““The Right to the Image”: Ethics of Representation and Appropriation in New Media Art Archives since the 2011 Arab Uprisings” presented by Deml
Photo 1 and 2 by Luis Camargo
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Summit on New Media Art Archiving: Short papers
Presentation Title:
- “The Right to the Image”: Ethics of Representation and Appropriation in New Media Art Archives since the 2011 Arab Uprisings
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
In 2017, the Syrian video art collective Abounaddara, that earned international acclaim for its documentation of Syrian life amidst conflict, has removed the vast majority of its videos from their Vimeo archive in response to what it regarded as their improper use by the Triennale Milano. Curator Massimiliano Gioni countered that the exhibition only made available material that was already in the public domain and that underscored the Triennale’s commitment to Syrian migration struggles. This case illustrates ethical concerns regarding authorship, authority, consent, and copyright that permeate the representation of digital and openly accessible media archives as part of international art exhibitions—which are exacerbated when they pertain to representations of conflict and violence. Now more than ever are we in relationships of moral, affective, and material intimacy with violence, and this calls for a reconsideration of how our senses are solicited by and implicated in the conduct of conflict. Taking Abounaddara’s video art archive as a point of departure, this paper invites participants to discuss practices of engagement that can respond to the growing demands and responsibilities inherent in new media art archives of conflict and violence.
