Twenty years after the institution of the Decency Clause, a controversial funding requirement introduced by the National Endowment of the Arts in 1990, the National Coalition Against Censorship and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School collaborate on two panel discussions evaluating the stifling legacy of the Decency Clause and its impact on our culture.

Panel Discussion I
Survival vs. Autonomy: Public Funding of the Arts, Free Speech and Self Censorship

This panel examines how the introduction of the decency clause may have contributed to a growing distinction between conservative and avant-garde institutions. Rather than adhere to “common standards of decency,” a number of alternative organizations have sprung up that simply forfeit the potential of NEA funding. Have organizations modified their programming due to the decency clause? What alternative funding sources and strategies have they had to employ? How does the emergence of the commercial market relate to the issue of decency? The panelists come from both sides: founders of new alternative spaces that seek autonomy from government funding, and contemporary art projects that have been supported by the NEA.

Posted on June 28, 2010

How to design democracy? This program features political scientists Steven J. Brams (New York University) and Christian List (London School of Economics) in a conversation with designer and artist Colleen Macklin (Parsons The New School for Design) on the design of democratic decision-making procedures that are broadly associated with Rational Choice Theory and reflective of game theory. Titled after List’s research – who coined the term – “The Democratic Trilemma” probes the quandary stemming from three basic requirements for the successful design of a democratic, collective decision-making process: value pluralism, majoritarianism, and rationality. A trilemma ensues, as these three requirements are mutually inconsistent although, separately, any pair is perfectly consistent. Depending on which one we reject or violate, we end up with a very different conception of democracy. List is joined in this cross-disciplinary conversation by Steven J. Brams and Colleen Macklin. Brams presents his research on the relevance of Rational Choice Theory (RCT) to real-life situations, drawing in particular from his recent book, Mathematics and Democracy: Designing Better Voting and Fair-Division Procedures. Voters today often desert a preferred candidate for a more viable second choice in order to avoid wasting their vote. A leading authority in the use of mathematics to design decision-making processes, Brams discusses how social-choice and game theory could enable voters and participants to better express themselves, thereby making political and social institutions more democratic. Macklin presents Budgetball, a newly developed sport designed to increase awareness of the national debt and reward strategic thinking and collaborative problem-solving around the issues of fiscal responsibility. Ultimately, the focus of the program is on how theory can contribute to society and, in particular, how abstract results such as those identified as the “Democratic Trilemma” may guide us to view our discourses about democratic decision-making in a new light. The program echoes the VLC’s previous cycle on democracy as an eternally deferred state. * Presented on occasion of the Vera List Center’s 2009/2010 program theme Speculating on Change, and initiated and organized by Begum Yasar, a graduate student at Columbia University and Vera List Center Program Intern.

Posted on April 5, 2010

This panel discussion examines the viability of the conventionally printed and published book —monographic, serial, facsimile, high-value, low-budget, no-budget, and otherwise—as a means of artistic production in view of digital media. At a time of mass convergence, when much of the social experience is structured by virtual, electronic means, how might the physical and material residue of small-scale publications distinguish themselves from a space apart for resistance and subjectivity? Moderated by Gil Blank, the panel includes artists Roe Ethridge and Collier Schorr, alongside with James Hoff and Miriam Katzeff of Primary Information.

The Aperture Foundation, publisher of Aperture magazine, is a not-for-profit institution dedicated to the support and advancement of photography as a fine art. In collaboration with the Photography Program in the School of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons Confounding Expectations XI is generously supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Henry Nias Foundation, the ASMP Fund, and the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation. The lecture series has been hosted by The New School since 2001.

Posted on March 29, 2010

Thirty years on from Rosalind Krauss’ seminal text Sculpture in the Expanded Field, a panel of artists and critics reconsiders the concept of the “expanded field” in light of contemporary art production. Co-sponsored by SculptureCenter and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, the discussion reflects upon how performative, discursive, and design models developed since the essay’s publication may have shifted the formal, political, and semiological parameters of sculpture today.

Posted on March 11, 2010

Held in conjunction with The Bronx Museum of the Arts’ exhibitions “Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968″ and “After 1968: Contemporary Artists and the Civil Rights Legacy,” the Vera List Center and the Bronx Museum present a panel discussion with photographer Julian Cox, curator of African American culture and of the exhibition “Road to Freedom”; Doris Derby, a Bronx-born, Atlanta-based photographer of the movement whose work is included in this exhibition; photographer Eric Etheridge; artist LeRoy Henderson; curator and gallery owner Steven Kasher, and artist Nadine Robinson. Moderated by Deborah Willis, Chair and Professor of the Photography and Imaging Department at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

During the span of twelve years, a series of events, later hailed as the Civil Rights Movement, forever changed the social and political course of America. From March 28 to July 11, 2010, The Bronx Museum of the Arts will present two sweeping exhibitions that chronicle both these pivotal moments in the nation’s history and their legacy surveyed through the works of young African-American artists. The first, “Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968,” features 150 vintage photographs, images that not only exposed rampant acts of discrimination in America’s past, but also revealed shinning glimpses of equality and unity amongst its citizens. The second, smaller exhibition, “After 1968: Contemporary Artists and the Civil Rights Legacy,” includes works by seven African-American emerging artists and collectives – all born in or after 1968 – who have created new work examining the heritage of the Civil Rights Movement and its affect on the lives of this new generation. Both exhibitions were organized by The High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

Posted on December 17, 2009

This panel will explore the multiple ways in which contemporary artists have utilized projection and installation strategies to display still photographic images, creating immersive and cinema-like experiences in museum and gallery environments. Departing from the large-scale, tableau treatments of the photographic image printed and framed as wall-based objects, exemplified in works by Jeff Wall, Andreas Gursky, and Gregory Crewdson, in recent years contemporary artists have increasingly employed projection devices––ranging from analogue to digital high-definition––to display photographic images as immaterial light projections, often incorporating temporal and audio-visual elements that evoke experiences recalling cinematic contexts and yet retain distinctly photographic qualities. The Aperture Foundation, publisher of Aperture magazine, is a not-for-profit institution dedicated to the support and advancement of photography as a fine art. The lecture series has been hosted by The New School since 2001. It is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Presented by the Aperture Foundation in association with the Department of Photography at Parsons The New School for Design and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, with generous support from the Ketterling Family Foundation and the Henry Nias Foundation.

Posted on September 20, 2009

The economic crisis has raised fundamental questions about how income is generated and what constitutes work that is both dignified and secure. Is there such a thing as a “postindustrial economy” and what does that mean for working Americans? Can we prosper without a vital manufacturing base? Is the global free market a fatally compromised myth, and if so, what is the alternative? Bookforum, in conjunction with the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, presents a discussion to question how work has changed, how it will be defined in the coming years, and how it can be fairly rewarded in an era of changing standards.

After years of business deregulation, American workers have little or no representation. The government serves business at the highest levels, covering debt and protecting shareholders while the labor unions vanish, disparaged as anachronistic in the new corporate culture, leaving American workers without security or benefits. As Americans come to resemble their counterparts in those countries where we’ve exported so many jobs, must the workers of the world unite? Or are they doomed to compete?

How will the government’s efforts to renew the American economy translate into jobs, and will those jobs be secure? What standards will apply for people seeking “green” employment and who are the employers? And can America hope to reinvent its economy without an overhaul of its educational system, particularly in math and science? Assuming the answer is no, what will sustain us in the meantime?

American culture remains one of our greatest exports. New York and Los Angeles depend on it. But can we live solely on art and music, fashion and film? Is that possible without the support of a wealthy and confident public? Without Wall Street’s excess, can New York continue to employ its many thousands of people working in the arts?

Presented as part of the Vera List Center’s 2009/2010 program cycle “Speculating on Change.”

Posted on September 20, 2009

Drawing from critical perspectives on labor, social media, political theory, this panel discussion addresses the nature of the work of Internet users and networked workers, focusing on the relationship between invisible labor, play, exploitation, pleasure, and the production of value. What constitutes work in the digital era? What are some alternatives to the seamless corporate expropriation of value from millions of net users? Is it possible to acknowledge the moments of ruthless exploitation while not eradicating optimism, inspiration, and the many instances of individual financial and political empowerment?

As annotations to the panel, several web-based projects by artists including Burak Arikan, Jeff Crouse, Ursula Endlicher, Scott Kildall, Aaron Koblin, Stephanie Rothenberg and Victoria Scott will be installed in the same lecture hall from 5:30 p.m. onwards through the evening.

This event is presented as a prelude to “The Internet as Playground and Factory,” a conference organized by Eugene Lang faculty member Trebor Scholz that will take place at Eugene Lang College (The New School), from November 12 to 14, 2009 (www.digitallabor.org). The conference will address the massive transformations in economy, labor, and life related to digital media and confront the urgent need to interrogate what constitutes labor and value in the digital economy.

Presented on occasion of the Vera List Center’s 2009/2010 program theme “Speculating on Change.”

Posted on September 20, 2009

The Aperture Foundation, the Photography Department at Parsons The New School for Design, and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics present a new season of panel discussions focusing on photography. This event celebrates the launch of the innovative Los Angeles County Museum of Art book project Words Without Pictures, which documents roughly one year of conversations about the most pressing issues shaping contemporary photography.  Please join us for a panel discussion about Words Without Pictures and the contemporary landscape of artist books and photo publishing.

This lecture series is presented with generous support from the Kettering Family Foundation and the Henry Nias Foundation. The program is made possible in part by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Posted on September 20, 2009

Presented in conjunction with an exhibition of recent video art from the Middle East on view at the Art in General gallery, this discussion considers the contributions of video art to political developments in the region. Speakers include Galit Eilat, writer, curator and founding director of the Israeli Center for Digital Art, Holon and Reem Fadda, a Ramallah-based curator, art historian and former director of the Palestinian Association for Contemporary Art (PACA).

Eilat and Fadda consider the role of art as a tool for civil disobedience and passive resistance that affects its surroundings, wielded by individuals during times of social or political distress. Within this context they discuss Liminal Spaces, a long-term project examining the possibility of joint action in light of the ever-growing existential hardship of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Video works that were produced during this project will be on view at Art in General as part of the Mobile Archive, a cross-national library of video art.

The Israeli Center for Digital Art was founded to promote, distribute, and exhibit video, media-, and Internet-based art in Israel. An exhibition space with a library open to the public, the video archive contains hundreds of works, including pieces by Israeli artists who have exhibited at the center and others who have contributed to the archive over time.

For the last two years, the Mobile Archive has traveled to art institutions in Europe and the Middle East, acquiring new works in each location. The exhibition at Art in General will be the Mobile Archive’s first stop in the United States.

Presented in collaboration with Art in General and the Israeli Center for Digital Art, Holon.

Posted on September 20, 2009