Great stuff, thanks to everyone involved for the write-ups. Special props to Sunik Kim for correctly pinpointing the essence of Timothy Morton's writings and ideas. Just so it happens I took part in the same Dark Ecology forum as Morton and Jana Winderen, and was absolutely perplexed how anyone could take Morton seriously.
One small correction though. I grew up near Nikel and it's obvious there's some confusion about that town in Sunik's write-up. Nikel is named literally after nickel, a chemical element which is extracted in Nikel itself and then transported 4000 km away to Norilsk, a city in a completely different part of the country, where it is processed. Norilsk Nickel plant is in Norilsk, not in Nikel. The effects of pollution that are described are consistent with those in Norilsk, not in Nikel. I've been to Nikel many times and the footprint there is entirely different to what is described in the write-up. It manifests itself in another way. The visible effects are, for one thing, way less severe than in Norilsk.
There's also a notable lack of infrastructure and even semi-modern housing in Nikel, which aesthetically separates it from Norilsk, a city generally very well designed and built (which is understandable, since winter temperatures in Norilsk sometimes get to -60 degrees Celsius, so you have to have good living conditions). The first thing you notice while in Nikel is how run-down and poor everything looks (even though, paradoxically, the workers of Nikel extraction plant are paid relatively handsomely). The cover of Winderen's recording also puts the extraction plant in the background, while simultaneously highlighting the overall look of the rest of the town. While I obviously can't speak for Winderen, I'm pretty sure this look of Nikel had a very strong impression on many other people involved in Dark Ecology.
This is, once again, not to put down Sunik's writings. Just a small correction and some food for thought and maybe additional context.
hey oleg, this is sunik—just wanted to thank you for your very considerate and informative message+correction! really appreciate all the additional info. cool to hear you attended the same conference as well (and that we agree on morton...ha)
Great stuff, thanks to everyone involved for the write-ups. Special props to Sunik Kim for correctly pinpointing the essence of Timothy Morton's writings and ideas. Just so it happens I took part in the same Dark Ecology forum as Morton and Jana Winderen, and was absolutely perplexed how anyone could take Morton seriously.
One small correction though. I grew up near Nikel and it's obvious there's some confusion about that town in Sunik's write-up. Nikel is named literally after nickel, a chemical element which is extracted in Nikel itself and then transported 4000 km away to Norilsk, a city in a completely different part of the country, where it is processed. Norilsk Nickel plant is in Norilsk, not in Nikel. The effects of pollution that are described are consistent with those in Norilsk, not in Nikel. I've been to Nikel many times and the footprint there is entirely different to what is described in the write-up. It manifests itself in another way. The visible effects are, for one thing, way less severe than in Norilsk.
There's also a notable lack of infrastructure and even semi-modern housing in Nikel, which aesthetically separates it from Norilsk, a city generally very well designed and built (which is understandable, since winter temperatures in Norilsk sometimes get to -60 degrees Celsius, so you have to have good living conditions). The first thing you notice while in Nikel is how run-down and poor everything looks (even though, paradoxically, the workers of Nikel extraction plant are paid relatively handsomely). The cover of Winderen's recording also puts the extraction plant in the background, while simultaneously highlighting the overall look of the rest of the town. While I obviously can't speak for Winderen, I'm pretty sure this look of Nikel had a very strong impression on many other people involved in Dark Ecology.
This is, once again, not to put down Sunik's writings. Just a small correction and some food for thought and maybe additional context.
hey oleg, this is sunik—just wanted to thank you for your very considerate and informative message+correction! really appreciate all the additional info. cool to hear you attended the same conference as well (and that we agree on morton...ha)