Almost without noticing it, I fell into a classic trap - spending more time worried about the form than the content. I'm not sure when it happened. "The medium is the message!" - I remember saying, with Mcluhan's book by half. And that was the problem! Half-words, half-messages. I let myself be carried away by the inexhaustible possibilities of formatting - mediums make-up - and forgot what I had to say.
The words lost their grace and began to occupy, timidly, the tools of the future. I was tired of running between platforms, networks, and algorithms. Where, with regret, I kept saving on the tip of my tongue what I had to say. Now it's time to look at mediums and messages as a whole again. Let's hope that the massage doesn't get lost in the process.
💾 Memory lane
“The 20th century began with a futuristic utopia and ended with nostalgia” - Svetlana Boym
I've been thinking a lot about memory lately. What will I remember for the times to come? The Italian magazine Archivio does an excellent job curating the past. But, when I look at all the things that I consume digitally, I wonder - which corners of the internet will stick with me? The Internet Archive website recently shared MTV recordings made during the 1980s, and on the Webby Awards website it is still possible to celebrate the 1997 winners. On the internet, the past can no longer be kept in a drawer. For now, I'll use my memory to remember and are.na to keep my future-nostalgia organized.
💻 Present tense
“Inside the temple
visitors cannot know
cherries are blooming” - Matsuo Bashô
Victor Anthony Lopes Carmen wrote one of the best articles I read this week. It was about the difficulties that indigenous communities face during this pandemic and was published in Teen Vogue. The fashion magazine, previously known for some not-that-smart content, has been making waves with a new narrative focus on politics, identity, and culture. Phillip Picardi, the editor in chief responsible for this new narrative, when interviewed for the Fantastic Man Young and Old issue, said:
“It’s a stark reversal of the kind of turgid, authoritarian tone of old-school print newspaper and magazines, a brave new approach that capitalises on interactivity, imtersectionality and, ultimately, the always elusive zeitgeist, which, in the contemporary era, is, decidedly concocted by youth.”
🔍 Time will tell
“The past is always tense, the future perfect” - Zadie Smith
I regret not having visited Stedeliijk museum when I was in Amsterdam las year. There was not enough time back then, now time is all we have. To counterbalance, I have watched all the mini-documentaries they shared on Youtube, followed the tours through IG TV. And, after discovering Art Transfer it has been really fun to transform all my house plants into modern art. The future is coming, and some museums and art galleries are already there - listen to David Zwirner's podcast to see what I mean.
🤔 “What makes people become activists”
This was one of the questions that Severin Matusek of Co-matter asked Peter Sunde, co-founder of The Pirate Bay website. What would your answer be? While I wait for your thoughts, I will watch his new documentary series, The Activist.
Até já!
Inês 🌿