RE: [-empyre-] CAE - open letter of protest - request for signatories

["Jim Andrews" <jim@vispo.com>]

hi amanda,

yes, i will sign your letter.

Jim Andrews, Programmer, Canadian Foundation for Innovation,
http://vispo.com

ja

> -----Original Message-----
> From: empyre-bounces@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> [mailto:empyre-bounces@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au]On Behalf Of Amanda
> McDonald Crowley
> Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 10:48 AM
> To: empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> Subject: [-empyre-] CAE - open letter of protest - request for
> signatories
>
>
> Helsinki / Amsterdam, June 4, 2004
>
> Dear friends and colleagues,
>
> Whilst I am aware that empyre is not generally a list to receive postings
> such as this but is rather intended for discussion, I felt that
> the current
> discussion and indeed a few postings already are relevant to this matter,
> for those of you who are not subscribed to other lists where you might
> receive this.
>
> We are sure that many of you have been following the deeply
> worrying events
> around the subpoenas that have been served to members of the US-based arts
> collective Critical Art Ensemble. We, Eric Kluitenberg and Amanda McDonald
> Crowley (with support from a range of colleagues), have taken the
> initiative
> to write an open letter of protest asking for an immediate cessation of
> legal proceedings against our esteemed and distinguished colleagues. We
> think that this case signals a most worrisome trend in public
> political life
> in the United States and cannot be left unaddressed.
>
> We ask all of you who have worked with the Critical Art Ensemble in recent
> years, and others who feel offended by this unacceptable infringement on
> artistic freedom, to contact us to sign this letter of protest as
> members of
> a deeply concerned professional community.
>
> Please find the letter below. if you wish to sign send either one of us an
> e-mail stating your name, your profession, your institutional affiliation
> (if you have one) and possibly a url that best represents your work or
> professional activity.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Amanda McDonald Crowley
> amc@va.com.au
>
> Eric Kluitenberg
> erick@balie.nl
>
>
>
> ----------------
>
>
> To whom it may concern,
>
> We, the undersigned artists, curators, critics, cultural producers,
> theorists and writers who have worked with or followed the work of the
> collective known as Critical Art Ensemble, are writing to express our
> serious concern over legal proceedings brought against members of this
> highly respected artists group.
>
> Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) is a collective of internationally recognised
> artists who work within pedagogic frameworks and art contexts to raise
> awareness of a range of social issues.  Most recently their work has been
> directed towards providing the general public with awareness and
> understanding of issues to do with biological research.  Their work is not
> alarmist but rather provides knowledge.
>
> CAE's work is always undertaken in a safe and considered way, using
> materials which are commonly available in scientific education
> and research
> practices. Their main motivation is to provide the public with the tools
> needed to make informed choices.
>
> It has come to our attention that there was a recent seizure of a
> substantial amount of the artists' work and research material. The
> international art scene was shocked and surprised to learn that the US
> Federal Bureau of Investigation, following an analysis of the materials by
> the Commissioner of Public Health for New York State which returned the
> result that the material seized posed no public safety risk, have
> continued
> with their investigation and are now seeking to charge members of the
> collective under the US Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act as
> expanded by
> the USA Patriot Act.
>
> Whilst it is perhaps understandable in the current international political
> climate that such research might raise alarm bells with American
> authorities, it would have also been clear, upon investigation, that the
> aims of CAE are not a terrorist act, but an awareness raising action
> undertaken with cultural, artistic and educational agendas.  Indeed CAE's
> work is quite in keeping with mainstream art practices, which have,
> throughout history, had pedagogical aims.
>
> Having worked with CAE in various settings throughout the world we have
> found CAE's approach has always been to understand and to know the topic
> that they are presenting.  It comes as no surprise, given the
> current focus
> of their work, that the research tools included biological material.
> However, those of us in the art world who have worked with this artists'
> group also know that their work is undertaken with thorough research, in
> continuous consultation with members of the scientific community, in order
> to ensure that the artworks they produce are safe, but also real, in terms
> of the investigations they pursue. The work of CAE is internationally
> recognised as thorough, investigative, educative and safe.
>
> This matter is one that raises serious concerns internationally that the
> actions of the American government undermine the freedom of artistic
> expression, a fundamental democratic right, which is one of the
> cornerstones
> of the liberal democracies.
>
> As the materials have been tested and been shown to pose no public health
> threat, we demand that the American Government immediately cease legal
> action against members of the Critical Art Ensemble collective.
>
> The good reputation of Critical Art Ensemble must be immediately restored.
>
> Yours faithfully,
>
>
> Amanda McDonald Crowley,
> cultural worker/ curator, currently executive producer ISEA2004
> (International Symposium of Electronic Art 2004),
> Australia/Finland
> http://www.isea2004.net
>
>
> Eric Kluitenberg
> Head of the Media Program
> De Balie - Centre for Culture and Politics
> Amsterdam, The Netherlands
> http://www.debalie.nl
>
>
>
> Signatories:
>
> name/profession/position/country/url
>
>
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