... a sudden burst of sunshine seemed to illumine the Statue of Liberty .. . The arm with the sword rose up as if newly stretched aloft, and round the figure blew the free winds of heaven. Franz Kafka, America
... a sudden burst of sunshine seemed to illumine the Statue of Liberty .. . The arm with the sword rose up as if newly stretched aloft, and round the figure blew the free winds of heaven.
Franz Kafka, America
In many ways, This is not America presents an enigma. Ostensibly this exhibition takes a political stance primarily focussed on the war in Iraq. But, to a great extent, its messages are encrypted. Indeed, its politics have been so lightly touched that one might be reminded either of the German Enigma code machine or the 'don't mention the war' episode of Fawlty Towers-without the slapstick gaffs of Basil Fawlty.
This light touch is not necessarily a bad thing. Curator Scott Redford was no doubt wary of adopting an overly simplistic political stance or of asking the artists to do so, and this may have prompted him not to write a curatorial statement in the catalogue. Such an absence is both intriguing and frustrating. It clearly assumed an art-sawy and intelligent audience at its first exhibition in Dusseldorf in 2003.
A viewer who happened not to read Chris Chapman's part-fictional essay in the catalogue might fail to realise that there was any concern with the war in Iraq. The punches thrown by the five artists do not connect directly with the body of that ongoing conflict. Their battles seem closer to home. Chapman alone alludes to Iraq. His character, 'M', is leaving the 'chanting, banner-waving' crowds, apparently an anti-war demonstration. After some three weeks, US forces occupy Baghdad. This, thinks M, is not America'. And that is the closest we come to understanding the strangely elusive exhibition title. This' may