On the Lamm: An Interview with August Lamm

An interview I did with artist August Lamm — founder of the Centre for Archaic Networks — about quitting social media, starting an offline print magazine, and what it actually means to disconnect. Originally published in New Escapologist, Issue 18: “The Time of Your Life.”

Jack Mason: How has being a former social media artist inspired you to create the Center for Archaic Networks, and what are your goals with the center?

August Lamm: I’ve talked to so many people who are doing art on social media, and they all say there’s no other option, which there isn’t now. But historically, there has been. You’ve got all these people who don’t want to be on social media, who feel they’re wasting their time. It creates a lot of anxiety and artistic pressure because they don’t have another option. None of them want to be there.

Jack Mason: Something that comes to mind is how Substack and Patreon try to be tools where you’re directly interacting with the artist, less like social media. How would the Center for Archaic Networks separate itself from these networks?

August Lamm: It’s not online. I disagree with the idea of public likes and comments. I don’t think it’s natural. It deprives us of the right to consume media and have our own interpretation. When you read an essay online, you can see how popular it was, what others think of it. When you read a book, it’s isolated from cultural responses, and it’s just you perceiving it.

Jack Mason: I remember riding the New York subway, listening to music, and a cleaner had to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention. It was embarrassing because I was in a shared space but in my own world.

August Lamm: That was one of the earliest rules I made for myself when I started getting rid of technology: no headphones in public. I can’t tell you how many times a day I think of starting a conversation, making a comment, or giving a compliment, but see someone wearing headphones. It’s so antisocial. We miss moments and are inconsiderate to each other, not hearing people asking for help.

Read the full interview in New Escapologist, Issue 18, available here.