Wafaa Bilal (Response) 9/17/10

Quotation:
"Modern man has become a Trojan Horse."

This quote from Bilal's lecture expresses metaphorically the state of technology in the modern world and the implications this virtual platform has on humankind. "There is no safe place on Earth because of the internet." This quote is important to Bilal's work because he very much deals with the psychological condition of humans living, playing, being entertained, working, etc. through a portal in the World Wide Web.

3 Words:

1) Virtual Reality
2) Reality
3) Dialogue

About Bilal:

The most interesting thing I learned about Bilal I did not know before was his beginnings as an artist in Iraq before coming to the US. I did know his brother was killed, but I had no idea he was forced to come to the US as a refugee because of the work he was creating about "freedom and human rights." For referencing these seemingly core valued ideas, Bilal faced execution or a lengthy stay at a refugee camp due to the extremity of Saddam Hussein's regime. Bilal seemed so calm and nonchalant about the backlash he faces in the US, which guided my second question before the lecture. Without needing to even ask if this backlash scared or upset him, I knew what he faced in Iraq was far more threatening.

Answers to Questions:

1) My first question, below, asked what reason Bilal had for his piece Domestic Tension if not didactic. Along the same lines, how could he distance himself far enough from his past, family hardships and identity, to not be in some way didactic in his art.

--Bilal answered this question just by talking about the piece. I think, in addition to sparking a dialogue with the users of his site during the piece, Bilal felt a necessity to live the life his brother must have been living. This piece was a way for Bilal to cope with losing his brother while he was living in the comfort of "peace" in the US. He stated, "I wanted to bring the conflict zone into the comfort zone" and psychoanalyze the users on the platforms of virtual reality and reality.

2) My second question addressed the backlash Bilal received from the piece Virtual Jihadi and whether this response was a calculated aspect of the piece.

--Bilal answered this as well, through his lecture. This reaction was part of the piece because it sparked a dialogue with "people not willing to engage before." He "gets under peoples' skin," and in so doing, affects change. This piece "galvanized" whole cities around issues of free speech and the place of art in political conflict, issues which resulted physical actions in support of artists choosing to express controversial issues in their work. (Town official in Troy NY dis-appointed and facing civil trial.)

Compelling Piece:

I think the most compelling piece was a failed project about waterboarding. The clip he showed from the execution of the waterboarding completely silenced the whole auditorium. No whispered commentaries, giggles about Bilal's charming commentary, or even the sound of bodies shifting in their seats were heard during this clip. I think it was so compelling because the effects could not be forecasted or planned in advance. It was very much an experiment which resulted in a harmful experience psychologically and physically beyond the realm of prediction.

Clip from Dog or Iraqi