Eden

The first thought that came to me when The Weird One
presented the idea of starting a new computer art group back in
September was: "Yeah, right!  On top of all that's already out
there?  The scene is getting way out of hand as far as new groups
popping up goes."  I paused there in chat for a minute, venturing
off on a thought tangent.
I thought of how I viewed the scene of today.  I thought of
the dictorial organizers, turned greedy after their group hits
the "Top Ten" lists: the voting polls for a never-ending
political election.  I thought of what belonging to a 'group' had
become: a status mark for members' signatures, a pride trip
leading to the segregation of artists.  I felt sad that the
beauty of artwork had turned into something so organized and
reality-whipped as our governments.  As my personality demands, I
felt responsible-- not for the circumstances that led to this
point, but responsible to try to 'fix' the things I viewed as
wrong.  Setting out on this impossible task (a task which
realistically was inevitably doomed), The Weird One and myself
formed Rancid.
The original ideals of Rancid were first backed through my
discussions with the very talented Nosferatu, who although had
the abilities to blow most people away refused to join any groups
in fear of what they stood for.  He agreed with the principles we
stood on: groups are to be a forum for expression and improvement
rather than a battleground for power-hungry war pigs.  To
everyone's surprise, he jumped at the thought of being part of
Rancid.  Nosferatu willfully tossed away the power and greed
offered by the 'big group atmosphere' to join a staff of three
determined people.  From there, I have heard countless comments
praising our principles, but little belief in their plausibility.
By nature, we are driven toward control over others; the idea of
equal exploration of talents seems a dream, but to this dream we
are committed.
The name Rancid came from TWO.  I agreed, and the name
became a basis for our logo: "As far as we care, we suck!"  We
became the "fuck-you" art group, and much to our surprise, the
idea began to attract some very talented artists.  It all worked
slowly at first, and during our five months of releasing we still
were at a slow, disappointing speed.  It seemed strange how all
the stories of hard-times and hard-work became reality with
Rancid.  I remember a particular note from The Guardian while
venturing onto IRC during my Internet infancy: "It's hell
starting up a new group.. It's a lot of hard work.. People start
joining VERY slowly at first, and it takes a while before it
starts to take-off.." (disclaimer:  I don't remember the words at
all, just the general ideas. <g>).  I now realize it was all good
advice.  When you think about it at first, there seems to be very
little involved in organizing a group; then you actually do it.

The idea to merge actually came around the release of our
February pack.  The work was getting out of hand, our artwork
section had nearly died, and it was failing to take the shape I
planned.  I decided to begin communication with Eden when Saint
Sinner urged me through email to discuss a merger.  I compiled a
message explaining some ideas I had, zipped it up with examples
of each members' abilities, and sent it to The Temperate
Hijacker.  He called me up and things moved from there.
I realized Eden was the perfect choice for us when I began
talking with the individual members on what it was all about.  It
seemed to be a reoccurring theme within the group to be focused
on "having fun."  It consoled me to realize the current members
of Eden were in total agreement with the principles I originally
found Rancid upon.
The merger went through fairly smoothly despite the horrible
communication existing between the people involved.  During the
course of one month Rancid and Eden morphed into a new Eden,
combining the better aspects of each group into one 'whole'
union.

So what is Eden?  Eden is all about enjoying what you do,
improving your abilities, and expressing yourself to others.
Eden is determined to keeping a clear line of communication open
among everyone.  Eden's purpose is to create a healthy, honest,
personal relationship among all of the people involved.  Eden is
here for the members to proofread, to suggest and improve, to
point out mistakes, and to congratulate when someone does a good
job.  Eden is loosely managed for the sole purpose of being
organized.  There are no dictators; there are no "leaders"; there
is no political bullshit or personal indulgement.  Eden is
dedicated to the members of Eden first-hand, but secondly to the
non-members of Eden.  We are not here to compete.  We are here to
learn.

woodstock [eden]