This is an attempt to contribute to this discussion. To do so I would like to take one example that comes from artist and researcher Fatima Lasay, is well know by many of us.
I will be addressing only one part of your last question and will be stuck to "social behaviours'". I will be looking at the shortcomings in the Information and Communication techno-sphere which limit the expansion of social behaviours when it comes to education, creativity and information.
The example that I will be using here is Fatima's circular message on: "ISOC-Philippines statement on the jail sentence for The Pirate Bay founders and the criminal charges against philosophy professor Horacio Potel By isoc-ph, on April 20, 2009, 2:05 am <http://isoc.ph/portal/2009/04/isoc-philippines-statement-on-pirate-bay-and-potel/>http://isoc.ph/portal/2009/04/isoc-philippines-statement-on-pirate-bay-and-potel/ "(Please find Fatima's entire statement at the end of my message)
In her statement Fatima underscores the contradiction between a fundamental belief put forward by ISOC: "The Internet is for everyone" and "recent developments demonstrate an alarming growth towards a "license culture" on the Internet, imposed by the criminalization of those whose culture and society advance creativity, innovation and economic opportunity through the values of openness, sharing, education and collaboration"
In the one hand "Internet makes a powerful tool for sharing, education, and collaboration. It has enabled the global open source community to develop and enhance many of the key components of the Internet, such as the Domain Name System and the World-Wide Web, and has made the vision of digital libraries a reality."
In the other she underpins that "excessively restrictive governmental or private controls on computer hardware or software, telecommunications infrastructure, or Internet content (...) (are) restrictions (that) substantially diminish the social, political, and economic benefits of the Internet".
However, criminality does exist in a huge extent in the internet as it was mentioned earlier in our discussion. Therefore taking into consideration the above, there is a third contradiction to be added to the two which Fatima has referred to; this is criminality through the Net. The question which is now before us is: How artists cope with these three levels of contradictions?
As a general comment, one can say that artists do not utilize internet as intensively as other non-artists professional users do. One of the reasons might be that artists are not yet opened to cope with systems in their work. Another reason might be that not all artists use internet tools in their work and (I insist) they don't use it to communicate with other artists for artistic purposes. The third reason might also be that artists feel that there is too much control (or not sufficient control!) over internet... In this framework, it might be interesting for artists to suggest governments to considerer the specificity of their needs in connection to internet use.
To conclude I still wondering whether new technologies and internet have really already changed our social behaviours. My feeling is that real change is still to come.
Is there any way artists can help in preparing this change?
TW
Fatima's statement:
The Internet Society Philippines' (ISOC-PH) Public Policy Principles and activities are based upon a fundamental belief that "The Internet is for everyone." ISOC-PH upholds and defends core values that allow people throughout the world to enjoy the benefits of the Internet.
Recent developments, however, demonstrate an alarming growth towards a "license culture" on the Internet, imposed by the criminalization of those whose culture and society advance creativity, innovation and economic opportunity through the values of openness, sharing, education and collaboration.
Philosophy professor Horacio Potel from Argentina is facing criminal charges for maintaining a personal and educational website devoted to Spanish translations of works by French philosopher Jacques Derrida.
A court in Sweden has found the four men behind "The Pirate Bay", a file-sharing website, guilty of breaking copyright law and were sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to pay $4.5m (£3m) in damages.
The Ability to Share is one of ISOC's core values. The many-to-many architecture of the Internet makes it a powerful tool for sharing, education, and collaboration. It has enabled the global open source community to develop and enhance many of the key components of the Internet, such as the Domain Name System and the World-Wide Web, and has made the vision of digital libraries a reality. To preserve these benefits we will oppose technologies and legislation that would inhibit the freedom to develop and use open source software or limit the well-established concept of fair use, which is essential to scholarship, education, and collaboration.
We will also oppose excessively restrictive governmental or private controls on computer hardware or software, telecommunications infrastructure, or Internet content. Such controls and restrictions substantially diminish the social, political, and economic benefits of the Internet.
The wire-tapping, searches and seizures, the removal of website content and the criminal charges against professor Potel of the University of Buenos Aires is an onslaught on human rights and academic freedom in Argentina and on the Internet.
The police seizures of servers, the enormous bill for damages and the jail sentence on Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde is a defiance of the social and cultural institution of file-sharing in Sweden and on the Internet.
ISOC-PH founding member and lawyer Michael Dizon writes, "Putting greater emphasis on the development of social or community norms and how people can actively participate in the creation of these norms ... may be more advantageous in advancing creative culture than resorting to contractual agreements. Ideally, laws (and the licenses that seek to enforce rights based on these laws) should embody and uphold the norms and values of a community, and not the other way around."
As founding president of the newly rejuvenated ISOC-Philippines Chapter, I would like to dispute some of the statements being made regarding the Pirate Bay trials, in particular, by John Kennedy, Chairman and CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Mr Kennedy says,
"This is good news for everyone, in Sweden and internationally, who is making a living or a business from creative activity and who needs to know their rights will protected by law."
In keeping with the ISOC-PH mandate, I find it offensive to the diversity of cultures on the Internet the claim that the global model of copyright protection being imposed upon the developers and users of the Internet is "good news for everyone."
I also find it hard to accept the sincerity of Mr Kennedy's statement about "making a living or a business from creative activity." In fact only a handful of media corporations have effectively taken over what used to be a very diverse field of creative activity.
Such a process of consolidation and privatization has created gross inequality between artists and the big media corporations: relations between artists and recording companies are replete with exploitative contracts and bitter legal struggles for control; and royalties and other earnings from copyright constitute only a fraction of the income of most active professional artists.
The Pirate Bay trials and the criminal charges against professor Potel are a threat to academic freedom and free speech, and they undermine the Internet core value of the Ability to Share. If we envision a future in which people in all parts of the world can use the Internet to improve their quality of life, then freedom, and not a "license culture", must be obtained for professor Potel, the Pirate Bay founders and the Internet communities of sharing.
ISOC-PH calls on all Internet citizens to demand freedom.
Fatima Lasay
President
Internet Society Philippines Chapter
<http://isoc.ph/portal/>http://isoc.ph/portal/
Quezon City, Philippines
April 20, 2009
-----Message d'origine-----
De : yasmin_discussions-bounces@estia.media.uoa.gr [mailto:yasmin_discussions-bounces@estia.media.uoa.gr] De la part de Ricardo Mbarkho
Envoyé : lundi 20 avril 2009 22:53
À : YASMIN DISCUSSIONS
Objet : [Yasmin_discussions] Assembled Entities and Art Requirements
Dear Yasminers,
So far in our discussion, the initial questions about our topic were covered in a way or another. We can focus our discussion on the following perspective where the topic converged:
With the realm of the Information and Communication techno-sphere, assembled entities are emerging: human identities, social behaviors, languages, devices ... Giving this vibrant environment, what are the art requirements and needs to enhance creativity and innovation?
Best,
Ricardo Mbarkho
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