Editorial Statement about PHOTOSTATIC's
Three-year Hiatus from 1990-1993
Published in RETROFUTURISM no. 13, August, 1991
From January 1, 1990 to January 1, 1993, PHOTOSTATIC
MAGAZINE is participating in the Art Strike which has been called for
internationally by various Art Strike Action Committees. THE
TAPE-BEATLES, a collective of audio artists long associated with PhotoStatic,
PhonoStatic, RadioStatic, etc., will not be participating in the Art Strike.
The Art Strike is concerned with the inevitable reduction of all cultural
interactions, including the arts, to the level of a commodity relation.
Art is conceptually defined by a self-perpetuating elite and is marketed
as an international commodity. The activity of its production has been
mystified and co-opted, and its practitioners have become manipulable and
marginalized through self-identification with the term "artist"
and all it implies. The Art Strike calls for a closer examination of these
propositions, and an active dialog to heighten awareness of an honest appraisal
of the situation that "artists" face today.
On the other hand, it is clear that easy access to the means of artistic
production (via photocopiers and cassette tapes) has already altered the
material relations between some cultural workers (known by some as "artists")
and the objects they produce. This results in a changed set of social relations,
since access to the means of production is no longer necessarily controlled
or mediated by a class of "owners" (editors/galleries/critics,
via their "ownership" of the mechanisms of cultural validation).
Therefore, a network of cultural workers has evolved, producing and exchanging
their work amongst themselves, and creating a sub-culture: that of "networking."
This may serve as a successful model for other cultural interactions that
wish to thwart the tendency toward commodity relations. Other, as yet undiscovered,
forms may also be possible.
The issues which fuel the Art Strike are indeed urgent, but so are the
issues which fueled PHOTOSTATIC. Dialog and increased interaction is needed
in furtherance of both points of view; neither one is "correct"
or "incorrect." PhotoStatic has been laid to rest for the next
three years as a gesture of support for the Art Strike and its aims. YAWN (which
is not "art" but is "cultural work") will offer concrete
support to the Art Strike by offering a forum for discussion both for and
against. This magazine, RETROFUTURISM, will be ill-defined
at first as the editors and participants work to give it needed direction.
You, the reader can help by sending your opinions on anything that appears
in these pages. Each issue will begin with a "Dialog" section
that will select text from letters received and, if the editors decide
to comment, those words as well. In addition, there is need for writing
and graphics which take a stand on these, or other, issues. As with PHOTOSTATIC,
we do not want to be too specific as to what we editorially want from you,
the participant. We instead hope that you will help to define the content
of future issues by providing us with work that serves your own interests.
Proposals for regular columns are currently being sought. Your reviews
of any works are welcome and encouraged, and your comments on RETROFUTURISM
itself is also of great interest to us.
The Editors.
