We need your support. If you:

— are one of the thousands of people who regularly visit Turbulence.org, Networked_Performance, Networked_Music_Review and/or New American Radio

and/or

— are one of the hundreds of teachers who use Turbulence works in your new media/digital art courses

and/or

— are an artist who has received a Turbulence, Networked_Music_Review or New American Radio commission

and/or

— have presented at or attended Upgrade! Boston (Art Interactive or Massachusetts College of Art and Design), Floating Points (Emerson College), or Programmable Media (Pace Digital Gallery)

now is the time to give something back.

We cannot continue without your help. We MUST raise $25,000 by December 31, 2007.

Tom Moody wrote: “Art about the art world inherently blows”

I can never understand why some folks think certain subjects are inherently bad. It’s obvious to me that no subject is inherently bad — even the art world.

If a certain piece is naval-gazing bullshit, fine. If you think a certain subject is being over-explored (like skulls perhaps?), then say it.

But, to declare one subject off-limits because it “inherently blows” makes no sense.

Actually, good art about the art world is perhaps even harder to pull off because of the risks of a) naval-gazing and b) subject over-exposure.

The iCommons Auction runs from 19 November to 14 December, 2007. This is an innovative auction of paraphernalia from some of the world’s leading Internet figures. From Internet activist and Stanford Law Professor, Lawrence Lessig’s coat that he wore in countries around the world that invited him to talk about free culture; to pre-prints from best-selling novelist, Cory Doctorow’s forthcoming, to-be-Creative Commons-licensed novel, Little Brother; and from #13 of only 20 plush toys of Firefox Japan’s mascot, Fox-keh that took the world by storm, to four of Indian intellectual property expert Lawrence Liang’s favorite Bollywood films: this auction is a celebration of free culture from around the world from those who make it and build it every day. All the proceeds of the auction will go to developing and sustaining iCommons’ global projects.