OAS Node #1 [July 14]

Alternate Economies (Barter)

[Session 7]

• Workshop: Barter: Theory and Practice with Caroline Woolard of OurGoods.org
• Hosted by EYEBEAM

[NOTES]: I took a page-and-a-half of notes during the two-hour seminar, which I would be happy to share. Caroline said she would follow-up by sharing her booklist on barter and alt.economies (gift/barter/market) and the slideshow she created for the presentation. The workshop provided participants an opportunity to examine our existing notions about barter, gifting and these non-monetary systems' place in society and markets. We examined anthropological work on the subject, including Graeber's from Debt. Caroline cited the work of Caroline Humphrey on the nomadic Lohmi traders of Tibet as a prime influence, and also works by Allan Fiske and Marshall Sahlins. I think Louise Ma of Trade School was one of the attendees of our workshop; OurGoods and Trade School are I gather operating on a mutual aid basis, with some core members (like Caroline Woolard) in both orgs. Caroline also gave examples of barter models, from ancient Greece to the local present, to expand our understanding of how barter has worked or can work in different kinds of situations and societies, and what limitations or hazards apply to barter in practice, rather than theory or analytics. Participants shared food and drink, engaged in a barter game/team session and at the end of the workshop shared "haves" and "needs" in the format of OurGoods.

∞

Authorship & Appropriation in Contemporary Art

[Session 8]

• Printed Matter, Inc. (Chelsea)
• The opening of HELP/LESS
• Organized by artist Chris Habib

[NOTES]: (This entry is a stub/communique) Leaving EYEBEAM and the OurGoods workshop, I noticed a cool-looking artist happening on 21st... Turned the corner and noticed Max Schumann outside Printed Matter on 10th. He told me about the ambitious Printed Matter summer project HELP/LESS. Max invited me into the bustling artist bookstore, to check out the opening night's happ'nin's, which were awesome. Click on the image above for more details and the calendar of events. I think Max explained that the interactive art event I'd passed was connected to the opening, which made sense. Every time I visit PM, my respect for Max and this venerable Chelsea art-org grows. HELP/LESS is a compelling, must-see/-play exhibit cum program, diving into the murky swampwaters of art- and intellectual property-ism, post-web, post-modernism, post-reproduction/mechanical age, post-Dispersion, post-4chan, pre-image Apocalypse. The crush of content in the PM shop is introduced by a storefront (the same one we Occupied last fall) that appears to present art star worx that actually are derivatives or outright replicants. PM has fearlessly confronted in Habib's HELP/LESS the copyright (or -wrong) regime of idea ownership and originality/original-ism that besets the culture at every turn, from Tumblr to tee shirts to texts to the YouTube-infected art haus. Speaking of tee shirts, Max said I could score a Yoko Ono tee in exchange for a great idea at PM (quantities while they last, I presume)... Max is going to be busy for the next few months (he always is) - working on a CoLab book, co-ordinating the string of in-store and online events for HELP/LESS, and, we hope, finally getting to give us an Occupational Art lesson on artist books - the one we tried to do at the Spatial Occupation @Hyperallergic, but which didn't pan out for that residency. 

∞

[Follow-up]: Met Cody and Natalie at Bat Haus; we are making progress on our discussion about OAS siting there... STAY TUNED!

A photo from Bat Haus member & stylist Falosha Martin's shoot on location @BH. (click BH's blog link for more 411)

ATDD @EYEBEAM [Video]

Great footage of Seth Wulsin powering direct democracy [J28] about a minute in.

New Photos by Paul Talbot!

Activist Technology Demo Day (Photo by Paul Talbot)

View the new galleries HERE.

More Photos from the Activist Tech Demo Day at EYEBEAM

OwA co-organizer Seth Wulsin generates energy during ATDD at EYEBEAM. (PHOTO: Chris Cobb)

Activist geeks talk shop at ATDD at EYEBEAM. (PHOTO: Chris Cobb)

Update: Activist Technology Demo Day & Other Occupy Art News

At EYEBEAM, on Saturday [j28], Occupy with Art participated in the Activist Technology Demo Day, along with other occupiers like the OWS Tech Ops, and the folks who McGyvered the bicycle-driven generators at Zuccotti Part during the occupation last fall. Some amazing apps were on display, with the app-makers on-hand to answer questions and bandy around new ideas for collaborations and exchange. It was a really great event! OwA co-organizers Chris Cobb, Paul McLean and Seth Wulsin passed out Yoko Ono/OWS Wish Tree cards to the many attendees packing the workshop/presentation space, and talked about the projects we're working on for 2012. Paul Talbot came by to photograph the event (we'll post those when they're processed), and CO-OP/Occuburbs/-fest coordinator Chris Moylan came by as well. Quite a few folks from OWS and Arts & Culture supported, too, including Owen, who's working with Rachel Shragis on translations of the Declaration Flow Chart, and Jez of Archive WG, who was still wearing the (fake) bloody shirt he'd worn for his kickoff performance at the previous evening's Occupy Museums intervention at MoMA. We displayed the new blanks of the Declaration with the finished print at our table (see photos), along with handmade signs by Chris Cobb, some flyers from the occupation, relevant texts, and Adrian Rocchio's GA hand signal prints. An informal panel inspired some passionate conversation about technology's impact on activist praxis, at one point almost switching to People's Mic mode, when the wireless microphones glitched out.

Some notable activist tech people/projects:

• Vibe app: a new GeoSocial App with which users send Mini-Blogs with Anonymous and Self-Destruct options.  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vibe/id433067417?mt=8

• Augmented Reality Activists: an archive, a meeting place, and a  knowledge center for activists working with augmented reality  http://augmentedrealityactivists.blogspot.com/

• Signal Strength:  It consists of modules for ad-hoc social networking that let people in an urban area interact offline, leveraging their mobile phones for untraceable communications. http://www.ameliamarzec.com/signalstrength.html

We were able to meet-up with these folks to talk about their participating in some of our 2012 programs, like Wall Street to Main Street and CO-OP, and the Space Team residency at Hyperallergic (which starts on Wednesday - more details soon).

>>

Other Occupy Art News:

• Occupy Museums is on a tear! Check out the latest news, photos and video HERE.
• Occupy Town Square is happening right now at Washington Square Park! Get on over there!
• The Novads' Salon IV was, we heard, "loads of wild fun - think all the freedoms we enjoyed in the park this Fall, but indoors :)" - kudos to the Revolutionary Gamers and all who joined in on another memorable occupy-fun happening!
• The Tax Dodgers hit one out of the park last week & are planning a doubleheader for next week. Stay tuned for details!

OwA @Activist Technology Demo Day [EYEBEAM] Tomorrow!

Occupy with Art will be participating in Activist Technology Demo Day, hosted by EYEBEAM, tomorow [Saturday, January 28 from 3-6PM]. Come down, get your Occupy activist geek on, and meet/swap ideas with our team and other similarly occupied peeps (like the Tech-op wizards of OWS). We'll be talking about the upcoming OwA projects like Wall Street to Main Street, Low Lives: Occupy, CO-OP/Occuburbs/-fest, the OWS Spatial Team residency at Hyperallergic, passing out the Yoko Ono/OWS Wish Tree for Zuccotti Park multiples, and swapping info on how OwA and Occupy artists around the globe are imagining new models for 99% economies, exhibitions, alliances, and more, and how today's latest technologies are enabling our efforts and the movement as a whole. Come & join us!

Here's the press release:

Activist Technology Demo Day
http://demo-day.org

Saturday, January 28 3-6pm

Urban Research Group 

Eyebeam Art + Technology Center

540 W 21st, New York, NY 

http://eyebeam.org

From Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street, technology has played an important role in shaping contemporary resistance and the representation of these events in the media. What new tools of protest and occupation have emerged over the past year? How does their use help to shape tomorrow’s democracies? The Urban Research Group @ Eyebeam and The Public School New York  have invited activists, technologists, artists, designers, and community organizers who have a working prototype of an activist technology to occupy a worktable at Eyebeam and share their work with the public. Drawn from proposals submitted through an open call, we have selected a group of projects and communities that extend the creative use of technology and its social implications. Our interest is in creating a platform for encounter, conversation and collaboration. Visit http://demo-day.org/projects for participating project information.

This public event will culminate with a panel discussion at 5pm with special guest Stephen Duncombe, Associate Professor at the Gallatin School and the Department of Media, Culture and Communications of New York University and co-creator of the School for Creative Activism; Mary Mattingly, Eyebeam Fellow and the creator of  Waterpod; and moderated by Taeyoon Choi, Eyebeam Fellow and member of The Public School New York committee.

OwA @Activist Technology Demo Day [EYEBEAM]

Occupy with Art will be a presenter at Activist Technology Demo Day.

Saturday, January 28

Jan 28 3~6pm at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center 

[Details TBA]

From Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street, technology has played an important role in shaping contemporary resistance and the representation of these events in the media.

We do not believe technology is the main force behind these events and disagree with mainstream media’s phrases such as “Facebook Revolution” as it can lead to a misguided perception of the different movements in general and overshadow the more complex social conditions and regional characteristics specific to each. However we do believe technological innovation has always played a role in social movements and there is a need for collective investigation into the current potential of technologies deployed for activist purposes. Learning from Occupy Wall Street in the fall of 2011, we can collaboratively plot a blueprint for works in near-future.

  

                 

By using the term Activist Technology, we want to focus on tools of protest and occupation for this event.  We are curious about anything from strategic use of social networking sites to bicycle powered generators, instant architecture to anti-police violence suits, real-time video streaming to counter-surveillance tools. Our interest extends to the creative use of technology and designing its social implications.

We invite activists, technologists, artists, designers, and community organizers who have a working prototype or a proposal for collaboration to occupy a desk at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center, NYC on Jan 28 3~6pm. The Activist Technology Demo Day will be open to the public and promoted through Eyebeam and collaborators’ media channels. It will be an opportunity to meet with other makers with similar interests. The day will culminate with a discussion with members of the Eyebeam Urban Research Group and The Public School New York at 5pm.

Eyebeam Urban Research Group and The Public School New York

For more information on the organizers 

Tue - Sat, 12 - 6PM / 212.937.6580 / 540 W 21st St. New York, NY 10011

(map)

SpaceBank

A Latin American virtual community investment bank trading online since the beginning of the Otra Campaña Zapatista in 2005.

Open your account with only $10 USD, and invest on the Brooklyn Stock Exchange <http://spacebank.org/bsex/>.

For exchange currency rate of the Digital Material Sunflower consult
--> http://palple.net/widgets/currencyconverter/

http://spacebank.org

This was started by Eyebeam resident Fran Ilich: http://eyebeam.org/people/fran-ilich

Read Amelia Marzec's article about SpaceBank and OWS in the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amelia-marzec/artist-brings-virtual-cur_b_1080436.html