Hans Haacke: State of the Union

The exhibition "State of the Union" of the 69 year-old German, New York-based artist Hans Haacke opened tonight at Paula Cooper gallery. It reflects on the aftermath of September 11-- the U.S. Government’s actions, and a conflicted and divided nation. When asked why he is an artist instead of a politician he responded:

"Experience tells us that one should never leave politics to the politicians. Aside from the trouble this can get us into, such abdication would also be in conflict with generally held notions of democracy. But it would also be dangerous for art. Shutting out the social world would reduce it to a self-consuming ‘art for art’s sake’."

The installation contains photographs, several objects and an AP news printer that introduces live news feeds into gallery. At the time of my visit reports from the Paris riots pushed line by line out of the printer.

In Paris dozens of vehicles were set ablaze in a sixth night of rioting in poor Paris suburbs, protesting France's conservative government. The riots of North African and black African minorities that was sparked by youths' frustration at their failure to obtain jobs and recognition in French society now spread to other cities as well. The Interior Minister of France, Nicolas Sarkozy called the protesting youths "scum."

The images in the exhibition largely speak for themselves. The size of the objects such as the detail of the American flag in mourning are perfectly sized in relation to the gallery. The exhibition felt like a scenario, a situation that signals a departure.

Haacke's work raises all too often the same old, same old questions for skeptics. One critic wrote:

 "...when confined to a visual art context - galleries and museums - too often the target audience is already in accord with the politics so that rather then opening a dialog a ‘preaching to the converted’ condition results."

"Then too the effectiveness of spreading the message is handicapped due to a rather limited forum."

Hans Haacke is acutely aware of the fact that the predominant part of his audience consists of art professionals. I remember a conversation with him in which he told me that it is very important for him to inspire younger artists with his exhibitions. This also goes in tandem with his live-long work as an educator at Cooper Union. Consequently the audience at the opening consisted of many Cooper students and faculty. But there were also plenty of the New York York well-to-do, tourists, and friends.

The contribution that Haacke and any other artist with political intention makes is hard to measure. But regardless of the measurable impact (nobody would ask that same question of certain paintings) art work such as Haacke's contribute to a broader cultural atmosphere. The space of this highly commodified gallery becomes a temporary site of mediated political protest that may for example affect some of the unreflected anti-americanism of some tourists who equate the American people with the current adminstration in power. To many people in the audience it may indeed be a preaching to the converted but even that is still a worthier gesture than not even trying. Haacke's strategy is one of a multi-layered set of possibilities for a critical cultural practice.