before rhizome

[anna balint]

[When thinking about sustainable models for online cultural production
i usually try to get inspiration from performance and mail artists,
who persist on the cultural scene now for decades. The deal with exactly
the same problems as the net artists in respect of raising funds, 
fight against marginalisation in culture and public space, data storage,
critique, archiving, community, organizing themselves. Performance artists
also confront since two-three years the big question of whether they should 
or they should not connect their loose network of small performance art 
organisations, venues and individuals through an international organisation 
in order to better promote their interests. I follow and enjoy their discussions 
since the beginnings, centered usually around the necessity of a funding meeting, 
and the participation in a meeting and in an organisation they don't need. 
Recently it looks that there will be a meeting, and online participation
is encouraged... those who are interested in finding out where the former 
syndicalist Denis Romanovski is doing, or wish to know about the outcome of 
such a meeting, can visit from time to time the iapao archives at 
http://mailman.smufsa.nu/mailman/listinfo/apao .
In any case they don't seem to accept to be represented by a couple of people 
and to fuel administration, or regulation... sorry for x.posting. a.]



Dear IAPAO members,
Some days before the new meeting, I want propose to your consideration the idea on 
the structure of our organisation that ,in my opinion, should be in the same 
conditions for all the members , even if they are absent at the live meeting, to 
have an equalitarian capacity of decision.
Despite that I agree with the figure of “honorific president”. For this charge is my 
pleasure introducing you my candidate:
    
Names: Nfumu-Ngui, white gorilla, in fang language
       Copito de Nieve, SNOWFLAKE in Spanish
 
Born:  Nko forest, Rio Muni province, Guinea Ecuatorial.
       37 years old, approximately 80 in humans
 
Biography: Probably abandoned by its mother.The Barcelona zoo, took delivery on 1th         
November 1966 of an albino Western Lowland Gorilla, the only one ever known      
to have existed. He has entirely white fur with pinkish skin, is one of those beings
that has to be seen to be believes, he lives with three black females, he had his
own webcam www.zoobarcelona.com
 
Site specific performances: After years on a concrete open air terrace, and closed 
areas with big glass windows, that represents the middle class second residence 
dreams in the 60’s , more than an natural environement,  SNOWFLAKE,without any 
knowlege of Jarry,Artaud or Cioran starts to create performance to provoke the vomit 
of the hard audience. Shit in front of the audience, eats his own shit making signs
to the less crowded public as saying is my decision and is a pleasure. To finish
extending the rest on the glass to erase the disgusted  faces of the few audience.

Special remarks: Salvador Dalí give to SNOWFLAKE a wedding dressed woman manequin 
and a huge wedding pie.
A Japanese tourist girl, following the princess Nikasya legend, jumped three 
security fences offering her self as a sexual present to SNOWFLAKE, intending get 
the same power as the legends says got Nikasya after the intercourse with a white
gorilla.
 
Well that’s my proposal is up to you consider and vote. In my opinion is nice to 
have a president that belongs to another “race” as usual, and you will see that 
COPITO DE NIEVE – SNOWFLAKE is an artist more human that many presidents are.
 
Warm regards,
Valentín Torrens

===================================================================== 
Dear Memebrs, dear Valentin,
 
Valentin's proposal is a really fresh gift given to us,
many thanks for it. I suggest to include it into the
agenda of the meeting in Essen.
I really believe that our SNOWFLAKE will remember
about all the problems of our world full of inequality.
Some of us, maybe most of us, are living in kind of ZOO.
 
And now I must introduce another gift for us. From many, many years
I have at my studio a framed, photographic portrait of white gorilla.
It was a gift given by sombody a long time ago. It's displayed
in between the photographs of my other family members.
Tonight, after Valentin's letter I decided to look at the back-side
of that photo, and I found the original dedication from 1971:
 
"Dear Sire, I dedicate to you the portrait of pleasant SNIEZYNEK
(SNIEZYNEK in Polish is SNOWFLAKE) - the white gorilla
from Rio-Muni - as the evidence of my friendship and sincere
devotion.
Stanislaw Mycinski, Krakow, 8-IV-1971"
 
So - from about 32 years I have an authentic photograph of our 
potential, 4 or 5 years old president. I am unbelieveable happy, 
that he is still alive!
Long live the SNOWFLAKE (SNIEZYNEK)!!!
 
And the same for all of us,
yours
 
Artur T.

=====================================================================
Dear Friends, I have been silent for a wile. Sorry.

After reading your proposal for the monkey president, I want to confirm my
presence at the meeting.

Eric Letourneau
Commissaire indépendant
Diffusion Système Minuit du Québec
Centre de recherches culturelles interdisciplinaires
Les animaux de compagnies
Mine Mine Mine
Cagibi International
Second Regard