Temporary Autonomous Zone
Encyclopedia
T.A.Z.: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism is a book by anarchist writer Hakim Bey published in 1991 by Autonomedia
. It is composed of three sections, "Chaos: The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism," "Communiques of the Association for Ontological Anarchy," and "The Temporary Autonomous Zone."
uses various examples from history
and philosophy
, all of which suggest that the best way to create a non-hierarchical system of social relationships is to concentrate on the present and on releasing one's own mind from the controlling mechanisms that have been imposed on it.
In the formation of a TAZ, Bey argues, information becomes a key tool that sneaks into the cracks of formal procedures. A new territory of the moment is created that is on the boundary line of established regions. Any attempt at permanence that goes beyond the moment deteriorates to a structured system that inevitably stifles individual creativity. It is this chance at creativity that is real empowerment.
Bey later expanded the concept beyond the "temporary," saying "we've had to consider the fact that not all existing autonomous zones are 'temporary.' Some are ... more-or-less 'permanent.'" Hence, the concept of the Permanent Autonomous Zone
.
The titular section is divided up into the following subsections:
The ideas which inspired the "Gone to Croatan" chapter—i.e. the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony
—were later used as the basis for the book Gone To Croatan: The Origins of North American Dropout Culture, edited by Ron Sakolsky
and James Koehnline
.
by Praxis
features quotes from TAZ in its liner notes.
Bill Laswell
produced an album featuring Hakim Bey reading excerpts from TAZ with music by Material
featuring Wu Man
, Nicky Skopelitis
, and Buckethead
. It was released by Axiom
in 1994. The six tracks were: "Chaos", "Poetic Terrorism", and "Amour Fou" (all from "Chaos: The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism"), "Immediatism", and "The Tong" (both from the book Immediatism), and "Boycott Cop Culture" (from "Communiques of the Association for Ontological Anarchy").
Bey's line "art as crime; crime as art" from "Poetic Terrorism" was sampled by Negativland
in their song "Downloading" from their album No Business
.
in what they called Trips to the Zone, or Zone Trips. One of their Zone Trips gave birth to Black Rock City, also called the Burning Man
Festival.
Autonomedia
Autonomedia is one of the main North American publishers of radical theoretical works, especially in the anarchist tradition. For many years, it was linked with Semiotext, one of the major sources for English language translations of post-structuralist literature, especially in the 1980s...
. It is composed of three sections, "Chaos: The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism," "Communiques of the Association for Ontological Anarchy," and "The Temporary Autonomous Zone."
Themes
The book describes the socio-political tactic of creating temporary spaces that elude formal structures of control. The essayEssay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
uses various examples from history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, all of which suggest that the best way to create a non-hierarchical system of social relationships is to concentrate on the present and on releasing one's own mind from the controlling mechanisms that have been imposed on it.
In the formation of a TAZ, Bey argues, information becomes a key tool that sneaks into the cracks of formal procedures. A new territory of the moment is created that is on the boundary line of established regions. Any attempt at permanence that goes beyond the moment deteriorates to a structured system that inevitably stifles individual creativity. It is this chance at creativity that is real empowerment.
Bey later expanded the concept beyond the "temporary," saying "we've had to consider the fact that not all existing autonomous zones are 'temporary.' Some are ... more-or-less 'permanent.'" Hence, the concept of the Permanent Autonomous Zone
Permanent Autonomous Zone
A Permanent autonomous zone is a community that is autonomous from the generally recognized government or authority structure in which it is embedded...
.
The titular section is divided up into the following subsections:
- Pirate UtopiasPirate utopiaPirate utopias were described by anarchist writer Peter Lamborn Wilson in his 1995 book Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes as secret islands once used for supply purposes by pirates...
- Waiting for the Revolution
- The Psychotopology of Everyday Life
- The Net and the Web
- "Gone to Croatan"
- Music as an Organizational Principle
- The Will To Power as Disappearance
- Ratholes in the Babylon of Information
The ideas which inspired the "Gone to Croatan" chapter—i.e. the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony
Roanoke Colony
The Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island in Dare County, present-day North Carolina, United States was a late 16th-century attempt to establish a permanent English settlement in what later became the Virginia Colony. The enterprise was financed and organized by Sir Walter Raleigh and carried out by...
—were later used as the basis for the book Gone To Croatan: The Origins of North American Dropout Culture, edited by Ron Sakolsky
Ron Sakolsky
Ron Sakolsky is a scholar covering the intersection of music, revolution and radio. As of 2005, Sakolsky is Emeritus Professor of Public Policy at the University of Illinois at Springfield, previously known as Sangamon State University. For more than twenty years he taught at the university on...
and James Koehnline
James Koehnline
James Koehnline is a collage artist whose work has graced many anarchist periodicals & books as well as music CDs; has co-edited a number of books and had his work collected in Magpie Reveries....
.
Use in music
The 1992 album Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis)Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis)
Note: Track 8 starts out with the Giant Robot theme, that is also featured on Buckethead's Bucketheadland album. The track also contains a version of one of the many themes Akira Ifukube wrote for Toho production's Godzilla films.-Personnel:...
by Praxis
Praxis (band)
Praxis was the name of an ever-changing musical project, led by prolific producer Bill Laswell. Praxis combine elements of different musical genres such as funk, jazz, hip-hop and heavy metal into highly improvised music...
features quotes from TAZ in its liner notes.
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
produced an album featuring Hakim Bey reading excerpts from TAZ with music by Material
Material (band)
For the rock band of the same name, see The MaterialMaterial is a musical group formed in 1979 and led by bass guitarist Bill Laswell.-1978-82: The band:...
featuring Wu Man
Wu Man
Wu Man is a Chinese pipa virtuoso and composer. Described as "the artist most responsible for bring the pipa to the Western World" by the Los Angeles Times, US-based, Chinese-born musician Wu Man has carved out a career creating and fostering projects that give this ancient Chinese instrument a...
, Nicky Skopelitis
Nicky Skopelitis
Nicky Skopelitis is an American guitarist and composer from Greek heritage. He is best known as a guitarist, but also performs on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments....
, and Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
. It was released by Axiom
Axiom (record label)
Axiom was a record label founded by musician Bill Laswell in 1989, with the support of Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records. Axiom was an independent subdivision of Blackwell's Island Records, with Laswell being afforded a budget for a certain number of albums each year, basically of his own...
in 1994. The six tracks were: "Chaos", "Poetic Terrorism", and "Amour Fou" (all from "Chaos: The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism"), "Immediatism", and "The Tong" (both from the book Immediatism), and "Boycott Cop Culture" (from "Communiques of the Association for Ontological Anarchy").
Bey's line "art as crime; crime as art" from "Poetic Terrorism" was sampled by Negativland
Negativland
Negativland is an experimental music and sound collage band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! song, while their record label is named after another Neu! song...
in their song "Downloading" from their album No Business
No Business
No Business is a 2005 album by the sound collage band Negativland. While the songs encompass a variety of topics, the overarching theme of the album is copyright issues, especially those pertaining to peer-to-peer file sharing...
.
Implementations
The concept of TAZ was first put into practice on a large scale by the Cacophony SocietyCacophony Society
The Cacophony Society is “a randomly gathered network of free spirits united in the pursuit of experiences beyond the pale of mainstream society.” It was started in 1986 by surviving members of the now defunct Suicide Club of San Francisco....
in what they called Trips to the Zone, or Zone Trips. One of their Zone Trips gave birth to Black Rock City, also called the Burning Man
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
Festival.