when did collaboration become the new f-you?
the past couple of months have been marred by a few rejection letters from residencies and exhibitions. we’ve been working on and proposing an expanded iteration of the new natives project as well as some other site/context specific projects.
the rejection letters have all been very kind and sympathetic and showed that the work was looked at and considered carefully. However they all had as a closing paragraph some kind of seemingly carrot in the sky of an offer that although the project did not fit into this particular set of circumstances, they would love to collaborate with us or open a dialogue on some future way that they could assist with the project.
since v and i are all about collaborative practices, and would love to start a conversation with someone, we got in touch with each of these asking how they imagined this future collaboration and should we start a conversation. sadly they all responded back with a… actually we don’t really know, don’t have an idea, cannot engage right now, type of answer. the future collaboration was just a way of saying no without saying no. which our second email drew out of them.
so thanks for abusing the word collaboration and making it the catch-all art word of the moment that doesn’t mean anything.
Hmm, I know this collaborative non-collaboration from another context.
Once in a serious painting class, where everyone needed to already have background in design and craft, the professor was delivering a beautiful message about proportion, perspetive, materials, etc. One of my fellow students turned to her and said, “what mean proportion?”
I had a recent conversation at work about the school’s mission and vision, …and another about organizational structure and leadership.
hmm, those stories will need to be told in person. Remind me. It has to do with having big ideas in terms of buzz words and ideals…what looks good… but not with reality nor with what one’s actions tell us about their beliefs.
Here’s to hope. There must be collaboration happening in places where it goes beyond a discussion over coffee, a collective masturbation! The same goes for rigor and shared leadership.