So how about an excerpt. Here, Kris is in the middle of recounting a trip to a nearby village of Garrovillas for a festival, which for the Spaniards means a day of stuffing one’s face and sucking back wine:

By the time we reached the square the rain had subsided but that icy wind was blowing full force, making being out of doors extremely uncomfortable. We found a scruffy bar & continued with the liver damage. The bartender had a massive supply of “pitarra” on hand in badly corked old whiskey bottles. There was a calendar on the wall next to the cash register of a blonde bombshell in a bikini, the top half of which she seemed to have misplaced somewhere on the way to the photo shoot.

Our friend Bego leaned over & she whispered in my ear, “Es la virgen del pueblo.” (“She’s the town virgin.”)

A loud cackle escaped my mouth & suddenly there was quite a commotion at the far end of the bar. A young guy, couldn’t have been more than 15 or 16 years old, had burst into song. He was trying his hand at a bit of flamenco. His girlfriend watched him with eyes full of admiration as one of his buddies clapped out the beat & occasionally stomped his feet. Customers added passionate “Olés” here & there at appropriate moments. Lola turned to me, “This is the kind of thing you Yanks pay tour guides hundreds of dollars to see!”

“Yep.” It was quite an “authentic moment.” Another one down the hatch.

An old man with an unlit stub of a cigar in his mouth coughed up an enormous wad of phlegm right there in the middle of the bar. Nobody blinked. I swear, if you hadn’t actually witnessed the old fella in the act & just happened to look down you’d wonder who the hell dropped a raw egg on the floor.

“To village life!” Another round down the hatch.

Bueno, bueno. Anyone interested in acquiring a copy of Extranjero (recommended!) should send a few bucks or a zine for trade to:
Kris & Lola
Calle Obispo 4 bajo
Plasencia 10600
Cáceres
Spain/España

Usually coinciding with receiving Kris and Lola’s zine, my interest in the world(s) of zines is renewed and I make vague plans to produce a zine. My first introduction to zines came in high school through friends, which led to my own short-lived production of a couple of zines: a micro-format skate zine called Zine X (horrible title) and then an arts and literature zine, the name of which escapes me (some day I’ll dig these up…). A long time ago John Freeborn and others published a skate zine called Media Locals, which chronicled the exploits-with-skateboards of our small suburban Philly crew. John continues to be a prolific zine publisher and has also created a fine online archive/network at zinebox.org. Another high school chum, Jeff Wiesner, published several issues of Double Negative, a high-quality zine of visual and literary arts.

The political implications of a vibrant underground press are as relevant now as they were when Martin Luther published and disseminated his 95 Theses in the 16th century that resulted in the poitical-theological coup that was the Reformation. The broadsheets, newsletters, independent newspapers and zines of radicals, activists, artists, amateurs, connoisseurs, fans, and misfits have transmitted “improper,” under-acknowledged information, initiated sub-cultural networks, and undermined hegemonic culture and authority (and not without retaliation to be sure). In spite of (or because of) the aestheticization and commodification of DIY culture by Madison Avenue, zine publishers continue apace, eking out autonomous spaces for their interests, causes, ideas, and artworks and fostering the spirit of generosity and openness that really does seem to characterize the zine world(s).

An obvious connection exists between zines and blogs/web sites in terms of self-publishing, yet for all the immediacy and potential readership of a blog, a zine always asserts that pesky quality of tactility and objecthood—the flip of pages, the texture of papers, the unexpected folded insert, the type- or hand-written text. The finiteness and digestibility of cover-to-cover, as opposed to the unlimitless expanse of everything-all-at-once. It’s difficult to say whether such tactile tendencies are borne of nostalgia or neurologically programmed (maybe a mixture), but the attraction is real nonetheless. And as there seems to be a general, if fractional, shutting down of the Internet’s glorious openness, one wonders if ISPs and governments will further collaborate to monitor the Net and place political, economical, and moral restrictions on our ability to use the Internet freely for self-publishing. In this possible future the hand-to-hand transmission of zines may have renewed urgency and significance.

Jim watched Mr. Maxted sink back among the exhausted prisoners. He had made his last effort to sit upright, trying to convince Jim that all was well, that the good luck and the skill of some unknown American bomb aimer, which had saved them from being shipped aboard the collier, would continue to watch over them.

“Mr. Maxted, do you want the war to end? It must end soon.”

“It has almost ended. Think about your mother and father, Jim. The war has ended.”

“But Mr. Maxted, when will the next one begin…?”

Baudolino, Umberto Eco:

“Which is the most fierce of animals?” the Poet asked then.

“Man.”

“Why?”

“Ask yourself. You, too, are a wild beast, you have with you other beasts, and in your lust for power you want to deprive all other beasts of life.”

Then the Poet said: “But if all were like you, the sea would never be sailed, the earth would never be tilled, the great kingdoms would not be born to carry order and greatness into the base disorder of earthly things.”

The old man replied: “Each of these things is surely fortunate, but it is built on the misfortune of others, and that we do not desire.”

Mrs. R. McGregor, sponsor, USS Mercer, 1918. Federal Shipbuilding Company, Kearny, New Jersey.

Recently, while at Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum for a riverfront planning symposium, I discovered, tucked away in a vitrine, a modest exhibit of photographs of women and girls launching ships from near the turn of the 20th century. Very odd and very striking is the fierce contrast between the primly conservative figures and the industrial bulk of the ships: lace and steel, tresses of hair and rivets of metal, petite features and monumental hulls. And what is the nature of this strange blessing, this smashing a bottle of alcohol (usually champagne) against the ship? Have a look at the many photos posted to the online exhibit.

Unidentified sponsor, SS Gulfoil, August 29, 1912. New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey.

Philadelphia residents have an unprecedented opportunity to work with local civic leaders and urban planning and design professionals to envision a world-class riverfront along the central Delaware River. In mid-October when Mayor Street issued the executive order creating the Central Delaware Advisory Group, a working body of 45 representatives from various communities, non-profits and offices around the city, he challenged Philadelphians to imagine the very best for the riverfront and to think boldly about the character of the riverfront we would like to live on, work on, and enjoy for generations to come. It is with a great sense of duty and honor that I serve as the liaison between the residents of my neighborhood of Fishtown and this advisory group.

Shortly after the mayor’s executive order, the riverfront visioning process quickly began with a series of 3 walks along the Delaware River from South Philly through Penn’s Landing and north beyond Penn Treaty Park into Port Richmond. These well-attended walks and talks were instrumental in reminding us of the rich history of the riverfront as well as revealing the current condition of the land along the river.

The first meeting of the Central Delaware Advisory Group was held in early November in a packed conference room at the offices of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. With introductions by Janice Woodcock, executive director of the planning commission, and Harris Steinberg and Harris Sokolof of the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Praxis, the year-long visioning and planning process officially began. We talked with each other about the concerns and hopes our neighborhoods have for the riverfront. We recounted memorable experiences from other waterfronts that we have had in Philadelphia and in other cities around the world. We generated an informal list of uses and features we think it will be important to consider in any riverfront plan: things like a vibrant port industry, open spaces, housing, local businesses, and so on.

We learned that the next year would see numerous civic engagement forums and meetings across the city to gather input from Philadelphians on what they desire for the riverfront. Early next year a team of design professionals will be commissioned to work with the public and advisory group to interpret that vision and mold it into a workable plan. Finally, the entire process as well as the design work will be presented to the city in a prominent, public exhibition in September 2007.

Last week, members of the advisory group embarked on a field trip to New York to view firsthand a few of its recent waterfront development projects and to meet with key leaders who have helped guide it. Our task was not to copy New York’s development model or to find specific, pre-packaged solutions, but rather to learn about the many challenges New York has faced, the kinds of questions New Yorkers have asked and the steps they have taken in their planning processes. I believe that we gained significant insight into our own condition in Philadelphia. We have much to learn from New York’s (and other cities’) successes and failures when it comes to waterfront planning and development.

Our tour of New York began on the west side of Manhattan along a narrow strip next to the Hudson River. A generous bike path connecting a series of small-scale public spaces travels the length of the river and is punctuated by several multi-functional parks that have been created on the existing piers. At least 20 years in the making, this stretch of New York’s waterfront demonstrated the intensity and difficulty of any comprehensive planning process but also the potential rewards of fighting for a collective planning vision.

After a look at the high-end development of Battery Park City with its massive residential and commercial buildings, its focus on green building, and integrated public spaces and public art, we ended the day at the City of New York Planning Commission for presentations by 2 lead planners and remarks by Amanda Burden, executive director. We learned about plans currently underway for the East River waterfront and for a major redevelopment scheme on the waterfront in the Greenpoint-Williamsburg sections of Brooklyn. Certain parallels with Philadelphia can be seen in these projects: the largely post-industrial land in Brooklyn adjacent to thriving residential neighborhoods, and the East River waterfront’s struggle with the FDR elevated highway (like our own I-95).

I came away from the New York trip with two pressing concerns:

1) How do we guarantee access to affordable, humane housing when planning for residential development on the riverfront? We saw two different approaches to this question in New York: in Battery Park City no consideration was giving to affordable housing ($6500/month rents for a one bedroom!)—market forces are left unchecked, pushing the cost of housing to levels unmanageable by all but the very wealthy; in Greenpoint-Williamsburg we saw that the city has rezoned the waterfront area and created an incentive program which uses private development capital to fund a percentage of affordable housing. The former is untenable, the latter a first step but not without problems. My neighbors in Fishtown and Port Richmond—most of whom have lived there for generations—are in danger of being displaced by the wave of gentrification that is creeping north of center city in the form of rising housing costs and property taxes.

2) How do we create truly public, democratic space on the riverfront, knowing that we will need to most likely partner with private developers? Quasi-public spaces like shopping malls present the illusion of a public commons but our rights as citizens are incredibly limited in such spaces. If the city enters into development cooperations with the private sector, we must be careful to ensure that our open spaces on the riverfront are truly public, truly accessible to all citizens, and afford our guaranteed rights as citizens.

Moving forward, it is incredibly important that we participate as fully as we can in crafting and expressing our vision for the riverfront. We will need to consider difficult problems and respond with meaningful, complex solutions. How do we guarantee access to affordable, humane housing when planning for residential development on the riverfront? How do we create truly public, democratic space on the riverfront, knowing that we will most likely need to with private developers? How do we plan for a variety of uses on the riverfront which allow for green space and economic growth, new jobs and new recreational uses, new construction and historic preservation?

For too long the voices of everyday Philadelphians have been ignored while a few have made decisions about our city that do not serve the public good. Here is our chance, by order of Mayor Street, to declare what we desire for our city and to hold those who represent us accountable for realizing our vision. In the coming weeks there will be several public meetings around the city where we can express this vision and work with each other to develop a collective plan for the riverfront. Also, all meetings of the Central Delaware Advisory Group are open to the public. For more information about these events and all other news of the process, visit www.planphilly.com.

Update 12/1/06: Also see The People’s Waterfront at Green City Journal.

Nat King Tron (aka the band) has just self-released our second record entitled “In the Presence of Peasants,” an off-the-cuff document of two days of improvised musical experimentation. The tracks were culled from about 10 hours of material, all recorded, engineered, and mastered by our friend Peter Richan at his Buckeye Recording Studio in South Philly. Many thanks also are due to Kara Schlindwein for creating the packaging design with absolutely no direction from us (talk about your difficult client).

The other players in the trio are John Schlicter (aka Sarge), long-time collaborator, Six Acre Lake co-founder, guitar and effects maestro; and Matt Lee (like the General) who wails on alto saxophone, effects, and the bleeps and blips. “In the Presence of Peasants” explores a pretty diverse range of territory, shifting genres and dynamics: indie/math rock, electronic, experimental, metal, jazz. At moment we’re developing our live set to encompass equal parts composed and improvised material.

Easter Bunny is available for download, or you can stream some other tracks from the new release at our page on Mr. Murdoch’s MySpace. Up to date info on our movements can also be found at www.natkingtron.com.

I think that a good way to define an “institution” is to outline the fact that most of its efforts go in the direction of a self-confirmation of the institution itself. Therefore its activities will be, to a large extent, a “celebration,” a continuous effort to give an image of success, of richness, of effectiveness, of power. It’s obvious that any critical position will be seen as a menace; and, as I am convinced that the artist’s position is basically a critical one, there will be an inevitable contradiction between the artist and the institution. Having said that, I also think that not all the institutions are the same, nor that all their activities have always the same character. It’s true that the institution can have the “power,” so to say, of accepting and neutralizing even critical positions (making them become “trends” in the art market), but I do think that “institutional critique” is more interesting than neo-expressionist painting or sleek corporate photography, because in any case its content (especially in the beginning) provoke the public to pose questions. And then, when it has become a successful trend, no big drama. I think it just means that time has come, for another critical position to appear.

A few years later, Sholette wrote in an essay for republicart (now transform.eipcp.net):

Finally, in order to describe oneself as both artist and political being, or what Pier Paolo Pasolini termed a “citizen-poet,” one must remain ill at ease with the neo-liberalism of post-cold war institutions, especially those that seem all too willing to embrace a prudent form of political dissent, including the unstated demand that curators be culturally inclusive and socially progressive. Despite this uncertainty, and regardless of one’s divided loyalties, we might now seriously consider re-approaching the idea of critical autonomy that groups such as PAD/D attempted to establish more than twenty years ago. I’m not referring here to the modernist notion of autonomy in which the art object is celebrated as something solely in and for itself, transcending everyday life. Rather, I want to propose re-introducing the concept of a self-validating mode of cultural production and distribution that is situated at least partially outside the confines of the contemporary art matrix as well as global markets. In other words, a self-conscious autonomous activism in which artists produce and distribute an independent political culture that uses institutional structures as resources rather than points of termination.

After surveying the lay of the land here in Philadelphia since returning last October, it’s very apparent that this town is in serious need of some critical autonomy and institutional critique from the artists who live and work here. A few of us are finding each other. If you’re reading this in Philly and it resonates in any way, please make contact.

Bender’s most recent film, Happy Day, is really something. He’s expanded his use of the medium of lo-fi digital animation and created a tiny, compact (albeit dense) world to knock around in for a brief 1 minute 49 seconds.

The site features a range of projects that operate on the periphery of “proper” Architecture—provisional structures, bricolage tactics, leftover materials, displaced persons, vernacular contexts. Contributions come from architects, designers, artists, activists, and others working across the globe.

You’ll also find my Provisional Monument project included as a contribution to One Small Project. It’s exciting to be included with such a wide array of substantial and critical work.