Is Art Political?: Wafaa Bilal
Annie Brown | 30.Sep.10
During a recent speech at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, artist Wafaa Bilal stated “all art is political.” As an activist and amateur illustrator, I found this statement interesting, especially coming from one of the most controversial artists in America. Bilal’s speech recently made me reflect on the Iraq war, and the pain it has caused. I was moved by his art, words and commitment to the anti-war effort.
Countless numbers of people have debated the definition of art. Still, I ponder the question. What is art? A logical qualifier could be, “Art is the expression of the artist(s).” The artist’s expressions are able to draw deep emotions from viewers. Politics is convincing someone to act, or think differently. It is about the ability to control another person. It is about power and the body. I am a political being. My body is a part of the world and governments and laws manipulate that world. Art seems to be an expression of this intersection of politics and the body.
Bilal’s body, and how it is used to elicit a strong interaction and reaction with his viewers, becomes his art. When I engage in politics as an activist, I too use my body to produce a reaction with people. I want to help people learn, engage them with the realities that face our lives, like global warming, healthcare, personal freedoms and war. I do this by organizing people to care about their rights as citizens and the rights of other people. I also create art to make myself and others think about topics and perspectives they may not have considered, or would rather avoid.
Wafaa Bilal is an Iraqi-American artist. Born in Najaf, Iraq, Bilal wanted to study art in school. Because a family member was accused of disloyalty, he had to study geography instead. However, he continued to make art. He was arrested for producing art that spoke out against Saddam Hussein’s regime. Bilal fled Iraq in 1991, lived in refugee camps in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and in 1992, moved to the United States to study art. He is now an assistant professor at the Tisch School of Arts at New York University. His art has been exhibited worldwide and has released a book entitled, “Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun.”
Wafaa Bilal’s art gets attention. I asked him about the political nature of his art. Many artists distance their art from politics, because art is above politics. However, according to Bilal, Politics meant saying what had to be heard, and showing images Americans needed to see. As Bilal stated during the lecture, he felt he needed to express himself for therapeutic reasons.
Bilal lost his father and his brother during the American invasion of Iraq. The loss of Bilal’s brother was the inspiration for his most well-known performance piece entitled “Domestic Tension (or Shoot and Iraqi).” Bilal’s brother was killed by a US bomb targeted by an unmanned Predator drone. Bilal watched a TV interview on which a woman described how she was able to sit in front of a computer in California and drop bombs on Iraqi targets. Bilal explained, “This military woman said she never questioned her orders.” Domestic Tension was Bilal’s way of dealing with his loss, as well as exploring the concept of virtual warfare in the 21st century.
Domestic Tension was part installment, part online video game, and part disturbing commentary. Bilal set up a room with a few simple amenities, a computer hooked up to the web, and a robotic paintball gun controlled by online viewers. The gun moved with the control of a left and right button. You could aim at the artist (who had few places to hide) and shoot the robo-gun. Bilal lived in the gallery room for 31 days. He wanted to call his dynamic installment “Shoot an Iraqi,” but the gallery would not permit him to.
The game gave people the ability to shoot an Iraqi. After 31 days Bilal had wounds as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. Would you take advantage of this opportunity or not? The website was not artsy, it was meant to be a popular, and shocking video game. This is how it was sold to others.
Now imagine if you or I were in Bilal’s shoes. How would we react to this moment...in a box, with a robo-machine gun. I, personally, would be terrified. Also, it’s especially creepy knowing that some people might wish the gun was filled with bullets, and not paint balls. At the end of the project, Bilal’s room looked destroyed, symbolizing the destruction of an unsuspecting Iraqi family’s home.
The website received over 80 million hits from people living in 136 countries. Domestic Tension became the number one ranked website on Digg.com. At one point, the website shut down because so many people were trying to shoot at the artist. Although most viewers visited the website just to see the spectacle, they became participants in the piece as soon as they fired that fantastic robotic paint-ball gun. Bilal described his piece as “dynamic.” The final product of Domestic Tension would be placed into the hand of the viewers. This way, viewers could place their own meaning into the art.
This piece made Americans face issues like violence in the modern age and post 9/11 racism towards Muslim and Arab Americans. Domestic Tension is interactive art that at first might seem like a video game, but in the context of Bilal’s life and the Iraq war, it is much more. Domestic Tension’s message humanized war and politics.
When you shoot Bilal, you don’t know him, you can’t talk to him, but you harm him. All you have to do is aim. Some of Bilal’s website visitors could have indeed been incredibly racist. The fact is, a large number of Americans are racist, because American society, like many other societies in the world today, is still racist. Not all website visitors shot for racist reasons, and there is no way of knowing, but I would guess a good number of them did.
While Bilal has not been arrested for his art here in the United States, he certainly has been chastised, and even deemed a terrorist himself. One of his most recent pieces, entitled The Night of Bush Capturing: A Virtual Ji-Hadi, was a video game where the goal was to kill George W. Bush. As you can imagine, this did not please many Americans. After announcing that his piece would be shown, Bilal was quickly deemed a “terrorist” by American citizens and politicians.
The piece gets under my skin. I can feel it crawl. The deaths of Bilal’s father and brother highlight an important part of the piece: The wish to see the President dead. It is a scary desire to share with fellow Americans. Americans celebrate their right to free speech, but many believe there are some places you just don’t go. But why not go there? If you wish to see the President dead, why would you be put in jail for saying it?
Conservatives argued that Bilal’s piece should be banned, because it would incite people to kill the President. This is a clip from a 2009 news article on the law-suit filed by the The Sanctuary for Independent Media:
“Bilal, a U.S. citizen and a faculty member at the Art Institute of Chicago, was invited to display his work at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute in Troy but was abruptly ordered off campus after the school's College Republican Club raised objections to the game. Bilal was then offered space to display Virtual Jihadi at a nearby gallery- the Sanctuary for Independent Media."
The gallery, however, was suddenly shut down for building code violations by Troy's Public Works Commissioner, Robert Mirch. Mirch, who is named as a defendant in the suit, had earlier led a demonstration protesting the exhibit. He called the suit politically motivated.”
Freedom of expression is protected by the United States Constitution. In the United States, I should not be censored from holding a sign that speaks my mind. Similarly, an artist should not be banned from showing a piece of artwork that offends others. Art is a peaceful form of expression. It is a way to express dissent without causing violence or harm. If the body needs to express itself, who is anyone to make it stop?
Quest for Saddam was a game where Americans were mercilessly killing Iraqis. In it, the Iraqis only spoke stereotypical gibberish. The Night of Bush Capturing was a re-make of this original game. According to Bilal’s website,
“Virtual Jihadi is meant to bring attention to the vulnerability of Iraqi civilians to the travesties of the current war and racist generalizations...The work also aims to shed light on groups that traffic in crass and hateful stereotypes of Arab culture with games like Quest for Saddam and other media.”
Bilal did not choose to express himself, he had to. He had to act out against the Iraq war. However, his art is not just confronting people, he makes people interact with him through his art. His art starts discussions and debates. There are not enough people talking, thinking and learning about the Iraq war, myself included. Especially considering it has been going on for so long and killed so many people.
Bilal explains his work-
“In these difficult times, when we are at war with another nation, it is our duty as artists and citizens to improvise strategies of engagement for dialogue. This platform is a piece of fiction that uses the video game format to create alternative narratives and perspectives.
Because we inhabit a comfort zone far from the trauma of conflict zone, we Americans have become desensitized to the violence of war. We are disconnected, disengaged while many others do the suffering. The game holds up a mirror that reveals our own propensities for violence, racism and propaganda. We can close our eyes, our ears and deny that it exists, but the issue won’t go away.”
Bilal’s art focuses on the experience of Iraqi people and the importance of peaceful conflict resolution, as well as a society free from racism. He creates art, because, as he stated at the VCU lecture, “I must.” Bilal’s drive to express himself forces Americans to confront shocking realities using his body and digital art, which creates a political and emotionally engaging image.
http://www.wafaabilal.com/
http://www.wafaabilal.com/html/virtualJ.html
http://www.gamepolitics.com/category/topics/wafaa-bilal
Countless numbers of people have debated the definition of art. Still, I ponder the question. What is art? A logical qualifier could be, “Art is the expression of the artist(s).” The artist’s expressions are able to draw deep emotions from viewers. Politics is convincing someone to act, or think differently. It is about the ability to control another person. It is about power and the body. I am a political being. My body is a part of the world and governments and laws manipulate that world. Art seems to be an expression of this intersection of politics and the body.
Bilal’s body, and how it is used to elicit a strong interaction and reaction with his viewers, becomes his art. When I engage in politics as an activist, I too use my body to produce a reaction with people. I want to help people learn, engage them with the realities that face our lives, like global warming, healthcare, personal freedoms and war. I do this by organizing people to care about their rights as citizens and the rights of other people. I also create art to make myself and others think about topics and perspectives they may not have considered, or would rather avoid.
Wafaa Bilal is an Iraqi-American artist. Born in Najaf, Iraq, Bilal wanted to study art in school. Because a family member was accused of disloyalty, he had to study geography instead. However, he continued to make art. He was arrested for producing art that spoke out against Saddam Hussein’s regime. Bilal fled Iraq in 1991, lived in refugee camps in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and in 1992, moved to the United States to study art. He is now an assistant professor at the Tisch School of Arts at New York University. His art has been exhibited worldwide and has released a book entitled, “Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun.”
Wafaa Bilal’s art gets attention. I asked him about the political nature of his art. Many artists distance their art from politics, because art is above politics. However, according to Bilal, Politics meant saying what had to be heard, and showing images Americans needed to see. As Bilal stated during the lecture, he felt he needed to express himself for therapeutic reasons.
Bilal lost his father and his brother during the American invasion of Iraq. The loss of Bilal’s brother was the inspiration for his most well-known performance piece entitled “Domestic Tension (or Shoot and Iraqi).” Bilal’s brother was killed by a US bomb targeted by an unmanned Predator drone. Bilal watched a TV interview on which a woman described how she was able to sit in front of a computer in California and drop bombs on Iraqi targets. Bilal explained, “This military woman said she never questioned her orders.” Domestic Tension was Bilal’s way of dealing with his loss, as well as exploring the concept of virtual warfare in the 21st century.
Domestic Tension was part installment, part online video game, and part disturbing commentary. Bilal set up a room with a few simple amenities, a computer hooked up to the web, and a robotic paintball gun controlled by online viewers. The gun moved with the control of a left and right button. You could aim at the artist (who had few places to hide) and shoot the robo-gun. Bilal lived in the gallery room for 31 days. He wanted to call his dynamic installment “Shoot an Iraqi,” but the gallery would not permit him to.
The game gave people the ability to shoot an Iraqi. After 31 days Bilal had wounds as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. Would you take advantage of this opportunity or not? The website was not artsy, it was meant to be a popular, and shocking video game. This is how it was sold to others.
Now imagine if you or I were in Bilal’s shoes. How would we react to this moment...in a box, with a robo-machine gun. I, personally, would be terrified. Also, it’s especially creepy knowing that some people might wish the gun was filled with bullets, and not paint balls. At the end of the project, Bilal’s room looked destroyed, symbolizing the destruction of an unsuspecting Iraqi family’s home.
The website received over 80 million hits from people living in 136 countries. Domestic Tension became the number one ranked website on Digg.com. At one point, the website shut down because so many people were trying to shoot at the artist. Although most viewers visited the website just to see the spectacle, they became participants in the piece as soon as they fired that fantastic robotic paint-ball gun. Bilal described his piece as “dynamic.” The final product of Domestic Tension would be placed into the hand of the viewers. This way, viewers could place their own meaning into the art.
This piece made Americans face issues like violence in the modern age and post 9/11 racism towards Muslim and Arab Americans. Domestic Tension is interactive art that at first might seem like a video game, but in the context of Bilal’s life and the Iraq war, it is much more. Domestic Tension’s message humanized war and politics.
When you shoot Bilal, you don’t know him, you can’t talk to him, but you harm him. All you have to do is aim. Some of Bilal’s website visitors could have indeed been incredibly racist. The fact is, a large number of Americans are racist, because American society, like many other societies in the world today, is still racist. Not all website visitors shot for racist reasons, and there is no way of knowing, but I would guess a good number of them did.
While Bilal has not been arrested for his art here in the United States, he certainly has been chastised, and even deemed a terrorist himself. One of his most recent pieces, entitled The Night of Bush Capturing: A Virtual Ji-Hadi, was a video game where the goal was to kill George W. Bush. As you can imagine, this did not please many Americans. After announcing that his piece would be shown, Bilal was quickly deemed a “terrorist” by American citizens and politicians.
The piece gets under my skin. I can feel it crawl. The deaths of Bilal’s father and brother highlight an important part of the piece: The wish to see the President dead. It is a scary desire to share with fellow Americans. Americans celebrate their right to free speech, but many believe there are some places you just don’t go. But why not go there? If you wish to see the President dead, why would you be put in jail for saying it?
Conservatives argued that Bilal’s piece should be banned, because it would incite people to kill the President. This is a clip from a 2009 news article on the law-suit filed by the The Sanctuary for Independent Media:
“Bilal, a U.S. citizen and a faculty member at the Art Institute of Chicago, was invited to display his work at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute in Troy but was abruptly ordered off campus after the school's College Republican Club raised objections to the game. Bilal was then offered space to display Virtual Jihadi at a nearby gallery- the Sanctuary for Independent Media."
The gallery, however, was suddenly shut down for building code violations by Troy's Public Works Commissioner, Robert Mirch. Mirch, who is named as a defendant in the suit, had earlier led a demonstration protesting the exhibit. He called the suit politically motivated.”
Freedom of expression is protected by the United States Constitution. In the United States, I should not be censored from holding a sign that speaks my mind. Similarly, an artist should not be banned from showing a piece of artwork that offends others. Art is a peaceful form of expression. It is a way to express dissent without causing violence or harm. If the body needs to express itself, who is anyone to make it stop?
1. The fact that Bilal’s video game is displayed at an art gallery for adults has little effect on the violence rates in the nation compared to the video games we allow young people to play. Children, unlike most adults that would be likely to view an art installment, have no access to means of being critical of virtual violence, and
2. The inspiration for Bilal’s piece was an American-created video game.
Quest for Saddam was a game where Americans were mercilessly killing Iraqis. In it, the Iraqis only spoke stereotypical gibberish. The Night of Bush Capturing was a re-make of this original game. According to Bilal’s website,
“Virtual Jihadi is meant to bring attention to the vulnerability of Iraqi civilians to the travesties of the current war and racist generalizations...The work also aims to shed light on groups that traffic in crass and hateful stereotypes of Arab culture with games like Quest for Saddam and other media.”
Bilal did not choose to express himself, he had to. He had to act out against the Iraq war. However, his art is not just confronting people, he makes people interact with him through his art. His art starts discussions and debates. There are not enough people talking, thinking and learning about the Iraq war, myself included. Especially considering it has been going on for so long and killed so many people.
Bilal explains his work-
“In these difficult times, when we are at war with another nation, it is our duty as artists and citizens to improvise strategies of engagement for dialogue. This platform is a piece of fiction that uses the video game format to create alternative narratives and perspectives.
Because we inhabit a comfort zone far from the trauma of conflict zone, we Americans have become desensitized to the violence of war. We are disconnected, disengaged while many others do the suffering. The game holds up a mirror that reveals our own propensities for violence, racism and propaganda. We can close our eyes, our ears and deny that it exists, but the issue won’t go away.”
Bilal’s art focuses on the experience of Iraqi people and the importance of peaceful conflict resolution, as well as a society free from racism. He creates art, because, as he stated at the VCU lecture, “I must.” Bilal’s drive to express himself forces Americans to confront shocking realities using his body and digital art, which creates a political and emotionally engaging image.
Citations:
http://www.wafaabilal.com/
http://www.wafaabilal.com/html/virtualJ.html
http://www.gamepolitics.com/category/topics/wafaa-bilal
ABOUT WRITER:
| RATE : |
 COMMENTS: 0
|
Comments :