Is It Ever OK to Mock Muslims or Destroy the American Flag?
In relation to designer Rafaela Dražić’s book ‘Ad Hoc Project’ based on the ‘Secret Exhibitions’ project which was presented just a few days ago at the Zagreb ‘Miroslav Kraljević’ Gallery (which we covered here), which refers to various censorship and destruction mechanisms within the context of visual arts, an exhibition featuring a similar topic has been set up in Berlin presenting censorship’s “face” and its flipside in regard to freedom of speech. Not offering ready-made answers, the exhibition’s authors take a look at the myriad roles freedom of speech provides western democracies with, how that freedom is put to (ab)use, are there justifiable limits to freedom of speech as well as exploring the consequences of (ab)using freedom of speech for various ideological purposes.
* Rafaela Dražić, Ad Hoc Project
In the exhibit areas of Neuer Berliner Kunstverein and Kunstverein Hamburg, in collaboration with the Duisburg Institute of Linguistic and Social Research, almost identical ”Freedom of Speech” exhibitions have been set up, bringing us media, historical events and art examples, holding that art works play an important role in shaping our attitudes and standpoints, thus making constant reassessment a necessity.
Hence those Mohammed caricatures published back in 2005 in a right-wing Danish daily which provoked tumultuous and violent reactions worldwide are also part of the exhibition. Teheran newspapers reacted to such an aspect of freedom of speech by releasing a tender in 2006 for Holocaust caricatures, at the same time asking: “are there any limitations on freedom of speech in the West”? The award went to, as expected, anti-semitic drawings. In the exhibition brochure the question at hand is whether or not it’s acceptable to publish caricature reproductions of racist western stereotypes, whether or not this is a matter of discrimination based on religion and belief systems and whether or not freedom of speech was being used in this instance as a means of stirring up islamophobia in Europe?
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The renowned American comic artist Will Eisner used the same media outlet for a completely different thing, publishing a graphic novel entitled ”The Plot”, a story about the falsification of history, the most famous anti-semitic text “The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion”, alleged proof of Jewish intent to rule the world which has been used for decades as a means of adding fuel to the flames of Jew hatred. “The Protocols” are still being cited in Palestinian textbooks, and they were mandatory reading in Nazi Germany. Indonesia recently distributed free copies, it’s available for sale at Japanese airports while in the US, Walmart discontinued its sale as late as 2004. It was Eisner’s last piece of work, completed in 2005, just before his death.
* Freedom
Covers of the German top-grossing tabloid Bild are also exhibited. It’s interesting to note that in 2010 Bild published an article entitled “Bild Fights for Freedom of Speech” where it published nine requests for new measures in social politics, amongst which increased pressure on immigrants to assimilate and more deportations from Germany was included. Such discriminating propaganda isn’t subject to any kind of injunction, while the case of Thil Sarrazin’s book showed that advocating such attitudes is, in effect, quite profitable. His racist book has been published in 13 editions from its first print run in August so as to satisfy the appetites of German readers.
Flynt’s Hustler also found its place at the exhibition as an example of a magazine who questioned the freedom-of-press limitations which got him thrown in court on a regular basis.
A sculpture, called ”Turkish Delight” by renowned German sculptor Olaf Metzel is also displayed among the art works, depicting a naked woman with a hijab, in an attempt to criticize the objectification of a woman’s body, the Western fantasy of mystical “oriental” sexuality, but also the subordinated position of women in the Muslim culture.
In creating his famous ”State Britain” instalation in 2007, British artist Mark Wallinger uses art as a continuation of politics by other means, for which he won the Turner Award. Wallinger reconstructed the protest spot that British peace activist Brian Haw set up in 2001 in front of the British Parliament, protesting the then sanctions towards Iraq as well the war in Afganistan. Haw started his round-the-clock protest with a mere chair, a loudspeaker and a poster only to have his individual act turned into the “headquarters” of anti-war protests where numerous protesters brought a total of some 600 banners, signs, flags, posters and other various protest paraphernalia… two years later the removal of all the collected stuff was proposed under the pretext of it presenting a threat to Parliament’s security, which in turn provoked a big discussion on freedom of expression rights in the UK. However, the police nevertheless removed and confiscated all the material in 2005. Then two years later Wallinger reconstructed the protest site in its entirety and exhibited it in Tate Britain.
In conclusion, let’s take a closer look at one more art work from the exhibition: ”Hanging” by sculptor Marc Morrel from 1966. This hanged American flag earned the gallery owner who exhibited it a $ 500 fine for illegal violation of a state symbol. The Supreme Court proclaimed such a law unconstitutional no sooner than 1989 as it violates freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. However, Germany still has a jail sentence of up to three years for violation of state symbols, regardless that freedom of artistic expression is also guaranteed by the law.
Croatia also had a similar case on its hands when visitors cut the Croatian flag last year at Slovenian artist’s Janez Janša’s performance at the Rijeka Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. The police and media made much of this event, along with Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor who stated that “the case of cutting up the flag is a crime”.
The exhibition can be visited in Berlin (Neuer Berliner Kunstverein) up to the end of January, and in Hamburg (Kunstverein Hamburg) to the end of March 2011.
Photos: Barbara Matejčić
