Public Realm
The talk at the beginning of the day inspired me alone, it made me think about art in a different context; politics in art hasn't ever really crossed my mind. It has always been provided for us, we pay the tax for it so why should'nt it. It annoyed me to hear that the funding for arts will be reduced, and that the government can decide on which works can be exhibited or not. Art is art, it's supposed to have mixed opinions....if it didn't, what would be the point.
The video installation by Alfredo Jaar 'We Wish to Inform You That We Didn’t Know' made me think further into politics, art and culture. I really enjoyed watching this piece and found it quite emotional. Presented in the dark and derelict reception area of the old Scandinavian Hotel, it is a video installation across three screens. I liked how the piece was presented and put together, repeating and pausing certain clips...making you think more about what was said I suppose. I found the dark, cold room, uncomfortable seating and the daylight from the basement atmospherically slipping in from underneath through bare rough wooden floorboards, deffinitly added to the effect of the installation. It was a strange feeling, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The three Rwandans who were interviewed and incorporated into the installation makes the piece much more powerful; they were directly effected by the action in their state and how they survived through sheer luck. It was obviously sad and I found myself with a lump in my throat as they told there stories in such detail. It was really interesting, and I quite liked how it was subtitled so we was reading what they were saying alongside listening to there language.
As the video finished and we were leaving the room, I all of a sudden felt really selfish. It made me think about what goes on in the world and with politics, something I don't really think about. This work deffinitly had an effect on me, which I was still thinking about later on in the night.
The film was made in response for the criminal indifference of international community among the genocide committed in Rwanda that cost about a million lives. Using and extraordinary documentary material and an astonishing visual poetry, the artist express a continuing indignation for the brutal genocide that could have been avoided.
It collects footage from various sources to investigate and ruminate on the Rwandan genocide. With clips of Clinton in which he apologies for the inaction of those who were in a position to intervene in which he suggests that they didn’t know the scale of what was happening. I don't have an opinion on if this was the case, to me he looked genuinly sorry, wether this was a cover up or not.
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