mix-up/fuck-up/advice needed

[mimicucumber]

Feel like I need advice. It's a little complex to follow but it would be really nice if you'd follow it through.

We're doing this amazing workshop right now, right, with about five very young Egyptian artists. As one of the exercises in this, we decided to do a group read of Alain Badiou's 15 Theses of Contemporary Art. It's a short and very

Comments

[fwing]

You did something you thought would be fine and good, someone didn't like it, you rectified the situation. There's no need for anyone to get bent out of shape about it as far as I can see. Don't feel bad. That was a nasty email.

[mimicucumber]

Thanks love. Also, I really don't think they have any right to not like it. The uploading of the text was a pretty honest mistake, and the *daring to discuss their precious theorist* isn't even offensive.

Sorry, I HATE being guilt-tripped. I won't sleep tonight now.

[fwing]

Oh I'd totally curl into a ball and die right now, but that's just me. I'm fairly pathetic like that sadly.

[mimicucumber]

Why?

[standard_human]

If they think the text will 'create debate', what they really mean is that it was obviously very good. Had you created a completely shit translation they would probably have laughed it off, but as it stands you have (unintentionally) pushed their noses out of joint by re-doing their stuff.
It's like someone painting the first picture of a famous dude, then someone equally skilled painting a picture of their picture and asking if it's ok to put it up in a gallery...
Ok so my analogies aren't very sharp at this time of night but you get the idea. You didn't do anything intentionally and should restate that, but in a nice and somewhat apologetic tone because they obviously put some serious thought into their project, and you kicked some sand in their vagina.

[bohemiangel]

Pretty much what I was going to say. As far as I can see no harm was done and you were working with limited information under the best of intentions. All you can do is restate this clearly and you've already apologised.

[mimicucumber]

but as it stands you have (unintentionally) pushed their noses out of joint by re-doing their stuff.

But this is the thing, they paid a ton of money to a Big Translator for it, and we did it as a group workshop with Mohammed (informally an excellent translator, but not professional) aided by a gaggle of totally green art students.

I'm more concerned also by his idea that just because THEY are working with Badiou, nobody else is allowed to read/talk about/think about him until their project is out. It's something that happened totally in the process of a workshop with a million other things happening too! It's not even like it's a subject-specific workshop! This is like, six kids in a closed room reading books and looking at pictures together.

[standard_human]

I definitely get what you're saying - but although it's a closed group of art kids, it is also a group of art kids at a well recognised art venue run by prominent art people, putting it on an open webpage (every webpage is 'open' by default). Had you translated 'Badiou' on yer own maybe they wouldn't be pissing all over his work? Don't know.

I totally think they are overreacting but I get why...

[springheel_jack]

He thinks you ripped off his project?

[mimicucumber]

yeah, that's the short of it. Also via accidentally getting hold of a text he paid for the translation of, but this should be cleared up by now.

[springheel_jack]

Well, it was an accident. But he's pretty territorial if his idea of a project he can keep a lid on is "reading Badiou." That's the most famous philosopher going in the West right now.

[mimicucumber]

Thanks :) Honestly, it's shitty. I've had two more shitty emails in response to my very polite and frankly unnecessary explanations which go into some detail about how reading Badiou as one of the many aspects of a closed group workshop does not equal doing a Badiou workshop which does not equal stealing his territory. It's beyond territorial!

[geshmally]

What a wanker. I'd send him the email using the 5 points above and tell him to get over himself.

In a nice way. :)

[laura_claudia]

He's pissed off because you got there first. You had a successful workshop, he's working on a thing about the same guy and he's jealous and takes his passive aggressive shit out on you. Fool. Rest assured that he's the one with the problem and not you. You took the translation down and any further kicking and screaming from his side is just pathetic.

[mimicucumber]

The thing is... I don't think we got *anywhere* first. There's such a huge difference between DOING A HUGE PROJECT ON ONE TOPIC - that I totally understand - and doing another bitsy project which happens to refer to that topic in passing.

I would understand him being pissed off if I jumped the gun with my WOAH MAJOR BADIOU PROJECT, but that's really not what we did. This is a totally unrelated project about artistic development where, as well one might, we decided to read Badiou and do tons of other shit.

[laura_claudia]

Hmm. Yeah, I see your point. A total overreaction then, seeing that Badiou was only a minor part of your project. In any case, you were professional about it and I really hope you don't have to deal with this too long!