YIDO

From Andrew Garton's wiki

A draft manifesto on the making and value of art in the 21st century from a 20th century nomad. Inspired in part to responses to Resolution for Digital Futures, empyre forum.

Iced trees on approach to Vienna, Jan 2009

Contents

Beginning

YIDO, pronounced Why I do, is a manifesto on the value and making of art in the 21st century by a 20th century nomad weaning himself off the net and much more besides.

What does a manifesto for this century proclaim if not a halt to all things that ail us? And what of art in this process? More than ever we require the means to shift, or rather, change consciousness towards an appreciation of all things that are, or ought be returned to the commons.

What is the role of technology and design in these processes? How do artists respond to open platforms and licensing? Is there a future for the arts in the commons?

I have responded in more detail in the paper, Growing the Global Information Commons, but in YIDO, I seek to define a more personal approach with the addition of simple responses to key issues for artists seeking clarity and substance in both a world immersed in sameness and uncertainty.

We urgently require an overhaul of concepts of equity towards assured and manageable equity of access to food, shelter, education, information, art and re-assessment of how we consume, what we consume and how and what resources can be sustained. We are facing unprecedented turmoil.

Rationale

I do many things.

I am moved by many things.

But there are a few things that compel me to persist in both a social justice perspective in my work and ensuring I maintain a reasonable sense of being OK all of the time.

Stupidity

Stupidity is the single most common trait of all humanity. It has caused unimaginable suffering through all of known time, it has drawn power and vast reserves of our precious resources to it and the blood of millions, 6-8 million in the 20th century alone, has soaked the soils of every inhabited landmass in the world. And yet, we have never, ever managed to evolve the stupidity gene out of us. 

 qu: what is stupidity? it has to be defined first. What kinds of exists? 
 which ones dewelop out of metal disabilitys and which ones out of just 
 not thinking enough? who is allowed to judge? is puting ones interests 
 higher, than the ones of society stupid? in which cases?
 istu

 remarks: 6-8 millions is defenitly underrated
 istu

 I would've thought stupidity understood from a rather universal perspective.
 Agarton 17:07, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

 [sorry, forget then to look for responses]
 (i might know what you mean, but that is no way to defining something). so: 
  who can take a universal perspective?   
 When you take a real universal perspective, do you see then that stupididy is something build in, part of the plan?
  Or is from a universal perspective: you have to be stupid not to see that you saw at part of the tree that you re 
  sitting on (but if you  fall off out of stupidity, isnt that better for the tree, he just lost parts of it, but 
  not all).
 istu 16:06, 06 August 2009 (UTC)

 In terms of numbers, I wish to qualify this, but I admit it's 2nd hand
 knowledge and still waiting for a reference.
 Agarton 17:06, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

 but this is not really relevant anyway, its to many people, much to many
 istu 16:06, 06 August 2009 (UTC)

Response

You can't fight stupidity, but you can defend against it. Make great, inspiring, motivating art... and remind people that if they're a little stupid, they don't have to be bad! 

 qu: what does bad mean? and who is do deside that?
 istu

 Bad? Ok, you got me there... left myself wide open on that one.
 Agarton 17:06, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

 at least you used "bad" and not "evil" :-)). no, its the same problem, as with stupidity. you need to define a 
 system or parameters of systems, inside these then you can say, what makes the system not work proberly, 
 is bad, and people not seeing this and acting again, are stupid.  (thats an easy way with lot of problems, like 
  systmes show always just parts of reality, whatever this is.)
  and remind them, that they need art, and artists so they have to buy, that the artists can live and produce art.
 istu 16:06, 06 August 2009 (UTC)

Homogenisation

Surely a by-product of stupidity is the making of all things the same: homogenisation, or sameness. By enclosing public goods in legal frameworks that protect and secure private ownership of them we lose the freedoms and motivations to innovate. The net result is a culture that stagnates, that breeds indifference in its populations of luxuriated somebodies, that cannot grow and enrich its inhabitants where everything sounds, smells and looks the same.

We have no hope of breeding stupidity out when sameness becomes the dominant feature of our so called developed societies,. We can, however, defend against it. 

 remarks: "stupidity" needs sameness to cope, needs sameness, 
 because you are not afraid from what you know. but there will 
 always be people, that will be bored with that. "the problem is" 
 that because of the world wide communication tools, the tendencies 
 of sameness are entering a new stage. you dont have to be the same 
 as the others in your village, you have to be the same as the 
 others in the whole world. (60% of male collage teenagers in the 
 usa think that an intercourse has to end with shooting the load into 
 the girls face.) who makes the most popular content defines the basis 
 of sameness.

Response

Critical to our defence against sameness is a revitalisation of the commons – the reclamation of resources that ought not be owned by any single individual or entity, but protected and managed for all, including every single known biomass.

It is critical that we, as artists, grow a commons based culture that innovates through collective effort for the benefit of the many, not the personal nor private and vested interests of a few.

Homogenisation is the enemy of diversity on all levels of life. There's no argument. If the core of all life is sustained through diversity and if humans have less genetic diversity than a lecture room full of chimpanzees, why are we trying to make everything the same?

Mix it up and give it away. Make work derived from all that inspires you and do so freely and openly. Support flexible and open licenses and use more bottom up forms of distribution. After all, how much money do we really need to lead a sane, comfortable and sustainable lifestyle? 

 remark: more then most people of the world have. more then most 
 of the artists of the world have. Less then that what is in the 
 hand of the richtest 3% of the world population.

People

Not all people are stupid. The city of Graz would sink into the Mur River if stupidity prevailed in the design of the city's foundations. The people who grow its food and sell it at Franz Joseph Markets are generally not stupid. They can do things that most of us can't. Stand out in the open and sell their produce at minus zero temperatures for one! Some may say that's stupid, but not if you're wanting a fresh, locally farmed trout or typically Styrian schnaps to finish off tonight's dinner. The alternative is sameness.

The forest communities of Sarawak are not stupid either. Sarawak is on the island of Borneo. The people who govern Sarawak are stupid and powerful. Stupidity and power is the worst kind of stupid. It destroys peoples lives, it removes them from their native lands, it puts them into ghettos under the guise of development and punishes the land by removing the entire biomass and replacing it with cash crop monoculture.

Response

Stupidity can't be fought, but it can be defended against. Use your work to raise the consciousness of people in society. Help them to make more informed decisions about what they consume and why? 

 remark: most of the people do not want hear and learn about, 
 because it is to tiresome. So first you have to bring them back 
 to wanting to hear and to learn, than you can inform them.

Being OK all the time

People, despite the stupid ones, are entirely amazing... What we have achieved, what we have created, what we know, what we are yet to find and the utterly mind blowing planet that supports us, is what inspires and motivates me the most. 

 remark: there are many "stupid" people, who also achiving many 
 good and interesting things or are good chraftsmen, or ...

In spite of all that ails us, in spite of the mantras and policies of warmongering governments and so called peoples movements, in spite of the appalling depression and anxiety our so called developed world imposes, I am inspired to sustain, at the very least, a reasonable sense of being okay all the time... and I mean, all the time. Try it... Why do we have to feel bad about feeling good? What's wrong with feeling good all the time? Anxiety is NOT normal! 

 remark: whats the recipe of feeling good, if you look around with 
 open eyes and see all the "stupidity" and poverty and hate and 
 destroying of earth.

Response

Be kind to each other, spend less time online and be in the world.

Learn to love this planet because, despite us being made of the same stuff of stars, we got no where else to go... I find that terrifically compelling!

Notes

Additional issues and responses include:

  • Design
  • Technology
  • Growing the commons

Endnotes

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