Trebor Scholz invited me to join this endeavor. My name is Gregory
Sholette. I am a co-founder of the artists' collectives Political Art
Documentation and Distribution (1980-86) and REPOhistory (1989-2000). In
addition, I have been actively writing/theorizing/historicizing about
art collectives and collective practices for some time. One of these
texts that might be of relevance to you and this discussion is my essay
entitled "Counting on Your Collective Silence: Notes on Activist Art as
Collaborative Practice," first published in the journal Afterimage in
1999. You can read the entire essay as well as others on my TEXT page
at: http://plaza.ufl.edu/yuezhang/ BUT in brief the text is an attempt
to complicate assumptions about collective work including the notion
that it is about finding a "unified voice." In it I argue that
disagreement and difference is more often the basis for collective work
than unanimity. I also assert that the standard opposition of collective
Vs individual is irrelevant today in so far as we are already
collectivized by corporate marketing technology even as mass media
continues to project an image of hardy individuality. The
question/challenge I arrive at is this: does one ignore these facts and
remain collective in a passive, reflexive way, or choose instead to work
actively as a collective force of resistance and opposition? I am
particularly focused on these questions as they relate to issues of
public space, democracy (economic and political), and activism and would
like to see the conference take these concerns up as they relate to new
media.
thank you for inviting to be part of this discussion/collaboration.
gregory