whats an artist?
organise - 21.01.2006 14:15
the irony of anarchsim in amsterdam
amidst my eratic journey through the libertarian left groupings in Amsterdam I have encountered some ironic and disappointing situations, last night was yet another one, as an outsider from a small country that has active but small anarchist groupings i suppose i am used to welcoming atmospheres, if someone shows an interest in getting involved in whatever project we are doing, most people tend almost naturally to make them feel welcome, and encourage them to participate etc, from my experiences in Amsterdam i get the impression that people almost naturally tend to alienate new people, distance them from activities in order to maintain the cosy, internal clique in their political group ( although there is a serious lack of politics, art, art, art is all i hear). I get the impression that it is not about expanding networks, engaging with the community, involving the community but maintaining internal structures so that they can be sustained over a long period. The problem with this of course is that the same people do the same things and eventually informal hierarchies emerge that are more difficult to subvert than formal hierarchies. Anyway, i hope to refrain from a generalised critique, hopefully i have just been unlucky in my encounters but from discussions i have had with other "foreigners", it would appear that i am not alone in my diagnosis of a failing libertarian network. However, it would be unfair to just criticise without hard empirical analysis and as i am not long here i cannot do that. But i do intend to develop a more concise and articulate political critique of why the libertarian left is not functioning adequately in amsterdam. The first line would be the tyranny of structurlessness and the second the tyranny of depoliticisation. Anyway, back to my original intention which was to pose a question to all who care to respond. I went to the squat/cultural centre? 301 on Overtoon last night. Some friends and I , all foreigners also waited patiently outside the door, we began wondering what the delay was, however, we continued to share our can of beer together, counting our change, calculating how much we could afford to spend tonight. someone came out form the door and told us that the building was full and they could not allow anyone else in. Obviously we were disappointed but these things happen so we began to walk off. However, as we were leaving i noticed the same guy allowing several of his friends through the door, then other people whom he obviously knew began to talk to him and thus, they were also eventually allowed in. at this point i went over to the door and was told , they were full, i questioned why other people were being allowed in and of course i was just shrugged off. In Holland, most foreigners will experience the shrug, be it from the immigration police, the tax office , or the doorperson from one of your local squats. We went off to a local bar, had a couple of drinks and came back down one hour later, as we approached we could see people being let in so we thought that great, it is open. However, i went up rang the bell, no answer, rang the bell again, no answer. Eventually someone answered the door , laughing.. yes , she said. Hello i replied, can we come in ? No, we are full... but i just seen people entering... oh yes, they are artists, we are only allowing artists in. I must have looked shocked as she began to close the door. I was pondering to myself.. what the fuck is an artist? so, i mentioned that my friends and I are all very creative people, in fact, i would say that we are all artists. Do you have a criteria for artistry i ask her.... politely she laughed, sorry, not tonight. The doors were shut. Shut doors are a regular experience for the outsider in Amsterdam. I am still wondering what experience was worse, the time i seen some guy from a squat punching a poor black kid for taking 50cent of his table or the hilarious snobbery of "only artists tonight my friend".... anyway, maybe some of you can tell me what it is that qualifies one as an artist? call me old fashioned but does anyone else think middle class amsterdam is in serious need of some class politics and awareness?
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