Comments on: Addendum: obsolescence

By: glen

glen — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:58:34 +0000

hey something I forgot to write in response to this post was regarding the concept of obsolescence.

In my teaching I have used Vance Packard’s work, an extract from the Waste Makers, on planned obsolescence. He identifies three types of planned obsolescence. I add to Packard’s list the obsolescence of affect, ie those shockingly frustrating or numbingly liquidating situations when constellations of affect are no longer useful or valorised. The rhythm of the spectacle is such that bodies are no longer mobilised (at least not until next season).

Much of the subcultural poaching that goes on, which had previously been discussed in terms of semiotic appropriation, etc., I reckon is better understood in terms of the emergence of affective consistencies organised around the resuscitation of that which has been rendered obsolete through the mobilisation of bodies (affect) and the discursive concrescence of value. Thrift store fashions are a classic of this. Fashions that were once anti-fashion aesthetic compositions born of material necessity (re)cycle again and again.

So my point is, do you think this is part of a (re)cycle? I know I am getting very Battlestar right now (Everything that will happen, will happen again), but they were just getting Deleuzian. Is this some sort of staging ground from something to come?

Anyway,

By: ap

ap — Thu, 07 May 2009 09:55:53 +0000

i’ve put out some feelers, am hoping not to have to cite all my years of vollying at tina to get a hearing i am prepared to if required. beats quantifying myself against era criteria…

By: melgregg

melgregg — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:53:25 +0000

PS. It looks like submissions might be closed if we don’t get some help! Time to draw on my TINA contacts

By: melgregg

melgregg — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:50:55 +0000

Thanks for all this feedback. And Michael, I think all of your comments have been offered in a productive spirit – sorry if I didn’t make that clear in the rush.

So, I don’t think I’ll rush this for the M/C deadline– on the one hand, I’m working through some of these issues in my book, so that can be the place where I do “my” ruminations.

But I really like Anna’s inspired idea/ provocation that those of us who are interested should go to Newcastle to talk more. It’s such a great festival, and it’s held in between now and the state of the industry conference, which is the other place I’d like to revisit this debate… I just need to check the dates are okay for a couple of other things… but who would be in for this? And Anna, should we talk to you or someone else about it?

By: LB

LB — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:04:27 +0000

Obsolete, to fall into disuse, to become outdated. If the market goes awry does that mean that the problems of cs are now outdated or even more timely? If experimental postdisciplinary work gets sacrificed to economic tightening does that mean that we were wrong or that we should have foreseen x or y? Is experimentality or disciplinary innovation a luxury, or only appropriate in periods of expansion? Isn’t it a time for fighting about the terms of utility, pragmatism, pedagogy, rhetoric, or productivity? The question of figuring out what world we’re training people for is crucial, but it doesn’t follow now as ever that the adjustment should go only in one direction.
Roar.
If you’re going to adapt the post, it would be interesting to hear you ruminate on belatedness or time out of joint in relation to how intellectual labor looks re the job market/world in economic crisis.
In solidarity, of course. LB

By: Michael Dieter

Michael Dieter — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:28:59 +0000

Of course, there are ways of speaking about quality of a conference or event without hurting people’s feelings. Constructive feedback, or even criticism, does not have to be delivered with negativity and hostility. And I hope that I didn’t give the impression of either in my comment on this blog (although there might have been some general frustration creeping in to my fairly manifesto-style rant).

This kind of issue with the organisation of events reminds me of the familiar problem at conferences where no feedback is offered to a presenter, except behind their backs. At an institutional level, this is a dynamic that should be countered by developing available spaces for appropriate critical reflection on methods, frameworks and more specific problems, especially if these perceived shortcomings are eventually directed at the reputation of an association, or even an entire discipline. Whether or not a blog is the best platform for registering these sentiments is a fairly open question, however, I imagine that the State of the Industry conference will be important for pursuing these discussions in a more formal setting.

I should also add that I have made many useful contacts through the CSAA conferences and have enjoyed attending. There are many positive outcomes from this annual gathering, but I can’t help but feel that it could be doing so much more.

Look forward to tracking how this conversation pans out Mel, either at home cooked theory, M/C or elsewhere.

Best,

- Michael.

By: ap

ap — Sat, 02 May 2009 08:42:59 +0000

it’d make a great zine! to be distributed at the state of the industry conference & glen’s pub conference.