Reflections on CFront 01
Thinking about CFront and the meaning, the content and the result(which is still to be seen) I go through talks we all had, through Newspaers, mailng list and my own mind. The word Network appears as a most frequently used. What it means? Were we trying to create a network or we already become a part of one? The critique goes to all acting from a personall mindset but also to rest of us. The trait we plyed in Plovdiv is common one and it ususaly lasts to the break of time/space continuum. As proven in many cases the communication tends to fade away when phisical presence seize to exist. The claim that internet is a global mean of communication is no longer true. We the artists who work in new media feel that once it's all left to net communication the things will not happen. And communication dies. That comes from a mistaken belief that media is saviour, a content, a solution. It's neither. It's just a tool, a tool that needs to be used in a proper way. The intention and content are the crutial for maintaining the communication. But before we arrive to that we, each one of us, must define a clear position in society and the position defines the kind of communication. That means that we have to have free will + need + energy to engage in to any communication. Further more the common interest, coming out of personal devotion and position, must be in place. The problem is rooted deeply in to society and our need to play "the game" for personal gain and that's what happened to most of the Exhibition/Festival/Institution structures that became more important than Art they present. And of course artists and critiques are in he front lines of that batle. CFront can and hopefully will do different. All it takes is a bit of an effort by all of us that took part, effort to take the responsibility and do our share. Can that be done in an open Network with no Co-ordinators, no leaders and with a clear goal to create a new teritorry for action, free of traits of mighty centres, and communication that in the end will have an impact to the societies we all live in(that includes cyber too)? I think it can be done and it depends only on us. But in past week we concentrated so much on the Network itself we forgot the production/art we all do. The development must be parallel, of a network and it's result in a form of an interface. Therefore the focus should be shifted from the structure to the content and that could be a priority in time to come. The rest, the platform(mail list, site, personal contacts) we already have. So lets go for it!