Doing Democracy , livre ebook

SUNY series, Praxis: Theory in Action

Nancy A. Naples, editor
Doing Democracy
Activist Art and Cultural Politics
Edited by
Nancy S. Love
and
Mark Mattern
Cover art © Julie Dermansky.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2013 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Doing democracy : activist art and cultural politics / edited by Nancy S. Love and Mark Mattern.
pages cm. — (Praxis: theory in action)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: “Demonstrates how activists and others use art and popular culture to strive for a more democratic future”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-4384-4911-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Arts—Political aspects. 2. Popular culture—Political aspects. 3. Politics in art. 4. Democracy and the arts. 5. Artists—Political activity. I. Love, Nancy Sue, 1954– editor of compilation. II. Mattern, Mark, 1954– editor of compilation.
NX650.P6D65 2013
700.1'03—dc23
2013002470
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank our editor at SUNY Press, Beth Bouloukos, and her assistant, Rafael Chaiken, for their assistance in bringing this project to fruition. We would also like to thank the progressive scholars and activists of the Caucus for a New Political Science for demonstrating that activism and scholarly rigor are compatible.
The following chapters are revised from original articles in a special issue on “Art After Empire: Creating the Political Economy of a New Democracy,” New Political Science: A Journal of Politics and Culture 32, no. 4 (2010), copyright © Caucus for a New Political Science, by permission of Taylor & Francis Ltd., www.tandfonline.com on behalf of Caucus for a New Political Science.
Chapter 1 . “Introduction: Art, Culture, Democracy,” Nancy S. Love and Mark Mattern, revised from “Introduction,” 463–69.
Chapter 2 . “Photo-Activism in the Digital Age: Visions from Rio de Janeiro,” Frank Möller, revised from “Photography after Empire: Citizen-Photographers or Snappers on Autopilot?,” 501–13.
Chapter 5 . “The National D-Day Memorial: An American Military Monument as ‘Doing Democracy,’” Timothy W. Luke, revised from “The National D-Day Memorial: Art, Empire, and Nationalism at an American Military Monument,” 547–59.
Chapter 7 . “Tragedy and Democracy: The Fate of Liberal Democratic Values in a Violent World,” Wairimu Njoya, revised from “‘Mindful of the Sacrifices Borne by Our Ancestors’: Terror, Historical Consciousness, and the Slave Sublime,” 575–91.
Chapter 8 . “‘You're an American rapper, so what do you know?’ The Political Uses of British and U.S. Popular Culture by First-Time Voters in the United Kingdom,” Sanna Inthorn and John Street, revised from “‘You're an American rapper, so what do you know?’ The Political Uses of British and US Popular Culture by First-Time Voters in the UK,” 471–84.
Chapter 10 . “Betrayed by Democracy: Verbatim Theater as Prefigurative Politics,” Mark Chou and Roland Bleiker, revised from “Dramatizing War: George Packer and the Democratic Potential of Verbatim Theater,” 561–74.
Chapter 13 . “Democracy despite Government: African American Parading and Democratic Theory,” Peter G. Stillman and Adelaide H. Villmoare, revised from “Democracy Despite Government: African American Parading and Democratic Theory,” 485–99.
“Strange Fruit” (U.S. copyright permission): Words and Music by Lewis Allan. Copyright © 1939 (Renewed) by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP). All Rights for the United States controlled by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP). International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
“Strange Fruit” (International copyright permission): Written by Lewis Allan. Used by Permission of Edward B. Marks Music Company.
Part I
Introduction
Chapter 1
Introduction
Art, Culture, Democracy
N ANCY S. L OVE AND M ARK M ATTERN
Along with the political speeches and the oath of office, the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States featured music, poetry, and prayer. We believe that this signaled a propitious moment to inquire whether these alternative and aesthetic modes of public discourse prefigure a more democratic future. In various ways, contributors to this volume ask: What arts and cultural forms present in the world today provide grounds for optimism about moving toward a more democratic society? What is the promise of the arts and popular culture as partial bases for political activism to move us toward a new political economy and a more democratic politics? How does this promise engage with existing economic and political realities? In what concrete ways are contemporary arts and popular culture forms used to increase the capacities of individuals and groups to act effectively in the world? In particular, how do historically marginalized groups employ the arts and popular culture to advance their political claims and exemplify democratic practices? In sum, how might the arts and popular culture help us do democracy?
These questions arise in a context of rapidly expanding global communications networks. Access to the arts and popular culture has increased commensurately with access to smart phones and the internet experienced across the globe. Musicians, photographers, graffiti artists, painters, dancers, performance artists, filmmakers, writers, and many others now take advantage of internet platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to disseminate their work. Many do so with explicit political intent. One result is a rapidly changing and expanding terrain for political thought and action using arts and culture. The internet has blurred borders between local and global communities as well as traditional and modern cultures. However, the result has not been a world without borders. The digital divide between rich and poor, north and south, persists. Internet technology has also supported the creation of new borders, such as virtual diasporic communities, global hybrid movements, and even internet-based cybernations. 1
Another important element of this changing context is the rise of so-called culture wars that link the traditional politics of nation-states with globalization and multiculturalism. At stake is control of the hearts and minds of citizens around the world. Various forms of expression, including and especially those related to the arts and popular culture, carry profound significance for this challenge of engaging reflectively and critically with diverse citizens. While much of popular culture undermines the development of critical consciousness and globalization often homogenizes or even Americanizes, the arts and popular culture also have been used extensively and successfully to nurture critical consciousness and diverse perspectives. The central questions remain: To what degree will political and economic elites continue to fashion the world, both materially and symbolically, in their own interests, and to what degree can activists harness the arts and popular culture to shatter this hegemony and challenge elite power? Although most contributors here focus on how activist art supports progressive causes, some consider how the arts and popular culture are used to resist democratic change and restore traditional hierarchies of class, gender, and race, though perhaps in new forms. These different emphases work together to show how the creation of a democratic society is an ongoing process and that democracy can also unfortunately be undone by some of the popular forces often thought to foster it.

The Arts and Popular Culture
What do we mean by the arts and popular culture? Many have found it tempting to define a separation between so-called high art and low art. 2 Art hanging on museum walls and performed in magnificent concert halls is deemed high art, while art sprayed-painted on railroad underpasses and performed in anarchists' squat houses qualifies as low art or, presumably, popular culture. We intend to avoid this temptation, because it is ultimately an untenable distinction. Institutional definitions such as these focus on artworks as beautiful objects created for an art world, especially art critics. The effect of this approach is to perpetuate established artistic traditions, including the concept of autonomous art, and to exclude innovative and nonwestern art forms. 3 According to Marshall McLuhan, new art forms are routinely regarded as corrupting or degrading the standards of high art. However, these new art forms often simultaneously serve to legitimate the elevated status of the “great” artworks that preceded them and many new forms are eventually granted the status of high art. 4 At the very least, these interrelationships suggest that historical context shapes our definitions of what constitutes high and low art. However, more than historical context is at stake here. The arts associated with popular culture are also often dismissed as mere entertainment, as commercialized art produced for mass markets. 5 Yet the arts and popular culture also serve a variety of important functions in everyday life. These functions involve more than the artistic beauty that is often found in the ordinary objects that enhance our daily lives. They also include the role of the arts in catalyzing the imagination, expressing creativity, integrating aspects of the se