Covenant of the Articles of Artistic Mediation Presented by the US Department of Art
& Technology Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes Randall M. Packer, Secretary 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 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 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 Initiate compassion, dignity and enlightenment in
all cultural challenges. Article 4 Pierre Levy 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…? this would not be a dialogue. Collective intelligence is the reciprocal implication and mutual recognition of autonomous world’s sources. Article 5 Douglas Robertson 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 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 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 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 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 Klüver Chaos is the best defense. Article 11 Margaret Schedel Interact with art and with each other. Ferocious
interaction in art. Tender interactions with each other. Article 12 Joan Freedman 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 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 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 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 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 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 Section 1A 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. Section 1B A global mass attack against the feeders of our consumer culture. For far too long shops and advertising agencies have been force feeding us with their products and information. Weíve been hearing, seeing, drinking, and eating what they've been producing and we can't swallow another bite. On Buy Nothing Day pseudo-consumers in areas reeking of consumerism will vomit within short increments of each other in a subversively innocent and unrelated way. The vomiting will be induced by a natural root extract of a plant grown in Brazil that comes in capsule form, called Ipecac. One of its main uses is to induce vomiting in children when they have swallowed household chemicals or poisons, with vomiting occurring within 20 minutes. Article 19 Jonah Brucker-Cohen 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 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 Forgetting and for Humanity. Article 21 Joseph Franklyn McElroy 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 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 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. * * *
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