JENNIFER
SHARPE
I see the non-commercial web as a big, whacked variety show filled with
self proclaimed entertainers, educators, artists, curators, and writers
who "do their thing" with whatever homemade props and backdrops
they can muster up. Some of them have tip jars out, but for the most part,
their tip jars are empty, and they don’t really seem to care. The
important thing is, they’re compelled to keep doing what they’re
doing, simply because they’re driven by the purity of their passion,
and because they’ve found dedicated audiences who care about what
they're up to. Whether I find peoples’ websites ludicrous, or whether
I find them genius, I am always in awe of the lack of self-consciousness
apparent in their unbridled creativity. At a time when the mainstream
media’s caloric content has never felt emptier, I see the "do
it yourself" creative revolution exploding on the web as an inspiring
reminder that people are nothing less than fascinating and generous, when
given the space to express themselves. The SharpeWorld Pirate Radio Broadcast
is my way of bringing that spirit onto the airwaves, where one seldom
hears the voices of non-commercial interests anymore (particularly in
New York), and where the battle for free speech is being fought by pirate
radio renegades who broadcast illegally to their communities. I’ve
invited several of my favorite websites to contribute one to five minute
audio pieces to the broadcast and I’ve also thrown in audio I’ve
found on the web (or because of the web). In the famous words of Cyndi
Lauper, "money changes everything." Nothing makes me see that
more clearly than the righteous free spiritedness of the web.
HOW TO LOCATE
Broadcasts
will be audible from Tompkins Square Park in the East Village (frequency
99.9 on your FM dail).
Wednesday the 17th at 10pm, and then again on Sunday, the 21st at 10pm.
The
broadcast will also stream from the SharpeWorld
website, starting April 17th at 10pm.
ABOUT
THE ARTIST
Jennifer Sharpe does a website called SharpeWorld.
She lives in Santa
Monica, California.