Sholette - "Disciplining the Avant-Garde"

Sholette, G. “Disciplining the Avant-Garde: The United States versus The Critical Art Ensemble”, CIRCA: Contemporary Visual Culture in Ireland 112, Summer 2005, pp.50-59.

Artist and writer, David Sholette’s essay “Disciplining the Avant-Garde: The United States versus The Critical Art Ensemble” draws attention to the complexities involved in the startling U.S. prosecution of a member of the art collective Critical Art Ensemble, Steven Kurtz. This particular case is only one of a larger network of attempts by the government to suppress and intimidate scientists, academics and artists who are experimental, critical and politically engaged (Sholette, 13).

In the text “When Thought Becomes Crime” (2005) the art collective respond to the criminal accusations the U.S. Justice Department have leveled against them. The text identifies that the arrest of one of their members shows the government “has made thinking into a crime: a citizen can be arrested without having committed any act of terror, or without having done anything illegal at all”. One reason for the perseverance of the prosecution, despite a lack of evidence of criminal activity, is that the collective poses a challenge to authority because of their use of an ‘amateur’ position. An amateur can be critical of an institution because they are outside of that institution; they become a problem to the institution when they start to communicate to an audience.

An art professor, for example, will probably not tell students that art school is a pyramid scheme into which they will pour a lot of capital, feed the higher-ups, and probably get very little if anything in return. That criticism is more likely to emerge from outside the power structure (or from disgruntled ex-students). (CAE)

In the performance by artist Tao Wells last week in the School of General Knowledge this very criticism was made. The performance took place outside Ilam School of Fine Arts in Christchurch and also via Skype in the George Fraser Gallery, University of Auckland. The fact that it is extremely unlikely that an authority will slap Tao on the wrist for his tirade against art education in New Zealand is worth remembering. But before we pat ourselves on the back, it is also important to reflect upon the noticeable lack of protest culture in New Zealand society today. Dr Brad Jackson in his lecture on leadership at the School of General Knowledge suggested that instead of giving authority figures critique, New Zealanders prefer to complain to two or three of their colleagues. Such a relationship towards authority is unproductive and although here in New Zealand we are not living in the same climate as the States, it is in our interest to consider the ways in which effective protest can take place.

Works Cited

Critical Art Ensemble “When Thought Becomes Crime”, March 17^th 2005, http://caedefensefund.org/thoughtcrime.html

Jackson, B. “A Very Short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap talk about leadership” Tuesday Sept 30, 2008, School of General Knowledge, George Fraser Gallery, University of Auckland.

Wells, T. “Speech” Thursday Sept 25, 2008, University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts carpark, via Skype to the George Fraser Gallery, University of Auckland.