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THE
FOUNDATION FOR ART IN ZERO-G an
introduction
reading / performance, the
2nd uk space art forum (11.00)
AN
INTRODUCTION TO THE
FOUNDATION FOR ART IN ZERO-G
The
ASSOCIATION OF AUTONOMOUS ASTRONAUTS (AAA)
was established in 1995 with a mission to
build a world-wide community-based network
dedicated to building its own spaceships.
This was a five year mission - 'The Five
Year Plan' - which ceased operation on April
23rd 2000.
In
its lifetime, the AAA acheived a great deal
- in addition to preparing a legitimate
path for independent space exploration,
it also created a vast, world-wide library
of thought and debate through literally
hundreds of publications and web sites and
staged three Intergalactic Conferences in
Vienna, Bologna and London. All of these
actions, and many more besides, helped to
suffuse the AAA's message into the mainstream
media.
At
the cessation of the majority of AAA activities,
the Disconaut AAA expressed the wish that
the association would dissolve into "a wider
autonomous movement of dreamers, trouble
makers, rocket builders and astral planers
- lying in the gutter, but looking at the
stars."
And
so, THE FOUNDATION FOR ART IN ZERO-G was
born, initially as an off-shoot from Nomad
AAA, a group established to promote the
liberation of the self from a constricting
reference to place or time. The Foundation
takes one of the AAA's central tenents as
its starting point - that in our inevitable
transition to a state of multi-dimensional
living, we do not need to burden ourselves
with the mistakes made by our forefathers,
or indeed, our peers.
Life
in zero gravity will inevitably result in
something of a paradigm shift for our spieces.
Many simple tenets that we previously regarded
as being integral to our existence, such
as the concepts of 'up' and 'down' or the
act of walking, will have to be intensely
re-evaluated. If we are to soon reach the
point where we question the relationship
between ourselves and our emotional, social
and physical environments, then it follows
that our understanding of art must also
be re-examined.
The
Foundation's role, therefore, is to facilitate
this process of re-evaluation. We declared
the launch period of the Foundation to be
our Year Zero, the point beyond which anything
can happen. The events which have been and
will be staged by the Foundation allow the
artist freedom to operate outwith existing
definitions and boundaries. In fact, the
over-riding principle behind such work is
one of deliberate and consistent trespass.
Through
these interdisciplinary actions, the dominant
conventions of art are cast aside and the
role of both the artist and the audience
is left open to question. This is the creation
of virgin territory - a blueprint for multi-dimensional
life; a blueprint for artistic creation
free from politics (both personal and global),
free from marketing and hype, free from
financial endorsement and state-sponsored
justification, free from misplaced egos
and the cult of personality. In fact, a
free space in which to create an environment
where even a truly post-representational
model of communication could be cultivated.
In
addition to staging events, the Foundation
also aims to act as a web-based archive
for all artists who are involved in negotiating
this new territory. As we move ever closer
to the next step of human evolution, the
Foundation's web site aims to historify
this unique period of our journey. Any one
is welcome to submit material - in fact
they are positively encouraged to do so.
Although
it has proved easy for our species to consign
ambitious and innovative ideas to the realms
of impossibility, we must remember one of
the truly great AAA maxims, one that will
hold true for millenia to come : "Only those
who attempt the impossible will achieve
the absurd."
So
it goes.
Stuart
Buchanan
25.11.00
go to
companion text 'invention by necessity'
back to performance
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