MAKE NICE
WEEK 1
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WEEK NINE:
LUIS CAMNITZER
(VIDEOBOX): David Beaudoin, Francesca Danieli + Julia Smith
AUGUST 31st -SEPTEMBER 4th
Opening Reception: Wednesday, September 1st, 6-8 PM
Curated by Carla Stellweg, White Box and Independent Curator/Writer
We live the alienating myth of primarily being artists. We are not. We are primarily ethical beings sifting right from wrong and just from unjust, not only in the realm of the individual, but in communal and regional contexts. In order to survive ethically we need a political awareness that helps us to understand our environment and develop strategies for our actions. Art becomes the instrument of our choice to implement these strategies.
-Luis Camnitzer, "Access to the Mainstream."
From the outset of the 2004 series Six Feet Under, intended to address the worldwide consequences of our government's post 9/11 anti-terrorism campaign, Luis Camnitzer's work seemed destined to be in it. As an artist, Camnitzer has over the years continued to investigate the options for 'Politics as Art,' producing work that is grounded in ethics instead of the murky waters of esthetics and in the 'moral imperative of art'. In an ever-changing landscape distinguished by the shifts and changes in political, economical and social circumstances, Camnitzer continues to call into question the many faces of colonialism and imperialism, in his books, essays and lectures. The subject matter ranges from the assumptions of art's political correctness, identity wars, art in the free market, the effects of neo-liberalism on art of and in the third world, including the implications of 'victim art'. These concerns and others are at the same time the focus of an array of objects and narratives that at times turn into 'stations' of larger installations and at other times stand on their own. Today he has expanded his vocabulary by dropping the utopian dogmas that characterized the earlier work and is now traveling a journey both ambiguous and transparent by combining cynicism and irony with poetics, humor and hard facts. Created especially for White Box's Make Nice program, Friendly Fire follows the artist's current preference for ambiguity with simple and effective materials. It consists of two low-tech slide-projectors aiming at each other from opposite sides at irregular intervals. Without images, the blank slides shoot light beams at one another. A strategically placed, double-sided interrogation and surveillance mirror hangs between the two opposing positions, redoubling this incessant and futile activity of shooting at each other while shedding moments of literal light. The result is an unsettling hit-and-run, one without effect or any distinct motive other than, in some crazy and violent exploitative moment, to repeat itself mindlessly.
-Carla Stellweg
(VIDEOBOX):
David Beaudoin, Francesca Danieli + Julia Smith
One
Nice Thing:
Is there a verb inside the noun of politics? The answer may lie in One
Nice Thing. One Nice Thing is a performance metascript to be filmed
at the 2004 National Democratic Convention in Boston and, at the National
Republican Convention in New York. Pragmatically, One Nice Thing serves
as a response to the NYC ad campaign featuring Ed Koch exhorting New Yorkers,
"The Republicans are coming, Make Nice." In response, One Nice Thing poses
a more direct challenge, "Say one nice thing about RepublicansÑand really
mean it." to random National Democratic Convention delegates and the obverse
question to random National Republican Convention delegates. All reactions
will be videotaped and edited into two videos to be played simultaneously.
One Nice Thing seeks to disarm politicized individuals and initiate dialogue
that begins to diffuse rhetorical polarities infecting America today.
Both positive and negative responses will be recorded and included in
the final films. The artists will also develop a One Nice Thing log site
where images and text will be uploaded daily, along with posted comments,
during the duration of both conventions. - David Beaudouin, Francesca
Danieli, and Julia Kim Smith
ARTISTS' BIOS
David Beaudouin has been deeply involved in Baltimore's writing and performance
scene for decades. In 1976, he founded Tropos Press, Inc., one of the
areaÕs most respected alternative literary presses. He is also the co-founder
and editor of THE PEARL, Baltimore's oldest journal of the literary and
"spontaneous" arts. He served as a founding literary panelist
for the Mayor's Committee on Arts and Culture and was instrumental in
the creation of the first Artscape Literary Arts Award. Beaudouin is a
widely published poet and performer. His most recent book, a collaboration
with the artist Thea Osato, is entitled The American Night. The collaborative
process involved the creation of 14 large-scale drawings that were central
to the performance of the work. His subsequent engagements with visual
artists, most recently with Julia Kim Smith, reflect his ongoing commitment
to transmodal art. A native of Baltimore, Beaudouin is also actively involved
in alternative film. His film appearances include John Waters' Polyester
and Rob Tregenza's Inside/Out. In 2002, Fluid Movement, a documentary
short that he co-produced, was screened at the Maryland Film Festival.
He is currently engaged with a new documentary in development with award-winning
filmmaker Beth Pacunas.
Francesca Danieli is a visual artist whose recent shows include "Room
Full of Mirrors", The Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College
Park, Maryland, February 2004 and 1708 Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, May
2003; "Art on Paper", Maryland Federation for the Arts Circle
Gallery, Annapolis, Maryland, April - May 2003; "Beyond Words: Kathe
Kollwitz and Contemporary Print Artists," The Portsmouth Museums
Courthouse Galleries, Portsmouth, Virginia, February Ð April 2003 and
"23 Point Perspective", Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore,
Maryland, January 2003. Her prints are in the collection of The Museum
of Fine Arts, Houston. She has a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University,
an MBA from Columbia University, and is an MFA candidate at the Maryland
Institute College of Art in Photography and Digital Imaging, where she
received the department fellowship.
Julia Kim Smith is an artist, designer, and teacher. Her art work has
appeared in numerous group exhibitions, including a national juried show
curated by Shamim Momin, branch curator of the Whitney at Philip Morris,
and a regional juried show curated by Steven Beyer, then associate curator
of The Fabric Museum and Workshop in Philadelphia. She was an adjunct
faculty member at Maryland Institute College of Art, where she taught
graphic design. She received her MFA from The University of Michigan,
which she attended on a fellowship. Beaudouin and SmithÕs solo exhibition
Ever After: Assemblies for Tales (Series 1 & 2) opened to critical acclaim
in September 2003