Hello All,

After a few days to decompress, I would also like to add my voice to the
general chorus of "Bravo!" for another Bricolabs meeting, and I'd like
to reflect PixelAche's gracious and welcoming hosting of the event.

The smell of Bricolabs is certainly still present - in fact, I am
starting to detect it in unexpected places. But I still can't help
getting the feeling that, at this stage in the game, we are all somewhat
at a loss to see how to go forward. Bricos have clear values, and
positive impulses towards DIY, relocalisation, critical engagement,
creative practices, empowering relationships with technologies (where
they are possible) and see the value of playful, exploratory activity,
both for the participant, and for the insights that may emerge.

Yet I sense that we (all of us individually, and us as a loose group)
are finding our values more and more marginal to the conventional,
spectacular world of the mainstream arts and media, increasingly
disconnecting from academia, and at odds with conventional political and
economic discourse.

I also sense that the major action that the Bricolabs Network will
catalyse (or precipitate?) has not yet happened.

* Can I prove any of this? No.
* Do I have quantative evidence and a robust research methodology? No.
* Do I sense that this is the case? Yes.

There is not even a name for the practices, methodologies and
relationships that Bricolabs advocate. (And this may be for the best.)
Pixelache call themselves a "transdisciplinary platform for experimental
art, design, research and activism" and this phrase certainly reeks of
the Brico smell... But somehow, this seems to align uncomfortably
closely with research. I feel that there is something else - a spiritual
dimension (not articulated but implied) by John Hopkins and others,
about finding a new way to thrive in a world which is increasingly out
of balance.

Personally, I'm starting to think more and more about possibilities for
"making your own entertainment" - the significance of (real world)
do-it-yourself, in-person games, and play for its own sake, (distinct
from spectacularised professional sports, pyramids of corporate video
game power, and other such pass times that strip away of agency and
marginalise peer relationships).

Hmmm... Just thoughts. I shall now snap back into "advanced manufacture"
mode and see if I can craft some words to unlock some financial support. ;-)

All the best - and stay positive!

James

P.S. Ubatuba? I'm in.
=====

On 24/05/13 01:54, Felipe Fonseca wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> I'm also in the process of getting back home - realised a couple hours
> ago that since wednesday last week I've been sleeping every night in a
> different place (only repeated at Tapio's, but it wasn't consecutive
> nights). Am now in São Paulo, and will hopefully get back to Ubatuba
> tomorrow or saturday.
>
> I want to thank everyone who was involved with the pixel-brico
> connection. Not only those of you who were there last week (as I
> already tried to express f2f), but also everyone who tried to connect
> somehow, who joined discussions and IRC meetings. It's always a good
> thing to find that the brico-smell is still around (right, James?)
>
> Pixelache crew was very welcoming and had shown lots of patience with
> our sometimes messy way of making decisions, commit and communicate.
>
> Great to be close to you, Bricos! Fragmented conversations and
> dreamlike memories in a separate chapter. But also purposeless spaces,
> getting people to stop talking fundish, replace statements for open
> questions and reflecting upon the very role of festivals, exhibitions,
> meetings, etc.
>
> Next step: Ubatuba, late october. Who's coming?
>
> efe
>
>
> On 22-05-2013 20:32, Molly Hankwitz wrote:
>> the website was fantastic to read. great projects and ideas for a
>> gathering of minds. good videos. excellent.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 8:16 AM, Paula Vélez <pvelezbr@???
>> <mailto:pvelezbr@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>

>>     Hey Jerneja,

>>

>>     As brico-people you will be able to send us drawings of your
>>     prototype or fishing rod for survive in the island and how did you
>>     manage to sculpt the silex-lighter for the fire !

>>

>>     Jean-Noël, the meeting was very interesting, we could speak and have
>>     some great exchanges.
>>     Nevertheless we couldn't join all of us in a brico-meeting and
>>     conversations to do some brieffings about what was going to be the
>>     spirit of the reader.

>>

>>     At least, Tapio, Jerneja, Alejo, John can be together to get in the
>>     mood and try to put in one piece a Brico-reader.

>>

>>     Have a nice time in the archipielago.

>>

>>     salute,

>>

>>     Paula

>>
>>
>>

>>     2013/5/22 Jerneja Rebernak <jerneja99@???
>> <mailto:jerneja99@gmail.com>>

>>

>>         Hello JN,

>>

>>         we haven't really get back yet. together with John, Alejo and
>>         Tapio we are trapped on the Turku arhipelago fishing and
>>         rainbathing now...we did lit the fireplace and are compiling
>>         text for the Bricoreader.

>>

>>         Anyone still interested in sending some conversations or text
>>         that relates to Bricolabs, please do so now :)

>>

>>         most welcome to check on the other conversations which happen on
>>         Friday on brico conference, which is documented here.

>>

>>         http://bambuser.com/channel/pixelversity

>>

>>         moi, salut
>>         Jerneja

>>

>>         On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 3:55 PM, Jean-Noël Montagné
>> <jnm@??? <mailto:jnm@autistici.org>> wrote:

>>
>>
>>

>>             some comments and descriptions of the festival ?

>>

>>             how was it ?

>>
>>

>>               thanks, JN
>>             _________________________________________________
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>>
>>

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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> molly hankwitz, phd:::artist:::curator:::writer
>>
>> training coordinator:::community technology network:::btop project
>>
>> www.ctnbayarea.org <http://www.ctnbayarea.org>
>>
>> www.sfbtop.org <http://www.sfbtop.org>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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