Westlake3000 - Temple

also at available at Soundcloud http://soundcloud.com/westlake-3000

*Fake* Moon Landings

According to Conspiracy Theorists not only did NASA fake the Moon landings but they did so with such a level of complete incompetence (a breeze on the moon, no stars, no-crater etc. ad infinitum) that anyone with even a very basic understanding of photography, film making or science is able to see through the charade. But can Conspiracy Theorists explain why a organisation such as NASA, an organisation  with almost unlimited resources of both money, technical know how, and scientific research was unable to find anyone to work the project with even a very basic understanding of  A) Photography B) Film-making C) Science?

The Moon Landing where a massive propaganda cue for the US at the height of the cold war. Winning this particular space race was not only a huge boon to US prestige but a humiliation to the USSR which had previously been in the lead with Yuri Gagarin being the first man in space. The USSR itself would have have had enormous  resources in with which to expose such a 'hoax' and  there by cause the US the ultimate humiliation - but they didn't. Is this because as well, as the entire military, scientific, political, and media establishments of the US being in on the hoax, the Soviet Union were too? (If  the USSR were not in fact the US's bitter enemies but co-conspirators in this 'hoax' the entire history of the Cold War, form the Berlin Wall to the Cuban missile crises and beyond, would also be a giant hoax).

One of the ways to tell the difference between a genuine conspiracy and a ‘Conspiracy Theory’ is the credibility of those ‘exposing it’. There has not been a single well known expert, established in the fields of either photography, film or science who claims the moon landings were a hoax. Nor here has not been a single well known political, historical or cultural commentator or academic from anywhere on the political spectrum who claims such a thing (including those who are highly critical or even hostile to US hegemony). Neither has there been a single article by any established investigate journalist who's very raison d'etre is to expose conspiracies. Therefore if the moon landings where a hoax, and the 'evidence' for this is apparently clear to anyone with a very basic understanding of photography, film making or science, the co-conspirators must include every well known radical or anti-establishment commentator who claims to challenge American hegemony. Are, for instance, Noam Chomsky, Oliver Stone or Carl Bernstein all of either not intelligent enough to see that they've been duped, or really undercover stooges for the US intelligence services?

The time and energy wasted on such these bogus Conspiracy Theories could be put into challenging real conspiracies such as those we see at News International, or are seeing the beginnings of in the banking sector. These real life conspiracies evidence another of the ways it's easy to tell the difference between a genuine conspiracy and a ‘Conspiracy Theory’; real conspiracies tend be messy, with lots of the skullduggery going through on a nod and a wink but, as we have seen, exposure of real conspiracies takes time, expertise and bravery. 

Westlake72 Store

FAKE:OLYMPICS

FAKE OLYMPIC T-SHIRT
available HERE

Temple by Westlake3000

Banned Olympic Words

Banned Olympic Words T-Shirt

you can purchase here:
Banned Olympic Words T-Shirt

The David Cameron & Jimmy Carr Show

By attacking Jimmy Carr, Cameron has extended the debate about tax avoiders beyond the broadsheet reading ‘chattering' classes to the tabloid reading masses in a way Uncut could never of dreamed of: A debate that is going to hurt nobody but him and his vile mates. From being the Conservative  Party’s prime asset Cameron is now exhibiting such a level of political incompetence that he is becoming a liability.

Sparkler

Murdoch/Tory Coalition

 
The cosy texts, late night calls and socialising between cabinet ministers and News International's inner sanctum, particularly evident in the familiarity of the language used, reveal that the ‘Coalition’ we are currently governed by is not a coalition between the Tories and their idiotic alibi - the LibDems, but between a party less than a third of country voted for and a, primarily American owned, multinational corporation that NO ONE voted for.

The Independent: Rupert Murdoch’s Men On Th Inside

The Guardian: Texts reveal Hunt's close alliance with Murdoch

WestIake3000: Want To Be In Love

Paris Spring

You & Me

 You & Me by westlake72 

Bizarre Love Triangle (Westlake 72 Re-Edit)

 Bizarre Love Triangle (Westlake 72 Re-Edit) by westlake72 

Strings Of Life (westlake72 remix)

 Strings of Life (westlake72 Remix) by westlake72

Spaceboy Aug 2001 (analogue mixtape)

Deep House, Deep Disco and other Grooves including New-Wave, Old School Hip-Hop and Go-Go!!!

Includes Eric Kruper presents K-Scope, Liberty City, Norma Jean, Chic, Greg Diomends Bionic Boogie, Talking Heads, The Human League Orchestra, Sugar Hill Gang, The Junk Yard Band and lots more...

From 2 x Technics 1200s to Sony Cassette tape via Numark mixer/ from Marantz tape deck to Macbook pro.

Art After Art

Art as an institution (as opposed to a term simply bestowing praise on creativity or skill, or a term referring to man made objects of cultural interest better described as: artefacts) is a construct centred on artists producing artworks.

It is not a natural, timeless or universal phenomenon, but a specific geo-historical construct that can be traced back to Cennino Cennini's writings on Giotto di Bondone in 1390 at the birth of the Renaissance.

It is a construct that has been skating on thin ice since 1917 when Duchamp entered 'Fountain' for the summer show of the Society of Independent Artists. With *‘Fountain’ Duchamp applied a razor to all but that which was essential to the process of art making, leaving only the selection of objects to be shown (i.e. to bring to the attention of the ‘other’).

Though initially rejected it could be said to exist today, iconic, as a signifier of contemporary art i.e those that except as a given that it is an Artwork may be considered inside the institution – while those that doubt its validity: outside.

Fountain broke the link between art and (physical) skill or (hand-) craft that had previously appeared axiomatic. Problematically though If any 'thing' can be an artwork, (and the ‘dematerialization of the art object, that later followed dispensed even with the necessity of an artwork to carry material form), the concept of 'art' as a term delineating a specific, differentiated, field of creative practice, becomes unstable.


When neither technique nor form can any longer identify that which is art from that which is not art, the entire construct becomes entirely contingent on the specialized status of the artist, who holds a privileged position whereby only he/she possess the unique, alchemic, power of nomination.

But as the artist can no longer be clearly identified by any specific skill or technique his/her status as such, i.e this role, which enabled him/her to declare ‘X’, an artwork, becomes entirely dependent on the fiat of arts triumviri of institutions - its galleries and museums, critics and theorists, and: educational institutions.

The End of Art
Art relied on artworks, artworks relied on Artists, and Artists relied on the validation of arts institutions in the form exclusive access (to knowledge, means of production, and dissemination networks).

In the Information Age we see the dissolution of these 3 signifiers that maintained the status of the Artists as the holder of the power to produce (i.e nominate) artworks:

1) Specialised knowledge: the Internet has democratised access to information - physical books, needed physical space to store them, and physical space can be policed in a way that soft space can not.

2) Specialised skills and equipment: Until the
ubiquity of affordable (or free) creative software,


many means of creative production where expensive in themselves and also required expensive training to be able to use. In the Information Age, user-friendly software has enabled the completion of the de-skilling (actually a de-crafting or de-technique-ing) that began with the readymade - thus enabling the democratisation of the means of creative production.

3) Exclusive dissemination spaces and networks (e.g. galleries/museums and arts publications): The Internet, a free network enabling the dissemination of creative output to a potential audience of millions, is available to all.

The 20th Century idea of the Artist, upon which Art as an institution was dependent is no longer  sustainable as the special privileges of access, to A) specialist knowledge B) means of production and C) sites of dissemination, that previously delineated the artist are no longer specilised but available to all.

Digital Communication and Infomation Technology Technologies have enabled an absence of speciality that has robed the term 'artist' of any real meaning (if everyone is an artist - then no one is an artist), and without Artists there is no more art. Game over.

Dan Westlake ©2011


Re-edited extract taken from:
The artist In the Age of Digital Reproduction:
Creative Practice In A Post-Guttenberg Galaxy

full text availble at: www.artafterart.co.uk

Why David Cameron May Have to Resign

It has been established beyond all doubt that the News Corp regularly and systematically broke the law by illegally tapping (pinging, bugging etc) the telephone and email correspondences of celebrities, members of the public and, crucially, politicians. It has also now been established beyond all doubt the closeness of News International to David Cameron and his inner circle both professionally and socially. In fact the bonds where/are so close that it is not so much a case of connections between the two camps but of the News International/ Cameron Inner circle being single clique AKA the Chipping Norton Set.


This begs leaves the BIG QUESTION: This systematic illegal tapping of politicians emails and phone calls must have thrown up much that would have been absolute gold dust to the Conservative Party in the run up to the last general election, so did any the News International people ever pass on any of this information to either Cameron himself or any other member of the Conservative party? With, for instance, Andy Coulson ACTUALLY EMPLOYED as David Cameron's spin doctor, in the run up to the election, the idea that non of the information illegally obtained by News International, who's dishonesty has been highlighted again and again during this scandal, was never passed onto the Conservative party would appear absurd. To believe this never happened one would have to believe these people (who A) had access to such illegally gained information B) have been proven to be systematically dishonest & C) were working for a Tory election victory) when coming across such information made a decision every-time NOT to pass it on to Cameron or the Conservative Party??? Now if the passing of a single piece of this illegally gained information from News International people to David Cameron or others in his inner circle can be proved It would all be all over: Cameron would have no choice but to resign and would probably be facing criminal charges. This is our Watergate.

PS. look out for plenty more laptops to 'misplaced' in the carparks of Westminster and the fields of Chipping Norton  in the coming weeks...

Westlake 72: Come Over

 Come Over by westlake72

The Evil Rebekah Brooks

Rebekah Brook’s famous, weird, obsession with pedophiles is that they may have represented the one group she felt able to posture from a position of  relatively moral high ground. The recent revelations - her disruption of the investigation of a child murder for one - take even that away from her. We should not though get overly obsessed though with the vileness of Wade/Brooks. The real issue is the deep links between the Murdochs, Brooks, Camerons, Coulsons, Yateses of this world (and the previous Brown/Blair regime) and the cowardliness of the current opposition - with a few extremely honourable exceptions (Chris Bryant, Tom Watson, John Prescot), respect to Norman Fowler too (that’s a sentence I never thought I’d write).

BTW We have set up a Facebook group here: Withdraw Rebekah Brooks UAL award now! to get the University of the Arts to withdraw the Award of an Honoury fellowship to Brooks for 'outstanding contribution to journalism’ (LOL).