Politaoke, 2007- ongoing
Participatory Public Performance Political Karaoke
Politaoke has it’s own website, www.politaoke.com
Temporary Borders, 2007
Public Art Project in Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany
The average westerner requires 70 centimeters of personal space. With this project, an invisible border has been drawn and marked in red in several locations and then observed to view the public reaction to this line. The following 14 photographs are a document of my observations.
The reaction from the public was varied. Some people chose to ignore the line while others were drawn to it or utilized it in some way. I talked to the people I photographed and many felt that if another person crosses into the space inside of the line, the other person is effectively entering the private space of the first. The line’s distance clearly marked how close someone could get before this takes place.
The piece is understated and is not intended to overwhelm the space too much, aside from the strongly marked border. The line and its placement mark the change from the public to the private sphere. It is simple, but by marking this border the space has completely changed, its effect, however, is only temporary. Once it is crossed, it is ignored.
Repopulation and Passive Protest, 2007
A Proposal for a Public Artwork at the Gauforum in Weimar, Germany
Weimar is rich with a complicated history that should not be ignored. This work attempts to create a space that is open to varied interpretation based on the history of the city. The main problem with the location is how does one utilize this space in a way that can reflect on its past (Weimar Republic, National Socialism, East Germany) as well as contemporary Weimar. Freiraum Weimarplatz, an initiative from Philippe Schmidt has been dealing with this question, analyzing and rethinking the city government’s attempt to transform the Gauforum over the last 15 years. This initiative has brought together people from different backgrounds, as well as the local population to think of ways to reutilize the space in a manner that reclaims it, without hiding from its past — as the construction of the Mehrzweckgebäude into the Atrium attempts to do.
Weimarplatz, or at least the part used as a parking lot during the DDR, is about 14,000 m2, 90 meters wide and 135 meters long. The space itself was intended to fit roughly 20,000 people.
Weimarplatz will be filled with 1,650 figures (weatherproofed photos mounted onto wood or metal cut-outs) of human beings. The 1,650 figures will be made from images of people from Weimar on a 1:1 scale. Each side of the flat cutouts would show the front of each person so that from any side of the square, the person could be recognized.
The figures would be placed in a haphazard fashion in order to not be too reminiscent of the orderly military formations of National Socialism. The work can also be interpreted as a memorial to the people who lost their lives in the Buchenwald concentration camp, as well as a commentary of the state of former East Germany and the population loss that has occurred since reunification and Weimar’s ability to bounce back afterwards. From my research, I have learned that Weimar has one of the fastest growing populations in the Bundesland and also most of East Germany.
The idea of the work is to repopulate the space with residents as it was during the Weimar Republic and also represents the people of Weimar retaking a space that represents the negative history in a silent and passive protest.
Sources:
City of Weimar, City Planning Commission, Geoplannung, Mr.Trinkaus
Photograph from Freiraum Weimarplatz, Mr. Phillipe Schmidt.
Holm, Kristen, Weimar in Banne des Fuehrers
Norbert Korrek, Justus H. Ulbricht, Christiane Wolf. Das Gauforum in Weimar. Ein Erbe des 3. Reiches
Forum Weimarplatz
Corporate Practice: Junior Executive Training, 2004
*Live Performance, Photographs
MiniDV, Color, Sound, 2 1/2 minutes*
Congratulations, You've Now Been Naturalized, 2002
Live Performance, 3 Part Video Installation with Sculpture
Stemmed from research about Afro-Germans in comparison to the Dominican-American (Hispano-American) experience,Diana Arce spent months researching, reading various literature that contextualized those experiences, and finally interviewing Fatima El-Tayeb, an Afro-German woman and scholar. Wanting to base this work on personal experience Diana Arce incorporated her family history alongside the experience of Nomsa Buchholz (Masters Student in African and US Studies, Freie Universitaet, Berlin).
It was an article written by Fatima, “Blood is a Very Special Juice. Racialized Bodies and Citizenship in Twentieth Century Germany.” that became a centerpiece of the conversation between Diana and Nomsa. The article was about how citizenship in Germany is something that relates purely to blood descent. The dialog became a comparison of German and American citizenship law and language.
“Congratulations You’ve Now Been Naturalized” is about control. Immigrants aren’t afforded the same rights as a citizen, and their movement is very much controlled, especially if they want to become citizens. The performance recreates the sense of fear and nervousness often attributed to dealing with the Immigration and Naturalization Services, while creating a space in which the topics that go along with this theme, such as race, culture, and citizenship can be discussed.
The installation creates an environment in which the performance and art could be viewed and trigger a response, because of the interactivity of the performance, that would be less passive. The works of Bill Viola and Nam June Paik influenced the construction of my space; particularly the use of video, large-scale projections, and the clean forms of the tunnel, and the textures of the water screen. Nikki Lees “Portraits” influenced the way I took my pictures to look at culture and environment that Nomsa and I were a part of. The performance came from the conversations between my mother, other relatives and I about their experiences with the INS and Nomsa’s statement about the word Naturalization sounding like a Nazi word and comparing it to Neutralization.
May Day, Silent Noise, 2002
MiniDV, Color, Silent, 1:15 minutes
Filmed on Labor Day in Berlin, 2001, May Day Silent Noise is a film that conveys loudness with images alone.
Suburban Landscape #1, 2002
16mm, Color, Silent, 25 seconds
What initially began as an 100 foot short film contest between Diana Arce and filmmaker Joel Devalcourt,
El Arco Iris Peaceweek, 2001
MiniDV, Color, Sound, 6 minutes
El Arco Iris is an afterschool program sponsored by Nueva Esperanza in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
