Black-And-Blue Danube - political activity of artists in Austria

GEORG SCHOLLHAMMER ON THE AUSTRIAN BOYCOTT DEBATE

THE VIENNA SECESSION has put its distinctive facade--one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the city--at the disposal of artists like Franz West and Renee Green for work critical of the new Austrian government, a coalition formed by the conservative People's Party (known by its German initials OVP)--the hitherto dominant Social Democrats' longtime partner in the Austrian government--and the openly racist, far-right Freedom Party (FPO). Encouraged in part by the harsh international reaction to this dismaying coalition, almost every noteworthy Austrian intellectual, artist, filmmaker, writer, actor, and critic has signed one of the numerous petitions against it and personally distanced him- or herself from the new government. Artists have also played an instrumental role in the almost daily demonstrations, which reached their climax when 250,000 Austrians took to the streets of Vienna on February 19.

The right-wing-populist FPO had been growing in strength for years under the guidance of Jorg Haider, but it was the international media that transformed this provincial politician into a notorious superstar. The not wholly unexpected assumption of power by Haider and his fellow radical anti-politicians has forced the politicization of the artistic community. In Austria's art scene, strategies for resistance against the inclusion of the FPO in the government have dominated recent discussion: A number of forums have addressed such issues as the tenability of artists' accepting government grants, the need for some kind of moral codex to prevent the state's misuse of artistic production, and methods for clearly dissociating oneself from the government. Institutions such as Vienna's Generali Foundation, the Kunsthalle Wien (whose director, Gerald Matt, has been an outspoken voice in the media), art schools, the Kunstlerhaus, the Secession, and even the state's Museum for Moderner Kunst have participated in these dialogues. Many prominent Austrian artists reacted immediately to the inauguration of the new government. Raimund Abraham, for example, architect of the Austrian Cultural Institute in Manhattan, has applied for American citizenship. Media artist Valie Export refused to allow the country's most highly endowed art award, the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, to be bestowed on her by a member of the government, as is customary. The prominent writer Elfriede Jelinek imposed a ban on the staging of her plays in Austria. Salzburg gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac moved his headquarters to his Paris branch.

One hotly debated topic is the boycott threatened by Austrian cultural producers living outside the country and foreign artists refusing to work in Austria. In contrast to the visceral response of activists within the artistic community, many Austrian celebrities and institutions--their declarations of antiracism and cosmopolitanism notwithstanding-- seem to be primarily concerned about a return to the Waldheim years and the intensified isolation and damage to personal careers that such a regression would entail.

The boycott debate was triggered by an emotional and dangerously undifferentiated call to action by Austrian curator Robert Fleck, who resides in France. Portraying Austria as a "Nazi country" and thereby radically oversimplifying the situation, he demanded to break off all non-personal relations to Austrian artists and institutions. Other calls for boycott have been voiced by film director Constantin CostaGavras; the head of the Franco-German cultural TV channel Arte, Jerome Clemen; and the European Parliament of Writers.

The consensus reached after intense international debate on the Internet as well as in the print media seems to be that a boycott would only strengthen the position of the right by driving out critical voices from the public discourse. In particular, artists from Eastern Europe and the former Yugoslavia, pointing to their own historical experiences, called the appeal for boycott counterproductive. Certain prominent figures who had announced their departure from Austria in protest of the new government--including the artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, Gerard Mortier, and conductor Sylvain Cambreling--have now decided to continue their work in the country.

Despite the fears of celebrities and the larger institutions, a boycott would primarily affect critical artists and threaten the initiatives that have transformed Austria and its capital into one of the European centers of advanced artistic discourse. And it would hurt the artists' networks that developed during this transformation, groups that stand for antiracist, anti-sexist, and culture-critical work. These organizations, such as "gettoattack," continue to play a central role in the current protest movement.

The danger of artistic isolation is real. Austria has never had an "art world" in the sense applicable to most European and American cultural centers, where the arts are largely isolated as an autonomous social system. A significant private market for contemporary art does not exist in Austria; artists and galleries continue to sell major works primarily beyond the border.