[-empyre-] the artist in conflict

[horit herman peled]

As Tim put it so poignantly, “we are imprinted with the ideological
framework of our working conditions,” which, I would add, are grounded in
institutional and financial foundations. The question may be asked, then,
from what vantage point can the distinction be made between “a performative
politicised artistic act and an artist's political act,” or between “artists
becoming spokespersons for political causes,” and “interesting and engaging
projects”? Aren’t these distinctions themselves reflections of the power
positions held by the global gatekeepers, who are in many cases also the
purse strings holders?
In a recent lecture at the New School in NYC the philosopher and political
activist Michael Hardt said that he came to seek advice from artists on how
to engage in acts of resistance, given the vacuity of the present “critical”
academic discourse. What made him hopeful that he could learn from artists
was their immediate engagement with and response to situations of oppression
and exploitation. The means of artistic production and distribution
available to us today enable engaged activist artists to be place themselves
in situations where human dignity is denied and register their response on a
very wide scale, free of the need to go through the filters imposed by the
holders of the keys to the glass display cases.
http://horit.com/bare.htm
Horit






On Wed, Feb 9, 2011 at 9:54 AM, nat muller <nat at xs4all.nl> wrote:

> 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.
>
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>



-- 
http://www.horit.com
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