activism

Originally written in April 2007. Minor edits: March 2010.

Preface

In the past 50 years the digital user-interface has become a major field of cultural production, since the innovations of Douglas Engelbart in the sixties (mouse/keyboard/video-screen) through the personal computer revolution in the eighties to the rise of the World Wide Web in the nineties and the wider trends for social web applications since the turn of the century. Producers of hardware and software systems have been attempting to develop interfaces that will direct the users to produce the interaction desired by the system they represent.

 

We have just uploaded the video documentation for one of the most interesting Upgrade events we had in the past year with Biella Coleman and Zach Lieberman discussing the tensions within the Free Software / Open Source world(s?) on the meaning of “free”. It explores the tensions between ethics and pragmatics, between “to free” and “to open”, between means and ends. If you’re interested in these issues I really recommend you check it out:

 

Edit (see comments): To view the video in other formats (other than the Flash player), visit the video’s page in Blip.tv.

 
Shared by reBlog @ Eyebeam

text logo that says MAG-Net Day of Action: We Want Equal Access and Open Networks

Internet access is likely to be one of the biggest social justice issues, as more and more resources, activity and organizing move online. There is a lot going on behind the scenes with the big telecomm companies and Congress around policies to regulate access to the internet. We need to stay vigilant and ensure that folks across the country, regardless of location or socioeconomic status, have access to affordable and reliable internet.

Today's Day of Action is all about that.

 
Book Details
Format: 
paperback, 144 pages
Publication Date: 
May 1997
ISBN: 
9781570270567
Category: 
Theory/Criticism
In Stock: 
yes

Electronic Civil Disobedience continues where The Electronic Disturbance leaves off, suggesting strategies of resistance to nomadic power, and investigating tactics of nonrationality to get at the core of autonomy. Fusing a situationist-influenced concept of contestational art, an understanding of the parallel nature of cultural and political action borrowed from Gramsci, and a hacker’s understanding of how new technology functions, Electronic Civil Disobedience refines an understanding of the nature of power and resistance in the information age.

 
People: Steve Kurtz, Critical Art Ensemble
Tags: hacking, activism
Book Details
Format: 
hardcover, 190 pages
Publication Date: 
May 2007
ISBN: 
9780816649549
Category: 
Theory/Criticism
In Stock: 
yes

When reporters asked about the Bush administration’s timing in making their case for the Iraq war, then Chief of Staff Andrew Card responded that “from an marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August.” While surprising only in its candor, this statement signified the extent to which consumer culture has pervaded every aspect of life. For those troubled by the long reach of the marketplace, resistance can seem futile. However, a new generation of progressive activists has begun to combat the media supremacy of multinational corporations by using the very tools and techniques employed by their adversaries.

 
People: Christine Harold
Research: Open Culture
Tags: politics, activism
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Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) is a collective of five tactical media practitioners of various specializations including computer graphics and web design, film/video, photography, text art, book art, and performance.

Formed in 1987, CAE's focus has been on the exploration of the intersections between art, critical theory, technology, and political activism. The group has exhibited and performed at diverse venues internationally, ranging from the street, to the museum, to the internet. Museum exhibitions include the Whitney Museum and The New Museum in NYC; The Corcoran Museum in Washington D.C.; The ICA, London; The MCA, Chicago; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; and The London Museum of Natural History.

Eyebeam CV
2006FExhibiting Artist
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2002FExhibiting Artist
SExhibiting Artist
 
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The Surveillance Camera Players (SCP) is a small, informal group of people who are unconditionally opposed to the installation and use of video surveillance cameras in public places. The SCP was formed in New York City in November 1996 by two groups of friends/activists: one centered around Michael Carter, the author of the manifesto for The Guerrilla Preprogramming of Video Surveillance Equipment (1995), and the other around Bill Brown, fresh from the Unabomber for President campaign (1996). Both share a strong interest in the theories and actions of the Situationist International, especially its use of scandals, pranks and "detournement" (diverting bland or oppressive materials for subversive purposes).

Eyebeam CV
2002FExhibiting Artist
S
 
Stephanie Rothenberg & Jeff Crouse - Invisible Threads

Stephanie Rothenberg & Jeff Crouse - Invisible Threads

Upgrade! NY continues its series on open source as it relates to activism and creative practice.

Within activist and creative practice there is a range of models for mobilizing the labor and creativity of the crowd (aka “crowdsourcing”). Both practices experiment with a spectrum of autonomy and control within those models. From distributed design to distributed fundraising, MoveOn to Mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcer issues a call and creates structure for participation.

 

What do we mean by ‘freedom’? Should Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) necessarily be powered by radical politics of ownership and collaboration? Or is the latching of “Free Software” ideological baggage limiting the full transformative power of “Open Source”. How are these questions informed by licenses? Are some licenses more open than others? More ethical than others? This emotional debate has been in the heart of FLOSS from its early days and has created camps and animosities within the community.

Upgrade! NY continues its program series on open source as it relates to activism and creative practice. Join us for a discussion and debate on what constitutes freedom within the Open Source and Free Culture movements. We will examine the strong ideological differences through a provocative panel discussion with Gabriella Coleman and Zachary Lieberman.

 
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