WINDOW FOR DIALOGUE ////////////////////////////

Rapport. Kabul/Copenhagen

windowfordialogue — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:19:12 +0000

Report:

Spouts and withered branches

The project was highly experimental. There were many factors which were not envisaged and therefore it took form organically in line with the series of events unfolding. Parts of the original concept was not possible to perform within the economic framework which was awarded the project. Among others, it was not possible to obtain sponsorship for Video Conference tools which would have facilitated a direct and real-time dialogue between the participating audience. There was emphasis on the visual expression and gradually the focus was placed on creating an illusion of space; Imagine you are standing on the streets of your capital. Twilight creep over the city. In a window case facing the street you can see into a classroom where Muslim girls are taught how to paint. The luminous window bathes the sidewalk in colorful light. As you step closer you discover that there simply is no room behind the window. It is an optical screen you are looking at and the film shown has been recorded far from Copenhagen. It is the daily routine of the female arts center CCAA. in Kabul, Afghanistan.

A helping hand.

Besides the sponsorship from the National Arts Fund, Window For Dialogue was partially sponsored by DNP optic projection screens which provided a display at wholesale prices. Without their support it would not be feasible to carry out the project. Also Copenhagen Central Library was an indispensable and competent partner that assisted wi

th exhibition space, technology, poster production and a truly dedicated staff. In Afghanistan, the CCAA. (Centre for Contemporary Art Afghanistan) functioned both as host organization and as material for the films recorded in Kabul. The budget was set very tight and I was even forced to pay half the cost of production. It was not possible to obtain support from the Danish National Arts Council.

The installation in Copenhagen.

In Copenhagen Central Library, we installed a truncated pyramid in plywood. The box was flanked by two pillars from which it was suspended so that it “floated” in the air. The projector, computer and all wiring was hidden Inside the box. At the end of the box towards the window was the library’s rear-projection screen. The frame of the two pillars and the distance between them the window and the projection screen worked well to give the impression of space in teh flat screen thus improving the illusion. There was a period of two weeks between installation in Copenhagen and my trip to Kabul and this was used to document the process. My iPhone became an indispensable component in the sense that the mobile could send live stream directly to the display in the main library. That way I could document material purchases in Singapore, the flight to Bangkok, the customs in Dubai and the “water show” outside the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa. As well as my thoughts and feelings with regard to travelling into a War Zone. There was also another significant derive from this intermediate period. The screen was on in Copenhagen from four o’clock every day and ran until midnight, when a timer would turn off the installation. I was in Singapore, and used an internet application to broadcast live to the screen. I started to experiment with minimalist lighting installations which I could manipulate and broadcast directly to the streets of Copenhagen. There is certainly a rich area for further exploration regarding the use of live video transmission directly to public space and perhaps a new approach to painting too.

Click to view slideshow.

The material for Copenhagen.

The basic idea was to present the daily lives of Afghans to the Danes and vice versa. Not the sensationalistic media image that we are so accustomed to but some recognizable common ground across all cultural barriers. There were both live video and recordings from the same day. The time difference meant that live video could only be recorded at night. The videos from Kabul were recorded primarily in the CCAA. and were therefore often of female students. The lenght of the vidios was typically two times three hours and there was always a fixed camera angle directed into a room. Chance played a significant role in the experience of the installation. Sometimes the room which was shown on the screen could be completely empty for hours before suddenly being filled with Muslim art students. Or a guy might emerge who would roll out a prayer rug and through his prayer activate the otherwise apparently static image in Copenhagen. In total, I recorded about 120 hours of video from Kabul.

The installation in Kabul.

Upon arrival in Kabul, it became clear that it was extremely difficult to carry out a project of this nature under the given circumstances. Kabul is still a war zone and there are many restrictions on photography and video footage. In addition, a fearful population and a significant cultural censorship as paralyzing the screening of films and live video in public spaces. I was advised not to move around in the city by myself, let alone after dark. My first guest house was protected by massive iron gates which were guarded by four men with machine guns. Gradually I became more confident and began to explore the city for suitable locations to install the projector and screen. It was also clear that there exist a life behind the iron gate and one outside. Life within the protected compounds was reserved the ones who came with massive support from the West and who typically experiences the country as extremely dangerous and hostile. Ordinary people live as best they can, there has been war in Afghanistan for thirty years and seen in that perspective, Kabul, today, is fairly stable and secure. In Afghanistan, the war economy is rolling. There is money coming in but the bulk of it ends up in the hands of the few who have contacts within the government and thus may secure lucrative contracts. Therefore, many goods and services become incredibly expensive and this was also an obstacle to carrying out the project in that the prices of a fast Internet connection costs two thousand American dollars a month and the minimum subscription is three months. Window For Dialogue uses shopping windows to create an illusion of dislocated space in the public sphere. I negotiated with several suitable locations in Kabul. Finally I decided on a small kiosk located under an overhanging rock in the old town. The site was chosen primarily based on aesthetic considerations. The houses in the district consist of mud walls and have large traditional windows. The whole area is situated on the slopes of the mountain range that divides Kabul in two and the town forms a labyrinthine structure with narrow alleys, stairs, ladders and flat plateaus. The streets are made of earth, there is no running water or sanitation. The area’s inhabitants are a motley mix of landowners, the poor and criminals. I thought it was interesting to take this population group in dialogue. Install the project in their neighborhood and use it as a starting point to engage in conversations with them about Denmark and Afghanistan, Culture and War. It worked quite smoothly but I was nevertheless forced to take the project down after four days because of safety considerations, something I was greatly encouraged to do by both CCAA and local residents in the area.

The material for Kabul.

Because of the strict censorship in Afghanistan I had to solely rely on recorded video for the installation in Kabul. We recorded video from Copenhagen Central Library, from the cafe, from debate exposures and from book sales. A debate session was arranged one night where the audience could question the politician Frank Aaen from the left wing party Enhedslisten on his view of the Danish participation in war in Afghanistan.

Audience’s reaction.

The audience consisted of those who knowingly or unknowingly witnessed the installations in Kabul and Copenhagen but also by those who only saw the project on the Internet or the ones I had dialogues with in Denmark and Afghanistan. In this way the audience was not bounded by the physical installation. The aim was to create a dialogue and it was sought through my presence and facilitated through the physical art work. It is noteworthy that several had their perception of Afghanistan moved by seeing the daily life in Kabul. A statement like “It looks like you know, my son’s kindergarten in Nørrebro” was typical. The reaction in Afghanistan was also important since misinformation and outright attempts at discrediting Denmark are prevalent in Afghanistan. It was important to show that Danes do not hate Muslims and that we are people who basically have the same ethical basis as the typical Afghan audience.

Internet.

The website did not achieve the decisive role I had hoped for. Partly because of time constraints and partly because It was difficult to get individuals to participate with their own texts and images. Therefore, all content on the site was generated by myself. I tried to draw a Portrait of Kabul and Copenhagen through blog posts with video footage, photos and texts. I documented leisure life in Sharanell park in Kabul and in the king’s garden in Copenhagen. I also got a feature from Gay parade in Copenhagen and the biggest bazaar in Kabul. The site served more as documentary rather than the hypertext which I had initially intended.

Development and future.

It was the premiere of Window For Dialogue which took place in Kabul and Copenhagen. The project developed organically in line with the events unfolding. I can easily see the project repeated as an improved version. The key is to create a convincing illusion. The live element and the direct dialogue will be a significant part increasing the quality of the work. I imagine using several props and interactive possibilities in the work, such as a pay phone from which you can call the participants as seen on screen and thus have a real conversation going. It would also be possible to work solely with one projection screen and rely on other media to achieve the direct dialogue because in it’s current form you really need at least two people at the locations to manage the installations. I hope that I can obtain funding opportunities to participate in international art biennales and exhibitions.

Window For Dialogue was supported by

KABUL

windowfordialogue — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:17:37 +0000

Window For Dialogue.

Kabul.

The Mullah is calling the afternoon prayers from a minaret not far from the art center which is my contact here in Afghanistan. The center (Center for Contemporary Art Afghanistan, CCAA for short) is led by Rahraw Omarzad who is a prolific figure in the Afghan art scene. He is the founder of the CCAA it’s director and daily manager. There are about 9 permeant staff and 4 teachers of art. The organization was conceived as a woman’s art center and is still run by women for women, although there are now classes for children for a short period. There is a great energy in the center, in many ways it represents an oasis in Kabul. A place where women not only enjoy a sense of sisterhood but also are encouraged to express themselves freely. Rahraw, which is a name he took on during the Taleban years and which he explained to me means “One who seeks the truth” in persian, is a man with a mission. He sees the art scene as being outdated and based on a system of reproduction which has survived through out the entire Afghan history of art. He speaks of 3 periods of visual art in Afghanistan. 16th century miniature paining with an emphasis on lines and stylistic repertoire. By 1919 the first art school was established, the artists were inspired by western painting and pated in the styles of realism and through Afghan painters who had traveled to Germany, expressionism. These artists were very influential they encouraged the other artists to paint from life what you see and to bring the easels out side to the street. However soon the new movement tok another direction when the artists started to paint from photographs and books again essentially returning to the style of copying. During this period up through the Soviet style academic raining and the strict adherence to social realism up to today, painting was divorced from any form of political agenda. Only in the third period can the artists start to criticize their rulers. The third period is very recent development and Rahraw confines it to 2004 when they held the first women’s exhibition who included works that emphasized freedom of expression.

In Copenhagen I have put up a rear projection screen at the Central Library behind a window facing the street. The screen has been placed in a vertical position between two pillars which work as a frame around the screen and add depth to the image. What I am trying to create is an illusion of space. Bringing a room in Kabul into the city of Copenhagen and vise versa. Our national public spheres have become increasingly close rendering the wall between our cultures paper thin. However the voice of the mainstream media is screaming back at us defining the soft speech of the everyday. What I am showing on the screens is not spectacular it may be unusual like the women’s art center but it also represents the underrepresented positive news. In Kabul I will just be showing video from the Central Library in Copenhagen. It is ordinary images which represent no threat to the Afghan cultural view. However it has become extremely difficult to find a space to install the screen. There is an ingrown mistrust of foreigners here especially Danes who still are remembered for the cartoon scandal.

Here is a video from CCAA where the boys who participate tin the project Small is Big for UNICEF are testing me and trying to convert me to Islam.

I have to leave my guesthouse tomorrow because they are closing operations and the security company which ran it is moving to another site. I have to find a reliable internet connection preferably in the site where I will install the screen. Internet connections are very expensive in Kabul, you can expect to pay 2000USD per month for a 1Mbps connection with a minimum 3 months subscription.

The cost of living has sky rocketed in Kabul due to the overwhelming amount of money entering the city through the war economy. The majority of wealth seems to stay in the few hands of those who are able to get government contracts. Smaller amounts do pass through the system of NGO’s though and many benefit from the foreign aid. The economic system is is dire need of reform. During the tumultuous past 30 years, control of the economy remained in the hands of whoever temporarily claimed power who would print their own money as they saw fit.

You can read more about the Afghan money here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_afghani

Today USD and Afghanis (Afghan money) are recognized and used in Kabul. There is a limited number of ATM machines that only accept Master card. You can exchange Arab Dinars and British Pounds, some places will accept Euros but if you have any other currency you have to go to the currency exchange in Saray Shahzada market where you might be able to find someone willing to exchange your money although you will be given a very bad rate. Other currencies can simply not be exchanged in Afghanistan and the money traders need to fly to Dubai with other currencies than USD to exchange it there. The Saray Shahzada market is a meeting place for traders from the other provinces and regions although I expect that few are willing to make the dangerous trip to Kabul these days as the security situation is getting worse on the roads.

The currency market is composed of a maze of small stairways and bridges surrounding a central courtyard which seems to function much like a trading floor at a stock exchange. The place has the lively atmosphere associated with quick business and the traders casually carry off hordes of cash in large stacks. There are not many security measures in place to protect the currency traders but they seem to be able to go about their business without becoming victims of theft.

You are constantly reminded about the security situation in Afghanistan. when I leave my guesthouse I pass the 4 guards armed with machine-guns say salam malikum as a greeting and is let out into the street, usually after a guard has checked that there is no armed SUV with fanatical Taleban fighters waiting or me outside. It is a strange paradox because on the surface most places seem safe there are many security check points and armed forces throughout the city. Yet things do happen even in Kabul so you have to stay alert and recognize the signals when something bad is about to go down. I think we all know how to judge a persons character but we may not recognize the signals our own feelings are sending us. This is very important when staying in a country like Afghanistan where a misjudgment can have dire consequences. On the other hand it may seem over the top and counter productive to shield off yourself from the population behind heavy ion gates and armed escorde as most UN and embassy workers have to. It must be difficult to get a real idea about what is going on if you live in a parallel universe.

How dangerous is Kabul really? http://www.afghanconflictmonitor.org/incidents.html#docs2

There were 24 security incidents from January 2010 to June.

Dubai for a night

windowfordialogue — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:56:53 +0000

Window for dialogue is all set up in Copenhagen. As a matter of fact we finished the installation of the projector, rear projection screen and the box housing the whole thing last month. It is installed at the Central Library in Copenhagen in a window case facing the street a pretty ideal location with lots of pedestrian traffic.

It works well in the late afternoon and at night. Due to the high level of ambient light the installation is broadcasting from Kabul Afghanistan from 4pm to ca midnight local Danish time. (That is 3pm -11pm GMT).

I managed to get a wonderful sponsorship by the leading manufacturer of optical projection screens, the company DNP. Their screen was sent to Kabul for the other side of the “Digital tunnel”. The screen I settled on is a NWA 1850 HC 120″ with a very short required projection distance. The set up is ideal with a projector equipped with a short throw lens with a ratio of 0,8 – 1. I matched the screen with a Optoma projector 785 with changeable optics. However it was a nightmare to find the right projection lens or any high lumens short throw projector for that matter. I thought it would be a breeze and only contacted the suppliers in Singapore the week I was planning to leave. I spend two weeks franticly trying to get the right lens and finally found a great partner in Oscar City one of the largest AV suppliers and service providers in South East Asia. They miraculously managed to dig up a old German lens which really is an adapter which you place in front of the projector. It may not provide an optimal razor sharp image throughout the screen but it lends a kind of analog feel which goes well with an art installation. The whole thing was so rushed in the end and the Boss of the company actually had to meet me in the airpot to hand me the lens in person minutes before the check in closed.

I had to travel via Dubai to get my Visa for Afghanistan. This process would take two days due to the early departures from Dubai to Kabul and the time it would take to get my visa.

When I arrived in Dubai my excess baggage for which I had had to pay dearly to Thai Airways was lost. After traveling for 16 hours filling out forms and seeing airport staff I finally got to a hotel at 3am. Getting the Afghan visa went smoothly although finding the place was a bit difficult. (The Afghan embassy to Dubai is behind the immigration building should anybody need this information).

I managed to pick up a few more IT accessories necessities and was hanging out in the new Dubai mall next to the world talest building the 828 meter Burj Khalifa. The mall has to be the among the very top luxury shopping destinations in the wold. Installed with marble throughout contemporary carpet floors and great shop facades. It beats anything I have seen eaven in Singapore. I am not much of a shopper though the only reason I stayed was because of the fast public Wifi network awailable there. I was broadcasting from a resturant overlooking the amazing robotic fountain in front of Burj Khalifa for a few hours before I had to leave for the airport.

Back in the airport my baggage had arrived and soon I was on my 2am flight to Kabul with KamAir.

KØBENHAVN/COPENHAGEN/كوبنهاغن

windowfordialogue — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:29:19 +0000

The following is an attempt at painting a portrait of Copenhagen through documentation of her people, institutions and architecture. Later this will be followed by a similar post from Kabul. The emphasis is on catching glimpses of everyday life and show the particularities of the different cultures.

Summer in Copenhagen. Blue skies and warm days of just over 25 degrees Celsius. Every inch of grass is occupied by relaxed Danes enjoying the sun beer in hand. There is a central garden called Kongens Have (Kings Garden). It’s central location attracts all kinds of people and it is a favourite meeting point for students, parents and tourists. There is a imaginative and wonderful playground build by prisoners from one of the state prisons and a puppet theater for the children. An outdoor café is situated in a 18th century gate house which used to be the entry point when the royal family lived in Rosenborg castle and the garden really was the Kings garden. In Copenhagen you will find bicycles everywhere. There are dedicated lanes with curbs and separate traffic signals. There is also a variety of very different bikes mostly developed by Christiania Bikes like the very popular one bellow which has a large box in front for carrying goods or children. Denmark is a very liberal country, strongly based on socialist principles of equality for all. These values are deeply ingrained in the population and are vital to remember for any public figures in Denmark. This may also be one of the reasons why it is not uncommon to see a minster on the way to parliament riding his bike in the crowd of people in the early morning hours. For the past 9 years the political leadership has been in the hands of the the Liberal Venstre party which forged an alliance with the far right Dansk Folke parti. This has resulted in a number clashes with other nations, espcially the 2005 case of the Danish Cartoons, in which a number of illustrators were asked by the newspaper Jylands Postento draw caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. This incident received resolute critisism form the Islamic world. The then prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is now secretary general of Nato, denied a request from 11 ambassadors of Middle-Eastern countries to discuss the issue which became a major international scandal. In the wake of the crisis it finally became legally possible for Muslims in Denmark to build a proper Mosque a project which is still not realised. Evidently Denmark is very open minded as long as long as it is concerned with “traditional” liberal topics. Everybody are equal but some are more equal than others. One of the great liberal projects is the rights of homosexuals. It is possible for gays and lesbians to marry in Denmark and even some churches sanction the marriage of partners of the same sex. The homosexual community is very strong and receives political support. In the yearly event Gay Parade thousands of supporters march through Copenhagen in a carnival of colours and celebration. Many political parties send delegates to join the march and so does some of the big international companies like MicroSoft and IBM.

The Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen is among the politicians joining the parade.

Denmark is a welfare state which means that there are social systems in place to take care of the needy but the system encompasses the lives of everybody in Denmark. Everyone is guaranteed free healthcare although you will have to pay a subsidised rate for prescription drugs. Schools, High Schools and Universities are free and students on higher education receives a monthly grant from the government to assure equal opportunity for students from lower income families who otherwise would have to work on the side to pay for living expenses. The unions are independent of the government and very strong. If you are without work the government will pay you a welfare amount but you will have to be upgrading your skills by attending special courses or actively seeking a job to get the money. Some people fall through the system though and end up on the street without help however there are a number of specialized organisations who are able to pick up those the state fails. One of these initiatives is the publishing and distribution organistaion Hus Forbi which offers homeless people a way to make a living by selling their magazine. Another great organisation is Kofoed Skole which I hope to give a description of in a separate post. This non-profit takes drug and alcohol addiction as it’s main sphere of operation and does it very well.

It is difficult to see where the line goes between idealism and extremism. I have ideals about freedom which I am deeply convinced about. Does that give me a right to push these ideals on others? Am I even obliged to act on my convictions?

windowfordialogue — Mon, 03 May 2010 10:07:57 +0000

Operation Plan.

REVIDERET BUDGET OG OPERATIONS PLAN. (Danish)

Warning:

This is not risk-free art.

If you are looking for some intellectual enjoyment, and material for chatting during the afternoon tea, read no further.

However, if you’re interested in how globalization and Infocom Technologies affect international culture and politics, and believes that it is sometimes necessary to take a risk to progress, please read on. I hope that the following will prove inspiring, and provide material for chatting during afternoon tea, if nothing else.

In the following we will first look at potential barriers and solutions, then the plan will be rounded off with a budget.

Barriers.

Window For Dialogue operate in an insecure area where a number of circumstances can have drastic consequences for the execution of the project. It is therefore necessary to plan the project using activist and military operations methods instead of the normal event planning.

The potential barriers can be summarized in four categories: Technology, Policy, Partners, Economics.

Technology: Kabul has a good Internet connection with a newly installed WiMAX wireless network in the city so decidedly realtime broadcasting is possible. We have chosen to use a portable Macbook to handle each camera, projector and computer function. This allows a very flexible and safe problem-solving model. The website has the domain name www.windowfordialogue.com but consists of a network of Social Media platforms, Facebook for networking, Twitter for important live messages and dialog options on Ustream when the videos become broadcast live. www.windowfordialogue.com is hosted on the blogging site WordPress.com which has a fantastic infrastructure and and is constantly updated to meet technology development. Moreover Wrodpress has an already existing user group which we can resort to in order to obtain traffic to our website. The website is hosted on cloud servers whereby bandwidth can be adjusted to the volume of traffic ensuring the site not crashing. Kabul has an unstable electricity network but a new significant support from Uzbekistan have improved the situation enough that we can ensure an uninterrupted video stream within the installation opening hours.

Politics: Window For Dialogue is a threat to states who want total information control of their populations. It would be extremely sensitive to set up the project in many countries. Afghanistan is officially seen democratic, the threat will probably not be from the government, but rather be of a cultural nature and be linked to how the installation is used by people. Window For Dialogue is not geographically dependent, the physical installation is mobile and can set up and taken down within twenty minutes. Since the core of the installation consists of websites is guaranteed a continuous presence even with technically or politically caused interruptions. This flexibility makes it possible to move the installation from one area to another if it proves that it causes problems.

Partners: The project can only be realized through an integrated collaboration between artists and cultural institutions in Afghanistan and Denmark, and is completely dependent on audience’s conscious or unconscious participation. We have begun a collaboration with Rahraw Omarzad as director of CCAA, the only contemporary art centre in Kabul, he will act as our local partner and mentor. Rahraw is also editor of art magazine Gahnama-e-Hunar which he published at the risk of his life under the Taliban regime. He is the best local partner we can get to the task because he has a fantastic network and know exactly where the cultural and political line is drawn regarding what is permissible in Kabul. Mikkel Brixvold is both artist and elite soldier and has been an integral part of the project from the outset he will assist with problem resolution in Kabul. There is an exhibition agreement in place between Window For Dialogue and Copenhagen’s main library about utilizing their multi-functional space “Dialogue on the grass” with windows facing Krystal Gade. To ensure sucess in Kabul we have to ensure local partners and initiate dialogue with shop owners regarding the use of their shop windows. The exhibition can also be shown in other locations such as universities.

Economy: The project is budgeted at 74350kr and can be cut down to 50000kr if it becomes necessary. The difference will be in internet stability but also in the experience of the physical installation as this would be purely visual. There are also opportunities to seek funding for the project elsewhere but as the project has not been tested they are hard to find. In the longer term it will probably not be hard to find venues that are willing to sponsor Window For Dialogue. This premiere will be vital for the project continued success and we consider it appropriate that a unique institution such as Statens Kunst Fond rates in the non tested and experimental.

BROADCASTING DURING AFGHAN ELECTIONS SEP 2010

windowfordialogue — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:51:03 +0000

Window For Dialogue is going to broadcast live from Kabul during the Afghan parliamentary elections in September 2010.

From Save the Children. I think the aspirations of the children are shared by the majority of Afghans.

The elections in 2009 were extremely fraudulent and inherently unsound with voter registration cards for sale and wide spread corruption among staff at pooling stations, ballot stuffing, so called ghost pooling stations, ballot boxes just being stolen by armed men e.t.c.

[Dan Murphy who worked for the ECC described the election process in a presentation, delivered at the Overseas Vote Foundation Summit 2010 in Munich, Germany in March 2010.]

You can find the entire presentation on Youtube.

In the end a selection of election stations were audited and the conclusion was issued on the 18th of October 2009.

ECC anulled 1,319,317 votes out of 5,662,758. (Or 23,2%)
Estimated 995,802 of annuled votes for Karzai (or 75,4 %)
Final percentage after reduction 48,29% to Karzai and 31,54% for Dr. Abdullah.

A run off election was called for and President Karzai agreed to accept the ECC’s decision on 20th October 2009. Eventually the run off was called because the runner up candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah pulled out of the elections because his demands of the IC chairman and a couple of commissioners should be replaced because they were deemed partial to Karzai. In the meantime President Karzai has changed the law unilaterally regarding the operations of the ECC which has endangered it’s critically neutral status. He has also decreed that no one who worked for ECC in 2009 can work for the organisation again which obviously minimises capacity building.

So what will the future parliamentary election bring?

AssociatedPress — 02 January 2010 — Afghanistan’s parliament dealt a stinging rebuke to President Hamid Karzai on Saturday by rejecting 70 percent of his nominees for a new cabinet, including a regionally powerful warlord and the country’s only female minister. (Jan. 2) President Karzai has been trying to solidify the power of the presidency even further especially by decreeing that the president alone could no0menee candidates to theparlaiment.

instablogs — 28 April 2010 — The Presidency has come into direct clash with the Legislative Assembly after implementing the controversial election laws decreed by the President earlier but rejected repeatedly by the Parliament. The step taken by the ministry of law to implement presidential decree instead of the laws suggested by the Parliament has angered the parliamentarians. This extra-constitutional step has resulted to what`s explained as an extraordinary session of the Parliament called on Saturday to consider accusations to be levelled against the incumbent president. The accusations to be deliberated upon would be `of National Treason` on Karzai`s part. The parliamentarians would also consider summoning all top officials hindering the implementation of Previous Election laws recommended by the Parliament and/or shutting the doors of Parliament for at least three days to register their protest against the resistance offered by the executive bodies in implementing laws proposed by the Parliament.

The mistrust in the government is endemic. The foreign aid is only just coming through with most of if going back to the aid countries through highly paid foreign contract workers. Reforms are still hard to spot outside Kabul. The Taliban is on the rise. Corruption and Heroin production is the order of the day. The Afghan people want change but in this grey world of no-truths it is an uphill path.

KABUL/COPENHAGEN FULLY FUNDED

windowfordialogue — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:32:23 +0000

Statens Kunstfond has decided to fund 9 of the projects send in for opencall 3 and Window For Dialogue has been selected for further funding. We are now fully capable of pulling off the installations in Copenhagen and Kabul. We are still negotiating site usage with the Central Library in Copenhagen and CCAA Center for Contemporary Arts Afghanistan. All our hardware will be bought in Singapore and we will update the blog with a shopping list soon.

Thanks again to Statens Kunstfond Denmark for their continued support.

OPEN CALL 3 /////////////////////////////////// STATENS KUNSTFOND

windowfordialogue — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:12:24 +0000

OPEN CALL 3

Sorry this post is mainly for the Danish speakers among us.

Det har været fantastisk at få den anerkendelse der ligger i at blive præmieret af Statens Kunstfond for nyskabende kunst i det offentlige rum. Window For Dialogue har været gennem en lang proces der har varet 2 år og det er stort set kun navnet der er forblevet uændret.

Vi vil nu søge midler til at gennemføre KABUL/KØBENHAVN som er premiere på Window For Dialogue. Vi arbejder på at lave hjemmesiden klar med live webcams, blog funktion og internetprofiler.Vi har bestemt os for at udvælge personer i København og Kabul der på forskellig vis repræsenterer segmenter af befolkningen. De udvalgte personer vil få tildelt internetprofiler på hjemmesiden og vil blive bedt om at skrive et indlæg til bloggen som vil danne grundlag for diskussion og skabe kulturel kontekst. Personerne bliver udvalgt med henblik på at skabe et nuanceret billede af befolkningerne og der vil blive lagt særlig vægt på at de i forvejen har en medieprofil der vil befordre en naturlig tilstrømning af deltagende publikum til hjemmesiden.

Indtil hjemmesiden er klar vil denne blog fungere som et talerør for projektet og som en komunikationsplatform for vores partnere og publikum. En ny samarbejdespartner har meldt sig på banen og har tilbudt at tage sig af hele webdelen af projektet. Det drejer sig om et Designstudio der specialiserer sig i kreative applikationer inden for New Media Design. Mere om det senere.

Mange tak for støtten til Statens Kunstfond og alle dem der støttede ideen gennem de første to år.

Nik Tao

Window For Dialogue

TAIPEI/BEIJING?

windowfordialogue — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:14:42 +0000

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE POPULATIONS OF TAIPEI AND BEIJING

The need for dialogue between China and Taiwan is eminent. China is gaining political influence through its increasing role in the world economy but internally its population harbours strong sentiment towards democratic reforms. Taiwan’s independence from mainland China is a contentious issue both within Taiwan and China, the populations share the Chinese culture and is indisputably related, the differences are more than anything with the leaders. By opening a live stream between Taipei and Beijing we could initiate a dialogue and create a forum for increased understanding and recognition.

Battle scene between the Nationalists and the Communists. War Museum in Jing Men

TAIPEI

Taipei has a very homogeneous architectural landscape and looks pretty much like it was all build in the 1950ies and 1060ies. It is heavily layered, dense and wonderfully vernacular. We are negotiating with store front owners in a district of Taipei with the hope that once sponsorship is in place we will be able to connect the two cities in dialogue . Taipei only abolished martial law in 1987 and had its first free election in 1998. However in many ways

BEIJING

The capital of China has since the early nineties become a major metropolis for contemporary art. The outskirts are sprawling with artist studios and the once industrial and underground 798 district has become a tourist attraction to rival the forbidden city in amount of daily visitors complete with fashionable cafes and international galleries. Actually what Beijing really needs is a real underground art scene. The early nineties saw some heavy underground stuff (which existed without gallery structure) but since then the commercialism has become full-blown.

Ullen's center for contemporary art. Q4U by Feng Mengbo

There is one space which I must mention in this regard because it falls out of the overloaded hotpot of commercial galleries. In a small Hutong ally near the “Lahma Temple” you might find The Arrow Factory. I say may find because it really can easily be missed. Set up in an old vegetable store front shop, in fact you may say that the art space attempts to blend in with the surrounding architecture, culture and economy. I make it a point to always visit this art space, last time was in August when they showed the exhibition “Just around the corner” (curated by Chen Shaoxiong and Pauline J. Yao) a complete integration of art and real life. Needles to say I loved it and will dedicate a post to this exhibition in the future.

Small snack shop in the ally with video by Xijing Men.

It would be very interesting to combine The Arrow Factory spot which has a full height window facing the small ally with a similar small ally space in Taipei. Audiences might actually not realize that they were connected to the national arch rival because the population shares the same culture and the citizens could be mistaken for each other. Similarly the written language is exactly the same which would make communication on the web platform much easier avoiding the translation task in other projects like KABUL/COPENHAGEN.

KABUL/COPENHAGEN

windowfordialogue — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:26:28 +0000

فرصة للحوار

Brief about the project: Kabul in Copenhagen and Copenhagen in Kabul.

Live video footage of a street image in Kabul is being projected into a window-showcase in Copenhagen. Simultaneously recorded video from that same window in Copenhagen is presented live in a showcase in Kabul. Thus there is a digital window for viewing public space and an opportunity for direct visual communication between the two cities. The viewer will have an experience of standing on the street in her capital, with all that that entails in terms of cultural forms, and look into a completely different public space and she will be present on the other side through her projected image. Speakers and microphones are installed on the window facades allowing speach and street noise to penetrate through the digital window.

Functional site: The Internet as a public no-man’s land

The projected live stream pictures in the streets of Copenhagen and Kabul, are accompanied by a third window for dialogue. On the web will be created a blog where more in-depth communication can take place. The blog will be access restricted to users in Afghanistan and Denmark, and all text will be translated into Danish and Dari. Despite the fact that the Internet is increasingly subject to national censorship, it will in this project be seen as a public space in the democratic sense. The Internet is not a cultural and political neutral zone but is largely a Western project with a heritage from the Enlightenment. The phenomenological specificity is addressed through portraits of the cities where the projected video is installed. Attention will be given to architectural context, usage of the site and the wider political context.There will be set up internet profiles of selected residents of Kabul and Copenhagen on the website, which will provide a balanced picture of two two cities’ political and cultural spheres and thereby stimulate discussion and provide context. The dialogue can be about anything but expected to be intense and marked by conflicting cultural views. It is our hope that dialogue can promote understanding and thereby illuminate the foreign and encourage reflection on our own culture. The project illustrates the inadequacy of a national defined public sphere and bear witness to how thin the cultural wall is between public spaces.

Audience: actors in their own lives.

The focal point is the audience, who at once represents a spectator and subject mater. The work will be created from user-generated content through a process where only the external environment is predetermined and it is up to the audience to explore opportunities in the installation.We want to surprise the audiences with art in their everyday surroundings. We believe that the unconditional meeting is more important than a predictable and prepared meeting with art as it is typically experienced in art institutions. Encouraged by a genuine curiosity and a desire to express their views, we hope to incorporate a new audience in the project.

Installation:

The installation consists of two identical setups: projectors, speakers, microphones and web cameras.

Web camera and display screens are placed in shop windows facing busy streets. The images are projected on translucent screens from behind and can therefore be placed close to the window. Microphones and loudspeakers are mounted on the window façades. It is expected that the installation in Kabul must be adapted to the circumstances. We have experimented with both HD video and web cameras with lower resolution. Although image quality is noticeably better with high definition cameras, bandwidth may not be sufficient to achieve truly real time video.As mobility and and quick dismanteling may be a real issue we have chosen to use a laptop Macbook to handle each camera, projector and computer operation, this provides a very flexible and secure problem solving model. The website domain name is www.windowfordialogue.com. The website is built with Drupal which is ideal for user-based sites where large quantities of various information must be handled in a simple manner.

Partners:

The project can only be implemented through an integrated collaboration between artists and cultural institutions in Afghanistan and Denmark and it is completely dependent on the audience’s conscious or unconscious participation. We have initiated collaboration with Rahraw Omarzad leader of CCAA, the only contemporary art center in Kabul, he will act as our local partner and mentor. Rahraw is also editor of the art journal Gahnama-e-Hunar which he and collaborators published under the Taliban regime though risking their lives by doing so. Mikkel Brixvold is both an artist and elite soldier and is an integral part of the project, he will assist with problem solving in Kabul during the entire exhibition period. There is an exhibition agreement between Fast Video in Fredericksborg, Copenhagen and Window for Dialogue but also Copenhagen’s Central Library has expressed interest in the project. We are in dialogue with them about usage of their multi-functional rooms with windows facing the street Krystal gade. To ensure exhibition venues in Kabul we have to team up with local partners and initiate negociations with shop owners regarding the use of their shop windows.

Art with edge and meaning:

Window for dialogue is the art from the front line. Avant-garde art has moved out into reality and has taken the surrounding objects, structures and human relationships as an artistic material. From Duchamp’s ready-mades, John Cage’s 4’33 “, Situationist International, Joseph Beuys Social Sculpture and the 90s relational art has evolved several parallel artistic tendencies. None of the contemporary art directions exist in a tabula rasa vacum but are based on the ’60s explosive expansion of the concept of art. Window For Dialogue is a natural consequence of contemporary cultural policy, globalization and the Internet as a network-forming public sphere. In semiotic terms the project is relational, with a Bathonian nature. It is inspired by and dependent on Web 2.0 technologies and the ideal called democracy serves as its driving force. This is political art, a reaction against “art as accessories for the party people”; the constant; de-politicizing, materialisation and idealization of art. The spectator’s role is highlighted intensively and perceived as the art work’s raison d’être. The work, which is nothing more than reality itself, becomes art at the moment it is experienced by the viewer as an aesthetic impression. The motif, is the expression of “the real” in lived space. It is not necessary with multiple layers of interpretation and illustration, instead the viewer is invited to look deeper into the uncooked and immediate thusness of reality.