Thinking around how I’m going to write up the first three of my a-n Re:View bursary sessions. There has been so much discussion, ideas and material generated by these sessions it feels a bit onerous at the moment to sculpt it into some kind of order. Rather than a blow by blow account of each individual meeting I’m thinking of addressing the main areas which I specified in my application: DIY culture and the socio-political framework for my work, and ethics and aesthetics in social practice.
I spent some down time at work on Tuesday making notes which are now waiting to be written up. I find the writing process rewarding but draining. It doesn’t come easy, and it takes me a log time to articulate what I really mean. Ultimately I find it valuable but it’s not a natural means for me to communicate.
At the end of the evening I picked up a book to unwind: “Below Critical Radar: Fanzines and Alternative Comics from 1976 to Now”. I found this quote, which intrigued me, from Stephen Duncombe (cited from his book “Notes From Underground: Zines and the Plotics of Underground Culture”)
‘One might argue that underground culture sublimate anger that oherwise might have been expressed in political action”
I tweeted the quote, and asked for thoughts. The tweet generated a series of interesting comments conversations over the next day and a half about cultural activity and social action.
I wanted to find to find some way of recording this so that I could document it and also expand the conversation outwith Twitter. I have quite a lot of conversations like these on Twitter and see them as a valuable part of my research. A friend had mentioned Storify a while back and I I had a look and found it really easy to use. I think it’s going to be a useful tool.
Here is the conversation, documented
http://storify.com/JeanMcEwan/underground-culture-…
