Radical Art Caucus budget, dues, and donations

Hello again RAC supporters,

Now that the semester is wrapping up, we would like to update you all on the state of our budget.  In the RAC checking account, we currently have $881.47.  

As you know, our dues are set at an intentionally modest level --$20 per year for faculty and employed people and $5 for underemployed people and students.  These dues bring in about $300-$400 per year, which is enough to cover basic expenses, such as the annual fee to be affiliated with CAA, the cost of hosting our website, and photocopying fliers.  If you would like to renew your membership or joining for the first time, you can do so on our website: http://radart.squarespace.com/join/  Alternately, you can send a check to Heidi Cook, RAC Treasurer, Art History Department, University of Pittsburgh, 104 Frick Fine Arts, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, hac45@pitt.edu.

The “extras” of the organization—like scholar / activist grants, refreshments for the meetings, designing promotional materials and websites, and hosting guests—are largely actualized through donations of money and time.  We would like to thank you all for helping to make the organization stronger with such generosity.  If any of you would like to make a monetary donation for such purposes, you can do so with the same website and postal address listed above.  If you would like to volunteer some time for a task, that would be wonderful too!

Yours,

Travis, Linnea, Kaylee, Joanna, and Heidi

Travis Nygard, Co-president, travis@travisnygard.com

Linnea Wren, Co-president, lwren@gustavus.edu

Kaylee Spencer, Co-president, kspencer@gmail.com

Joanna Gardner-Huggett, Secretary, jgardner@depaul.edu

Heidi Cook, Treasurer, hac45@pitt.edu

Radical Art Caucus Update, Conferences

Dear RACers,

Greetings from your executive officers!  It is hard to believe that summer is upon us.  We would like to take this opportunity to review some of the high points of the past year.   Also, although next year’s CAA conference is still in the distance, we would like to fill you in on some of our tentative plans.  

CAA Conference in New York, 2011

It was great to see many of you in New York. Our presence at CAA was robust. We sponsored two excellent panels. Environmental Sustainability in Art History, Theory, and Practice, organized by RAC co-president Travis Nygard, included presentations by Max Libroiron (www.maxliboiron.com) and Cindy Persinger on current art practices involving trash, recycling, and traditional technologies while Kaylee Spencer presented on the aesthetics of Maya portraiture as responsive to shifting environments. Video Art as Mass Media? Was organized by Nate Harrison and Benj Gerdes (www.16beavergroup.org). Presentations by Jason Simon, Angela Dimitrakaki, William Kaizen, Ernest Larsen, and Priscilla Neri examined video art in terms of populism, activism, human rights advocacy and oppositional culture. For each session, we had an impressive 60 to 70 people in attendance.  Thanks again to Travis, Nate and Benj for organizing such successful and provocative panels.

RAC also sponsored a well-attended reception with a topical focus, Union Organizing in Academia. Two union organizers were present to lead discussions with attendees.  The first was Nayla Wren, Director of Organizing for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and the second was Andy Cornell, a leader in organizer at the Graduate Students Organizing Committee, United Auto Workers, at New York University.   Those in attendance shared their own experiences related to employment in academia.  Topics of discussion involved issues of fair hiring and employment, abusive labor practices, strategies for forming unions, and how to negotiate with institutional employers. 

At both the sessions and receptions, we had many requests for information about our group, and several new members have signed up subsequently.  As always, we encourage you to spread the word about the Radical Art Caucus to your friends, colleagues, and anyone else who will listen!  
 
We were also pleased that to announce that two conference attendees, who presented in our panels, were the beneficiaries of our Scholar/Activist grants. These grants, which cover CAA registration fees for students and underemployed members, have been made possible by generous donations from you all.  Thank you to those who have continued to support our organization with your membership dues and generous gifts.  

Our visibility at CAA this year was enhanced by our use of social media and posters. Thanks to Dan Wang for designing, writing, and publishing a special issue of the experimental Journal of Radical Shimming for the Radical Art Caucus (http://www.red76.com/jrs.html).  It was as a visually arresting way to reach the art community, which took the form of a broadsheet with innovative images, typography, and content. 

CAA Conference in Los Angeles, 2012 

When looking ahead to our next conference, we are pleased to say that there are interesting sessions and activities in the works.   We hope to see you there!.  

The Radical Art Caucus member Alan Wallach, who is on the faculty at The College of William and Mary, will be chairing our long session.  It is titled Politics of the Panoramic: Spectacle, Surveillance, Resistance.  His session abstract reads “The simultaneous invention in the early 1790s of the panopticon, a type of prison, and the panorama, a form of mass entertainment, marks the beginning of a new epoch in the history of visual domination.  Today, the panoramic and the panoptic so thoroughly pervade our culture that identification with the “eye of power,” as Foucault termed it, has become habitual, reflexive, unconscious, seemingly innocent.  Yet with the increasing proliferation of technologies of surveillance (e.g., CCTV), we find ourselves caught between the positions of viewer and viewed, of subject and object. If the panoramic inspires identification with regimes of surveillance, being the object of surveillance suggests a different response. The former implies a politics of complacency, the latter, a politics of resistance.  This panel welcomes studies of artists and artworks both high and popular as well as investigations of applications of, and responses to, technologies of panoramic vision, representation, and surveillance.”   

Kaylee Spencer, one of our co-presidents, will be chairing our short session on
Administrative Abuses and Faculty Resistance in the Fine Arts: Case Studies in Academic Labor.   In this panel discussants will consider the ways that fine artists and art historians, working in higher education, are laborers. Presenters will  address questions such as: Is the recognition of creative expression as equivalent to academic research and scholarship being eroded by administrators? Are administrators increasingly less inclined to regard visual artists and art historians as essential contributors in a liberal arts curriculum? Are administrators increasingly more prone to consider the visual arts and its practitioners as expendable extras? Are institutions prone to rely increasingly on adjunct labor in the fine arts? And, in the face of the present vulnerability of arts professionals, what is the role of unions and what strategies of resistance can be employed?  We are hoping that this session will spawn a greater critical discussion about the state of artistic employment in academia, which will resonate in longer-term conversations.  

We don’t want to be serious all of the time in Los Angeles, so we think that a party is in order!  We discussed this with many of you in New York, and the consensus was that a party should be held off-site.   There is a longstanding desire among our members to make the CAA conference extend into the community, allowing members to enjoy the broader city life.  This will also enable us to avoid the often exorbitantly priced hotel catering.  If anyone has location suggestions for a good off-site party venue, please let us know.  Ideally we would like to find a venue with good food at affordable prices near the Los Angeles Convention Center, which also serves alcohol.  If none of you have ideas, then we will rely on some recommendations from the Los Angeles-based union organizer who was at our conference in New York, Nayla Wren.  

As always, you are all encouraged to share with us items of interest that will take place at the conference, such as sessions or papers that we may also be interested in.  If you would like to organize additional “shadow” events in conjunction with the conference, we would all be happy to hear it.  We all know that Los Angeles has a robust arts scene, so we can imagine innumerable possibilities.  

CAA Conference in New York, 2013

It is hard to believe that we already need to be thinking about the conference in 2013, but it is true.  Institutions like CAA plan things far in advance.  To that extent, we would like to invite all members of RAC to either individually or collaboratively submit a proposal for our sponsored session to be held at the 2013 conference in New York. In the past, themes for our sessions have been proposed by the elected officers of RAC or at business meetings. In the interest of expanding member involvement, we are opening up the process this year in order to explore a wider range of topics. The proposal should include a one-to-two page description of your topic and a brief (no more than two page) c.v.  These documents should be sent to Joanna Gardner-Huggett, RAC Secretary (jgardner@depaul.edu) by email as attachments by May 30th.   RAC officers will select one proposal, which will be submitted to the board of CAA for approval at the end of the summer. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the process.  We hope that many of you will take this opportunity to contribute ideas for a stimulating session.

Thank you all for your continuing involvement with our organization.  We are looking forward to continuing to work toward making RAC the best that it can be. 

All the best,

Travis, Linnea, Kaylee, Joanna, and Heidi

Travis Nygard, Co-president, travis@travisnygard.com
Linnea Wren, Co-president, lwren@gustavus.edu
Kaylee Spencer, Co-president, kspencer@gmail.com
Joanna Gardner-Huggett, Secretary, jgardner@depaul.edu
Heidi Cook, Treasurer, hac45@pitt.edu

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi press release and petition

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi press release and petition

Dear Friends,

I hope all is well with you. The attached announcement and petition is
going public today. Please distribute widely.

Website: http://gulflabor.wordpress.com/

Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/gulflabor/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

130 Artists Call for Guggenheim Boycott over Migrant Worker Exploitation
(New York, March 17, 2011) A group of leading artists, curators,
writers, and others launched a boycott of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi today
over the exploitation of foreign migrant workers building the museum
on Saadiyat Island, the United Arab Emirates.
More than 130 international artists, curators, writers and others have
signed a boycott to end all cooperation with the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
and are demanding that the Guggenheim Foundation and its Abu Dhabi
partner take immediate and meaningful steps to safeguard the rights of
the workers constructing the new branch museum on Saadiyat Island.
Some of the artists who have signed the appeal have also decided to
boycott other Guggenheim locations around the world until this issue
is resolved.
"Artists should not be asked to exhibit their work in buildings built
on the backs of exploited workers," said Walid Raad, one of the
artists boycotting the Guggenheim. "Those working with bricks and
mortar deserve the same kind of respect as those working with cameras
and brushes."
In two extensive reports on the UAE, Human Rights Watch has documented
a cycle of abuse that leaves migrant workers deeply indebted, poorly
paid, and unable to defend their rights or even quit their jobs. The
UAE authorities responsible for developing Saadiyat Island have failed
to tackle the root causes of abuse: unlawful recruiting fees, broken
promises of wages, and a sponsorship system that gives employers
virtually unlimited power over workers.
After mounting criticism, the Guggenheim finally made a public
commitment in September 2010 to protect the rights of laborers
constructing its new branch. However the institution and, its Abu
Dhabi partner, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC)
have still not taken sufficient steps to better the conditions of
workers.
On March 10, 2011, TDIC announced that it "is broadening its existing
independent monitoring programme" and that it had revised its
Employment Practices Policy (EPP) to provide that  contractors "shall
reimburse Employees for any Recruitment Fees paid by them, without
deductions being imposed on their remuneration." However, TDIC also
stated that the monitor will examine only UAE and EPP violations,
which of course exclude significant labor law and human rights
protections guaranteed under international law. Furthermore, it has
not indicated whether the monitor's findings will be made public. With
respect to the EPP statement that contractors will reimburse workers
for fees, without enforcement mechanisms and a guarantee from TDIC and
the Guggenheim, it remains nothing more than an unenforceable promise
for which only workers bear the risk of loss.
"We support the building of cultural institutions on the Saadiyat
Island but we feel that it is our responsibility to do what we can to
ensure that the rights of workers are protected." said Emily Jacir, a
signatory.
The call followed an initiative by NYU faculty and students who are
trying to secure similar protections for the construction workers who
will be building the NYU Abu Dhabi campus, also on Saadiyat Island,
known as the "Island of Happiness".
Among those calling for the boycott are prominent artists Emily Jacir,
Walid Raad, Yto Barrada, Mona Hatoum, Shirin Neshat, Akram Zaatari,
Janet Cardiff, Willie Doherty, Hans Haacke, Thomas Hirschhorn, Alfredo
Jaar, Barbara Kruger, Antonio Muntadas, Paul Pfeiffer, Rirkrit
Tiravanija,, to name a few.
The full petition and list of current signatories is attached to this
press release. Additional material can be found at:
http://gulflabor.wordpress.com/.
For more information, contact:
In Sharjah, Walid Raad, Artist, +971508087430 or gulflabor@gmail.com,
In Sharjah, Emily Jacir, Artist,  +971656377770 or
gulflabor@gmail.comHYPERLINK "mailto:gulflabor@gmail.com",
In New York,  Ayreen Anastas, Artist, +1 718 388-5437 or
jobeuys@gmail.comHYPERLINK "mailto:jobeuys@gmail.com",
In New York, Rene Gabri, Artist,  +1 212 480-2099
renegabri@gmail.comHYPERLINK "mailto:renegabri@gmail.com",
In New York, Andrew Ross, Writer, +1 917-596-645 or andrew.ross@nyu.edu,

Call for Papers: Politics of the Panoramic: Spectacle, Surveillance, Resistance

Radical Art Caucus Sponsored Session at the College Art Association Conference, Feb. 22-25, 2012 Los Angeles, CA.

Alan Wallach, The College of William and Mary, axwall@wm.edu

The simultaneous invention in the early 1790s of the panopticon, a type of prison, and the panorama, a form of mass entertainment, marks the beginning of a new epoch in the history of visual domination.  Today, the panoramic and the panoptic so thoroughly pervade our culture that identification with the ³eye of power,² as Foucault termed it, has become habitual, reflexive, unconscious, seemingly innocent.  Yet with the increasing proliferation of technologies of surveillance (e.g., CCTV), we find ourselves caught between the positions of viewer and viewed, of subject and object. If the panoramic inspires identification with regimes of surveillance, being the object of surveillance suggests a different response. The former implies a politics of complacency, the latter, a politics of resistance.  This panel welcomes studies of artists and artworks both high and popular as well as investigations of applications of, and responses to, technologies of panoramic vision, representation, and surveillance.

To propose a paper, complete the application as described in the Call for Participation on the College Art Association website: http://www.collegeart.org/pdf/2012CallforParticipation.pdf

Receipt deadline: May 2, 2011

Call for Papers: Administrative Abuses and Faculty Resistance in the Fine Arts: Case Studies in Academic Labor

College Art Association Annual Conference Feb. 22-25, 2012 Los Angeles, CA  In this panel discussants will consider the ways that fine artists and art historians, working in higher education, are laborers. Such a panel is timely because, as has been frequently noted in the academic press, colleges and universities are relying evermore on adjunct, temporary, and graduate student positions to fulfill teaching needs. Presenters will address questions such as: Is the recognition of creative expression as equivalent to academic research and scholarship being eroded by administrators? Are administrators increasingly less inclined to regard visual artists and art historians as essential contributors in a liberal arts curriculum? Are administrators increasingly more prone to consider the visual arts and its practitioners as expendable extras? Are there indications that the arts are regarded as less rigorous than text-based areas of inquiry and therefore little more than campus decoration and academic dilettantism? Is the current economic climate encouraging administrators to increasingly disempower artists and art historians? Simultaneously, are studio artists feeling increasing pressure to commercialize their work at the behest of administrative agendas? And are art historians feeling increasing pressure to produce apologetics for the aesthetic dictates of donors? Anecdotal reports indicate that the answers to these questions are yes.  Instances can be cited of recent abuses of visual arts professionals in higher education. For example, faculty with titles other than Professor, such as Artist in Residence, have found their roles usurped by administrative agendas. Studio artists have found themselves to design course curricula that meet publicity needs of their institutions at the expense of intellectual rigor. Arts academies have violated their charters by relying too heavily on adjunct labor. Graduate students and untenured professors have faced threats after making attempts to unionize. As responsible professionals in the visual arts we must therefore respond thoughtfully and strategically.  In the face of the present vulnerability of arts professionals, what strategies of resistance can be employed? For this session we invite proposals for presentations that not only identify problems in higher education today but that also specifically explore possibilities for change. This session is not about abandoning hope and becoming isolated from our communities. Instead, we seek to enable artists and art historians to work towards a more equitable, positive, and productive environment for the visual arts. Each paper should address a specific case study to illuminate a broader progressive strategy.  Please submit a CV and abstract of proposed session (150 words) to Kaylee Spencer  kaylee.spencer@uwrf.edu  Deadline: April 15, 2011

Kaylee Spencer  Assistant Professor of Art History  University of Wisconsin-River Falls Email: kaylee.spencer@uwrf.edu