Comments for Putting chin to knee http://fmindlin.wordpress.com Digital storytelling: illustrating the authentic voice Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:39:19 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Evil Roots, Bitter Fruits? by fmindlin http://fmindlin.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/evil-roots-bitter-fruits/#comment-22 fmindlin Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:39:19 +0000 http://fmindlin.wordpress.com/?p=80#comment-22 The premise of this exhibit is that artists can provide us with telling insights as we navigate the confrontation within America's value system between the heritage of do-it-yourself, dog-eat-dog capitalism which has defined America for most its history, and the re-emergence of the underdog populism and community activist/organizer traditions in which a mostly marginalized left has labored in obscurity through most of the same decades. Obama's community organizer credentials have precipitated a lively debate around values, fueled even more by the near collapse of the global financial system. Is money truly the root of all evil? Can a system based on competitive, bottom-line thinking be managed to meet the real needs of the entire community? Or do we need a new way of thinking about how we measure and evaluate the impacts of our economy on people's real lives? Good money, bad money, no money Charity, poverty, community There is a deep resonance to this debate about money and values for artists in particular, because of the wide ranging and intense debate around issues of copyright and payment for intellectual work. The DMCA in the USA is an example of one extreme, where the fruits of art are essentially treated as commodities in commerce, and corporate giants wage battles and face down unions. Lewis Hyde's "The Gift" enunciated the artist's creed of freedom from the constraints of the money culture decades ago: "the premise that the work of art is a gift and not a commodity." He is now at work on a treatise on the cultural commons. Another strong voice in the copyright/copyleft/creative commons argument has roots in Santa Cruz--Nina Paley, "America's Best Loved Unknown Comic." The premise of this exhibit is that artists can provide us with telling insights as we navigate the confrontation within America’s value system between the heritage of do-it-yourself, dog-eat-dog capitalism which has defined America for most its history, and the re-emergence of the underdog populism and community activist/organizer traditions in which a mostly marginalized left has labored in obscurity through most of the same decades. Obama’s community organizer credentials have precipitated a lively debate around values, fueled even more by the near collapse of the global financial system. Is money truly the root of all evil? Can a system based on competitive, bottom-line thinking be managed to meet the real needs of the entire community? Or do we need a new way of thinking about how we measure and evaluate the impacts of our economy on people’s real lives?

Good money, bad money, no money

Charity, poverty, community

There is a deep resonance to this debate about money and values for artists in particular, because of the wide ranging and intense debate around issues of copyright and payment for intellectual work. The DMCA in the USA is an example of one extreme, where the fruits of art are essentially treated as commodities in commerce, and corporate giants wage battles and face down unions. Lewis Hyde’s “The Gift” enunciated the artist’s creed of freedom from the constraints of the money culture decades ago: “the premise that the work of art is a gift and not a commodity.” He is now at work on a treatise on the cultural commons.

Another strong voice in the copyright/copyleft/creative commons argument has roots in Santa Cruz–Nina Paley, “America’s Best Loved Unknown Comic.”

]]> Comment on The practice by rajwest http://fmindlin.wordpress.com/2005/09/26/intelligence-is-knowing-what-to-do-when-you-dont-know-what-to-do-john-holt/#comment-19 rajwest Wed, 19 Jul 2006 21:16:34 +0000 #comment-19 Dear fmindlin, Just want you to know I really enjoyed reading your blog about the process of retirement and other subjects intilectual and spiritual, it has given me insight I could have found nowhere else. Perhaps when I have the clarity and courage to present my oberservations for public viewing, I shal do so. Regards rajwest Dear fmindlin,

Just want you to know I really enjoyed reading your blog about the process of retirement and other subjects intilectual and spiritual, it has given me insight I could have found nowhere else. Perhaps when I have the clarity and courage to present my oberservations for public viewing, I shal do so.

Regards

rajwest

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