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Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) is a group of tactical media practitioners exploring the intersections between art, technology, critical theory, and political activism.
Critical Art Ensemble, Evidence, 2004. Digital video still. Image courtesy of CAE.We are often asked at our speaking engagements whether we truly believe that a work of art can change the political landscape, and we are quick to respond that we do not. However, we also mention in all haste that it’s that very question that produces this negativity. While no single work of art has had tremendous significance in recent decades, cultural process and production has had a huge impact on life formation and the construction of consciousness. Unfortunately, much of this cultural activity has been authoritarian in purpose, and with neoconservatives at the helm nationally, and neoliberals in charge globally, the future looks bleak. In contradiction, however, it has been well understood since the 60s that culture is a significant front in the struggle against the general authoritarian culture emerging out of global capitalism. Cultural production (and visual production in particular) is not just an over determined phenomenon arising out of economic infrastructure, but a partially autonomous, causal element at work in the shaping of life itself. In assessing the impact that we as artists make on this process, we have to prevent ourselves from falling into the neoliberal trap of individualism. This is the case when the construction of politics and culture is limited to what one can do as an individual (i.e. choosing where one works, or what one buys, and voting every now and again) as if there are no aggregate flows within the social system. We must remember that we are historical, social subjects that all contribute to the macro constellations that pass through culture over time. When CAE thinks about what we can offer in terms of the struggle against the totalitarian tendencies of culture, we do not think of ourselves as individuals. Rather, we consider ourselves as aligned with numerous antiauthoritarian initiatives worldwide, that in aggregate form have a tremendous impact through multiple, micro revolutions throughout cultures.
Particularly since the arrest of CAE member Steve Kurtz by the FBI, a second question CAE is often asked, is: given that cultural divisions are so great that they are collectively referred to as the “culture wars,” and given that the left is doing poorly in this conflict, why don’t we leave the country? CAE’s answer here is simple—we don’t run away from authoritarians, we run at them. Of course there are consequences for speaking out and acting against ideologically corrupt governments (such as the Bush administration) and corporate agencies. Free speech and free expression are not guaranteed just because they are written on a piece of paper. They only exist if they are used, pushed, and defended. They emerge out of struggle; they are never given. Over the past two decades CAE has been attacked, threatened, or denounced by all types of disciplinary agents such as the police, the FBI, the Department of Justice, corporate lawyers, politicians, church officials, and variety of government bureaucrats. Yet, we have never committed a crime or civil offense, nor are we violent militants. They come only because we are exercising our right to free speech and expression in a self-aware manner that is counter to authoritarian causes. We live in a time when we have to put fear aside and act on our own collective interests. Everyone’s contribution matters.
