political art

All this talk about computers and digital genesis, bee wax, pollen, and natural materials let me almost forget that art has a political dimension. At certain times and at specific locations politics can even be so strong that it overpowers everything else, including the art itself. Today, politics almost vanished from the international artistic scene. So it's a special occasion if several political art shows are happening simultaneously. Here I provide pointers to three that came to my attention.


Dürer, I am personally guiding Baader + Meinhof through Dokumenta V,
by Joseph Beuys, 1972, Leihgeber Sammlung Speck, Cologne

The first takes place in Berlin at the newly established Kunstwerke or KW Institute for Contemporary Art. The topic of Regarding Terror: The RAF-Exhibition are artistic views of the RAF (Red Army Faction), also known in the late 60's and 70's in Germany as the "Baader-Meinhof Bande" (gang) after the names of two of its founders. From the early planning phase grappling with recent forms of terrorism attracted significant controversy. Promised public funding was cancelled and was only later secured by selling contributed artwork on ebay auctions(!)

I believe among the exhibited pieces are samples of the 15-painting cycle "October 18, 1977" by Gerhard Richter, one of the most distinguished artworks dealing with the RAF and that part of German history. The entire set is now owned by the MoMA in New York.


Aleksandra Mir, Che and Concorde (2003)

Another exhibition opens this weekend in Dublin, Ireland, under the title: Communism - a Group Show. A truely unusual theme, even if it is very timely, considering the recent demise of Communism on a grand scale. This changed the political, cultural, and economical situation of the larger part of Central-Eastern Europe with a population of approximately 250 Million people. One interesting component of the show is the reinterpretation of the Che Guevara poster, an ubiquitous icon from the international protest movements of the 60's and an interview the artist, Aleksandra Mir conducted with the creator of the original image, Jim Fitzpatrick (Dublin). Actually, who owned the copyright to "Che" was contentious for a while between the graphic artist and the photographer who snaped the "original" image of our hero.


Front’t—Activism in Exile, Škart (1999)

I saw the interview first on NYFA Current, an artsy ezine which I subscribe to (free of charge). This is also where I became aware of the Serbian Duo, Škart. This is a Belgrade-based collective whose core members are Dragan Protic and Djordje Balmazovic. In this line-up of politically informed art they contribute an online-exhibition showcasing their humorous commentaries on sometimes deadly events. In our time Serbians are often ostracized simply by being Serbian while relatively little is known about the living conditions in that country. It is refreshing to see that NYFA Current took the initiative to ask Škart to “critically communicate” (a phrase they use to describe their interactions with the public) with an American audience.