Introduction to the book Digital Resistance

The introduction to this book brings up many good points which I would like to address. The first is the need for people to name things. The author talks about the fear with which the Critical Art Ensemble approached being named because naming yourself means that you become pigeon-holed. It is a way for everyone to understand what you're doing, and also to judge. I think they were wise to fear being named because it is true that definitions do create boundaries (page 5). This is one reason I find it so hard to talk to people who aren't artists about artists because I don't want to define myself as 'just' a photographer. I also enjoy working in 3-d, writing/poetry and hope to make videos too. I know why people have a need to define and understand what other people do with their lives, it's so that they can feel like they understand them. It's a very one-dimensional take of a person but unfortunately many people operate like this. It's like when I told my English 102 Teacher I was British, she assumed my compliance in the oppression of the Irish and post-colonial woes all around the world and was very frosty with me for the whole semester. I am more than my countries history. CAE is more than 'tactical media'.

The idea that joy can evolve from naming yourself is interesting to me (page 5), the author talks about the sense of relief that many participants felt upon belonging to a named group because it opened them up to hybridization (page 5&6). The group welcomed any and all cultural hybrids, artists/scientists. The CAE group sought to broaden itself in order to reach as many people as possible through as much media as possible. Comparing this to the Infernal Noise Brigade you could say that the CAE has a broader appeal than the INB. The INB was focused more on political protesting through music while the CAE has multitudinous aspects. Both groups have similar aims, intervention by challenging the status quo and subverting what is accepted but their delivery is different. I think the CAE has more application to work in different social structures because, as the author says, they change what they do depending on the social spaces/hierarchies present in the areas they are working. INB seemed to have similar approaches wherever they were, not to discount what they did at all because it was very effective.

I agree with the notion of power in the archive as discussed in pages 9 & 10. The belief that the meaning of archived materials changes with time is very true to me and I think it was wise of CAE to try to leave as few traces behind as possible. As they say, what traces remain are active, rather than passive in that they could incite a viewer to action. I think this is a very clever course of action, especially with digital media. Digital media should not exist in an archive on a floppy disc growing old. It should be a phoenix on the internet, waiting to be rediscovered and recontextualised by a new generation.