Terrorist Video and the New Iconoclasm in Art after 11. September
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Art and Social Placement
Presentation Title:
- Terrorist Video and the New Iconoclasm in Art after 11. September
Presenter(s):
Abstract:
Iconoclastic violence acquired a new form in the recent conflict with terrorism and the war in Afghanistan. The fascination of terrorists with the home video and with “live” or “real time” presentations on TV has all the attributes of new iconoclasm. Its goal is to defeat the most powerful images in our time, the film and the TV image. These images may not be holly as in the past but they bear the same power and control over our feelings and actions. While the Gulf war CNN spectacle represented our power over the enemy by new means of satellite broadcasting, the recent “minimalist” and “low-tech” terrorist video tapes have overthrown this media power with the use of its own weapons – moving and real time images. The new iconoclasm of the home video poses many challenges to contemporary art that are analyzed in terms of iconoclastic issues of power, authenticity, transcendence and representation.
