Hera Gallery Archive: Democracy Under Siege 2003

I believe it is necessary at this time for people and especially artists to exercise their freedoms as often and as visibly as possible.

-Providence artist Umberto Crenca
From his statement for the American Democracy Under Siege catalog

The work of the twenty- three artists in the exhibition American Democracy Under Siege is proof that art can and does address urgent issues beyond the walls of the artist's studio. This timely and provocative exhibition includes work by artists with both regional, national, and international reputations, including visual and performing artist Umberto Crenca of Providence, Wakefield's own conceptual artist Paul Forte, and the New York-based duo Vitaly Komar & Alex Melamid, to name a few.

At Right: Rupert Nesbitt
Democracy, Painted Resin Cast "Collectible," 10.25" x 6.5" x 2.5"

This show is meant to spark dialogue among the public on issues relating to freedom of artistic expression, and the meaning of freedom to the individual in The United States of America and - by virtue of the fact of America’s economic and military power - the World. The exhibition was conceived by curators Claudia Flynn and Troy West due to their concern that multiple narratives and challenging viewpoints are often sacrificed in this politically dynamic time when there is a sentiment for a unified voice. The curators hope to bring the discussion and debate of these issues “back to the people” at a grassroots level, sheltered, at least for a moment, from the blinding glare of the mass media.

There are many art historical antecedents for artists using their craft to comment on the political and social conditions of the societies in which they live- for art to function for itself and for the society as a warden for the freedom of expression. Consider artists such as Keith Haring, Brian Weil, and Felix Gonzales Torres, who put their art in service of the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s; Counterculture’s backtalk of the Vietnam Era; Social realist Lewis Hine’s photographs of child workers (some of which were made in Slater Mill in Rhode Island) led to the establishment, in 1938, of the Federal Wage and Hour Law, which protected workers under the age of 16 from labor exploitation.

Some of the artists in this exhibition confront our current political climate directly, others more subtly. The key issue is that artists continue to speak. Conceptual artist Paul Forte, in his statement for the American Democracy Under Siege catalog speaks for many artists when he states:

"Very little of my artwork addresses social or political issues directly; most of it has no thematic concerns in these areas. But many artists today, especially those of us who maintain our creativity despite the parched environment of late Capitalism, are political by virtue of, if nothing else, our endurance. To continue to make serious art in a culture of consumerism with all its distractions is a political act in itself…"

Above: Paul Forte, Liberty's Plight, Hand-colored Photocopy, 21.5" x 25.5"

It is also worth noting that this exhibition is happening in the state of Rhode Island, with its well -known history as a haven for nonconformist notables such as Roger Williams and William Coddington. From its inception, Rhode Island has enjoyed a constitutional form of government, and was the only colony never subjected to the authority of the British crown. It is in Rhode Island’s spirit of independence, informed debate and questioning, that we at Hera invite you to several events associated with the exhibition.

Lecture
Author and Senior Lecturer Paul Buhle of Brown University will deliver a lecture titled Culture or Censorship? Freedom and the Avant Garde in Rhode Island on Thursday, October 16, 7 pm, at Monohasset Mill Gallery, 532 Kinsley Avenue, Providence , Rhode Island. Buhle is the author of 28 books, including several oral and pictorial histories of Rhode Island working people and a visual history of the state’s built environment. He published the leading journal of the 1960’s “new left” * Radical America *, and founded the Oral History of the American Left archive at New York University (and the Community and Labor oral history archive at The Rhode Island Historical Society). He is a columnist for the environment journal * CNS * and writes widely for the CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, the NATION, and the GUARDIAN ( UK) among other publications.

Open Mic Night
The public is invited to participate in an open mic event called Artists Perform for Democracy, Sunday, October 5th, 2-5pm. The event is emceed by Jared Paul, a social worker from Providence who believes in using art as a means of responsible journalism and the expedition of relevant information amongst the community. A four time member of the Providence National Poetry Team, as well as coach/co-director of the Providence Youth Slam, Jared has performed/spoken at various colleges, protests, high schools, slams, rallies, concerts and demonstrations throughout New England and the country. He is also an outreach representative for SEMIprose For Artistic Journalism, a Providence based community action organization working to encourage the practice of, and support those advocating for; citizen participation in local and national government, responsible consumerism, ecological awareness, and community activism. One of his major themes is informed voting.

Symposium
What is Democracy? Moderator Marc Levitt, Wednesday, October 29th, from 7-9 pm at the Multicultural Center on the University of Rhode Island campus. The symposium will be the forum through which we will explore the role of the arts and humanities in a politically dynamic time. The history of opposition, artistic expression and free speech will be addressed as well as questions of morals and ethics that relate to the duty to act according to one’s personal beliefs.

The panel members have been selected from diverse disciplines and backgrounds:

Marc Levitt is a writer and speaker residing in Wakefield and he has acted as a panel moderator for a symposium on the environment at Hera Gallery in 2001. He has a history of leading forums and gives voice to multiple interpretations of events. Since 1988 Levitt has developed curriculums for schools throughout the US linking “everyday life” to writing. He is currently the Director and co-creator of the Charles Foster Elementary School Museum Project that he describes as a “ site specific curriculum braiding tool where the students are the curators of a museum of immigration and working class culture.” In addition, Leavitt is a renowned storyteller and speaker who has performed worldwide.

Duane Clinker, a theologian, has a wonderfully vernacular view of blue- collar life, its spiritual content in particular, and how the sense of well-being is under stress and threat. He has just come back from an extensive stay (and ministry) in Belfast, so he might well reflect on religious culture in Ireland and Rhode Island.

Annu Matthew is an Assistant Professor of Art at URI and an artist represented in the exhibition. She gave a lecture at Hera Gallery in 2002, “ The Cultural Identity of Diasporic Asian Indian Photography” and will be a link between the exhibition itself and the discussion at the symposium.

Galen Johnson is Professor of Philosophy and Director of Honors Program at the University of Rhode Island. He will provide insight to the moral and ethical aspects of the discussion.

Andrea Carvalho, was born in Cape Verde, raised in Pawtucket, and is currently a student at Brown University. She has an extraordinarily keen sense of culture, Cape Verdean and American, from Cape Verdean musicians that she has known and interviewed, to her study of current cultural change and her street-level observations (she worked for DARE in South Providence this summer.)

Molly Little is a student at South Kingstown High School and was involved in organizing a peace vigil before the Iraq war. We wanted to include the perspectives of a young adult and future voter.

A government has come to power that daily and systematically is dismantling the cornerstone of democracy in America, The Bill of Rights. The Land of the Free, Home of the Brave has become The Land of Fear and The Home of Advanced Surveillance and Security Systems.

We have invited twenty-two artists to act on the theme American Democracy Under Siege. The works are all carefully crafted. They speak in subtle-obvious, provocative-passive, gritty- glossy, conceptual- literal, poetic-satirical, angry-sanguine tongues. These works question and raise issues, and some elicit responses from us to be part of the events.

We invite you to pass through the Freedom Doorway sculpture and enter Hera Gallery to become involved in the works of these artists who realize we cannot take the freedoms of this great country for granted. This is a truly patriotic exhibit that takes the United States Constitution to heart, and makes art out of America today.