[spectre] artistic freedom and the new national security state (Modified by Geert Lovink) [u]

[gregory sholette]

A Knock at the Door
http://www.lmcc.net/knock/

An exhibition about artistic freedom and the new national security 
state with:

Carlos Andrade & Todd Ayoung; Doug Ashford; Autonomedia; Al Brandtner; 
Lisa Charde; Keith Christensen; Jim Costanzo; Critical Art Ensemble; 
Daedalus; Kouross Esmaeli; Nicolas Dumit Estevez; Benj Gerdes;Day 
Gleeson; Grace Graupe-Pillard; Anthony Graves; Gregory Green; Group 
Material Archive; Hackett; Kathy High; Hiroyuki; Christina Nguyen Hung; 
Jason Lahr; Lou Laurita; John Leanos; James Leary; Ligorano/Reese; 
Bradley McCallum & Jacqueline Tarry; James Mead; Saul Melman & Ani 
Weinstein; Arnold Mesches; Neistat Brothers; Barbara Nitke; Jenny 
Polak; Preemptive Media (Beatriz da Costa, Jamie Schulte and Brooke 
Singer); Walid Raad; Red76; Duke Riley; Miguelangel Ruiz; Christy Rupp; 
Tom Sachs; Jayce Salloum; Julia Scher; Dread Scott; Gregory Sholette; 
Shelly Silver; Camilla Storm; Surveillance Camera Players; Ken Tam; 
Miyuki Tsushima; Ultra Violet; The U.S. Joint Terrorism Task Force; 
VISIBLE Collective/Naeem Mohaiemen; Paulina Von Ahlstrom; Naomi White; 
Christopher Wool
Curated by Seth Cameron, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council

Openings:

September 8th - October 1st
South Street Seaport Museum, Melville Gallery  213 Water Street
  Opening Reception: September 8th, 6 - 9pm

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art 7 East 7th 
Street
 Panel Discussion: September 30th, 7pm
Video Night at the Anthology Film Archives
 32 2nd Avenue, September 12th, 8 - 11pm

Our First Amendment rights are no guarantee. In 2001, shortly after the 
September 11th attacks, polls indicated that 50% of the U.S. population 
agreed with the statement "The First Amendment goes too far in the 
rights it guarantees." This dramatic climate change has a huge impact 
on art, how it is made, exhibited, and discussed. Now, when works by 
certain artists or of an indefinable political nature are exhibited, we 
can virtually guarantee the Secret Service will show up.

  Since September 11th, the media has reported a number of cases of the 
Secret Service visiting art exhibitions based on citizens' reports that 
artworks posed threats to the president and national security. Steve 
Kurtz, a member of the artist collaborative Critical Art Ensemble, was 
brought to trial on charges of bioterrorism (now lessened to mail and 
wire fraud) after he called the police when he woke to find his wife 
had died of a heart attack.

  But often, no legal action is actually taken. Censorship operates 
effectively at the level of a threat. Artists can feel the threat of 
prosecution without knowing what they would possibly be prosecuted for.

Now while this is certainly a frightening development, it does afford 
the possibility of an exhibition that raises public awareness of the 
current retreat of our most basic rights. A Knock at the Door is this 
exhibition. Anchored with works and artists already targeted by the 
Secret Service, the show expands to show how, with no accountability 
required of the federal government, any cultural activity could come 
under investigation. A Knock at the Door challenges the assumption that 
there is a clear line defining so-called "threatening" or "Un-American" 
art and activity, and that all art is an expression of the most basic 
foundation of a democratic society - the free expression and exchange 
of ideas.

For more information see: http://www.lmcc.net/knock/

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www.gregorysholette.com
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gregory sholette
280 riverside drive #3e
new york, ny 10025 usa
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