[spectre] TRACING UNDERCURRENTS: Sonic Routes Between

[helen evans]

Since Noam asked:

re: what's your suggestion for artists "unfortunately" born in isreal? 
to move away and take another citizenship to be allowed to get 
international exposure?
h: that's the really hopeless thing: The more liberal-minded or critical 
israelis all too often leave the country, instead of changing it. Its a 
terrible cycle.

re: are isrealian artists only allowed to make art if it's direct 
political and critical reflection  on the isrealian state?
h: no, you can also make indirect political and critical reflactions! 
seriously, the people of Israel can make what ever art they like. but it 
doesn't mean the world will consume it without asking if it's 
appropriate in the light of current political realities. Which is why we 
are having this discussion.

re: are they collectively guilty?
h: Who ? the people of Israel? No! I don't buy into assigning collective 
guilt to whole communities. Do you?  maybe u think i'm naive, but i 
think individuals, citizens, can act together to change a political 
situation from within. Citizens have some power, and, as spiderman once 
told us, with great power comes great responsibility!

re: You would perhaps have a point if this event was supported by the
Israeli government or even used by it to represent Israel, or if the
artists invited were in any way, shape or form supported by Israeli
public money, which is definitely not the case. These are privately
operating fringe musicians, virtually unknown in Israel outside their
small scene of, at most, a few hundred. Here's the list of
organizations funding the event. None of them is an official Israeli
body...

As E humourously pointed out, the text for this event has a highly NATIONAL tone to it, that it could be mistaken for an Israeli Ministry of Misinformation ! Really!

Thanks Josephine for your comments that are very thoughtful. In 
response: I agree that any effective boycott should not START with young 
artists, but strangely, it is the 'artists' who are provoking the 
Question first...
without even intending to...

for those that want some further reading, on this complicated, delicate 
and apparently TABOO subject, i found:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,858360,00.html

Best wishes to you all, and thanks for the discussion. (over and out)

h






>
>TRACING UNDERCURRENTS is kindly supported by VSBfonds, Mondriaanfonds,
>Fonds voor Amateur en Podiumkunsten, SNAIT Foundation, Stichting Levi
>Lassen, Fonds voor Podium-Programmering & Marketing, STEIM. The
>research phase of Xeno_Sonic was supported by The Netherlands
>Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture
>
>  
>
>>Isn't a cultural boycott the very least we can do?
>>    
>>
>
>Isn't this a tad narcissistic? There's actually a lot you can do
>before you initiate a cultural boycott of fringe artists. You also
>have to demonstrate that such a boycott is effective in furthering
>your cause. Come to think of it, articulating such a cause would be a
>very welcome first step, and probably much more effective than
>disengaging from cultural dialogue.
>
>  
>
>>A peaceful economic response that hurts Israeli pockets and pride...
>>    
>>
>
>I think you have a misplaced perception of the economic scale of this
>particular cultural scene. I don't think any of these musicians
>actually earns a living from it. They probably all have crappy day
>jobs, or at most a low-waged journalism stint. Nor could there
>possibly be any national pride involved, since they are virtually
>anonymous.
>
>Unless (as was the case with apartheid SA) you have a clear solution
>to the middle east conflict, one that enjoys the support of most of
>the people actually involved in that conflict and consequently (at
>least potentially) the support of world public opinion, and unless you
>can show that a blanket cultural boycott of Israelis is the next best
>step to take (after you've already severed, for instance, your own
>state's 'security' ties with the Israeli 'security' industry, or had
>the UN sanction your solution and condemn the Israeli government for
>failing to accept it), then such a response can also be construed as a
>random tactic meant to satisfy your own sense of pride and position
>yourself comfortably in a field of political activism at the expense
>of fellow artists who (in most cases) just happened to be born into a
>very unfortunate situation.
>
>The logic of a blanket cultural boycott is the logic of disengagement,
>as practiced by the Israeli government which, for the time being at
>least, prefers unilateral steps and an 8 meter tall fence/concrete
>wall to negotiations. Is this the logic you want to support?
>
>--
>Noam Knoller
>Cinema, Interaction, Emotion
>http://www.knoller.com
>knoller at gmail.com
>(m) +31.6.42801925
>(h)  +31.20.7769260
>
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