[spectre] Subversive in China - Mainstream in Adelaide Press Release

[Andreas Broeckmann]

folks,

>  > Yes,  this is all  rather troubling.  Although, correct  me if  I am
>>  wrong - didn't  Eyebeam write a statement in  support for James when
>  > all this stuff kicked off?

it was a statement from ANAT in australia:
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:53:14 +0930
Subject: [spectre] Subversive in China - Mainstream in Adelaide Press Release


>  > It would be interesting to  know why such organisations thought it a
>>  good idea  to be a  part of  this the show.  The Olympics is  such a
>>  slack,   hegemonic    and   over-culturalized   form    of   eugenic
>>  indoctrination,  worldwide.
>
>eheh, i place  my bet that they will just ignore  the question.

i find this polemic a bit cheap, given that one of these people has 
already commented extensively and explained his organisation's 
motivation for participating in the show.

From: Alex Adriaansens <alex at v2.nl>
Subject: Re: [spectre] media art and dictatorial regimes
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:18:17 +0200


>  > Perhaps, what we are witnessing  is a shift from supposed 'critical'
>>  'intelligent' media art  organisations, becoming more traditional in
>>  their  approaches and  outlooks, such  as is  the norm  in  fine art
>>  fields.  So  much lip service  and not enough real  challenge. Where
>>  are the socially informed risks here?
>
>i second your sensation very much.   is it like when people slide into
>comfort?  loosing interest in criticism when not needed anymore?
>
>but it isn't  just about age time and change, i  believe there is also
>quite some "top-down" manipulation going on.
(...)
>there are  multiple dynamics that  converge in the same  phenomenon we
>are  talking   about,  which   i  believe  is   not  just   plain  old
>"institutionalisation",  but also a  widespread tendency  to represent
>success,  optimism,  beautiful figures  rather  than  a  meshy mob  of
>different voices.

again, while i share the critical attitude towards the celebratory 
projects which people participate in in china (and elsewhere, for 
that matter), i find it wrong to slag these people off as 
success-hungry opportunists. i also find a certain lack of 
self-critical reflection on the ideological position that people 
slide into by doing these projects, but then i see a similar 
slackness on the part of the 'real critics' who are so sure about 
their own clean-vest-criticality and bathe in the light reflecting 
off from those who were thrown into a chinese prison for voicing 
their opinion about tibet in public.

i see the paradox of showing a work like Knowbotic Research's 'Naked 
Bandit' - an installation that deals with the dilemma of power, 
submission, and excape - http://www.krcf.org/krcfhome/Banditweb
http://www.mediartchina.org/hte/balloon
http://www.krcf.org
which in beijing was turned into some sort of a balloon playground by 
the audience. who will read the crossed-out code as a critical 
gesture towards chinese censorship and the limitation of the freedom 
of speech? but would it be better _not_ to show such a work in 
beijing shortly before the biennial (the show we are talking about 
closed over a month before the start of the olympic games)?

i believe that it is necessary to find ways of working with artists, 
intellectuals, independent and critical people in china. for me, the 
question is whether it is legitimate to go to a country like china, 
knowing that you do not want to take the risk of being thrown into 
prison, either for yourself, or for your chinese partners. i think 
that this is a question which people must answer for themselves. and 
i think that it is silly to assume that all of those artists and 
curators who have been involved in this and other projects in china 
have not thought about the implications critically, before deciding 
to go. - take, for instance, this thoughtful piece by brian holmes:

http://brianholmes.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/one-world-one-dream/

or the ambitious attempt that sarat maharaj and his colleagues are 
making with the guangzhou biennial:
http://www.gdmoa.org/zhanlan/threeyear/4/24/1/

regards,
-a