The title of this post comes from a talk given by the speculative British architect Cedric Price. He focused on time as medium in relation to architecture, enabling performance in space. Some of his projects, like the Fun Palace, were only designed to last a finite amount of time.1
Getting more specific to our very own time/era, the above could be restated:
p2p is the answer. But what was the question?
Great question. I'm not sure if I have an answer (well, "question") yet, so bear with me.
I became excited about p2p because it genuinely felt like a way beyond. Everyone connected to the internet especially now in 2018 feels it. The anxiety surrounding our current usage of the web is palpable.
I'm optimistic about p2p because I have greater ambitions for the internet. It can work better than it does today. It was originally designed to work in a more p2p way (computer to computer) anyway. Of course, it's not going to be easy. I still carry healthy suspicions. I know it's not an *answer* or a *solution*, but I think it could be a *way*. This is why I'm exploring here, on this blog.
You may remember that I started this blog [in motion](../log/18-04-24-in-motion.md) because I liked how being in transit, offline made me feel. Personally, p2p helps me feel more calm2, knowing: I can view things offline, I can work offline as easily as online, and once I do publish, my writing won't be immediately be seen by everyone. Maybe someday I'll want it to be seen by more people, but it's not meant for all people just yet.
Last week, I saw a two hour silent film, *Arboretum Cycle*, about plants at Anthology Film Archives. The filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky was present to answer questions from the audience following the film. He explained he's been making experimental films since the 60s. When he was making films then, his homespun, imperfect films were friction-filled, material-focused reactions against the "perfect" films of that era with smooth transitions and cuts. But now he's reacting against something different. Today, you don't need to go to an arts movie theater to experience avant garde anymore. The whole world is avant garde today. Banks are avant garde. Brands are avant garde, with millennials running their strangely emotive Twitter accounts. He says his films now are therapy, both for himself and for the world. Today his works are an effort to return humanity to images. Why look for humanity in a bank? Authorship is vital to culture. And a little bird told me culture is everything we don't have to do.
When I express my interest in a more focused communication, some ask, "Why not just go back to mail art?" Good point. That's very p2p. But it's slow. And I don't know, I want to feel like I'm living in my own era. Is that so wrong? "Then why not just use email exclusively?" Another good question. I think email is great, and more people should use it to send dispatches to their friends. But I'm still interested in websites because I like the idea of creating a living, self-perfecting space over time, which documents don't allow. For instance, I edited some old blog entries today. I couldn't have done that with an email!
So, here are some *very preliminary, still in progress* answers (well, "questions"): - How can we retain calmness in an era of abundant communication? - How can we return humanity to images, text, and all communication? - How can we think and express ourselves in a self-reflexive, nourishing way in the present day?
p2p could be a way to begin.
I encourage others excited about p2p to consider their answer/question to this as well.
(By the way ... I wrote this while on the Metro North riding up to New Haven. I'm listening to the DJ Powder. She has the most amazing [website](http://powd.jp). After that, I listened to Prefab Sprout because they were next in the alphabet. )