Dissident Art; New Media Art

Kakav smisao ima danas pisanje o devedesetim godinama dvadesetog veka? Čini se da su već otišle u „bezdan zaborava”. Upravo zato mi se čini važnim da se zabeleže ti, u početku mali, usamljeni akti otpora, da se vidi da nije „sve bilo isto”, umrljano konformizmom, nacionalizmom, bez empatije, ukaljano šovinizmom i beskrupuloznim bogaćenjem. I nas danas određuje ono što uzimamo kao vrednost koja zrači iz prošlosti. Alternativa i umetnost otpora uvek su imale važnost, slojevitu jednostavnost, ali i mrežnu prepletenost, no, uprkos tome, kako u svom vremenu opstaju na marginama tokova javne komunikacije, tako i u sećanju nemaju mesto koje bi im pripadalo, imajući u vidu značajne, no malo vidljive, skrivene uticaje koje su vršile u polju kontrajavnosti – polju koje je jedino moglo da im pruži mogućnost predstavljanja i komunikacije. Ipak, kontrajavnost u Srbiji imala je lakši zadatak no što su ga mogli obaviti disidenti u drugim totalitarnim zemljama širom sveta, koji su se morali služiti jakim simbolima i metaforama („gradovi tišine”, „gradovi sreće”, „glasovi” nestalih, nevidljivih ljudi, demos Demonijanije itd.) da bi preneli poruku o otporu (Dragićević Šešić M., 2014: 08). Ona je devedesetih imala svoje, ma koliko malobrojne, medije, imala za sobom i veliki deo univerzitetske (tihe) javnosti, i poneku ustanovu kulture koja je opstajala u sivoj zoni. Ova knjiga mala je zabeleška o toj kontrajavnosti otpora – umetničkoj i kulturnoj kontrajavnosti devedesetih. To je bila specifična zajednica znanja, koja je počela da razvija novu produkciju pojmova, kontekstualizovanih prema potrebama vremena – od prava na pobunu, prava na građansku neposlušnost, razumevanja našeg cezarizma, ljudskih prava i kao individualnih, ali i kao kolektivnih čak i kad kolektiv kao takav nije priznat, solidarnosti i empatije u vremenima sukoba, itd.
Ova knjiga jeste specifičan nastavak prethodne knjige - Umetnost i alternativa. Uzimajući u obzir iskustva alternative i performativne politike iz doba kulture nade (Mojsi, 2012), ona piše o alternativi i uličnim izvedbama u doba kulture poniženja, straha i beznađa. Njen vremenski obuhvat odrediće dva politička događaja: 9. mart 1991. i 5. oktobar 2000. godine, iako će se, nužno, morati govoriti i o fenomenima koji im prethode, i o nekim pojavama koje, iako nastale u kontrajavnosti devedesetih, traju do današnjeg dana (poput borbe za društvenu pravdu, borbe za slobodu umetničkog iskaza i govora, za alternativnu kulturu sećanja i za umetničke prostore namenjene civilnom društvu).
Tematsko-analitičkom perspektivom ove knjige napravljen je otklon od pojmova političke ili angažovane umetnosti, upravo stoga što su fenomeni koji su se osamdesetih nazivali političkim pozorištem, kao i literatura koja je dominirala čitalačkim prostorom (stvarnosna proza), bili u ključu nacionalnog buđenja, odmaka od komunizma, jugoslovenstva, vezivanjem za desna kretanja, dok je umetnost otpora i pobune devedesetih – umetnost „alternative” – uglavnom projugoslovenska, kosmopolitska i „leva”, ma kako se različita značenja u nju upisivala.
Narativi alternativne umetnosti – umetnosti protesta i pobune – otpor su nacionalizmu, mitovima, ksenofobiji... U različitim umetničkim žanrovima dela su ostvarivala vremenske i prostorne transgresije, uspostavljajući odnos prema umetničkoj avangardi i konceptualnoj umetnosti, s jedne strane, i prelazeći iz ustanova u javni prostor, s druge strane. Istovremeno, ove umetničke prakse prevazilaze i prekoračuju uobičajene granice žanrova ostvarujući transmedijalni pristup političkim pitanjima savremenosti. One se koriste transmedijalnošću polazeći od kulturnog nasleđa čovečanstva, od antičke Grčke (Zorica Jevremović), do umetničke avangarde dvadesetih (Dah Teatar), pa uzimajući u obzir i savremene političke prakse koje žele da kritikuju. Transmedijalno pripovedanje je u stvari nit koja povezuje ova dela, kao i politike i strategije umrežavanja, participacije i inkluzije kojima se stvara kontrajavnost, umetnička disidentska alternativna scena devedesetih.

A cyberconflict perspective would discuss how politico-economic reforms, the media environment, and e-governance have affected dissent in China (i.e. communist party ideology, constructions of social and political identities, representations of and by dissidents, and link to e-governance; control of information, level of censorship; alternative sources; media effects on policy; political contest). Second cluster of elements of concern would be the effect of ICTs on mobilization structures, organizational forms, participation, recruitment, tactics and goals of dissidents, as well as changes in framing processes and the impact of the political opportunity structure on resistances. Third, in relation to ethnic, ethnoreligious and cultural dissent, how the communist party state and dissident group identities are constructed in relation to ethnic/religious/cultural difference, and the national and competing idetities construction. Also, hacktivism (or invariably termed digital activism, tech activism, cyberactivism) and information warfare in China would be discussed in a variety of settings, especially in relation to social networking media and contemporary dissent. As this chapter is of a more limited nature, it restricts in discussing a few of the most relevant components especially relevant to recent events in the history of Chinese dissent, namely the political and historical context, media components and e-governance, and dissent in China in the age of social media.

"El mundo se divide, sobre todo, entre indignos e indignados, y ya sabrá cada quien de qué lado quiere o puede estar... “Above all, the world is divided in unworthy and outraged people. And it is up to each one of us to decide what side we want to or we can take." Eduardo Galeano
Angel Santiesteban-Prats - su acción cívica y obra literaria - también ayudan a definir, en el caso de Cuba, a un tipo especifico de  literatura  de ficcion que se nos revela como discurso ético,  una «ética de la indignación»
It’s only through a study of a writer’s Aesthetics & Ethics that one can gain an understanding of the true significance of his Art. Santiesteban-Prats created a unique form of prose: the authour’s own view on man and reality in the context of Cuba in the 21st century. The present study explores the socio-philosophical roots of Santiesteban-Prats’s aesthetics; how  Cuban reality is used as the object of his creative work. The radical society of his time feels that he is one of their own kind. Truth is the ideal aesthetic of his work.  The government’s reaction was swift and brutal. The writer was condemned to prison.

------> Now available as open-source e-book at https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/uscpress_pub/7/ <------

_Unvarnishing Reality_ draws original insight to the literature, politics, history, and culture of the cold war by closely examining the themes and goals of American and Russian satirical fiction. As Derek Maus illustrates, the paranoia of nuclear standoff provided a subversive storytelling mode for authors from both nations--including Thomas Pynchon, Robert Coover, John Barth, Walker Percy, Don DeLillo, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Vasily Aksyonov, Yuz Aleshkovsky, Alexander Zinoviev, Vladimir Voinovich, Fazil Iskander, and Sasha Sokolov." ///// REVIEWS:

"The breadth of Maus's critical reading is impressive and sets his text apart from other treatments of Cold War literature that include Soviet and/or Russian material.[...] Highly recommended."

  -- Brian Diemert, _Choice_ (Dec. 2011) /////

"Maus's study constantly engages in suggestive juxtapositions between American and Russian works that shed fresh light on their narrative practices."

  -- David Seed, _Utopian Studies_ 23.2 (2012) /////

"Maus has read voluminously in his subject, both in the literature and in critical studies [...]. He is to be applauded for his fresh readings of dystopian classics as well as for bringing lesser-known writers into the story.[...] If a reader is looking for a quick survey of Russian and American Cold War fiction, this is it."

    -- Denise Youngblood, _Slavic Review_ 71.3 (Fall 2012) /////

"Maus’s analysis of the individual texts will give the reader new ways of thinking about them. Historians who work on the cultural history of the era will no doubt want to consider the insights he offers into the language and philosophy of satirical fiction."

  -- Mara Drogan, _Cold War History_ 13.2 (2013) /////

"On the US side, the closest analogy to the totalitarian system is the totalizing drive of certain languages—anticommunist, mediatic-consumerist, bureaucratic, technologically utopian—chiefly in the American 1950s and then again in the 1980s [...] To be sure, none of these coalesce into the langue de bois (the “wooden tongue”) that all but takes over public discourse in the East, nor do they enjoy the logistical and institutional backing afforded by the Kremlin apparatus, Pynchonian paranoia notwithstanding. And yet, Maus is right: the satire of mainstream, institutional, or 'official' idioms is one kind of literature that formally and thematically can be said to bring together—and thus render comparable—writers from saliently different systems."

  -- Christian Moraru, _American Literature_ 85.2 (June 2013)

RESUMEN En el sudeste de Manhattan, un entramado de más de 50 jardines salpica el tejido reticular del barrio de Loisaida. Desde los años 60, distintos agentes ciudadanos: vecinos, artistas y arquitectos como Matta-Clark o Fuller, implementan los es-pacios verdes y equipamientos de los que el barrio carece. Mediante procesos y dinámicas afectivo-disidentes, activan espacios comunitarios y autogestionados. A través de arquitecturas cuyos parámetros de generación se alejan del diseño tradicional y de las hegemonías, se apropian de la ciudad y reprograman el espacio público a partir de la creación de espacio común. Gradas, domos y casitas constituyen, con sus formas vernáculas y kitsch, una red cuyo corazón es el histórico solar de La Plaza Cultural. Los jardines comunitarios configuran una red Do it yourself de espacios deslocalizados pero conectados con lo público, tecnificados y con códi-gos propios que se oponen al mercado inmobiliario, a la invasión mediática, a la globalización y a la apropiación de lo público por parte de lo privado, conformando una infraestructura alternativa de lo común. SUMMARY In the southeast of Manhattan, a framework of more than 50 gardens dots the reticular fabric of the neighbourhood of Loisaida. From the 1960s, several city agents-neighbours, artists and architects such as Matta-Clark or Fuller-implement the green spaces and public facilities lacking in the neighbourhood. They activate common and self-managed spaces through affective-dissenting dynamics and processes. Making use of architectural elements whose creation parameters are far from the hegemonies and traditional designs, they take the city over and reprogram the public space through the generation of common space. Stands, domes and casitas (tiny-houses) constitute, with their vernacular and kitsch forms, a network whose heart is the historical lot of La Plaza Cultural. Community gardens shape a Do it yourself network of delocalised but related to the status of public spaces, automated and owning their own codes against the real estate market, the invasion of the media, the globalization and the appropriation of the public resources as private, providing an alternative to the ordinary structure. A unque desde la segunda guerra mundial los barrios del sur de la isla de manhattan, como loisaida, little italy, chinatown o el soho, ya mostraban signos de decadencia, fue en la crisis económica y financiera de los 70, cuando se convirtió la zona en un tejido residencial salpi-cado de solares inutilizados y edificios derruidos. Pese al abandono administrativo y a la falta de inver-sión privada, en el barrio de loisaida 1 habitaban, aunque generalmente de forma ilegal 2 , muchos inmigrantes newcomers y old-timers portorriqueños 3. desde 1973, estos vecinos fueron creando una red de espacios comunita-rios que, de forma espontánea y difusa 4 , combatía la falta de equipamientos y zonas verdes del barrio. el grupo charas 5 , descrito por mottel como "un mo-vimiento de desarrollo comunitario autogestionado y procreativo" 6 , apostó por la apropiación y rehabilitación, convirtiendo los solares abandonados en áreas de expe-rimentación. desde 1965, colaboraban con artistas y ar-quitectos como buckminster Fuller y gordon matta-clark que contribuyeron a la cristalización de estas espacialida-des alternativas de afecto y disidencia. los arquitectos favorecieron la creación de herramien-tas y procesos de autogestión propios en la comunidad, ayudando a la supervivencia y en ocasiones a la legaliza-ción de los espacios. sus arquitecturas, autoconstruidas y sin pedigree, consolidadas a lo largo de años, hoy con-forman jardines comunitarios que se mantienen aparta-dos del espacio público sin dejar de estar conectados a él y presentan, además, tecnologías y códigos propios. este artículo reflexiona sobre el papel de los arquitec-tos que influyeron no solo en la construcción sino tam-bién en el proceso de formación de un entramado social hoy en día muy consolidado, que funciona como una red de acción Do it yourself 7 (en adelante DIY) en el barrio de loisaida. la red de jardines comunitarios del sudeste de 1. Un término espanglish para Low East Side. 2. SEVCENKO, Liz. Making Loisaida: Placing Puertorriqueñidad in Lower Manhattan. En: Agustín LAÓ-MONTES; Arlene M. DÁVILA, ed. Mambo Montage: The Latinization of New York. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001, pp. 293-317. 3. La segunda oleada de portorriqueños llegados tras la segunda guerra mundial se alojó en su mayoría en Loisaida, delimitado al norte por la 14th St., al sur por la East Houston St., al oeste por Bowery St. y al este por el East River. MARTINEZ, Miranda J.

Russian dissident artist Pyotr (or Petr) Pavlensky received international attention after a video was broadcast in 2013 that depicted him sitting in Red Square in Moscow with his scrotum nailed to the cobblestones. The incident was later revealed to be part of a series of works of performance art enacted by Pavlensky, which included sewing his own mouth shut, appearing naked within a coil of barbed wire in front of the legislature, building a mock barrier of flaming tires in downtown St Petersburg in imitation of the political uprisings in Kiev, cutting off his own ear while sitting naked on the wall of the Serbsky Psychiatric Hospital, and setting fire to the wooden doors of the headquarters of the Russian Secret Service. Although the Rus-sian authorities have attempted on several occasions to treat Pavlensky as if he were criminally insane, he continues to articulately defend his activities as works of dissident political art. This article explores the idea that Pav-lensky is deliberately using transduction as a tool through which his work achieves meaning. Pavlensky consciously invokes two different fields of cultural interpretation. The first is the adherence of authorities to the Russian Criminal Code, which is used to exert despotic control over the Russian people. The second is the international discourse surrounding avant-garde art,

Since our last issue, there has been a seeming explosion of interest in Asian art in London and the UK, with a series of exhibitions and symposia on the topic taking place in recent months. I suspect this new-found fervour is Olympics related, and in our last issue we included an announcement of the Suits and Saris exhibition, curated by Editor Amy Jane Barnes, as part of the Cultural Olympiad. But perhaps the most visible and lasting legacy of the Olympic’s cultural project is Anish Kapoor’s installation, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, which looms over the park in Stratford, and is now the UK’s largest piece of public art....