Abstract:
Flourishing throughout the United States is a loosely knit coalition of activist culture workers striving to counter the homogenized effects of corporate control of culture and mass consumption. “My house” epitomizes the work of this coalition within the Willamette Valley. With an “out there” and sometimes “in your face” attitude, the culture workers appearing at my house promote an ethic that demands that the arts and culture be free from control by large national and multinational corporations. The multimedia artists, zinesters, and musicians appearing at my house contribute to an environment
that is sometimes chaotic, disturbing, uncomfortable, sensual, complex, loud, confrontive,
but ultimately an irreverent social critique of life on earth. Gender roles, religion, familial relationships, politics, academic disciplines, the fine arts, class structure, ethnicity, generational differences, economics, and pop culture are among the many issues that are celebrated, skewered, reconstructed, and illuminated on a regular basis in the basement of my house.
