Subject: Fwd:  Re: [burningcorn] One thing that wasn't too cool at B.C.

--- In burningcorn@y..., Joseph Dunphy wrote:


On Tue, 31 Jul 2001, Gary Xaoui wrote:

> I was busy blowing fire and missed some of the best burn stuff, I 
am glad to
> know that it was documented.  This is a age of media, people and 
recording
> equipment are everywhere.

No, Gary, it's not. We could get into some vague, handwaving debate 
about
the spirit of the age, but that's beside the point. What is on point, 
is
that this is very poor hospitality, and it simply isn't done, 
especially
when the participants in question >aren't celebrities<, and do expect
their privacy to be respected.

On a personal level, had your friend approached me, and asked me if I
would mind be photographed, I might have been willing to discuss the
possibility with him. There are friends who have earned my trust to 
such
an extent, that I've even told them to just go ahead any time they 
want,
because I know it will be done with respect, and I feel comfortable 
with
that. In some cases, I would even feel honored, whether I was clothed 
or
nude at the time, just to be part of the person's work.

A stranger playing paparozzi, however, is a much different feeling. 
So is
being put on TV. That could get to be a nuisance.

> Events like this are never private, people are
> all around you, some are participating and others are not.  
Spectators while
> not appreciated are still a reality.

Well, there are spectators, and there are spectators. The people who 
go to
an event like "Burning Corn", with a tiny handful of exceptions, are 
going
to be so cool about almost anything you do, that you're going to feel
comfortable about doing it in front of them. The people on Columbus 
Public
Access TV, though ? God only knows. And it's not like Columbus is this
tiny little town that none of us are ever likely to visit, or move to.
This could be a problem.

Now, if you were talking about a film intended to be shown to small
audiences in coffeehouses, and other places where people again, would 
be
cool with that, because they had made an effort to go out and see that
kind of thing, I suspect that you'd find that almost everybody would 
be OK
with that. But, again, you have to check with people, and Phil just
didn't. It's not like I would have been hard to find, either. I was 
6'4",
naked, and out all night, going from camp to camp. How much more
conspicuous could I have been ?

Were that the case, as unfortunately it was not, it would be a simple
matter to announce this at the beginning of the program, and, again,
people would be put at ease.

> If you would not want your behavior
> viewed by others then you possibly should reconsider your 
motivation for
> doing it.

Which behavior ? Everything has its own audience. I certainly feel no
shame for having made love to my ex-fiance, but would I want to have 
even
my closest friends watch me do so ? Probably not. Nor would it be
expected, or accepted, without the both of us agreeing.

A gathering like this may not have the same level of intimacy, but it 
does
have some, and it should. What is intended for those sharing an
experience, is not necessarily intended, or appropriate for global
distribution. This is a given, Gary ? No. It is unheard of.

> the time.  if there are things you do not want others to Hear, do 
not say
> them, do not want others to read you most privet thoughts? Do not 
write them
> down, same with how you act.  If you don't do it then no one will 
see......

This begins to sound a little like "1984". Choose between your 
privacy,
and your freedom ?

> I guess I just live my life in such a way  as to not need to 'let 
my hair
> down' or 'cut loose' by living life the way I want to and not 
caring so much
> what society thinks.

Yeah, well, Gary, part of the point, here, is that if you want a 
festival
to be a festival, you have to create an environment in which people 
feel
comfortable enough to get there, in their own time, in their own way.
Placing videocameras there kind of closes off that option.

> Would I be bothered by images of me dancing
> around the fire necked being posted or shown to my Family, friends, 
or
> boss/coworkers.  No not really

Me, neither. There's a drawing of me from an art class that I modeled 
for,
that is hanging in my aunt's room, right now. It's a nice piece of 
art.
But, even when it is something that we are comfortable with, it is 
always
about consent. One has the right to be asked, and the right to 
say "no",
and have that wish respected. So, first things first. ASK.

And, like I said, other people will feel otherwise. We are, perhaps, 
not
so far apart on all points. I, too, would like to see people feel 
free to
put aside arbitrary social conventions, to the extent that the
circumstances make practical. If that happened enough, those 
circumstances
would eventually be a lot more relaxed. If you arent' ready to honor 
their
boundaries, people aren't going to be getting there. Where I take 
serious
issue, is with your "all or nothing" approach. Either one should wear 
a
three piece business suit into the shower, or be willing to hang nude 
from
a Trapeze in Times Square on the Jumbotron, it would seem. I think 
that
the world may have room for a little more middle ground than that.

>, it might give me some difficult explaining
> and describing of the circumstance to do but if they cannot handle 
it and it
> was not illegal. then its not my problem.  Now if someone were 
taking my
> recognizable image and making big money off of it. (Like selling a 
tape of
> "Weirdo Tall White Artist Guys Caught On Tape", or "Worlds Worst 
Nude Male
> Firedancers #2" ) I would definitely want my cut!!!

If somebody was making money off my nude image, I probably wouldn't 
make
an issue about cash, as I do believe that this would be one of the 
seven
signs of the apocalypse.

> I am eager to see more.
> GXAOUI

As am I, but only when it is done with respect, and that means
consensually. No more camera ambushes, OK ? That wasn't nice.


                                            Joe
--- End forwarded message ---