I entered the UAE pavilion pushed by a big curiosity. "It’s not you it’s me" seemed to be very promising. I was expecting to see the Arabic cultural resistance to western corporatist imperialism, the courage of some people that have the nerve to show to the whole world their cultural autonomy in front of consumerism ultimate expansion. "It s not you it’s me" seemed to be a fair defense to this neocolonialism. To express the refusal the technology and civilization with their language as the biennale itself sounded very interesting thing.
But after several steps inside the pavilion I was surprised to see a mock-up of some building that are going to be build up and become the base of future cultural institutions. The buildings seemed as fancy as the ones that were raised up before in this country as everybody knows. But the biggest disappointment was a kind of press conference pretending to be performance art made by so-called local artists, man and woman, who actually looked like Hollywood stars with Arabic specific. They were really beautiful individuals. I could admire the Arabic shape of Angelina Jolie , beautiful. So far so good. There was only a problem; this press conference was pretending to be performance art.
So after Performance Art/Happening was and still is questioned today by birocratoid mentalities as being actually art now they are in the situation of being corrupted into the opposite pole by the power of money. These mentalities are about to call art all the authorities’ actions in the shape of some statements made by some consecrated artists but mechanical understood and applied. Beuys might have been said that everybody is an artist (from what one can say that everything is art) but if I see in the gallery the same things from the news and commercials than I do the same thing that I do with the TV. I turn it off. I am not saying that the political speech made by politicians or in the commercials and Hollywood movies (which is basically the same thing) could not become art in the frame of enlarging its limits in the last century. Let’s just say that it is just me that I am tired of such kind of art as the impressionism had got tired of academism at the end of 19 century, ok?
On the other hand, such a new possible pushing further of limits of art I really really doubt that could be done just by UAE as long as not only the controversy of acceptance Performance Art as art is not favorable to the spirit of biennale but there are not existing even the specific cultural institution that make this controversy possible and there are not artists. I know some guys that were very prout of themselves for stepping over capitalism from feudalism to socialism as Superman when they were prisoners of medieval mentality.
I am not going to buy the story of such a subtle possible irony that audience did not observed. That press conference took on the serious reason path dealing with the anthropologic and philosophic side of audience and forgetting the artistic one. It is just that the reasons and debay are the clothes only for contemporary spirit and not its content. I think that the farthermost away point from this spirit was the expression "His Highness" about their political leader. If one use "His Highness" formula referring to a politician one should also release a wind or something as ironic homage. Otherwise there is no contemporary art but classical one. One doesn’t need Venice Biennale but pyramids, palaces, castles, military parades etc. No matter how many galaxies have UAE hotels or how many fancy cars and how big money the mentality is not western yet.
I found really funny a kind of politician (liar) answer "we are concerning of improving…" . O really? I imagine some feminists dressed with Arabic veil… If I would participate to such "performance" then I would rise a question like „How stupid do you think we are?" or I simply walked away raving to the next pavilion. Contemporary art is facile. But playing is also facile for a child but very hard for somebody who has lost his/her childhood.
Psychological analyzed "It’s not you it’s me" proved itself to be no fair rejection of western culture as I expected but a strange and ambivalent way of apologizing for not enough aligning to it but for commercial reasons. "It’s not you it’s me" from the speech of the two seemed to me to be a valet blank and impersonal bow towards the wealthy tourist in front of a fancy hotel. We open a pavilion at Venice Biennale, we create local stars and behave trendy for you to become our tourists and get us richer. We have no big reputation, we came from periphery but we are ready to catch up, look we have western beautiful suits and limousines, can we get in? Haven’t we learned so well to make business?
"It’s not you it’s me" shows a kind of provincial hesitation inside the big city, a behavior that wants no trouble. This expression reveals an inferiority complex about the western media propaganda culture concerning its own lack of specific contemporary social cultural frame. But beyond this there comes out smoothly a very strange, unexpected, rigid and paradoxical superiority. This expression is used by somebody that takes over itself the fault of a relationship failure but doesn’t want bad feelings from the other one. But it is usually used when the other one is angry, suffer and ask for explanations because of this breaking apart. So it is easy to see how the situation of the third one oedipal rejected is projected into western culture. So "It’s not you it’s me" seems to unconsciously become a sort of comfort for "letting down", for "leaving" the western contemporary culture. This is a kind of ambivalent hand given by the one who has chosen a better opportunity. And look how on the other hand there comes up some kind of provincial pride with a classic-colonialist shape that almost express its scorn for the western contemporary "degenerated art".
This reply changes looks absolutely fabulous to me: the reporter: "So we agree to disagree": the diva: "No, we agree to recommit in 2011". Oh my god! Have you seen how she had got the last word just like a goddess who just gives birth to some kind of new world? Have you seen how she saw the common points between the two cultures and not the differences only like western pragmatic and warrior people? I almost forgot that this conference was imagined and directed by her and her team from the first place. This reply looks very much like: 1. "Stop contradicting everything I say"; 2. "I don’t contradict what you say at all". How you seen how the "press conference" ended with a revelation? How you seen how the inferiority complex turned up into superiority one? I already feel guilty not just for rejecting UAE pavilion but for not worshiping such a metaphysical consolation.
The feeling that I had in UAE pavilion was that of lack of communication and, of course, of being deceived. I felt both soft soaped and treated with the arrogance of a traditional complex of superiority putted in the wrong place, in an untraditional space.
UAE is probably the most western Arabic country. I don’t know if such a social experiment would lead to a happy end or to something authentic. But in this particular moment UAE find theirselves in a strange transition to contemporary civilization like Romania itself. Old behaviors are mixed with new western emancipate ones and the result is an authentic kitsch. Personages/situations like Borat, Gigi Becali who gets out of limo and milk the ships with his own hands or celebrating the wining of Bahrain Formula 1 big prize by drinking no alcohol champagne (the alcohol is forbidden in this country) are funny and sometime terrible examples of such transition.
I am not sure if on this blog is appropriate for giving advices but I feel like doing this: so, as a western guy I don’t want you to change. But if you want me in your country you gave to accept also the fact that I might get drunk and sing on the streets on the middle of the night. You just can’t take my money only! Decide if you find yourself comfortable into my space! Coz if you are not comfortable then nobody forces you to stay and get a pavilion at Venice. It is not a shame not to have it. I really want you to stay in your culture and to admire you from the distance. If you have a problem with my life in my house why don’t you just leave? I don’t want you to stand up in front of me in the first place nor to keep proving your wisdom and your highness in philosophy afterwards. I am already tired of my own philosophy. It is true that you on your own are vulnerable against corporatist propaganda. But you have to fight for yourself to keep your authenticity. Forget about me and be just you! Don’t try to be me if you feel like! Otherwise sooner or later you would become tired and sick of my lifestyle and you will revenge on me for deceiving with corporatist false ideals!
PS
The UAE situation is not unique. All art refer itself to society in the way UAE pavilion refers to contemporary western culture. I will publish on the "concept" blog an entry meant to analyze art in general view starting from this "accident" with UAE pavilion.
