US Department of Art & Technology on Fri, 21 Jun 2002 23:45:35 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> Two recent press releases |
Table of Contents: Address to the World Mediation Summit US Department of Art & Technology <press@usdept-arttech.net> Articles of Artistic Mediation US Department of Art & Technology <secretary@usdept-arttech.net> ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2002 11:54:24 -0400 From: US Department of Art & Technology <press@usdept-arttech.net> Subject: Address to the World Mediation Summit US Department of Art & Technology PO Box 32265 Washington, DC http://www.usdept-arttech.net press@usdept-arttech.net Press Secretary =46or Immediate Release: June 19, 2002 Secretary Packer to Address World Mediation Summit Washington, DC WASHINGTON, DC - On June 19, 7:00 PM (EST), the Secretary of the US Department of Art & Technology, Randall M. Packer, will deliver the following speech at the World Mediation Summit in Washington, DC, minutes before the signing of the Covenant of the Articles of Artistic Mediation. Department staff, members of the Washington arts community, and cultural officials from six nations will be participating in the event. The Covenant, collectively co-authored by artists, curators, and cultural critics from around the world, is being presented to the US Department of State. The following is the transcript of the speech: Speech by Randall M. Packer Secretary, US Department of Art & Technology To the World Mediation Summit Upon Signing of the Covenant of the Articles of Artistic Mediation June 19, 2002 Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes Washington, DC *********** It's an honor to thank those artists who have heeded a great call: those who collectively co-authored the Covenant of the Articles of Artistic Mediation, which we are presenting tonight to the US Department of State. It's a universal call, and it's a call that has been applicable throughout history. It's really needed right now. The reason we're here tonight is to unleash the talents of the artist as a mediator on the world stage. I appreciate the cooperation of the Goethe-Institut to stage this event right here in the nation's capital. Because this is a critical gesture that I hope will encourage cultural dialogue and understanding throughout the nation. It's an urgent time for the artist to act. And I think it's going to help America, along with the rest of the world, cope in these times of crisis and national insecurity. This really isn't about any political party, I want to assure you. It's a way to make sure citizens of the world are as hopeful as they possibly can be. The events of September the 11th were an incredibly dark moment. But the thing I'm most proud about is, through the darkness, is the emergence of a new era of socially engaged art. This is really an unbelievable country we live in. A place where heroes risked their lives, and where artists responded with incredible insight. It was a remarkable moment, it really was. It was a test of our character. While many were busy waving the flag, artists and cultural critics in America and throughout the world have probed deep into the issues of cultural divisiveness in order to help guide us through these perilous times. They have rallied together, via the Internet, through their art, their writing, and their vision, to point out that everything is at stake, and that we have everything to lose, in these apocalyptic times. In the words of our Deputy Undersecretary Robert Atkins, "Being the most complex form of knowledge, art IS the best hope for subtle, nuanced communication." This power of cultural action can go well beyond military aggression, and can help us rise above the hopeless notion of "overcoming evil" or "rooting out terror." Yes, we will take action, I want to assure you, but we don't seek death and destruction, we seek a victory of the human spirit. And I believe that if we're patient and resolved and united, that out of these acts of artistic mediation could come lasting peace - peace in regions of the world that might appear now they cannot be peaceful. I believe we can achieve peace by listening to the artist. Peace is the cornerstone of the artistic sensibility, it's what we aim for. As the Iowan artist Ava Su GanWei said so well, "Our society has it backwards, art should be freed from the museums and galleries... it should be on the streets. But violence and war - they belong in a place where they can be studied." There are going to be some tough moments achieving this peace. But you need to know that we're going to be plenty tough when we need to be tough. And we're going to stay focused on fighting homeland insecurity, caused by those who would foolishly believe they can root out every trace of evil from human existence. That's our call. History has called us into action, and we must and we will respond. But we need to do more than just make the country less insecure. We need to make our country and the world a better place. We must be more than just a military might. We must show our resolve through cultural understanding: for according to John Young, our Under Secretary of the Bureau for the Blurring of the Real & the Virtual, "As we inhabit the 21st century, do we choose to take up the challenge of crafting a new vision of global compassion, or fall back upon antiquated notions of diplomacy at gunpoint?" We have got to recognize that because we're a rich and powerful nation, we inspire despair and hopelessness in countries that suffer from extreme poverty and political instability. There are too many people throughout the world who wonder whether or not America is a destructive force. And so part of our struggle in making the country and the world less insecure is to mediate these differences in the universal language of artistic expression. As David Baime, our Assistant Secretary for Legislation & Congressional Affairs so eloquently said, "art alone provides the reflection of reality. Art is as perennial as the grass, and may our good government sow its seed, so as to reap its splendor." And the place to start is understanding that the world can be changed one word, one note, one frame, one pixel at a time. The artist can't do everything. But the artist can do something to help. And their job as social provocateurs, appropriators, liberators, and citizens deeply committed to virtualization and the suspension of disbelief, is to gather that great compassion for critical insight, the spectacle, and distaste for the status quo, to change our ineffective paradigms, to change the world. And for those who have contributed to the efforts of the US Department of Art & Technology, including tonight's World Mediation Summit, they are doing a great job of that, and I want to thank them. My job is to continue to address the spirit of the artist, their role in society, to call upon the best, and I will do so. Let this be a reminder to those who want to confront the human reality of terror, they should turn to the arts and its many forms of expression. "Violence is an expression of speechlessness, of lack of communication," according to the German media artist Agricola de Cologne. The artist recognizes problems when they exist and works to solve those problems, to eliminate the hurdles and barriers that lead to violence and aggression. Government must not turn a blind eye to the artist. There must be a level playing field available and a role for the artist as a mediator and a player on the world stage. We need to remember that in our society, artists can move people in ways that government never can. In order to understand the eternal, existential struggle between good and evil, that now paralyzes our government, we must invent, we must create, we must virtualize, and we must use our imaginations! As Andr=E9 Breton said, "perhaps the imagination is on the verge of recovering its rights." In the gathering momentum of these acts of artistic mediation, which reveal what the artist is truly made of, we stand on the first promontory of the new centuries. Why should we look back, when what we want is to break down the mysterious doors of the Impossible! And so, I now have the great honor of joining my colleagues in signing the Covenant of the Articles of Artistic Mediation and delivering it to the US Department of State. Thank you. URLs: US Department of Art & Technology: http://www.usdept-arttech.net Contact: Press Secretary of the US Department of Art & Technology press@usdept-arttech.net # 01-102 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 09:29:25 -0400 From: US Department of Art & Technology <secretary@usdept-arttech.net> Subject: Articles of Artistic Mediation US Department of Art & Technology PO Box 32265 Washington, DC http://www.usdept-arttech.net office of the Secretary secretary@usdept-arttech Covenant of the Articles of Artistic Mediation Presented by the US Department of Art & Technology To the US Department of State Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes Washington, DC June 19, 2002 THE MEDIATING PARTIES, In order to promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and cultural understanding by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war, by the prescription of open, informed cultural dialogue between nations, by the establishment of the understanding of the aspirations of the artist as a model for spiritual and moral conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of the role of the artist as a mediator on the world stage, and a scrupulous respect for the following articles of artistic mediation in the dealings of organized peoples with one another, Agree to this Covenant of the Articles of Artistic Mediation. Article 1 Jeff Gates Deputy Secretary US Department of Art & Technology The events of September 11 have caused all Americans to look at the world and our lives in new ways. We are beginning to question what it means to be an American within the greater world stage. Like Pearl Harbor, the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks have once again jolted us out of our isolationism. This presents us with a unique opportunity. Let us reevaluate the relationship between our government and its policies and the contributions of artists and other cultural workers. We are standing at the fork in a road, just as we were soon after December 7, 1941. We can redefine our country by building taller, more impenetrable walls or we can promote our way of life by looking for new ways to solve our problems. Traditionally, artists have developed creative ways of looking at the world. Employ our strengths and the country will be stronger and more able to adapt to the changing world around us. Work with us to become more inclusive domestically and more responsible internationally. Article 2 Mark Amerika Under Secretary for the Department of Freedom of Speech US Department of Art & Technology I am deeply offended by recent attempts by high administration figures to try and equate vocal dissent against their politically-motivated 'war on terrorism' with unpatriotic behavior. I would go so far as to say that these blatant acts of psychological manipulation and ideological coercion are themselves some of the most unpatriotic acts of any administration I have seen in my lifetime. Article 3 Lynn Hershman Deputy Under Secretary of the Bureau for the Protection & Immunization Against Mediation & Alienation US Department of Art & Technology Initiate compassion, dignity and enlightenment in all cultural challenges. Article 4 Pierre Levy Under Secretary for the Office of Virtualization US Department of Art & Technology Each one of us is an autonomous and responsible source of meaning. We can enrich our world by integrating others as autonomous interpretation centers who are complete worlds in themselves. What is to be done with the other's meaning production? Ignore it, tolerate it, despise it, beat it, imitate it=8A? this would not be a dialogue. Collective intelligence is the reciprocal implication and mutual recognition of autonomous world's sources. Article 5 Douglas Robertson Director of the Office of Excessive Verbiage & Official Ceremonies US Department of Art & Technology Have Barney, that lovable hug-happy purple dinosaur, accompany the Secretary of State on all missions, and have Barney speak in the language of the host country. Barney will prove to be the perfect yin to every Secretary of State's yang. Alternative methodology if the Secretary of State does not consider this prudent: Appoint Bahrein as an American Ambassador at Large and send him on a world tour. Article 6 Robert Atkins Deputy Undersecretary US Department of Art & Technology Being the most complex form of knowledge, art IS the best hope for subtle, nuanced communication. Power to the palette people! Article 7 Jack Rasmussen Minister of Culture US Department of Art & Technology Artists interpret the cultures they live in... their "criticisms" take the form of invitations to engage us in constructive dialogues. Such dialogues seem to be completely lacking in the geo-political arena, where they are needed most. Let us use the artist's model to resolve international conflicts. Let's get naked! Article 8 William Gilcher Envoy Plenipotentiary to the European Union and Latin America US Department of Art & Technology US Museums and cultural institutions - under DAT's and UNESCO's leadership - should enshroud a major, signature work from their collections. Then they should hold fancy fund-raisers to pay for recovering (i.e., uncovering) the work. The money raised should be used to support the creation and maintenance of a permanent light sculpture representing the Bamiyan Buddhas, to be projected in the original space in Afghanistan. The team of artists selected to create the work should be people of various ethnic and religious origins, including at least one Afghan. Article 9 John Paul Young Under Secretary of the Bureau for the Blurring of the Real & the Virtual US Department of Art & Technology Art reflects the conscience of each generation. As we inhabit the 21st century, do we choose to take up the challenge of crafting a new vision of global compassion, or fall back upon antiquated notions of diplomacy at gunpoint? Our children will judge us by our decision. Technology in the service of "clean" war is not a solution, it is a mere political expediency. Instead of increasingly virtualized destruction, the future must embrace radical notions of humane intervention. As proud citizens of the world family, let us lead with a passion for creatively deploying and delivering life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness where they are most needed. Article 10 Billy Kl=FCver Under Secretary of Reality US Department of Art & Technology Chaos is the best defense. Article 11 Margaret Schedel Under Secretary for Dissertations and Strategic Disinformation US Department of Art & Technology Interact with art and with each other. Ferocious interaction in art. Tender interactions with each other. Article 12 Joan Freedman Deputy Secretary of the Bureau for Archiving Old Media & Anachronistic Ideologies US Department of Art & Technology No Land Mimes! Appoint mimes to call for an international ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel landmines, and for increased international resources for humanitarian mine clearance and mine victim assistance programs. Send mimes to effected regions to demonstrate the effects of land mines on unknowing civilian populations. Article 13 Mark Tribe Director of the Office of Emerging Technologies & Digital Aesthetics US Department of Art & Technology The conflict between Al Quaeda and the U.S. Government may be understood in terms of two very different modes of organizing power: one horizontally distributed and nomadic, the other hierarchical and geographically fixed. In the past, we have tended to assign positive value to the rhizomatic in contrast to the hierarchical. This conflict helps us realize that there is nothing inherently good about rhizomatic organizations of power. But if we think of think of these organizations of power as technologies in and of themselves, then it quickly becomes clear that rhizomatic technologies - fugitive, resilient, designed to operate in tatters - are not only newer but also more likely to survive in an evolutionary struggle. Article 14 Randall Packer Secretary US Department of Art & Technology Organize a virtual government department, select a staff of the finest media artists and technologists you can find, have them collectively co-author imaginative acts of artistic mediation, stage an "official" event in Washington, DC with department staff and cultural officials providing remarks on the role of the artist in society, and invite the US State Department. Article 15 David Baime Assistant Secretary for Legislation & Congressional Affairs US Department of Art & Technology The sentimentalist would deceive himself, the rhetorician others; while art alone provides the reflection of reality. Art is as perennial as the grass, and may our good government sow its seed, so as to reap its splendor. Article 16 David Crandall Director of the Office of Strategy and Subversion US Department of Art & Technology I would submit that a central problem is the rest of the world's lack of understanding of America's unique burden and contribution. Inasmuch as our great nation has given the world the best-dressed peasant class in history, I would call for the commission of a series of grand, heroic paintings of, e.g. noble American yeoman stock-traders, bond-swains, cash maidens & personnel-herds, done larger than life in a golden glow. Alternatively, murals could be created in the soviet style extolling the virtues of our noble Arts Infrastructure workers - see the sweat gleam on the sides of the redoubtable database coordinator and grants administrator as they build a better world for all! Their song: "If we lose this grant, the terrorists win!" Article 17 Chris Bowman Artist-Ambassador from Scotland Global Virtualization Council NEW CHILDREN'S GAME: After lots are drawn, two children stand side by side pretending to be skyscrapers, while two others charge into them, pretending to be planes. The two pretending to be skyscrapers aren't allowed to duck or dodge, and the two pretending to be planes get to crash into them as hard as they like, at which point the skyscrapers compete to see who can topple over the most dramatically. It's in the interests of the planes not to hit the skyscrapers too hard, because in the next and final stage of the game, the skyscrapers - who have become a military alliance - get to kick the shit out of the planes - who have become foreign terrorists - in any and every way they like. The game is known as PYRRHIC VICTORY. Article 18 Philip Ryder Artist-Ambassador from England Global Virtualization Council Being pigeon holed with terrorists should not be a frustration or insult. We do not kill. We are feared for being artists and all that it entails. Let their fear be proof of art's power and an inspiration. Article 19 Jonah Brucker-Cohen Artist Ambassador from the US Global Virtualization Council Without the negative to negate the positive, the positive would have no power. Working together we can avoid the threat that terrorism will be a threat to the way we perceive threats. Art is the only way to escape the world of what is possible into the world of what can be possible. Artists and creative processes will lead us past the bureaucratic stranglehold that stifles radical change. Our only hope is to rely on individual creative energy to prove the hypothesis that new approaches to perception will lead us to salvation. Article 20 Agricola de Cologne German media artist Violence is an expression of speechlessness, of lack of communication. The best solution to eliminate violence and confrontation is looking for communicating, dialogue and networking, starting already in the smallest cel of society family, which lead in consequence to openness against the different, tolerance. A good example on the way to that represents the net based art project - http://www.a-virtual-memorial.org - Memorial project against the =46orgetting and for Humanity. Article 21 Joseph Franklyn McElroy Cor[porat]e [Per]form[ance] Art[ist]T It seems to be a natural tendency on the part of those in power, or wanting power, to use tactics of brinkmanship and brutality to accomplish incremental gains in their status. While people of extreme intelligence might be capable of handling the situations created by aggressive behavior, the unfortunate consequence of the success of these tactics is that people of less intelligence and experience attempt to copy the methods and are unable to control the resulting forces. This leads to tragedy and sorrow for many people. We implore you to step back from the strategies of the brute, to use new techniques of honesty, nonaggression, and inclusivity to establish a peaceful world, where equality and equitable distribution of resources are the norm. Article 22 Ava Su GanWei Iowan Artist Our society has it backwards, art should be freed from the museums and galleries... it should be on the streets. But violence and war - they belong in a place where they can be studied. Article 23 Domiziana Giordano Italian Artist As an intellectual and artist, I find the international politics of the US not really performing if it has to reach a point of non aggression in military and cultural forms. The dialogue between cultures has to be more open-minded towards the difference of culture and I think intellectuals and artists can pursue the appropriate way to mediate between the cultures and make a sort of free land where opportunities of understanding with each other would be easily resolved. Article 24 Lowell Darling American Conceptual Artist and Presidential Candidate A National Business Museum in which money schemes can be exhibited like art, where business people can play with concepts like the recent Enron/Anderson debacle. Business people like Michael Milkin should be given a safe venue to play in, like artists. This museum would give corporate raiders a platform to perform that would protect the rest of us from seeing their visions reach fruition. In the National Business Museum a corrupt concept could be exhibited, reviewed, discussed, and the business person who came up with the scam could get the attention they seek. a businessman could take his children to the Business Museum, show his kids the idea he had, and show them how much money he could have made if he'd done the project in real life instead of in the museum, and they could say, "wow, dad. You made that? cool!" The National Business Museum would allow the money manipulators a way to vent their greed while giving them their ego boosts. Economic self gratification without investors being destroyed. In other words, let's treat business like art. Give money grubbers and corporate thieves a sheltered venue for their experiments. Let money makers get the sort of rewards art makers get: pats on the ass, government grants, ego enhancing shows, brief moments of recognition in trade magazines, and lots of promises. But the money stays in the people's pockets when they leave the museum and go home, glad that they are protected from such crazy concepts as those wild business people come up with. * * * The present Covenant, of which the German, French, Flemish, English, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, Portuguese, and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall remain deposited in the on-line archives of the US Department of Art & Technology. Duly certified digital copies thereof shall be transmitted by that Government to its agencies and to other States when appropriate. IN FAITH WHEREOF the representatives of the Department of Art & Technology have signed the present charter. DONE at the city of Washington, DC the 19th day of June two thousand and two # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net