A group of 30 or so members of the community gathered at the U of T Art Centre on a chilly October evening to attend “Cultures of Power and the Power of Culture: An Artist Talk with Reena Katz.” The location alone was enough to have spurred discussion. The event was held in conjunction with UTAC’s Rochdale College exhibit, and the attendants were seated among relics and remnants of the famed alternative to higher education. A huge tapestry of the Mona Lisa dominated the room with glowing cut-out eyes. Several bulletin boards were covered in documents from Rochdale and testimonials from former residents.
But that was the extent of Rochdale’s inclusion in the talk. The discussion focused more on the idea of cultural resistance. Within the framework of Edward Saïd’s Orientalism, and her own experience with her art show each hand as they are called and the controversy that surrounded it, Katz explored the meaning of power, struggle, and how cultural productions contribute to the artist’s conception of each.
Edward Saïd was perhaps one of the most respected and influential Palestinian intellectuals of the last 30 years, and published the book Orientalism in 1978. Simply put, “Orientalism” is the idea that the West has a static, distorted, and grossly generalized view of the Middle East, people who come from the Middle East, and Islam. This view is perpetuated by the news media, pop culture, and the arts, and is part of a greater political agenda. If you’re studying any of the humanities, you’re probably already familiar with the concept (perhaps, to your taste, ad nauseum). Of note, however, is how Orientalism opened up discourse about the nature of the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Toronto artist Reena Katz has been active in her Palestinian solidarity work as a vocal critic of the Israeli government’s policies and a supporter of Israeli Apartheid Week. She is also Jewish, devoted to her heritage and culture, and was originally commissioned by the Koffler Centre for the Arts to produce a multi-faceted art show. Then came the controversy: although the project which Katz and her curator, Kim Simon, had been working on for over a year was focused entirely on the Jewish tradition, culture, and history and had nothing to do with Palestine, the Koffler Centre chose to disassociate with Katz and the show, stating that Katz’ political views were contradictory to their values.
To some, Katz’s experience with the Koffler Centre constitutes censorship, and the incident garnered much attention from the media as it unfolded. In her talk, Katz extrapolated on her experience to the greater issue of art censorship and how it relates to attempts to stamp out a people. She spoke of power as a commodity—who has it, asks for it, gives it, or gives it up—as it becomes the centre of interaction between peoples. Those in power, she contended, maintained that power by silencing dissident voices and viewpoints, and in doing so erase their culture.
For Katz, culture is what defines a people. Language, literature, oral history, and architecture all serve to sustain a people’s identity, and it is through that art that the struggle for survival takes place. Katz invited the audience to share examples of and insight into cultural resistance and struggle in the face of extermination: book burning, destruction of architecture, and the restriction of passing on knowledge were all cited as tell-tale signs on suppression throughout history, including the Holocaust, the India-Pakistan conflict, and the current Israel-Palestine conflict. To illustrate, Katz showed a video of the opening day of the Palestine Festival of Literature 2009 held in Jerusalem. The video shows Israeli forces shutting down the festival minutes before it began, forcing the organizers to relocate to the French Consulate. Katz summed up her experience, the examples from the audience, and the incident at PalFest 09 as stemming from fear, indicating a lack of readiness on the part of her community to engage in open discourse.
Katz presented a very broad, complex topic in a simple and concise way. What was missing, it seemed, was tangibility. The discussion felt disconnected from not only the Rochdale theme but also from any application. There was a lack of action behind the words, to the point that it was difficult to pinpoint their relevance. Despite the incredible weight and importance of art and other cultural works in creating and preserving traditions, Katz’s talk was focused through such a narrow lens that it failed to compel people to action or to incite any emotional response. Its strength came from the simple fact that it occurred. It provided a forum for discussion and illumination of the importance of art in a community and that alone made it a success.
Reena Katz’s “Cultures of Power and the Power of Culture” lecture was presented as part of the U of T Art Centre’s Rochdale College exhibition, which runs until Oct. 31. For more information, visit studentsutac.ning.com.
