Arts & Ammo

Another Exhibition Canceled

The San Francisco Art Institute has canceled its exhibition by Adel Abdessemed called “Don’t Trust Me,” which includes video clips of animals being bludgeoned to death.

“We’ve gotten dozens of threatening phone calls that targeted specific staff people with death threats, threats of violence and threats of sexual assaults,” said Art Institute President Chris Bratton. “We remain committed to freedom of speech as fundamental to this institution, but we have to take people’s safety very seriously.”

The institution’s freedom of speech is not at issue. People still don’t seem to understand that the First Amendment protects them from action by the State; it does not guarantee funding or insulate them from criticism. There are other laws designed to protect people from physical violence and threats.

We can all give thanks that our Founders had a more robust understanding of freedom and the courage to defend it with their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. The institute’s tepid commitment is about as inspiring as its art.

But the Founders probably would not have pledged their lives for the sake of bad art, and we can’t expect the San Francisco Art Institute to risk the safety of its staff on so flimsy a cause. We can, however, expect the institute not to blame its predicament on censorship. The real question is why it scheduled the exhibit in the first place. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Art Institute officials said Saturday that Abdessemed had shot the videos at a farm in rural Mexico that routinely slaughters animals in the way he depicted. They said the videos were part of a social critique. “One of the things this exhibition was pointing to was the difference in production of food resources between industrialized production in the U.S. and in poorer countries,” said Bratton.

But . . .

The show did not mention that the videos were shot in Mexico or provide any historical context.

Perhaps the Art Institute shared this view (the source is unclear):

At once intimate and spectacular, Abdessemed’s work aims to convert the banal into the dramatic. Transforming everyday materials and images into unexpected and sometimes shocking expressions, his inventive gestures, as if by alchemy, work to undo dominant modes of perception and entrenched sociocultural norms—they work, in short, to generate new relevance for radical ideas and actions. Actively defying social, cultural, moral, and religious taboos, Abdessemed contrives to subvert common sense and knowledge, received wisdom, and established biopolitical systems.

“Contrive” is an apt verb. Common sense, knowledge, and received wisdom are indeed subverted here. This shock art was intended to incite, and the San Francisco Art Institute should hardly be surprised when confronted by “radical actions” from people who are not constrained by “entrenched sociocultural norms.” With a little common sense and received wisdom, the institute might have taken a pass on exhibiting an animal snuff film.

I’m all in favor of defending art and freedom of expression, but defending the San Francisco Art Institute would accomplish neither.

April 1st, 2008 Posted by Fitzroy | Law, Visual Arts | one comment