|
The noose tightens. Two decisions involving the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) seriously threaten your free speech rights, including your ability to link and sharing of research findings in academic settings.
"Recently, various Bush Administration initiatives have combined to dramatically reduce the power of individuals to keep their affairs secret from the government. Yet at the same time, the Administration has repeatedly denied the public basic information about how the government conducts its affairs." Welcome to the new regime.
Read what Stanford cyberlaw professor Lawrence Lessig predicts about the future of information and why artists should care.
Check out: "Plewds! Squeams! and Spurls!" -- a compilation of comic and street influenced art work by Andrew J. Schoultz, Aaron Noble, Spain Rodriguez, Jesus Angel Perez, Heart 101, Xylor Jane, Eric Derail, Ben Hirschkoff, Sara Trigueros, Evan Porterlarsen and Antonio Roman-Alcala opening at Balazo Gallery in San Francisco this Friday, November 23rd, 8 pm - midnight, 2811 Mission Street (at 24th Street) with live music by Depressor and Sacrilicious -- This looks great! The show runs through December.
While all us art folk feign indifference, we still gossip about who made it (or didn't make it) into the Whitney Biennial especially this year when the curator has some serious connection to the Bay Area. The recently announced roster for the 2002 Whitney Biennial includes a hefty number of our own, including Jim Campbell, Vincent Fecteau, Lisa Jevbratt/C5, Chris Johanson, Margaret Kilgallen, Josh On & Futurefarmers, silt, Rosie Lee Tompkins, Lebbeus Woods, John Zurier, among others. Thanks, Larry!
Bob Ross has mesmerized millions of viewers all over the world with his televised painting. Take a break from world chaos and enjoy the escapist delights of Ross's "Happy Little Trees" in this New York Times article (free registration required).
Roll on down to the Texas arts site Glass Tire, it's kind of like Stretcher's cousin in Houston.
In his new book, Stanford University Law School professor and cyberlaw pioneer Lawrence Lessig argues that the power of huge corporations and special interests are leading to The End of the Net.
Have the culture wars really cooled, or has the paradigm simply shifted?
Remember all those flag folding rules they taught us in elementary school? So how do those entrepreneurs get away with being patriots by printing stars and stripes on thongs? Check out Neva Chonin's take on it on SFGate. Wave it proud.
"The idea that art functions as a remedial agent — useful for the treatment of social, spiritual or emotional disorders — is positively Victorian," argues LA Times critic Christopher Knight in this provocative comment on art and current events.
The instant, ubiquitous use of red white and blue motifs to express notions of American solidarity carry the unmistakeable perfume of propaganda-- especially the flag-cum-shopping bag "America Open for Business" poster that's everywhere these days. Finally somebody's tweaked the thing to reveal a prominent subtext of the current mess. Print out, display carefully.
This morning I finished the best book that I've ever read -- Ken Kesey's "Sometimes A Great Notion." This afternoon, Kesey died at the age of 66. Kesey was a brilliant writer and I found it so refreshing to read the work of someone, who in his mid-twenties was able to write with the maturity of a sage -- especially when so many of today's writers in their thirties and forties read like they're 19.
Liam Jones sterilizes his paintings of construction sites and elementary schools with strict lines and high-key color. Tucker Nichols purifies his napkin-size drawings into visual haiku. Their dual show at Linc Real Art, 1 Otis Street in San Francisco, offers serious respite from messy reality.
"Big boys don't cry, but real men do." -- words of wisdom from Oprah's Dr. Phil (Tuesdays on Oprah). Jonathan Franzen may have a snotty ass attitude towards Oprah , but I think she rocks! -- mw
Beware of obscure provisions in the new, so-called "USA Patriot Act" that eliminates Watergate era protections on intelligence gathering and sharing.
A Fraudulent, Cynical Settlement - Dan Gillmor of the San Jose Mercury News on the recently announced Microsoft settlement.
|