welcome to the neighborhood.

A lot of people right now are talking about how art is dead. Music is dead, a new form passing away every few years, these people say; god knows literature is dead; the visual masterpiece is forgotten in an ocean of works that are reproducible, easily widely distributed, and, with every technological advance, easier and easier for those undeserving of pedestals to create. A lot of people are talking about what computers, the Internet and everything else the last few years have brought are doing to our brains; destroying our capacity to do anything worthwhile, distracting us from our potential as human beings, encouraging us to wallow in brain-melting po-mo muck.

Most of those people are not us.

Art is alive and kicking, and we are pioneering this century's new methods of creating and understanding it. Our generation--that weird group of people still wondering if humanity will make it to the end of our adulthood--still has plenty of passion and plenty to create.

We are the Unlikely Realists' Forum, a brand new community dedicated to understanding new media and the art of the 21st century. We are a handful of students and faculty spreading the word to the Bard College community that it's time to start claiming our legacy as people--telling stories and creating beauty, not just in spite of but particularly because of our screwed up and terrifyingly changing world.

You'll see us around campus engineering several arts events; our first was last week's disruptive realist project, Organic Canvas. We'll have a big show once a semester in Village J first floor, and near-weekly film screenings, video game tournaments and playthroughs, and something else I'll let Bowman talk about because I forgot.

We also have weekly media meals. Join us in Village J every Thursday night at 7 for presentations (exciting ones), discussions and FREE DINNERS. We're not geared towards any kind of art major (most of us aren't). If you're alive, and you like art or tech or life, we want you. Come share with us, and keep watching this blog to see what we're up to.

And spread the word. We need you.