artist & website: William Lamson - http://www.williamlamson.com

artist & website: Bill Viola - http://www.oceanwithoutashore.com/

The San Francisco Art Institute halted the controversial solo exhibit of Adel Abdessemed last Saturday due to concerns of violence from outraged citizens and animal rights activists.

“…the show included a series of video loops of animals being bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer in front of a brick wall. The animals killed included a pig, goat, deer, ox, horse and sheep” - link

I have yet to find one of the videos but I have seen many graphic stills of the videos and that was enough. If you feel you need to see some of these - Adel AbDessemed Don’t Trust Me video stills. The controversial exhibit, Don’t Trust Me, has sparked conversation around the world. The concern that many have is that the artist crossed a moral line that should not have been crossed. The artists draws attention to the disconnect that many people have about the process of getting their meat to the table, a valid concern that should be addressed. My problem however, is that this could still be done effectively without actually killing these animals.

So, what do you think?

Update: 3/4/2008

@rodeo - it is unclear what Adel’s level of participation in this was in the killings. He leaves the viewer confused as to what they are watching. This provoked animal rights activists to want the show closed. Adel also fails to relay his message to the viewer, if there is one. If this is an activist exhibit, he needs to be clear with his message. Video footage of matters like these is a powerful tool for change if used effectively. The Discerning Brute says it well,

“documenting animal cruelty is one of the most powerful tools animal advocates have. Look at the Hallmark beef recall case. It’s not that animal advocates can’t handle seeing these images - quite the contrary - it’s because of these images many of us have become animal advocates in the first place.”

Adel purposefully leaves the message ambiguous and fails to separate himself from the atrocity, but why?  Is he psychotic, looking for attention at the expense of these animals, or something else?

30′ x 10′ Video Installation @ The Oakland International Airport - “Along the Way is a 20-minute video mosaic that includes over 1,500 videos taken by the artists featuring the people and places of Oakland, California and the surrounding Bay Area.”

artist & website: Cause Collective - http://www.causecollective.com/

This piece blurs the line between technology and art and allows the viewer to be part of the art work.  The viewer can use various gestures to create negative space which the processor then converts to a form that drops onto the canvas or stage.  The video above shows people interacting with the piece at the bitforms gallery in New York.  Here is another video of Golan Levin’s Interstitial Fragment Processor.

artist & website:  Golan Levin - http://www.flong.com