m of care – mar 18
on paris commune (total mess below.. for now) – 19 min video of john jordan’s presentation – [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VERzyInwrIo]
jj: institute of imagination – since 2004 – civil dis action.. ie: bikes as tools of disobedience.. et al.. don’t do it for museums.. do it for social change.. that’s where we come to the commune.. ie: in time of crisis artists..1\ continue business as usual.. pics of politics 2\ desert art world to apply imagination to radical change
jj: it was an edge era.. 150 yrs ago today.. louise michel running thru streets.. mostly women.. block way for cannons to be taken away.. and insurrection begins.. spirit of commune already there.. call for universal/demo republic.. it was an insurrection blast that lasted 72.. paris became self managed common. . it was really about testing the ways of living differently.. ie: free ed, social housing, et al.. first testing during commune.. last week.. 30 000 killed/shot by govt.. who were desperate to wipe radicalism from city
jj: many took refuge (left city) and continued to paint.. others stayed.. one famous shoemaker decided to apply craft to the insurrection.. built a barricade..
jj: courbet – famous for realism and depicting the poor.. put his art down for organising.. together w 400 other artists.. april 30 founded fed of artists.. manifesto.. et al.. broke down divisions between art/craft et al.. spread art everywhere.. expanding notion of art.. so everyone could be an artist..
jj: political imaginary of the paris commune – integrate art into every day life..
jj: art for the people.. started: if artists free..
jj: 6 days later.. masacre started.. 3 months of experimented w life.. ended in 30 000 killed.. what happened..? impressionists came back into town..
2 yrs after commune.. first impressionist painting.. diff.. but just masking teh horror of the commune.. today might call it a form of art washing.. s light of hand than transforms radical art to status quo.. et al.. street stained w death replaced w colorful art.. possibilities of world reduced again.. all forms of social life in that 3 mos.. debates, clubs, squatting, coops, .. all withered away.. so impressionism had restored the normality of modern life.. put art in the surface of business as usual… domesticated.. ‘modernism build on desire to hide the guilty secret of the commune’
jj: so now question to us? business as usual.. or experiment w new
jj: i’m in zed .. zone a defendre.. lived w/o police for 6 yrs.. and self org..
jj: tonight light house we built where they wanted to put a control tower.. lit.. and underneath light is a cherry tree.. for david graeber.. i shall always like cherry time.. a memory i will always keep in my heart.. .. vive la commune
simona: i liked relationship between carnival and revolution.. could you say more about this connection
jj: for me.. carni (flesh).. for me all forms of carnival about body not being in right place/shape.. et al.. undressed.. all the binaries are broken.. women/men.. slave/master.. et al.. paris commune being this giant festival.. inspired by that.. instead of waiting for revoltuion to become a carnival.. could we try to make carnivals that would become insurrections
jj: you can visit the zed.. always welcome
nika: during my childhood.. every kid would long for paris commune.. but also a bit brain damaged.. so instead of certain steps.. like militarization.. they started to develop a day to day routine of art.. and street lives.. so i think on f73rd day of russian revolution.. many went outside to dance.. because lived longer than paris commune.. david’s idea was that paris commune was correct.. if go steps as lenin .. would end up communism.. so for me always this strange dilemma.. to protect self vs to become similar to everyone else.. protection vs proactive
jj: one of comrads i live with is gg grandson of guy made decision not to attack the bank.. funny.. lenin’s problem w commune was its attempt w horizontality.. also.. whole of european bourgeous socity was against commune.. so no help.. and no attempted links to people in countryside.. so soldiers spread rumors there that commune people were bad et al.. that idea of isolation you keep questioning.. how do you keep a commune in it’s autonomy but also its connection..
gabi: 1871.. paris surrounded by city walls? is that how they enlisted you?
jj: it was .. so used to protect.. but then .. state constructed the war against asians.. so that there was an outside enemy..
multitude ness
gabi: question on street lighting
nika: day to day life was taken for granted that wasn’t there before.. that was so usseful.. everyone should celebrate paris commune.. because we would live in a diff world.. ie: no street lights et al
jj: on place in copenhagen.. no street lights.. said.. no.. because we can trust each other to walk at night and we want to see the starts
nika: on communal space constructing differently.. can you talk more about your ideas of framework for all to practice art.. form is important to defining content.. so how to invent these institutions
ie: cure ios city.. imagine if we
jj: we deserted the academy.. realized there was not space enough there to do radical politics.. for us.. art world is place where there is public money.. we refuse to work where unethical money.. ie: w banks.. for me .. main framework is social movements.. ie: we don’t go to make stories/installations.. we go and apply creative imagination to create new.. so for us the framework is already there.. social movements..
anshul: social malice paris was suffering from.. ie: sex work and how that was negotiated in the common.. how were these negotiated.. the role of sexuality in the commune and in zed.. et al.. in these liminal spaces
jj: brilliant question.. and i have no idea.. yash.. do you want to answer it
yash: anca recommended doc.. la commune last week.. which was a reenactment of 1871.. 5th qtr.. women resorted to sex work to make ends meet.. so had to do tha tat night
anca: i think during commune.. sex/womens work was beginning to be talked as work.. doc – la commune.. made in 99 by peter watkins.. showed 2 options jj said.. continue as is.. or take action.. when i watched doc.. felt very activated by it.. ie: In abandoned factory in east paris.. filmed in ? days.. 6 hours.. majority of actors amateurs.. basically re imagining history.. when watch it don’t really know what is history and what is now (showing some clips)
anca dimofte – peter watkins la commune (paris, 1871) part 2 on youtube.. at 1:37.. ‘we must stop delegating our power.. refocus our efforts.. reorg.. then saying we must focus our orders.. be easier to make decisions if no counter orders..that’s renouncing power commune gave you’
at 25 min .. women ask to go door to door to talk about problems.. ie: ‘need time off.. now that we have nothing we should create something new.. est association that will take care of women.. teach them to be literate.. more than just work for survival’
ugh
anca: like jj said.. it was women who convinced soldiers to not take the cannons.. so they started the commune
nika: a little danger if artist only part of social movements (w/o living there).. lead to some unreal way.. social movements have real/practical goals.. and they have to save us.. but it should not be only one theme of artist.. i believe in commune they .. by doing contradictory.. they created space for art/culture having means in itself..
jj: yeah.. this is the key question.. i think art is always instrumentalized.. any art produced by capitalism/market.. ‘pleasure of labor’.. the moment of passionate attraction.. free to find pleasure in labor.. i would say.. art is paying attention to what you do.. a deep attention.. concept of art.. that art is not meant to be ‘useful’ is fairly new.. art is white convention.. pushed to see as universal.. so had art no longer useful.. no longer inhabited place/time.. became this floating thing.. a violent separation.. between beauty and usefulness.. et al.. so freedom/play is where they come back together.. i think every form/practice should have freedom/play in it
yash: for someone like me new to this world of ie: action on the streets.. i’m never sure how seriously laws should be taken in first place.. wondering how we should see these worlds..
jj: yeah.. they always put these laws in when they feel threatened.. as a sign ‘we’re winning’.. ie: criminal justice act of 94.. techno music illegal.. w beat et al.. and now i live in france w incredibly violent police.. can’t even take them to court.. for me i just have to keep thinking.. they bring these laws in when we’re winning
tj: reading question from pheobe: expand on distinctions made between art/craft.. so what is purpose of saying we are all artists
jj: incredible question.. 1\ enjoyment for self.. it wasn’t because it was a non dualistic society.. so self was about the whole
2\ you’re right.. ‘artist’ is a western european term.. i’d love to get rid of it.. i think most revolutionary thing is to get rid of that term.. and replace w ‘discipline of attention’ .. but then some of us don’t like the word discipline
matan: commune relation to nationalism.. how did common members imagine.. were they able to transcend this nationalistic age..
matan: and 2nd what was place of church
jj: workers international started commune.. so international.. ie: noticed foreigners didn’t have papers.. so opened to them.. people came from all over to fight for it.. paris a commune.. not the capital of france.. there was a certain anti nationalism..
jj: in terms of religion.. french left at time was anti clerical.. so yeah.. strong anti clerical movement.. separation of church and state very important..
nika: on schools being run by church
jj: during the nationalism.. not all were communized.. so state distributed right/white arm bands to anti communized.. then would to to neighborhoods and point out communized.. so they would get shot.. so flag seen as anti communized..
gabi: how is econ in zed
jj: very diff and mixed.. fundamentally linked to peasant/outside farmers.. so some things.. bread, cheese, vegies, honey, beer, for lots .. but not everyone all the time.. but also get donations.. very mixed.. but if have no money at all.. some survived.. key was to create some as commons.. some are ‘free pricing’.. you decide price.. et al
gabi: do some people have day jobs
jj: yes.. some day jobs.. some on benefit.. there isn’t a one way.. very diverse.. idea is to try not to be autonomous from money.. but just as least dependent on money/market.. ie: may 68.. on evicting squatters.. a revenge.. because we’d lived w/o state.. so forced into market system.. if didn’t fill out forms.. destroyed houses et al.. always hacking/diy.. et al.. bricolage is what we call it in french
gabi: are you all at same level.. or diff levels doing own stuff..
jj: like all the best utopias.. it’s a total mess.. esp around legalization.. some individualistic.. some 20 in house.. some vegans next to farmers.. anarchists working next to mayors.. techs next to bakeries.. et al..
jj: style of clothing? in zed? .. no.. punks/hippies/farmers/.. whatever
jj: on coop between zed and yellow vest.. there was coop and it took us all by surprise.. lots of reference to commune.. term zed was hacking of urbanism term.. some zeds more involved.. esp toward federalism.. yellow jacket movement.. food important on zed.. so we’d go give breakfast to yellow jackets.. funny.. politicians who said zed were more dangerous.. after yellow jackets.. saying.. look now zed even in yellow jackets.. ie: house squatted by yellow jackets.. we helped w that.. w that cultural resistance.. et al
jj: song to start the party (for tj?) .. think of the column.. the toppling statue.. ‘f the system make it crumble.. no one wants to be treated like that.. build it up.. wake up’
stopped recording for party
after party.. did i miss this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y0XTMFFI2Q]
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be you. 