The Internet and Space

Please find below a copy of a letter sent by Michelle Maccarone to a vast array of art schools and other folk regarding Christoph Büchel’s recent fight with tha law and Mass MoCA. He lost. Tha law won. I encourage everyone to research this situation. Not a very good decision for artists and, ultimately, art.
The piece was to be entitled, “Training Ground for Democracy.” Check it:

OPEN LETTER

To:
John Baldessari, Kris Kuramitsu, Weston Naef, Cathy Opie, Ann Philbin, Paul
Schimmel;
and the Deans or Chairs of:
Art Center College of Design, California Institute of the Arts, Claremont
Graduate University, Otis College of Art and Design, University of
California in Irvine, University of California in Riverside, University of
California in Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California

January 29, 2008

Re: LA25

Dear Colleagues,

In the summer of 2006, the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
LLP (³Skadden Arps²) announced a three-year program, LA25, intended to aid
twenty-five artists from a select group of Southern California art schools
and university art departments. I write to you in order to bring to your
attention the fact that Skadden Arps is also the law firm that counseled and
represented the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (³Mass MoCA²), pro
bono, in Mass MoCA¹s recent lawsuit against artist Christoph Büchel. As you
may know, Mass MoCA sued Mr. Büchel in order to obtain a court ruling
allowing them to distort and exhibit Mr. Büchel¹s artwork without his
consent.

I find it very ironic and deeply unsettling that Skadden Arps has initiated
this program and collection using the existing professional and
highly-respected institutions in the Los Angeles art community, all the
while counseling and representing an institution that not only disseminated
false and negative press about an artist, but also strategically initiated a
lawsuit which claimed that either Mr. Büchel¹s project was not art, or
alternatively that the Museum was the co-author of Mr. Büchel¹s unfinished
art work.

The lawyers of Skadden Arps were so aggressive and manipulative in their
tactics against Mr. Büchel that they are now responsible, along with Mass
MoCA, in establishing an unprecedented decision which made it legal for a
museum to exhibit an unfinished and unauthorized installation by an artist
against her or his consent. The negative historical consequences of this
matter remain to be seen, but ostensibly the impact of this aggressive and
manipulative maneuver by an art institution and its representative is
frightening.

I write to urge you to not participate in putting together a collection for
a corporation who has challenged the authority and authenticity of a fine
contemporary artist, and simultaneously diminished legal protections for the
very same visual artists we all help produce, educate, nourish and support.

Yours truly,

Michele Maccarone
Maccarone Gallery
New York City

So far, the only info I’ve been able to find on the situation in Afghanistan.

Here’s an idea.

Missed Connections call and response:

passive aggressive…shot down?

fun and awesome.

Apparently, there are 473 days of archived communications in the White House between 2003 and 2005 that have gone missing. That is over an entire year of archived info. This is Times reporting. Also, check out the Presidential Records Act. More grounds for impeachment, most likely.

Please take note of Executive Order 13233 on the page describing the Presidential Records Act. This would render Bush immune from litigation after he leaves office for any missing records, even if they were destroyed while he was in office. The good news (although it all seems hopeless at this point) is that in March 14, 2007 the House passed an amendment to PRA which would eliminate the executive order. This still has to go through the Senate and then survive a veto with an overriding congressional majority. Also, please look into the Executive Order (I am declining to insert a link here because every article I have read is in direct opposition to the other. It seems some love it and others hate it, so look it up and form your own opinions.) My initial take: executive orders are legislative power used by the President, therefore, tipping the Balance of Powers in favor of the Executive Branch. This is the most frightening direction any tip of the scale could take.

Okay, fine, here’s my favorite article on Executive Orders, BUT GRAIN OF SALT FRIENDS!

AP reported on a not-for-profit independent journalism organization’s  study which claims that the Bush administration issued “false statements” regarding Iraq for the two years leading up to our subsequent invasion of said country.  Be startled five years after our pre-emptive war invasion here.

Also, the last post mentioned a Missed Connection post which was important.  The post was flagged (for obvious reasons after I describe it to you.)  It was probably flagged within the first ten minutes of its posting.  Sadly, I read craigslist so frequently that I caught it.  Basically, the post was a picture of a dude, propped up on his back on the hood of a car in the street in Philadelphia.  He was incoherent and had a pee stain all down his jeans.  The caption said something to the effect of, “does anyone know if this person died last night?”

Sadistic, I know, but it was so gruesome that I immediately assumed it was a joke.

Finally, let’s begin to guesstimate who will win the nominations in each party and who will be in the final race for the White House (independents included.)  Place your bets:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, D-RAMA!  I think these people like to hear themselves type.

And I’ve tucked away possibly the most important Missed Connection post EVER.

Happy New Year!