Greetings from Austin, Texas…
I’m here for a few days to meet people at SXSW Interactive and see what everybody made while they sat at home in their pajamas (pyjamas in the UK). I can’t say I’m not a little bit Covid-anxious, but armed with a KN95 mask and my natural aversion to crowds I hope that I’ll be able to find my way around and keep the risk to a minimum. Yesterday was the first time that I’d flown since lockdown and it seemed okay, cabin crew only reminding a few people to keep their masks on.
It hasn’t escaped my attention that you’re getting another Monday newsletter, apologies for that, last week was super busy and this week looks even more bonkers with a one-day workshop the day after I arrive back. I may fall over after next weekend. I doubt that you’ll get a post before the weekend.
Anyways, I have a few things for you this week, thoughts on crypto art, a few podcast recommendations and a couple of articles I thought you might like.
Think of me, typing with one hand, wearing new apple AR glasses, while trying to catch the hot sauce from a fish taco, slowly dripping down my chin, while a thunderous heavy metal band from Helsinki takes the stage in this dodgy red-lit dining room. The quintessential south-by experience.
Stephan
Spaces to Connect
Something that has almost entirely passed me by is the advent of NFT’s (non-fungible tokens) and so-called crypto art. I’m coming across so many mentions now in my regular feeds, especially Instagram where many of the fine artists, printmakers, illustrators and designers I follow are publishing NFT’s or having images of their work pinched and pasted all over various NFT auction sites without their permission. Chasing down infringements is completely painful, time and energy sapping, there seems to be little that can be done quickly.
Let’s break it down a little bit, there are a couple of articles that are helpful here, but the basic idea is that artists (anyone really) can create a token, to which you can assign a value, monetary or otherwise (membership of a club, a spa weekend, 10% voucher, an actual piece of art), and auction these off. Each token is unique and non-transferable, so even if you copy it million times, the ‘original’ still belongs to its owner. This is where my understanding gets woolly, but essentially the blockchain supports ownership, essentially a ledger created from many linked authenticated bits of code, generated by an algorithm using a vast array of computers across the internet.
This bit is causing issues too, so many computers are needed, and the calculations required and the speed that the blockchain works, mean that NFT’s and Blockchain transactions need an incredible amount of energy, a single transaction uses enough energy to power an average American household for two months. There’s a huge environmental cost, which is seemingly ignored by many people caught up in the excitement of this technology. Perhaps that’s a little unfair, I don’t speak with any expertise, but it does as usual, that we barrel on with the tech, hoping that we’ll find a way to solve deep issues further down the line, without any thought for damage being caused today.
Some artists are making good money from NFT’s, they are finding ways to share work and do some clever things. I am super impressed by Rev Dan Catt’s approach, he has publishing images drawn from his pen-plotting and generative prints. He publishes his accounts and talks candidly about the process, it’s great to have such transparency and openness, that is helpful to so many people. Damien Hirst has a fun approach where NFT’s are for sale alongside an actual piece of art. Buyers have a month to decide which one they want to keep, he’s asking them to decide whether the token or the real art will be more valuable in the long-term. So many people are publishing NFT’s, musicians, celebs (of course) but also charities and NGO’s, there are even NFT’s available from the government in Ukraine raising funding for the war.
Lost and Found
A couple of podcasts this week that I enjoyed on my flight and while travelling into work. The first, Know Your Enemy looks at issues through the conservative lens, trying to understand republican talking-points not merely from a progressive point of view, but by tracing the origins and exploring where particular ideologies stem from. It is fascinating, I would recommend the episode on how public education has become the punching bag it is for those on the right. Also this week, Citations Needed talked about the use of Culture War, a label that is used to trivialize issues of great importance, those that are actually economic, human rights and gun safety issues.
Closer to home, and of great interest to linguists and language teachers was a wonderful episode of the BBC’s Word of Mouth with Poet Michael Rosen, talking about technology and language, especially how AI translation and the use of predictive text have changed over the years. He wonders whether machines can write poetry, can really get the essence of translation, it’s a good listen.
Finally, and I know this is terrible click-bait but found myself totally distracted by these maps (this is probably the most unverified and fact-checked thing I’ve ever posted, so just for fun, eh?).
Must watch
There are a few films premiering at SXSW, including The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, starring Nicholas Cage, and another that looks really great, starring Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere all at Once (trailer below the strange poster I saw…should I call the number?)
Thank you
Okay, I have things to do (so do you)… let’s catch up when I’m home and I’ll share more photos and hopefully some insights from my trip. There are some really cool productions here, especially new games for VR headsets. Already it feels as if there’s a maturity in terms of content, perhaps a little richer and deeper than before, perhaps creators allowed themselves some introspection, certainly there are some dark experiences, you feel hollowed out late at night, illuminated by cathode ray.
I’m typing the last of these words in the wonderful public library in Austin, just a few rows down from the technology petting zoo and a couple of streets from the main festival drag. It is quiet and peaceful here away from the crowds.
Take care, see you next week (probably Monday again).
One last thing…
I have exciting news to share: You can now read The Spaces in Between in the new Substack app for iPhone.
With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.
The Substack app is currently available for iOS. If you don’t have an Apple device, you can join the Android waitlist here.