Ralph Borland, ITP Alum ’02, has and still is into art making and object making with protest as the catalyst for work. He mentioned his piece, Suited for Subversion that is currently in the MoMA Safe show.
Borland spoke of the game like nature of the protest. Especially in America protests take part in the places set up by the state, penned protest areas, set up by the state. But when protests occur outside of the demarcated places of protest it threatens and provokes the state. The Barcelona based Las Agencias and the White Overall movement both served as inspiration for Suited for Subversion.
Borland has been accepted into the next wave festival in Australia in 2006 where his proposal was to curate a show of different “Provacative Technologies” to be housed in shipping containersin a matter of reuse that he has observed in his hometown of Capetown, South Africa.
His talk here at ITP consisted mostly of briefly showing many of the projects he will be showing in his show within the show in Melbourne and weaving the thread that tied all of them together thematically under the idea of Provocative technology

Very roughly paraphrasing here, by way of Michael Rakowitz:

“Technology does not always offer a solution to social problems, but one can use technology to call enough attention to the social problems that they get solved through policy or other means”

and

“A bandage covers and treats a wound while at the the same time exposing it’s prescense”

Notes from the talk

– 9/11 anti war protests and organizing –

previous work was more like making self into human record needle or into a tached up one-band-mand

white overalls movement – just a set of tactics not a group – wear padding clothes life jackets etc to protect themselves and act as shield against the police shield lines to let other protesters occupy the space – instead of arming selves offensively they arm themselves defensively , playing the game not taking up the violence.

game like nature of the protest – protests take part in the places set up by the state – pens – when protests occur outside of the demarcated places of protest it threatens the state

green – no risk oif arrest
red – will risk arrest
pink – queer activism, performance art, media attention, embarressing gov’t expressign their culture
black – general anarchists
white – white overalls movements

las agencias – pret a revolter – white + pink + black to get their message across
garbage bags plus water bottles in the ‘strike zones’

his work _ red thing – art piece and functional device – placeing a shell around yourself as well as projecting your fear of being attacked
humerous – organic – not have aggresiveness buikt into it – inviting attack, being a target

Las Agencias – Photo shields, photos of children mounted on plexi to act as shield when police attack a shield line – the media show the police attacking children (photos of children)

bike writer – text on bicycle tires that ink onto the ground

video bike – videos of the protests events are played around dragged by a bike

josh kinberg – bikesagainstbush – cameras in the box dispoable flash camers with stencils

lasers to knock out surveillance cameras – naimark? naimerk?
laser pointer connected to rifle scope_fixed or to golf scope_portable
de-presentation the opposite of representation taking yourself out of the surveilled databases etc…

Micael Rakowitz – paraSite inflateable homeless tents

“Technology does not always offer a solution to social problems, but one can use technology to call enough attention to the social problems that they get solved through policy or other means”

“A bandage covers and treats a wound while at the the same time exposing it’s prescense”

Disruptive Design Team at Trinity Colege

SuperFlex – art group in Europe makes the supergas project, to capture gas from animal dung to use for cooking and lighting a gas lamp – www.superflex.net

why are artists involved in these projects? artworld has attention audience

containers project – in capetown containers are used as shops salons “sideshow”

ralph@ralphborland.net

Written by admin (contact).

It was written on October 17th, 2005 at 3:36 pm
Filed in the Category orphan