Journal of Aesthetics and Protest

bio proposal http://www.journalofaestheticsandprotest.org/New Issue #4

Journal of Aesthetics and Protest Proposal (December 5th, 2005)

Project Description for Civic Matters

In January 2006, the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest is launching their  campaign, Rock Women for Reich. The Heavier the Better  Demonstration, Orgasm, Trip?

Build it with us.  I had never been to LA before the demonstration.  Join us.

Note from Robby - Labour ( November 4th, 2005 )

Last weekend the Journal’s collective sat down and began to share some of its ideas about this January’s events.

We all would like to offer our homes to our visitors.

We all were busy with ideas of ways to use our Swedish guests. Amongst ourselves shared tips and techniques of ways to maximize the labour of our guests, which we hope to monopolize. We imagine our guests as a pool of eager, willing and skilled labourers. Visions of utilitarian projects_ carts, libraries, shelters, gumball machines, light boxes, guerilla public art, bowls and dishes- danced in our heads. Though we all had our own of ideas of how the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest would engage our guests we agreed on two interrelated points:

a) we are excited by access to labour capital and skills that civic matters offer us.

b) we recognize the strong similarities between this exchange and the exploitative nature of immigrant labour in LA.

Like a sweatshop, or dark-willed performance art, we fanticized about locking our visitors in workshop rooms till they had paid off their debts to their hosts (us), and hosts countries (the U.S.A).

For many immigrants to LA a kind of bondage is regular (to a coyote, in a slavelike sweatshop, or the workaday life in the forced underground economy). While many visitors too a new place express a desire to have an “authentic” relationship with the host place. By nature of their class and the temporal nature of their visits, the Swedes will not be able to experience what the majority of new arrivals in LA experience; minimal rights, minimal freedom, a cat and mouse games with authority, limited opportunity, forced poverty.

While of course we are looking forward to a pleasant exchange with our guests, and do not want a didactic relationship to the conceit of this exhibit, a conceptual interests of ours for Civic Matters is this question of immigrant labour.

Any one looking for a place to stay in LA, please contact the Journal.

Best Robby Herbst