Minneapolis Dialogue on the Wall
Photos from my two recent Israel-Palestine trips, plus a few others from slides I scanned in from 1966-67 and 1972, will be projected onto a wall as part of a month-long Minneapolis exhibit called Dialogue on the Wall. I can’t get there for the August 16th opening, but I will arrive in time for an August 23rd panel discussion, one of several planned events.
Form + Content is a new gallery designed to “nurture diverse artistic practice and thoughtful dialogue. We value art as a catalyst for critical thinking. We value integrity and the artistic process. We aspire to link personal expression to broader social contexts.”
They describe the exhibit like this:
Dialogue on the Wall, an architectural installation that incorporates multi-media and performance elements, explores the issues and competing narratives of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The centerpiece of the installation is a 10 foot high concrete-like wall built inside the gallery. Representing a portion of the controversial “Separation Wall” between Israel and the West Bank/Palestine/Occupied territories, this wall dramatically separates the gallery into two spaces which are used for display, presentation, and performance.
The installation is intended to question ideologies, challenge preconceptions, provoke thought and conversation and to demonstrate in a personal manner the nature of this intractable conflict. By hearing the voice and giving credence to the narrative and reality of the “other” there is hope for small steps toward reconciliation.
I’m pleased the gallery considers my work useful to help spark discussion. Offering new perspectives is one of my goals when I take out my camera and add to my photo galleries. Of course, it’s also a nice ego boost to see that the gallery’s publicity image includes several of my photos along with one or two by Eyal Dor-Ofer:
As for the August 23rd conversation, the details of which are not yet posted, I’m hoping for thoughtful discussion along a full spectrum of views. Dialogue can bring greater understanding, but equally important to me is that opening up public discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian issue should ultimately lead to greater skepticism about Israeli policy. As I’ve written about elsewhere, although dialogue for its own sake can be satisfying, reflection and understanding and empathy that don’t lead toward justice-based reconciliation too easily become just another stall. Perhaps we’ll talk about this in Minneapolis.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Good luck. Its certainly a good thing to create dialogue in the art world. The art market is full of rich liberal people with the power to create and spread memes. I believe that its a great place to start changing opinions.
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Sounds like a great exhibit. I would love to see it someday.
August 8th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
[…] does not mention the exhibit-connected panel discussion I’ll be part of on August 23rd. In my earlier posting I noted some concerns about dialogue’s often-limited relevance to political change. That […]