commoning_as_practice_of_creation_and_publication_commoning_als_arbeits-_und_publikationspraxis [Felix Stalder, Prof. DfA]

This module focuses on the theory and artistic practice of “commoning”. Commons are free resources created and managed by a community, for example, alpine meadows, urban gardens, or, online Wikipedia, archives and libraries.

Commons embody an alternative idea of property, of cooperation and, in the cases that we will focus on, also of artistic practice, particularly the separation between production and presentation. They are opting instead for a practice that is process-oriented and open-ended.

One of the projects we will look at in depth, both from a theoretical as well as practical point of view is the archive “Ubu” (www.ubu.com), created and maintained by the artist Kenneth Goldsmith. It is informed by his particular stance on the role of the artist in the digital domain (overflowing and chaotic), but it is also a very valuable resource that many different people can use for their own purpose.

We will also engage in a practical exercise of actively contributing to a commons-based project (Wikipedia) throughout the time of the module.

Logistics

Dates: 13.01. - 17.01.
Time: 09:15 -17:00
Place: ZT 6.H02

Course requirements:

80% Presence
Participation in class discussion
Writing/editing of one or more Wikipedia articles

Introduction

What is Wikipedia?

History of Wikipedia (:about; history article)
Ideals and Realities
- Rijshouwer, Emiel, Justus Uitermark, and Willem De Koster. “Wikipedia: A Self-Organizing Bureaucracy.” Information, Communication & Society 26, no. 7 (May 19, 2023): 1285–1302.
- Tripodi, Francesca. “Ms. Categorized: Gender, Notability, and Inequality on Wikipedia.” New Media & Society 25, no. 7 (July 2023): 1687–1707.
Molly White: Elon Musk and the right’s war on Wikipedia. Citation Needed. Jan 2, 2025, (more: Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors)

How to Edit Wikipedia?

Introduction to Wikipeda
Art + Feminism: Get started: Learn to edit!
Molly White Become a Wikipedian in 30 minutes, 2024, 31 Min

Notability:

Art & Feminism: Notability, 2:55
Gregor Weichbrodt, Dictionary of non-notable Artists. Frohmannverlag, 2016

Michael Mandiberg Print Wikipedia (2009-16)

Choosing a Topic

https://pad.vmk.zhdk.ch/wikipedia_topic

Commons

Round: What Commons do we know?
History of the Commons (in Europe)
- Allmend. Historisches Lexicon der Schweiz. 2001
Hardin, Garrett. “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Sciene 162 (1968): 1243–48. (Local Copy: PDF) (Southern Poverty Law Center. “Garrett Hardin.”)
McGinnis, Michael D., and Elinor Ostrom. “Design Principles for Local and Global Commons.” Linking Local and Global Commons. Harvard Center for International Affairs, Cambridge, MA, April 23-25, 1992.
Dulong de Rosnay, Melanie, and Felix Stalder. “Digital Commons.” Internet Policy Review 9, no. 4 (2020). https://doi.org/10.14763/2020.4.1530.

Commons and Art

Sollfrank, Cornelia, Felix Stalder, and Shusha Niederberger, eds. Aesthetics of the Commons. Zurich / Berlin: Diaphanes, 2021. https://www.diaphanes.net/titel/aesthetics-of-the-commons-6419.
- Sollfrank & Stalder. Introduction
- Kleesattel. Situated Aesthetics for Relational Critique. On Messy Entanglements from Maintenance Art to Feminist Server Art

Research & Writing for own Wikipedia Articles

Round: First experiences in editing Wikipedia

Collective Writing

Woodmansee, Martha. “On the Author Effect: Recovering Collectivity.” Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 10 (1992): 279–92.
Ecosystems of Writing. Interview with Michael Murtaugh. 2018 (13 Min), https://creatingcommons.zhdk.ch/ecosystems-of-writing/index.html
- Ecole de Recherche Graphique, Brussels, https://wiki.erg.be/m/
- Constant, Brussel, https://constantvzw.org/site/-About-Constant-7-.html
- Experimenting with Institutional Formats, Interview with Laurence Rassel, 2018 (26 Min), https://creatingcommons.zhdk.ch/experimenting-with-institutional-formats/index.html

Research & Writing for own Wikipedia Articles

Round: More experiences in editing Wikipedia

Ubu and Uncreative Writing

https://ubu.com
The Poetry of Archiving, Interview with Kenneth Goldsmith (2013, 21 Min)
Goldsmith, Kenneth. Uncreative Writing. Managing Language in the Digital Age. New York: Columbia University Press, 2011. https://monoskop.org/media/text/goldsmith_2011_uncreative_writing/ (introduction)
Sollfrank, Cornelia. “Kenneth Goldsmith’s Claim to Uncreativity.” In No Internet – No Art. A Lunch Byte Anthology, edited by Melanie Bühler, 40–50. Eindhoven: Onomatopee, 2015. https://artwarez.org/?s=claim+to+uncreativity
Happy Birthday, Ubu (30 November 2016). https://custodians.online/ubu/