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An Anonymous Satire of Silicon Valley Now Has a Publisher
- state 11y agoThis is such a fantastic project.
- johan_larson 11y agoWhat impresses you about it? I read through it last night, and came away unimpressed. Is there some hidden layer of meaning?
- squozzer 11y agoAwesome. Now we need a satire of e NYT that doesn't involve Hayden Christensen.
- DaveWalk 11y agoI am most amazed that the technocrats who were sent copies of this book anonymously all decry that it's probably some kind of marketing. Alexis Madrigal: “It’s so weird in this day and age to just do an art project.” Seriously!? People are doing pure art projects every minute -- they're call artists! I feel like this would make Mark Twain smile, like writing satire about a dimwitted socialite, who then reads it and thinks the book is great because it's obviously about someone else.
- famousactress 11y agoLiterally the only reality that makes that quote not incredibly depressing is the one where Alexis is the author of the book and his response is also a part of the larger satirical project.
- dang 11y agoWell that takes the Principle of Charity to a new level.
- alexismadrigal 11y agoHah. Dude, this was an unbelievably labor intensive project. I have an editorial team to run, a 2-year-old, and another baby on the way. There is no fucking way I could have executed this thing, even if I wanted to.
- famousactress 11y agoWell then with all due respect, I'm back to just being really sad that someone could say that.
- alexismadrigal 11y agoSee my comments further down: I was summarizing the way other people reacted to the book. That context was lost. I found the attitude depressing, too, then got it attributed to me in the New York Times. :shruggie:
- ritchiea 11y agoSo your quote is incredibly depressing then. At least that's cleared up. You do know that there are still artists in the world right? And some of them have even heard of Silicon Valley and startups?
- licoricetic 11y agoAlexis is right though. Nowadays most art projects are actually a hook for a Kickstarter or something.
- koko775 11y agoWhat makes you think so? Out of all of the art that is done I am pretty sure only a portion are a hook for a Kickstarter or marketing material.
- Gnewt 11y agoCareful of the huge confirmation bias inherent in the art you see vs. the art that's being created. Your spheres (not you specifically -- all of HN) likely tend toward exposing you to those kinds of projects.
- goldenkey 11y agoThis one definitely isn't.. http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/feb/05/petr-pavlensky-nailed-scrotum-red-square http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/feb/05/petr-pav... http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/russian-artist-pyotr-pavlensky-sets-fire-to-fsb-hq http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/russian-artist-... Most worthwhile art is done by people who look at life as a different type of quantity. Whether valued higher or lower, the different outlook is really what makes for interesting art.
- theoh 11y ago... Or even, dare I say it, look at life as quality not quantity, as something unquantifiable? (You could have chosen a less contentious example of a meritorious practicing artist :-)
- goldenkey 11y agoI'd say just the concept of Russian Roulette is art in itself. Thereby the artist I referenced above is not very contentious. He is risking his life for a message - that gamble with life is art. On the same note, what may be more contentious is the art of crime. The art of murder. The art of Sherlock Holmes deciphering the creative tendencies behind the craftiest of criminals. Murderers. Thieves. Are terrorists also artists? That my friend, is contentious.
- mturmon 11y agoIt must have been taken out of context, because it is a ridiculous quote as it stands. Common occurrence for these quickie interviews.
- dang 11y agoMaybe we should respond to this by finding interesting art projects and posting them to HN. A few get posted already, but we could use more.
- lvs 11y ago“V.C.s have become San Francisco’s de facto philosopher kings, doling out financial, political and spiritual advice while amassing enormous cultural sway” What an incredibly sad state of affairs for such a historically great city, and what a fittingly excellent project. Hats off to whoever is responsible.
- famousactress 11y ago“It’s so weird in this day and age to just do an art project.” Like I needed more reasons to be super fucking happy I haven't moved to the bay, but anyways. Here's one more.
- alexismadrigal 11y agoI mean: just to be clear, as the giver of the quote, the context for it is that I was summarizing the feeing of other people who saw the book. I was a super strong supporter of the idea that this was too well-done to be a marketing stunt. That said, it was just incredibly labor intensive for something with no commercial or even reputational return.
- lvs 11y agoIt's possible -- and I know this is a stretch -- but it's possible that good people can occasionally do something good for all of us, something that's good for society and feeds back, at best, only indirectly to the self. Maybe if it's just a statement, like this one, that forces some iota of reflection, that will be enough for the author.
- famousactress 11y ago> it was just incredibly labor intensive for something with no commercial or even reputational return. Yah, but I still declare that a pretty insane and incredibly myopic outlook on making something beautiful. You and I both have two year olds... How much commercial or reputational return are you counting on for yours? Mine seems pretty smart, and plausibly in the height percentile to be headed to WNBA... but not really counting on returns, and she's the most labor intensive experience in my life so far :)
- turkishrevenge 11y agoYeah, reading that just made me sad. That's some next level everything-that-can-be-done-in-life-has-to-have-some-monetary-ROI-on-it, kind of bullshit.
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- tabrischen 11y agoPutting this on my wishlist for Christmas. It's an interesting project, illustrating a very particular insular type of culture
- deankoons 11y agoAnyone know the author? I have the @koonscrooks twitter handle and want them to have it; they deserve such a delicatessen. Tweeted to verify: http://twitter.com/koonscrooks http://twitter.com/koonscrooks
- im2w1l 11y agoWow what an amazing art project that isn't viral marketing. And For Just $5 You Can Have Your Very Own Copy of This Fantastic Phenomenon. We are so lucky that Sarah, no doubt after a lot of effort, managed to convince these authors to publish it. Keep the playful SF "not everything has to turn a profit" spirit alive, Buy Now! EDIT: On second thought, it seems a little bit too transparent. If it is actually a reverse psychology ad for a certain animated TV series, then color me impressed.