Appropriations and Attacks

Another mode of aesthetic inquiry that questions the role of capitalist power within the information society where the control of information or intellectual property (another term couched in terms of materialism) becomes primary is that of appropriation. Although popular in the 80's and early 90's, this form of tactical engagement still actively challenges the role of materialist territoriality and intellectual content. Daniel Garcia Andujar's "Video Collection"[21], based in his Irational.org " Technologies to the PeopleŽ" initiative, is a critique on the increasingly prevalent database-like archives and opaque seas of 'help' information. In this installation, the reaction to the piece may have been more interesting than the piece itself. Andujar's responses were varied, from queries for technical help to livid outrage for his audacity in creating such a database. Perhaps the latter response was more from a economic perspective, as Andujar was so bold as to break the material link between the systems of exchange (material) and the systems for exchange (information).