Outlands Community USA

1. Tell me about the Assembly's work in fashion and clothing. (as much or as little as you wish - rambling acceptable!)

It's long been my opinion that in order for our community to expand atthe rate we desire, we'd have to speak the language of commerce pretty fluently. Fashion and art in general is a great way of making money, encouraging creativity (thus supporting our artist peers), and getting our message out there/creating culture and community. Fashion is extremely visible and a great medium for advocacy. I will concede that our approach in this regard is a bit consumerist, but I'm yet to hear a good arguement as to why that is implicitly wrong, if exercised with sensitivity and insight. As long as there is creativity there will be trade and commerce, and I think we need to embrace this as a good thing. You can purchase our shirts online on the Support Us section of our website.

2. Does the Midnight Assembly have, or plan on having, musical events such as dancing and concerts?

 Absolutely. We intend on organising music concerts that are a sort of synergy with art exhibitions, hosted in stunning natural New Zealand environments. As such pollution and respect of the land is a huge issue for us, so they will all be heavily flavoured with an ecological/sustainability theme. Our ideal venue is the tropicalgardens quarry here in Whangarei. It's like a massive bowl-valley that was dug out by my colonial ancestors. However, since it has been turned into a unique nature sanctuary filled with stunning tropical flowers and spiralling tiers of paths running up the bowl, with a huge lake in themiddle. We want to float a stage on the lake. The acoustics would be just perfect for everyone around the valley. You can find out more about the MA Charity concerts on the Projects section of our website.

 3. The MA is based upon altruism. What are your thoughts about human nature in regards to altruism? Many people have a negative view of human nature (we don't) and [these people] think of any kind of altruistic activity as having a (negative) ulterior motive at best.

 I consider altruism the base-nature of humanity. It is, quite simply, the best and most efficient way for our species to survive. We are blessed with this conscious ability to cooperate and coordinate as well as the desire for personal fulfillment, and I think that paradox of sorts reflects something beautiful. I do worry sometimes about theextent of narcissistic competition in our social and economic structures, and how this often leads people to believe there are no greater ideals worth striving for. I recognise the need for challenge, peer-acountability, and a never ending feedback loop of self improvement within economics - which I consider the good aspects of Capitalism, if or when they are practiced - but I think the whole idea of competition and maximum profit actually undermines human nature when its practiced as law. We are different from other animals because we CAN overcome narcissistic practices of survival and we CAN overcome collective ideologies that threaten our individuality.. I think we're blessed with this crossroads between collectivism and individualism, and that balance needs to be upheld and constantly talked about. I also think there's a big difference between altruism and ideology. Altruism has to be flexible, relative, and based upon an intuitive understanding of what makes people feel happy and loved. Ideology is more constructionist, and no construction can withstand every type of weather. I suppose I consider altruism more akin to the patterns of the weather themselves, you just have to go along with it and love every moment, even when it is unbearably extreme.  You can view a diagram on our forums (follow the Community link) of how we want the structure of MA to work as our social organisation grows larger. Search the forums for keywords 'An idea of how MA could be...'

4. Tell me about how Maori language and culture have influenced the MA - and yourself, perhaps.

Aotearoa is one of the few lucky countries in the world to still have a strong tribal culture that has managed to survive in modern day society. As mentioned previously I think there is this vital balance between collectivism and individualism that we have to strike in our civilizations. Whereas western society - where my blood comes from - is more skewed towards personal consumption and compartmentalization, Maori society (and most other indigenous cultures for that matter) has atendency towards community, humor, mana, nature-worship,interconnectedness and spirituality. I think that influence is soooooimportant in any healthy society, and as such New Zealand is blessed tohave it. Maori are fucking strong people and I deeply admire thestrength with which they carry their ideas. I think all these conceptsI've mentioned are inherent in MA some way, as MA is a very, very Aotearoan kind of project. As such it's fair to say Maori culture hasaffected me and the MA deeply. During 2007 I will be studying Maori language. Today is actually Waitangi Day - an extremely significant day relating to NZ biculturalism - and I was meant to be there supporting various political movements that I empathise wise, but MA work came knocking and I decided maintaining the Trust was more important...

5. I have the impression that the MA sort of spontaneously happened, or did so suddenly, but is the culmination of intense desires of thoseinvolved. Care to comment?

It's true that the Midnight Assembly was a tangent that I decided to keep running with. It actually came to me as I was reflecting on a poemthat I'd written when I was 12. There was this line that jumped out atme, "midnight assembly, a world in the making". My brother was kindenough to help me design the first website - we are currently on our fourth, fundraising for our fifth - and my parents were supportive enough to humour the idea with a bit of funding. Spontaniety doesn'thave to imply impermanence.

6. We view the Midnight Assembly as a few steps beyond being merely "next-gen" in its work, rather we perceive the group as having permanent and lasting influence in bettering the world. Care to comment?  Thank you, that's exactly what we're aiming for. We want to tap into fundamental human concepts and present them in a way that can be timeless. The project literally is beyond next-gen - it's a continual focus on giving the youth a better kind of culture that they can draw stimulation from, and that goes for the youth of today as well as the youth of next century.

7. Do you and other MA members often experience your creative work as passing through you, and not necessarily "coming from within?"

I can't speak for other members, but for me personally this a question of interest. I have such a distinctive style which I've had my entirelife, from the time I could draw and speak. Some people liken it to Alex Grey (haha, I wish!), but the truth is that I've been making art the way I do long before I discovered his art. We do seem to focus on similar themes and have similar symbols for representing them though.  Some of my art - namely writing - is very personal and selfish, and definitely comes from within. As for my visual creations, that is a curiosity.

8. I gather that, as thrilling and as startling as they may be, synchronicities are a part of MA life?

Yes and no. There are synchronicities everywhere. There are more websites on the net for youth than you could view in a lifetime. There are more charities and organisations dedicated to peace you could ever volunteer for. Everyday people become interested in MA and someuncanny, complimentary coincidence happens.  However, there are downsides. The lack of unity between youth orgs means they all end up doing the same work and a huge amount of efficiency is lost. I think there is a case to be made for youth-org centralisation and resource-pooling, and this is definitely one of the many ambitions of the MA Virtual project. As for personal synchronicities, they are to be expected and are always lovely.  There could be a lot more of them though, and when there are, I will be even more thrilled.

9. Do a number of people (not in the MA) view you as a bunch of starry-eyed idealists? (We don't!) (I ask this because we get a small amount of negative feedback about the OC which basically says, "C'mon, get REAL!")

Of course. My comments regarding altruism, and the diagram I reference cover most of this question. A balance needs to be struck between realistic and idealistic success. You can't please everyone with one extreme. It is unfortuanate that people often do see us as over-idealistic, as in truth we operate on a very realistic level, even if our ambitions are huge. Occasionally I even recieve the criticism that we are too pragmatic and down to Earth and need to be more idealistic, hahahaha!

10. How may someone contact the MA?

Drop a line on the forums - I check them almost every day - send me an e-mail, or our secretary or treasurer for that matter.   trust@midnight-assembly.net  is probably best as it goes to everyone on the Board of Trustees. Do a bit of sleuthing and hunt down my msn/skype/phone number/etc, it's not that hard. I've achieved a lot of networking through being good at hunting down peoples contact details; so I won't make it too easy for you ;)

Thanks everybody, hope this was stimulating and pleasing in some way.

Give me a buzz if you want to go on our mailing list. Peace.

Alex Matthews aka EonApocalypse