[-empyre-] the artist in conflict

[nat muller]

dear tim,

thank you for bringing up this issue.

> I welcome more thoughts by Horit and Nat (and certainly by members  
> of the list-- recently subscribed members should know that they are  
> free to join in the conversation, and can do so by replying to this  
> e-mail) about how they understand the interrelatedness of  
> accountability and affect within the artistic context.  One wonders  
> whether such interrelatedness wasn't being practiced by Ahmed  
> Bassiouny on the day of January 28, when his capture of sound and  
> media would have been so crucial for the rearticulation of events  
> happening so rapidly.  Or perhaps, in this instance, his very  
> presence on Tahrir Square provided corporeal media through which  
> such capture was itself an expression of resistance.
i think we have to be careful and distinguish between a performative  
politicised artistic act and an artist's political act. i think most  
artists and art workers in tahrir square are present as vocal  
egyptians - in the first place - calling for political change, but  
would not necessarily conflate this with their artistic practice. some  
artists like graphic designer Mo Fa (http://ganzeer.blogspot.com/)  
have made amazing banners and protest stencils, but this is more a  
matter of putting artistic skills and strategies to use in a direct  
and functional way to further dissent and resistance. we see similar  
strategies being used in demos in the palestinian village of bil'in.  
so i definitely think that a variety of actions and approaches  
(artistic ones being one of those) can open up more common ground for  
a united struggle, i do think we have to caution against artists  
becoming spokespersons for political causes.

there is always the infatuation of the global art world with the  
spectacle of conflict. palestinian artist emily jacir commented during  
israel's july war on lebanon in 2006:"I am sure there will be  
conferences organized, teach-ins and always the "hero" filmmaker who  
will risk life to make a documentary, the readings, the art exhibits,  
and the art world will eat the Lebanese artists like pieces of  
chocolate."  this is exactly what happened. though many lebanese  
artists were already well-established internationally, 2006 really put  
beirut on the international art map. i guess there's something  
irristible about the cocktail of eros and thanatos. it will be  
interesting to see how things pan out in egypt.  after 2006 lots of  
international funds were poured into lebanon for artists to make work  
about the war, many euro-med collaborations were set up, and this did  
not always result in the most interesting and engaging projects, on  
the contrary. many artists are still trying to articulate and grapple  
with the aftermath of lebanon's civil war.  finding a modus and an  
aesthetic language that can comment on these events usually takes time.
i am reminded of a little video of lebanese musican and artist mazen  
kerbaj, made by lebanese filmmaker wissam charraf after the 2006 war,  
titled " A Hero Never Dies".  the title is telling: we see mazen  
standing on his balcony, paralysed by the events.  towards the end we  
see him walking - trumpet in hand - in the rubble of beirut's bombed  
southern suburbs (dahyeh). he lifts the trumpet to his lips and blows  
one singular note.  somehow this image brings back the powelessness of  
the artist in the face of these events.  the upside is of course: he  
still blows his note, he still is voicing his presence.