“Now you can be the protagonist of the petroleum era: explore and drill around the world, corrupt politicians, stop alternative energies and increase the oil addiction. Be sure to have fun before the resources begin to deplete.”

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to head Exxon/Mobil, Shell, BP or any other black gold giant? Playing Oiligarchy will give you a glimpse of life through their goggles. To succeed at Mollenindustria’s newest online game you need to expand business as any die hard capitalist would, save money to lobby parties at the elections, and increase the economy’s oil dependence. Oh… and do all that you can to ensure the “virus of environmentalism” doesn’t reach your paid off representatives.

Given a map of Texas, Alaska, Venezuela, Iraq, Nigeria, and D.C. and the ability to teleport yourself to each place at the click of a button, you are free to demolish structures, explore land and drill baby drill.  However, remember to keep an eye on the company bank account, price per barrel, % of addiction, GDP, and historic events to maneuver through the game and maintain healthy profits, or shareholders will most definitely fire you. You must also be receptive to updates on the green revolution and info on local uprisings to avoid potential human empowered obstacles.

The game starts after WWII. If you are able to keep profit at the forefront of your mind and maintain total disregard for human/civil rights and the environment, you will most likely get much further than me. It seems like I’m not cut out to be an oiligarch. I was fired after a mere 5 minutes of playing (years 1946-61) for refusing to participate in politics and not paying attention to supply and demand.

Thanks to neural.it for the scoop on Oiligarchy. To play this and additional games challenging dogma, capitalism, and other aspects of our society, visit Molleindustria’s site. If you happen to be in Barcelona before January 24th, you can view their work in the Crisis. Against Appearances show at ángels barcelona.

(written for and originally published on artthreat.net)

Banksy, the prolific, British, graffiti-artist-prankster declares, “New Yorkers don’t care about art, they care about pets. So I’m exhibiting them instead.” Last week this master of satire opened The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City to display peculiar breeds and brands of creatures in humorous, yet disturbing, scenarios. The precise animatronics of these mutants are extending the gazes of onlookers and raising more than an eyebrow or two.

The show is visible to the public both day and night through the store front windows. You can see McNuggets dipping themselves in (or sipping) barbecue sauce, a rabbit putting on makeup, baby cctv cameras staring lovingly at a larger “mother” camera, and a wildcat (convincingly folded leopard print coat) sleeping and curling it’s tail. Inside, a monkey obsessively watches itself on National Geographic TV, a haggard Tweety Bird sadly swings in its cage, breaded fish sticks swim around in their bowls, a bologna sausage wiggles in the sand, and hot dogs bask under heat lamps or fornicate in tanks fitted with French’s mustard feeding bottles.

As this is the first work he’s made of this nature, Banksy explains, “I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming, but it ended up as chicken nuggets singing. I took all the money I made exploiting an animal in my last show and used it to fund a new show about the exploitation of animals. If it’s art and you can see it from the street, I guess it could still be considered street art.”

The quiet opening that was a wonder to random passersby has since drawn fans from all over the city. To see it for yourself, visit 89 Seventh Ave. South in NYC by Halloween or check out videos here.

(written for and originally published on artthreat.net)

Pangea Day was a global event of short films, music and speakers ounded by Jehane Noujaime, TED Prize winner and director of the award winning film Control Room. It was broadcast live in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro. It was also shown at grassroots screenings in cities, communities, and private homes around the world and was streamed live on the internet. Most people don't know other cultures or societies and some don't even know their neighbors. Noujaime states, "By sharing stories, we've started the process of turning strangers into friends." She believes that if people from all around the globe start trying to understand each other, then we can move a few steps closer to world peace. Since many aren't willing and others aren't able to travel, Noujaime concludes that we can use film to share stories and overcome the obstacle of distance.

The first part of the program seemed a bit light, like it was oversimplifying major social and political issues. It focused on broad themes such as love, hope, anger, dreams. However, as the program continued, the content became increasingly powerful. It seems as if the organizers purposefully chose to use apolitical/palatable material to captivate many different types of people and prepare them for the climax: the critical perspectives of the conflicts in Iraq and Israel/Palestine. After short films and music by Rokia Traore and Gilberto Gil, came Ali Abu Awwad and Robi Damelin of Parents' Circle Families Forum. Both are bereived family members who spoke about the reality of the Israeli occupation and its consequences.

Damelin's son was shot by a Palestinian freedom fighter when he was serving in the Occupied Territories. During Pangea Day, she asked for all people to "look for a way through mutual understanding and empathy to live a life free of violence." Awwad is a Palestinian refugee who lost his brother and was wounded by a settler. He boldly stated that, "occupying a nation by building walls and barriers will not secure another nation. Maybe this will bring a psychological solution, but it will not bring a human being solution – that people can live together or side by side." He also sent a message out to all Jewish people stating, "you are not my enemy; your fear is my enemy. I am attacking today your fear, so please don't throw your problems to the sea because those problems learn how to swim. You cannot ignore the whole reality by taking a side or being right. I remember that Gandhi once said that there is no way for peace, peace is the way. You first do peace without any condition."

Next was a short film made by Noujaime about Combatants for Peace (ex-IDF soldiers and ex Palestinian militants working together to end the region's cycle of violence). It told the stories of Yonatan Shapira and Bassam Aramin, two founders of the organization, and how they came together to work against the Israeli occupation. They appeared live from the London stage. Shapira, an Israeli Air Force pilot who refused to fly missions in occupied territories, mentioned that coincidentally on this same day his mother and brother were shot by Israeli soldiers while participating in a peaceful protest in Shufa, West Bank to remove a roadblock obstructing the Palestinian villagers' freedom of movement, and, thus, the peace movement had a long way to go. The fact that these four voices from the region were heard internationally without interruption was an incredible achievement in itself.

Despite the lack of publicity for an event of this scale, the fact that several of the MCs seemed uber mainstream and uninformed about world events, and the abysmal post event news coverage, it was a total success for the first run. The intentions are for Pangea Day to recur every 2 years. With Noujaime's vision and the mass of people who have mobilized behind it, the 2010 event should have even more of a worldwide impact and resonance. Visit the event's website to find out more or view selected films and highlights.

(written for and originally published on artthreat.net)

Walking into Bare Life in Jerusalem's Museum on the Seam, one is immediately absorbed by the exhibit's thick layers of context and irony. The building, which once functioned as Israel's military outpost on the seam between Israel and Jordan when the city was divided (1948-67), is now a venue for contemporary socio-political art. Among the human rights-themed artworks are windows backed by sliding steel doors originally used for armed lookouts.

Bare Life provides the space to reflect on the tension in this ideologically and religiously divided city, and the normalization of its militarization. Thoughts of Apartheid might enter viewers' minds when they approach the exhibit's first installation: the South African artist Kendell Geers's Time of the Harvest constructed with shelves filled with Belgian police riot helmets. From the surveillance works of Sophie Calle to psychologically disturbing photos by Paul McCarthy and absurdist films of Samual Beckett, the museum's curator has woven together the works of 42 diverse international artists. The selected pieces incite the viewer to examine infringements on civil liberties and human rights, the cultural effects of such violations, and the eventual threat of violence and paranoia becoming status quo.

While there I saw Orthodox Jews and Muslim women in hijab meditating on the same works and was inspired to linger even longer to absorb the whole of the experience. The show is open until June. If you miss it, their next exhibit, Heartquake, looks like it will provide an equally intense critique of global and local conflict. To deepen the context of Bare Life, visit the nearby Israeli Occupation Wall dividing the Holy Land or the Western Wall, where you'll often witness soldiers slinging guns on their backs before they begin to pray.

(written for and originally posted on artthreat.net)

Mark your calendars and organize a screening in your community. Let this Winter Soldier gathering March 13-16 in Washington D.C. be the most observed and talked about event this year.

The four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan – and present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.

The first Winter Soldier investigation was held in Detroit in 1971 marking the first time Vietnam vets gathered to inform the public of the atrocities and war crimes they witnessed or were ordered to commit. The event was well attended by mainstream media, but they chose to almost completely ignore it. The documentary film Winter Soldier was first released in 1972 but was only screened at two venues. It took over 30 years for the film to resurface and make it's way around independent cinemas in the U.S.

With participatory media on the rise, the testimonies given at this gathering should not suffer the same prescribed censorship. Though the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are headed into their fifth year, a full-scale national mobilization and cultural upheaval seems unlikely, especially since soldiers today haven't been drafted. However, one has to maintain hope that gatherings such as this will fuel the public's fire to hold politicians and generals accountable for destroying countries, cultures, and lives.

For those interested in watching or organizing around the proceedings at Winter Soldier, there will be a number of ways to watch and listen to the event.

• Live television broadcast via satellite TV, accessible through Dish Network as well as public access stations that choose to carry our broadcast – Friday and Saturday only
• Live video stream on the web – Thursday through Sunday
• Live radio broadcast via KPFA in Berkley California and other Pacifica member stations – Friday through Sunday
• Live audio stream via KPFA's website – Friday through Sunday

Though the event is closed (invitations are only for testifiers, members, their families, and some media outlets), independent journalists and bloggers can apply to cover the event by filling out this media registration form.

(written for and originally published on artthreat.net)

The Grassi Museum in Leipzig is hosting the International Sticker Awards through February 17. This exhibition shows some of the latest political, ironic, abstract, and artistic social commentaries directly stuck on parts of the urban environment.

According to Matthias Mueller, Matthias Marx and Andreas Ullrich, three young artists who supervised the show, “Stickers transform the road into a democratic adventure playground.” They are a cheap and simple medium with which one can interact, react, interfere, resignify, and contribute to public space. Due to stickers' ephemeral nature, The Sticker Awards were created as an annual competition to promote and document the development of this art form. For more info, visit the Grassi Museums website (German only), or check out rebelart.net for photos and insight to other political art happenings in Germany and beyond.

(written for and originally posted to artthreat.net)

The Pinky Show has given me continuous food for thought since I first stumbled upon the episode The Iraq War: Legal or Illegal? a few months ago. These online video, radio and interview programs focus on a wide range of topics, most of which are marginalized, distorted or excluded from mainstream media and dialogue. During these lo-tech, hand-drawn shows, a cat named Pinky asks obvious questions that are rarely raised or answered by popular news outlets. She and her inquisitive cat friends then scour the earth in search of documents and experts to clarify misrepresented or ignored issues

In the new episode Kicking the Apartheid Habit, Pinky ponders segregation and inequalities. This keen cat concludes that refusing to benefit from unjust institutions is a powerful way to get equal rights for all. She then poses a simple question that would be unthinkable to most:

Hey, what about marriage? Because that's also something that doesn't allow everyone to participate equally, right? Like gay people. They're not allowed to participate. In fact there's a whole bunch of states that have laws that ban homosexual people from ever being able to have that kind of equality. That's not fair.

So yeah, I'm kind of wondering – how is it that otherwise ethical people, who would never even think of doing the other stuff – how come they just get married without even thinking twice about it?

Isn't that weird? Why is that?

With a simple aesthetic and a childlike voice, Pinky incites viewers to reflect on their actions and critically engage those from a different perspective with compassion and openness. The deadpan humor, amateur narration and animation, and astute social critique keeps many intrigued animals coming back for more. To view their programs, fan mail, hate mail, daily musings, and more, visit their blog or tune into their youtube channel.

You won't find a gentler cat to pick your brain.

(written for and originally posted to artthreat.net)

Artist, author and experimental geographer Trevor Paglen has created the ingenious project Terminal Air to spy on the spies. Developed in collaboration with the Institute for Applied Autonomy, the web-based work facilitates public visualization of flights known or suspected to be involved in the CIA's extraordinary rendition program.

Eluding national and international law, this governmental scheme involves kidnapping and relocating suspected terrorists to undocumented “dark prisons” where they can be held, interrogated, and tortured indefinitely. Under the guise of national security, US agents use these covert tactics to sidestep habeas corpus and basic human rights.

Terminal Air's flight-tracking software and database monitor specific CIA aircraft flights from 2001 to the present. Their daily routes are displayed in near real-time. Paglen and IAA have designed the flight viewer so that one can easily trace these extraordinary rendition routes around the globe.

To expedite this enterprise, the CIA regularly uses leased equipment and private contractors that often go through civilian airports; thus, their movements are subject to public record. If you're looking for details, down to the history of each plane's use for abductions, the project's data browser is the library for you.

Though the pages take a little time to load, exploring them is worth the wait. Visit IAA's webpage to discover their other tactical media projects, or check out Paglen's site to view his radical artwork and writings.

(written for and originally published on artthreat.net)

Adel Abidin, an artist who left Baghdad for Helsinki in 2000, has created Abidin Travels, a satirical travel agency to promote vacation trips to his hometown. This artwork functions as both a website that locates flights and an installation. You can enter the mock agency to find brochures and advertisements absurdly combining horrific images of today's Iraq with typical commercial sales slogans.

Book a flight and get details on hotels, rental cars and tours of Baghdad through Abidin Travels. Keep in mind you will probably only need a one-way ticket, as you may not be returning. Your tour will be full of surprises, maybe an explosion here or there, but “all the beautiful places that you might have read about have either been destroyed or looted. There really are no sights left.” This information and other harrowing vacationing tips can be found at abidintravels.com.

Abidin Travels is on view in the Nordic Pavilion of the Venice Biennale through November 21. This and other works covering themes such as: fundamentalism, identity, nationalism, religion, totalitarianism, and common stereotypes can be viewed on the artist's website. While some pieces maintain equal levels of humor and irony, others, like Construction Site and Common Vocabularies, are quite heartbreaking; all Abidin's works are worth exploring.

(written for and originally published on artthreat.net)