberalism, and Neo-Liberalism’s reading of freedom and Democracy, 
> how useful is it to continue to apply this template of Autonomy to a 
> changing, advanced understanding of contemporary culture?
>  
> English language version
> Post-Autonomy on-line
> From David Goldenberg  http://www.postautonomy.co.uk/blog
>  
> 2) Art and Computers
>  
> Recently the debate into issues of Autonomy, freedom, open society, 
> break down of positions and authorship etc has migrated to the web.
>  
> 2a) Where do you think we can locate clear examples or evidence of 
> Aesthetic Autonomy today, is it in a normalised art practice or the 
> mythical open space of net art?
> 2b) Can you say something about how you think Autonomy works in net 
> art or the web, and if possible show examples.
>  
> 3) Rethinking how we understand art, developing a new model of Art, 
> and an Art of the future.
>  
> By rethinking Autonomy and expanding the role of an audience’s 
> Autonomy in Art, we start to think about new possibilities for Art, 
> which is equivalent to thinking about an “Art of the future”. An “Art 
> of the Future” is another method we can use to disengage from existing 
> thinking and examples of normalised notion of Art by projecting 
> outside or beyond this existing framework.
>  
> 3a) In your opinion is this method of breaking, disrupting and 
> forgetting how we think and stage Art now a useful way to start to 
> look at developing a new idea of Art? If not what other process would 
> you suggest?
> 3b) Again in your opinion is there a need, and is it realistic to 
> rethink our understanding of art and develop a new model within 
> today’s economic and cultural climate?
> 3c) If you have an opportunity of rethinking and reinventing Art what 
> would you want in Art in the future?
>  
> 4) How do we position this thinking about an Art of the future?
>  
> 4a) Through developing a new model of Art, which we call 
> “Post-Autonomy”, how do you think we can make sense of this thinking 
> and research?
> 4b) If the project looks at developing a new model of Art, or a model 
> of Art for the future, does it make sense to continue to recognise 
> this thinking in relationship to a tradition of Art that the thinking 
> is seeking to disengage from?
> 4c) Or, does it make sense to look at developing a different context 
> for this thinking, in relationship to different debates, for instance 
> debates into Globalisation, Post Colonial thinking, New Media and Net 
> art, or none of these?
>  
> 5) A language for a future Art practice.
>  
> 5a) If this thinking and practice can be seen to break with the 
> tradition of a Euro-centric practice en-route to establishing an Art 
> of the future, what language do you suggest we tap into to articulate 
> to make sense and open up this Art of the future?
>  
> 6) The term Post-Autonomy
>  
> 6a) How useful is the term or image of “Post-Autonomy” in signalling a 
> new model of Art?
> 6b) The use of the term "Post-Autonomy" often triggers debate into the 
> lack or loss of Autonomy in art (and peoples daily lives), so that the 
> use of Post-Autonomy can be seen to define the actual existing 
> conditions of un freedom  in contemporary art . But the term can also 
> be seen to suggest a moment and opportunity for setting out a set of 
> ideas that could better embody the specificity of today's cultural 
> practice. In that respect the debate generated by PA can be seen as an 
> opportunity to replace a weak notion with a notion generated by 
> living, engaged practitioners that is specific to today's conditions. 
> In your view is this use of PA worth while, and if it is how do we go 
> onto construct a better set of ideas for a contemporary cultural 
> practice?
> 6c)  Possibly Post Autonomy doesn't hint at a new model, but instead 
> could  be seen to picture a new stage in the development of 
> Capitalism, of the nation State, and even the virtual space of the 
> web, new technologies, net art, which is sometimes recognised to 
> embody notions of Capitalist space. Due you think this a better 
> understanding of PA, and if it is can you place say why.
>  
> 7) Please include here any other issues you think are useful to raise 
> or you would like to discuss on the PA website.
>  
> If you require any further information to do with this project, or 
> have constructive ideas on how to clarify any statements I have made, 
> please feel free to contact me.
>  
> English language version
> Post-Autonomy on-line
> From David Goldenberg  http://www.postautonomy.co.uk/blog
>  
> 4) Options for extending the debate
>  
> If you don’t want to respond to the questions or statements in the 
> form of a questionnaire then please feel free to use this space to 
> develop or sketch out an alternative idea
>  
> For example this could take the form of:
>  
> A programme of discussions on the PA chat room
> Talks using skype
> A web caste debate
> Rewrite any part of the text in your own language and wording
>  
> Or any other form you think would be more appropriate