Kamal Aljafari
Maja Bajevic
Jean Jacques Birge
Manel Esparbe i Gasca
Jean Luc Godard
Sagi Groner
Afredo Jaar
Aryan Kaganof
Chris Marker
Renzo Martens
Aernout Mik
Deimantas Narkevicius
Jules Naudet
Gedeon Naudet
James Hanlon
Ronald Ophuis
Adela Peeva
Alain Resnais
Anri Sala
Coco Schrijber
Peter Watkins
Jasmila Zbanic
Danila Cahen
Binna Choi
Maria Hlavajova
Brigitte van der Sande
Soft Target. War as a Daily, First-Hand Reality, Undercurrents
Soft Target. War as a Daily, First-Hand Reality
Undercurrents
Concerning War is a project with a multi-faceted format including an exhibition Soft
Target. War as a Daily, First-Hand Reality, a series of weekly lectures,
conversations, screenings, and performances called Undercurrents, as well as a
publication that consider how the issue of war is reflected upon in contemporary
artistic practice. Concerning War focuses on the current situation of a permanent
state of conflict across the globe. Concerning War addresses violent incidents in
the world not as isolated events but as a new condition of an ongoing, unparalleled
warfare.
The exhibition entitled Soft Target. War as Daily, First-Hand Reality presents a
collection of works by over twenty international artists and filmmakers. While
addressing different concepts of war, Soft Target… begins with the question of
whether art can provide a probing, radical impression of war as a daily, first-hand
reality. Whereas the media fall short of addressing this issue, various artistic
positions in the exhibition speculate upon the capacity of images to convey the
reality of war, as well as about ethics of any such attempt. The exhibition is
curated by Brigitte van der Sande.
Participating artists: Kamal Aljafari (Ramle/Cologne), Maja Bajevic
(Sarajevo/Paris), Jean-Jacques Birge (Paris), Manel Esparbe i Gasca
(Amsterdam), Jean-Luc Godard (Paris), Sagi Groner (Tel Aviv/Amsterdam), Afredo Jaar
(New York), Aryan Kaganof (Johannesburg), Chris Marker (Paris), Renzo Martens
(Brussels/Amsterdam/Brazzaville), Aernout Mik (Amsterdam), Deimantas Narkevicius
(Vilnius), Jules & Gedeon Naudet and James Hanlon (New York),
Ronald Ophuis (Amsterdam), Adela Peeva (Sofia), Alain Resnais (Paris), Anri Sala
(Tirana/Berlin), Coco Schrijber (Amsterdam), Peter Watkins (London), and Jasmila
Zbanic (Sarajevo).
Undercurrents is a series of weekly talks with artists, curators, and theorists on
subjects that touch upon the underlying forces behind the current state of warfare,
including how we define “war,†the impact of the media and its manipulations, and
what role critical artistic and intellectual practices may play in addressing these
issues. Through presentations, lectures, conversations, screenings, and
performances, the participants in Undercurrents discuss issues such as fear, the
rhetoric of war, agonistic democracy, and notions of the enemy, security, and
biopower from the perspective of their own critical practices. Undercurrents is
curated by Danila Cahen, Binna Choi, and Maria Hlavajova.
12. 11. 2005, 16.00 hrs: On Documenting (truth and politics), with Boris Buden,
writer, Berlin, Hito Steyerl, filmmaker and writer, Berlin, and Renzo Martens,
artist, Brussels, Amsterdam, Brazzaville
19. 11. 2005, 16.00 hrs: On Crisis (emergency and new heroism), with Jeremiah Day,
artist, Amsterdam, Klub Zwei, artists collective, Vienna, and Jan Verwoert, art
critic, Berlin
26. 11. 2005, 16.00 hrs: On Fear (war machine and threat), with Pavel Büchler,
artist, Manchester, Kendell Geers, artist, Brussels, and Henk Oosterling,
philosopher, Rotterdam
3. 12. 2005, 16.00 hrs: On Rhetoric (language and new warfare), with Ayreen Anastas,
artist, New York, Bregje van Eekelen, cultural theorist, Amsterdam, and Rene Gabri,
artist, New York
10. 12. 2005, 16.00 hrs: On Mutation (post-Cold War and new order), with Viktor
Misiano, art critic and curator, Moscow, Sean Snyder, artist, Berlin, and YOUNG-HAE
CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES, artists collective, Seoul
17. 12. 2005, 16.00 hrs: On Imagining (options and strategies of resistance), with
Mieke Bal, cultural theorist, Amsterdam, Benda Hofmeyer, philosopher, Rotterdam,
Lars Bang Larsen, curator and art critic, Copenhagen, Dieter Lesage, philosopher,
Brussels, and Willem de Rooij, artist, Amsterdam
Concerning War has been made possible by financial support from: Mondriaan
Foundation, The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture,
Foundation Memory Fund Vincent van Gogh, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, K.F. Hein
Fonds, Stichting De Gijselaar-Hintzenfonds, Antenne de la Haye/Institute
Francais des Pays-Bas.
The activities of BAK, basis voor actuele kunst have been made possible by financial
support from: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, City Council of Utrecht,
and the Province of Utrecht.
BAK, basis voor actuele kunst
Lange Nieuwstraat 4, 3512 PH, Utrecht, the Netherlands