Check Your Privilege At The Door

I was going to write a third and final piece about the long - running Richard Prince saga (to get up to speed please go back to my earlier blog, Bitch-Fest ) , but decided that it had devolved into the usual self-centred spectacle , with Doe Deere, The Suicide Girls, and others all claiming a piece of the media exposure, so I thought, why bother being part of that ?
The Suicide Girls angle is interesting because - do they intend to sell their original images with the amendments made by Mr Prince, thereby breaching the copyright of his intellectual property ?
Or will they just sell their original instagram photos, thereby breaching Instagrams rights ?
Which brought me to thinking the Big Question - Why ?

Suicide Girls join in the media feeding frenzy

WHY

This moment of existential self doubt was added to by then stumbling across a piece in my news feed regarding a separate issue (I include a link here) which is very dry, and the author debates the question of academics writing for free and asks whether they are, in fact, scabs:

'My use of the word “scab” is often met with a range of responses from irritation to blind fury.  Academics in particular, the sort who wax on about neoliberalism and its exploitation of labour, turn apoplectic as they insist that they’re not scabs but performing vital services by “choosing” to write for free.'

'But what is neoliberalism if not the rationalisation of capitalist exploitation under the rubric of “choice”? ' 

'what is neoliberalism', indeed.
The use of the word 'scabs' is highly emotive, given its previous use to describe those who cross picket lines in defiance of strike action and solidarity amongst workers.
For this reason it's a way of creating a sense of unity in a common cause.
It's also quite divisive in that it implies that anyone not following the authors reasoning is one of 'them', i.e. the 'enemy'.
The tone of the whole piece annoyed me, appealing to my sense of righteous indignation, and is indicative , in my opinion, of many of todays online problems.
It's a worthy read , as an example of the pretentious high-brow gibberish that gets bandied around.

Professor Brian Cox (yes. he of astronomy and previously D;Ream fame) said that part of the problem is the slew of self - published opinion pieces which could be mistaken for factual pieces.
This is almost tantamount to saying that the internet should be left to those who know best, thanks.
The next question is who knows best ?
Could it possibly be no-one, really ?

Let me take a deep breath, and stand back a little from the edge of this existential abyss.

1977 Primitive Blog...

As a disillusioned youth , I was inspired by the D.I.Y. ethos enshrined in punk / new wave, where many would attend gigs and scrawl reviews on paper which would then be xeroxed, stapled and sold for pennies  at gigs, or in record shops (remember those?).
The idea was that this was a form of empowerment, making a mark and taking control of a piece of media, rather than being told who to like and what bands to follow by 'the man' and his running - dog lackeys with their nepotistic promotion of mediocrity.
The downside of this of course, was that it was driven by a desire to stand out from a sea of faceless people, and fanzines were usually released without fanfare or a marketing budget: therefore making no money, or even losing money was considered par for the course, and a small price to pay for editorial freedom.

So here we are in the online world of the internet with its great levelling technology, where everyone can use the tools available to reach out and communicate for fun or learning or profit, or just to escape the humdrum workaday world - yet even here we encounter reactionaries masquerading as our superiors.

What I object to is the elitist agenda pushed by self-righteous types who flaunt their privilege by attempting to tell everyone else what not to do; i.e. unpaid writing !

What is missing here is the 'freedom of choice' option.

Don't get me wrong - I'd love to be paid for my rambling words.
What I'm saying is it happens regardless.
I feel compelled to write / create.
It's in the blood.
Therapy, if you like.

Looking back over this piece, I realise it's a bit divisive in the old 'us and them' way, and I apologise, but terms of reference are hard to come by these days without offending some poor flower...



Please note that the opinions expressed in this blog are purely my own, and in no way are they sponsored or solicited by paying causes.

Fuck 'em.

Bitch - Fest : or, When is a Rip-Off Not a Rip-Off ?

I recently wrote about  modern self referential pop-culture which seems to be obsessing with its own past whilst producing nothing genuinely 'new', and was therefore like a snake eating its own tail.
This analogy popped up in my news feed with the fact that a man called Richard Prince had mounted an exhibition of other peoples Instagram images which he then claimed as his own 'Art' through fair use or suchlike. A swift internet search revealed that Mr Prince has indeed procured the work of others and thereby incurred the wrath of the internet and its vocal denizens (never knowingly backwards in coming forwards).

Self-portrait of Mr Prince

I was shocked and (ahem) amused by the outpouring of vitriol ('... has redefined the concept of authorship') aimed in his general direction. No doubt he has ruffled many feathers, and it seems typical of our 21st century world that many attempt to ride the coat-tails of fame by seconding the talents and creations of others.

I have old college friends who have been royally ripped off by fellow students with no scruples , at least two big names (in the fields of fashion and photography, oddly enough) who were accused of plagiarism on an industrial scale - but this is not the place to air such grievances - as I said it's a cultural thing, and always has been, certainly in the creative field.
It's only now that the Internet allows for a full and utterly explicit discourse in real time on such matters.
The voyeuristic thrill from these dramas is like a little fly - on -the - wall peek into another life - a virtual reality show where dirty laundry is aired openly and with much vitriol on both sides.

I'm in two minds about providing links here, as the pages seem to be getting a fair amount of malicious spam, which may sadly interfere with any viewers attempts to examine and consider whether Mr Prince really is a shifty character deserving of such flaming, or whether he is innocent, a special artistic 'snowflake' whose gentle sensibilities have been grossly maligned by online trolls - or whether he is somewhere between the two , and loves the publicity...
The reason I'm dwelling on this is because of the punchline:

This is probably defamation

One of the 'unfortunates' featured in his exhibition of appropriated Instagram images is Doe Deere , (alias Xenia, alias Thunderwear, alias numerous online identities), who seems to have forged a career of her own from plagiarism in the field of fashion and accessories.
Her story is splashed across numerous web pages and is subject to a thorough trashing.
She is quite vocal in her own defence, to the point of name - calling and denouncing her own customer / fan base - at least, she appears to be - or are duplicitous agents of chaos attempting to undermine her integrity ?

It's all very confusing, and mired in the fog of an online war, it's difficult to separate fact from fiction.

Mr Prince has ripped off unwitting users of Instagram, and one of the victims is allegedly ripping off unwitting fashionistas .

So there we have it - the online world of self-serving media is indeed devouring its own tail.
The cycle continues, and in the race to the bottom, these two seem to be streets ahead.
Excepting one thing:
Their plight has spilled over from the world of U.S. Art/Fashion, and is now global, thereby guaranteeing continued interest and the fame associated with the exposure of their names.
So regardless of the validity of their artistic enterprises, they both win by default.

At least they get their 'fifteen minutes of fame' as described by Andy Warhol.



STOP PRESS : Latest news is that one of the instagram photos has sold for $90,000.