Iraj, I'm not sure how to read your commentary on the site you've cited
below.
Or perhaps I should say, I'm not sure how to read your commentary on CHAT,
by way of the political performance "art" advocated on the site.
The Los Angelos Art Squad (not sure of the name) used billboards to "talk
back" to commercialism in the 1970s -- the freewaybloggers are certainly not
the first, though I think this particular kind of expropriation of public
sapce did start in California (does anyone know?)
Judy
> -----Original Message-----
> From: IRAJ IMAM [mailto:iimam@cal-research.org]
> Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 11:13 AM
> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: freeway-mediatiing-tools & others
>
>
> I came across this interesting site. http://www.freewayblogger.com/
>
> I will try talk about this in a general way, please excuse my
> misreading of
> CHAT.
>
> I thought this is somehow related to recent discussions on
> 'externalization'
> and on 'bodies, matter, action, and meaning.' These sign postings on
> freeways (and callings on White hate radios) seem to show people
> (subjects)
> taking action using visual (and audio) tools [gesture and
> speech], breaking
> formal rules and impose their own informal ones on public spaces (freeway
> and airways). By taking up a 'new role' and status, as
> 'offender', they seem
> to expand on the 'community.'
>
> They seem to 'externalize' a kind of 'counter script' and project
> images and
> concepts through signs and words that go in the direction of hoping to
> produce a 3rd space (a la Lefebvre and Soja)--a different 'activity.'
>
> Taking advantage of daily spatial practices of a large number of people is
> not something new. Bill boards and commercials have been polluting urban
> spaces and airways for so long. These practices and their tools are seen
> 'normal' through sanctioned 'roles and rules' that have produced their own
> historical and geographical culture. Using these public spaces
> for another
> 'activity' is interesting.
>
> iraj imam
> iimam@cal-research.org
> The Center for Applied Local Research
>
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