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Incremental Solicitations Update
by S.B. Reda

 

When I last reported on the happenings of Discord Aggregate (egad, can you believe it was November 2000!?!), they were readying themselves for yet another foray into the world of music production, this time inspired by a web art installation they created a couple of years before. Well, I am all too happy to report that recording is in full swing, with each member busily working on completing the first step of the process by the end of July 2002.

           

“But I am not aware of any stinking process!” you proclaim.

 

I am sorry; perhaps a bit of history is in order …

 

Wedged somewhere in time, a bit after the dinosaurs roamed but slightly before the arrival of this email (and to the right), Discord Aggregate endeavored to combine the spirit of collaboration with the ever-expanding world of digital technology. The result was a visual web installation entitled “Incremental Solicitations”.

The idea was for each member of Discord Aggregate to create two digital images (from scratch, from a photo, from the ear lobe of a sanitation worker) and edit them however and with whatever they wished. Subsequently the images would be emailed, one to each other, for additional touches. Each would then add, subtract, or modify the images they received before sending them out once again, this time for completion.

A title given by the final owner, and alas, they were done. Each had contributed to the evolution of these six stunning images, the results of which can be found here.

Pretty neato, huh?

 

“So what does this have to do with their stinking process?” you demand.

 

            Guess. Discord Aggregate is now applying the same process to producing the music that was used to create the images. Each member has created a musical foundation in the form of a 12- minute track which will be transferred to the others.  After a bunch of adds, moves, and changes, the tracks will be sent out one more time for the final touches.

 

            “Yeah, well, how did they decide who started what track?” you inquire.

 

            At last, a good question! The member who finished and named the image started the corresponding track. That was an easy one – the tricky part is going to whom to send the tracks to next. There have been several all-day meetings to figure this one out. S.B. Reda has proposed taking 3 gasoline-filled tanks, color-coding them (ascribing a color to each DA member), and firing on them with various weapons until a tank explodes. (Each member is firing at their respective color of course!) The one that explodes first will determine which DA member gets to decide how Discord Aggregate will send out the 2nd round of tracks. I know, this may be overly simple, but why add complexity to an already complex question?


LOST: Redeeming Quality – fell out of my knapsack on the N line yesterday. Please return if found.

 

The Universal Maximizer

 

Have you ever experienced the joy of living to the max?  Now you will.  The Universal Maximizer is optimized to maximize.  It will make your every pleasant moment a delightful feast of emotion, and your every unpleasant moment a true disaster.  Take the risk of being yourself!  Maximize your potential and become the fully maximized you that you always wanted to be!  And for no extra charge, included is the External Maximization Module.  Use it to maximize your friends and relatives to fully match the maximized you.  Maximize your environment and achieve complete control over your life!  Only from the creators of The Universal Maximizer! 

 

Get Maximized!

 

Inspired Etouffee

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup of passion

4 flashes of brilliance

2-3 moments (depending on size)

15 leaps of faith

1 pan greased

 

Directions:

 

With intensity meter preheated to “can't take it anymore”, blend together passion and flashes of brilliance. Take the 2-3 moments, and with 15 leaps of faith, pour concoction into the pan. Swirl it around a bit with your finger, and voila – you have Inspired Etouffee!

 

 

 

 

The Lost Intersection
by A. Molotkov

 

But is anything ever truly lost?  After investing over a year in The Discord Aggregate Intersection - a monthly art salon held in Berkeley, CA – we are giving up on its original model in favor of a new format. 

 

Previously, the Intersection began with presentations by one or two artists, which were followed by discussions and an open mike session.  The evening typically lasted from 7 to 10/11 pm, during which time all humanoids participating in think exchange would gradually unveil their standpoint on art – and sometimes on life in general.  The presentations themselves were conducted in a dialog with the rest of the crowd, with criticisms and praises floating in the air and landing on (mostly) willing ears. 

 

But if so, what prompted the change?  And what is the change?   

 

We are giving up the artist presentations. 

 

The new format of the Intersection will be even more informal: a sort of open mike/discussion evening.  But why give up presentations? 

 

Over the past year, we have faced two problems coming from opposite ends of the Intersection’s universe:

 

  1. We ran out of interested and interesting local presenters, while a couple flaked out on us
  2. With anywhere from 5 to 15 guests at each salon, we were uncertain that we could guarantee any presenter an audience of more than a few listeners.  (Out of 10 to 20 people who said they would come, an average of one third actually showed up.)

 

The New Discord Aggregate Intersection will probably include the core group of Discord Aggregate and friends, as well as anyone who is interested in coming.  Everyone gravitated towards an unconventional way of spending an occasional Sunday night is invited, as long as they are an artist or have a genuine interest towards art.   

 

More details about the Intersection can be found at http://www.discord-aggregate.com/TDAI.

 

Now, these are the facts.  But what about their interpretation, a demanding reader might ask.  What observations do we derive from a year of Intersecting? 

 

Well, here it comes (and I challenge you to prove me wrong by jumping to the forefront of new art – or at least by attending our salon): the local art world (and perhaps the art world in general) is lazy and non-committal.   What happened to the excitement of exchanging ideas and approaches?  Did it all stay behind in the 20’s Paris or 50’s New York?  Are artists all so self-sufficient, or are they too busy?  I’m not sure whether the general situation or any particular individuals should be blamed.  Probably both.  But the bottom line is: we are tired of it, and we need to make ourselves less dependent on the audience.  In other words, this is a way to invite you to TDAI while politely pointing out that if you don't come, we will not be too disappointed.  We all have the right to avoid disappointments, after all…

 

So: on to the new, bright Intersection - and may it permanently warm our hearts and minds.

 

 

 


Improv Gumbo

 

What you need:

Begin rolling tape … now

 

Ingredients

3 of whatever is to your right

4 items from your refrigerator

Put 2 of them back

1 ounce of courage

 

And a one, and a two, show me what you do! Stir up those items real good and who knows what you will come up with! Some of it might be rather icky at best. But some of it, some of it might be nearly the greatest thing you have ever tasted, within the context of one of the most exhilarating moments of your life.

 

 

 

Direction Clarificator

assembly instructions

 

  1. Place Clarificator in front of you on table or another flat surface
  2. Insert multidirectional choice card into the imagination slot on front of Clarificator
  3. Activate comparison mode by properly positioning jumper on cerebral panel
  4. Turn Clarificator on and enjoy your newly clarified sense of direction

 

Optimal or appropriate direction choice is not guaranteed.  No liability for misguided steps or fruitless efforts.  Occasional increased vagueness of direction may occur.  Not recommended while surrounded by other individuals, dead or alive. 

 

 

WANTED: Small underground snorkel system MUST HAVE ORIGINAL TANK but refurbished mask/tubing OK.  Must be rated for up to 2 kilometers straight down.

 

 

 

The uncovered enigma of essential creative corruption
by Pamela Zero

 

 

The uncovered enigma of essential creative corruption. More than a mouthful, I know, but we have witnessed the fall and now have no naiveté to cushion our tumble into squandering our creative soul.  Each day holds less art and more artifice, less passion and more pressure.  We are caving in, squeezed dry by the need to write upon the endless surface of a culture that holds no mark.  The small signs of independent creativity are disappearing around us here in our city of protest, and now the rants on the street are about the coming rather than the being.

 

I watch my art become fluid, flexible, mercurial.  Rehearsals become minutes snatched between moments, afternoons of writing a thing of the past.  I sing out of reflex rather than need – energy is now reserved for banking the creative bulwarks raised against the seething hordes determined to fulfill their deity granted destiny.  Only the fact that the hordes are simply a creation of mass marketing gives me any solace.  It is difficult to feel truly threatened by a point spread from an independent poll.  But the distraction is there, is real, and I find myself examining the edges of my self, looking for decay.  Corruption.  Abandonment of the ideal, the idea, the embrace of the necessary and the tolerable.  Of course, I find what I am looking for.

 

Creative corruption, the telling sign of an exhausted spirit.  But where does the concept of essential creative corruption come into play?  What is the value in losing the outer limits of our purity?  The answer lies in our own definition of the rights and responsibilities of an artist.  As we find ourselves losing our various rights, we notice that we do not feel any less responsibility.  As we lose the right to free speech, to create whatever art demands to be created, to have a well established cultural support system, to earn our living with our art, we find that for some reason we do not lose the sense of responsibility to create as accurately as possible, to continue to work regardless of how scaled down our definition of work has become.  I no longer have the time and energy to write for 3 hours a day, but I still feel the responsibility to do so.  I no longer spend months researching details for obscure lyrical references but still know that I will not consider the piece finished until I do the research.  The gap between what I must do and what I can do has become so large that it points, a glaring spotlight, towards the only solution on the horizon.

 

Which is, of course, to discard the current set of limits, reasons, excuses and basic needs and run naked back into the forest of art.  To abandon the logical and simply hurl oneself into creation in the certain hope that art will soften the blow.  To return to the starting point of art, the discontent between the reality at hand and the experience that must be.  If there is no room for art in the current world, if there is no support, no funding, nowhere to show or perform, limits on what can be shown or performed then the artist has the simple choice of not doing art because it has no impact on the world or doing art because it simply must be done.

 

Back to the wellspring, back to the source.  Back to art because it simply must be done.

 

 

 

FOR RENT: 12cc’s of subconscious space, prime location (near left parietal lobe) and only used twice during the 60’s.

 

 

Surrealistic Pie

 

Ingredients

2 pounds yellow creativity

4 cups air

1 piece water

 

Fry over cold flame for 2 untos and flip. Ingest rapidly.

 


Pointless Smile Filter

 

Have you ever found yourself wandering down the street with a goofy pointless smile on your face?  So have we.  This is why we created Pointless Smile Filter, a simple device that eliminates the intimidating consequences your pointless smile might have, such as being arrested on clown charges or mistreated for poor dental hygiene.  Miniature built in sensors will determine when the tension around the corners of your lips necessitates a smile alert.  When in alert mode, the Filter will gently pull your lips inward and restore your serious face.  And after the curfew, we recommend that you use Pointless Smile Filter in its High Protection mode, which keeps your lips closed more securely.  (High Protection mode must be disabled to attempt speaking – failure to do so may result in the need for facial surgery, which is provided for free by Pointless Smile Filter creators.) 

 

Don’t let them know how goofy you really are!  

 

 

 

PLACES TO GO!

 

DISCORD AGGREGATE WEB SITE

 

 

DISCORD AGGREGATE ART FOR SALE!

 

 

DISCORD AGGREGATE’S INCREMENTAL SOLICITATIONS

 

 

DISCORD AGGREGATE MUSIC