FW: nyc exhibition call: A Knock at the Door

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Sent: 21 June 2005 12:35
Subject: Fwd: nyc exhibition call: A Knock at the Door

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Subject: nyc exhibition call: A Knock at the Door

A Knock at the Door
(Exhibition Proposal)

Overview

Our First Amendment rights are no guarantee. In 2001, shortly
after the September 11th attacks, polls indicated that 50% of the U.S.
population agreed with the statement "The First Amendment goes too far
in the rights it guarantees." This dramatic climate change has a huge
impact on art, how it is made, exhibited, and discussed. Now, when
works by certain artists or of an indefinable political nature are
exhibited, we can virtually guarantee the Secret Service will show up.
Since September 11th, the media has reported a number of cases
of the Secret Service visiting art exhibitions based on citizens'
reports that artworks posed threats to the president and national
security. Steve Kurtz, a member of the artist collaborative Critical
Art Ensemble, was brought to trial on charges of bioterrorism (now
lessened to mail and wire fraud) after he called the police when he
woke to find his wife had died of a heart attack.
But often, no legal action is actually taken. Censorship
operates effectively at the level of a threat. Artists can feel the
threat of prosecution without knowing what they would possibly be
prosecuted for.

Now while this is certainly a frightening development, it does
afford the possibility of an exhibition that raises public awareness of
the current retreat of our most basic rights. A Knock at the Door is
this exhibition. Anchored with works and artists already targeted by
the Secret Service, the show expands to show how, with no
accountability required of the federal government, any cultural
activity could come under investigation. A Knock at the Door
challenges the assumption that there is a clear line defining so-called
"threatening" or "Un-American" art and activity, and that all art is an
expression of the most basic foundation of a democratic society - the
free expression and exchange of ideas.

How Does it Work?

The exhibition will take place in several locations through the
city, all running concurrently and close to the anniversary of
September 11th. Each of these exhibits will contain some work that has
been targeted by the Secret Service, but which work this is will not be
publicly revealed. It will be mixed in with works by everyone from
students to major artists. Books, music, etc. will also be on display
to sink home the fact that infractions against the First Amendment are
not isolated.
In the center of each exhibit will be a simple closed
information booth. Visitors will be able to enter this small booth and
pick up information about their First Amendment rights and a wide
spectrum of relevant cases and news reports. This booth will simple to
transport and install allowing it recontextualize virtually any exhibit
where it is placed.

How to Get Involved?

Would you like to contribute work to the exhibition? Do you
know people who might? Would you like to volunteer to help with
installation? Do you have contacts with spaces you think would be
interested in this project? Do you have additional questions? If so,
contact:

Seth Cameron at scameron@lmcc.net.

** For proposed artwork contributions, please include jpegs with
dimensions and/or descriptions of the work.

Seth Cameron, Creative Director
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
120 Broadway, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10271
www.lmcc.net

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