At 08:43 11/02/2002 -0800, Steve wrote:
>Well, yes. I'd suggest that anytime someone in the First World
>samples something from the Third World, they would do well to ask
>themselves about their own motivations and the consequences of
>their actions (if they don't already do this anytime they sample
>anything. or anytime they do anything). How might their
>(admittedly perhaps small) act be part of the cycle of
>imperialist capitalist exploitation?
bb> Steev, I think you are failing to add a layer of distinction that is
critical as far as I'm concerned, that being whether you actually are
making the work with any commercial intentions. Assuming you are part of
the Dre universe, than of course your statement above is relevant. But if
you are coming from 'our' position (where we have spent more money than you
will ever save in our lives on simply pursuing our artistic goals), then I
think a different set of 'rules' apply. In that case, you are simply using
a piece of driftwood (hence the name...) you find to make a lovely statue
of for your mother. What does it matter whether the driftwood came from a
wrecked British frigate or a crushed dugout canoe?
If you don't/can't reap any financial rewards from the work, and you are
not taking anything out of the pocket of the artist, then I see nothing any
MORE exploitative about using something from a local village gamelan than I
do from an 1973 IBM commercial. In the semiotic universe, a sign is a sign
is a sign...
Bob
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