#3 Epeli Hau'ofa "Our Sea of Islands"

"Human nature demands space for free movement, and the larger the space the better it is for people" (p.11)
Epeli Hau'ofa1

"[...] I ask whether 'our' history provides ways of thinking about identity and belonging that might work better for everyone than an increasingly branded citizenship--that is, an identity which you consume, like any other kind of goods."
Stephen Turner2

The question 'where are you from?' used to be easier to answer, but with maturity, it has become incredibly difficult ('Auckland' is seldom accepted by other New Zealanders). The difficulty lies in not only people's insistence that the question be answered, but answered correctly according to their pre-conceptions (surely you are from China? No, I'm not actually).

I remember becoming a real fan of Stephen Turner, who lectured my writing theory paper years ago, because I sensed in his writing a similar displeasure of being told what kind of New Zealander we ought to be, specifically that we must all be 'kiwis'. Turner views 'kiwiness' as a highly-managed convergence of different agendas driven by economic forces, which attracts me because it problematises patriotism as something engineered rather than heartfelt (I wouldn't call myself a patriot of any country).

But that is what grabs me about Hau'ofa's essay: his tone is (dare I say it?) patriotic without coming across as prescriptive. The generosity of calling for more space for everybody is appreciated as I hope such an enlarged world will be spacious enough for people who are reluctant to identify with any place.

Turner mentions that identities are additive, that is, it is a matter of being something AND something else, not this OR that while Hau'ofa portrays a fragmented Melanesia where migration does not necessarily change one's identity (the cited Tongan friend living in California remains 'one of us' and not Californicated). Both of these views imply that cultural identities may be retained indefinitely, which I find perhaps too strong an implication - I mean, if you were Taiwanese for seven years nearly fifteen years ago and can not really remember what it is to be Taiwanese, can this identity still remain in the additive sum of identities?

I wonder why there is not the option of opting out of discourses about place. Given all the promises of tolerance and multiplicity, I feel a bit cheated that an informed refusal remains an unacceptable position. Certain nationalisms are more aggressive and hard-nosed about cultural identities, others more benign and gentle, but it is always assumed that at some point one will participate in the discourses of place at that place. Yes, people all have to live somewhere, but I would like the possibility that this is no more than geography to be left open. I would like the old adage 'home is where the heart is' to be given its due credit by accepting that some people just don't know where their hearts are.


References

1. Hau'ofa, Epeli. "Our Sea of Islands", A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Sea of Islands, Suva, Fiji: The University of the South Pacific, 1993, pp.2-16.


2. Turner, Stephen. "'Inclusive exclusion': managing identity for the nation's sake in Aotearoa/New Zealand." Arena Journal. 28. (2007): pp.87. Gale Cengage Academic OneFile. Web. 22 May 2011.

#5 Hito Steyerl "Is a Museum a Factory?"

"What else is desperately missing from the museum-as-factory? An exit. If the factory is everywhere, then there is no longer a gate by which to leave it - there is no way to escape relenteless productivity" (p.232)
Hito Steyerl1

"Liden offers blankness - and its aural handmaiden, muteness - less as a critique or a way out than as a condition [...] In her work I sense a tacit acknowledgement that the jig is up, that being an artist is just another way of getting by, a coping strategy for living under late capitalism" (p.223)
Helen Molesworth2

I didn't think of this until opinions that Steyerl's claims are unsubstantiated prompted me to, but could the essay "Is a Museum a Factory?" be considered a manifesto? After all, art manifestos often intend to provoke strong reactions with their rhetoric. Steyerl's bold claims, the article's deliberate legibility (larger-than-usual, non-academic font), the political content - do these tick the boxes of what qualifies a piece of writing as a manifesto?

The manifesto's innate belief in revolution seems to be denied by Steyerl's less-than-optimistic 'there is no way to escape' conclusion. The seeping of work into leisure, the transformation of spectators into workers, Beller's idea that 'to look is to labour', the gallery/museum as a site of hyper-production: these ideas seem so all-encompassing and are presented so matter-of-factly it can be difficult to see a different reality.

But attempts to see a different reality do exist. Helen Molesworth offers Klara Liden's work as an example of an artist trying to 'break out' of this all-consuming system. Molesworth interprets a perceived 'embodied silence' in Liden's work as approaching the position of the Neutral. As proposed by Roland Barthes, the Neutral is the 'third term that disrupts the binary logic underwriting Western civilisation' (Molesworth, p.223) and possibly 'the only way out of the unbearable way in which we have all been turned into consumers' (Molesworth, p.223).

Yet, Molesworth later nudges her 'delight' towards 'something less than hope' by suggesting that Liden's work may be a description of the times rather than a critique (so what could have been an exit is really just another problem to work through). Steyerl's 'exit' is offered to us in a glib one-liner, devoid of any commitment to its realisation in the typical manner of final sentences. What is it about our current environment makes us so cautious to hope for something?

Regardless, the possibility of the manifesto comforts me. Steyerl's claims may or may not be substantiated, but her boldness in conceptualising a difficult reality remains commendable.

References

1. 
   
   
   
   Steyerl, Hito. "Is a Museum a Factory?" e-flux journal reader 2009, Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2009, pp 28-42.




2. Molesworth, Helen. "In Memory of Static." Artforum 49.07 (2011): pp.215-223. Print.

#4 Isabelle Graw "Beyond the Dualistic Art/Market Model'

'For we are all, in our own ways, linked to market conditions' (p.93)

Isabelle Graw1

'[T]he present historical situation [...] is characterised by the fact that judgments concerning the general situation proceed from a particular point of view. As a rule, particular existence always risks succumbing for lack of resources. It contrasts with general existence whose resources are in excess and for which death has no meaning.' (p.39)

Georges Bataille2

If I recall correctly, some members of our discussion group answered that their economic position is a consideration in their practice. Some remained quiet. Their quietness now provokes projection and hypotheses.

May this quietness imply a mootness that acknowledges the structural arbitrariness of exchange systems governing creative practices? Graw observes that although 'each individual artist does work toward his or her eventual position' (p.86), these positions remain 'not the result of a wilful act' but are 'attributed' (p.86). This provisional nature of decisions further complicates considerations of economic investment in materials/processes, especially for a young artist: in this hit-and-miss game, 'missing' is not really an option.

Another curious silence is the silence of artists who have stopped being artists. Graw argues the media is obsessed with successful artists due to the art world's correspondence to neoliberal ideologies of competition. Following this argument then, the lack of media interest in 'failed' artists is equally ideological: neoliberalism has no time for the 'non-competitive'. However, given the highly-pronounced contrast between the general and particular economy in the art world where a small minority of artists enjoy the vast majority share of commercial success, the 'fail' rate reflects structural issues which may have little to do with the actual merit of the art being dismissed.

Graw tentatively suggests the multi-faceted nature of the art market may offer a way forward as niches allow less commercially successful artists the financial means to support themselves. Considered together with greater scepticism towards the neoliberal market and new technologies facilitating market fragmentation, perhaps particular economies of individual artists may improve but the larger general economy looks prepared to keep on going.

References

1. 
   
   Graw, Isabelle. High Price: Art between The Market and Celebrity Culture. Berlin: Sternsberg Press, 2009. Print.


2. Bataille, Georges. The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy Volume 1. New York: Zone Books, 1988. Print.

Apologies

Sorry for lateness. The kitchen fire had nothing to with my earlier lateness but does have something to do with this week's lateness.

Overall, I shall do my best to write, right now.