Friend Foe
»Friend« and »foe« as operative elements in art? Things are seldom called so clearly by their proper name, and concepts of »enemy« or »friend« seldom become explicit components in artistic procedures. Equally little attempt is made to communicate on what cultural alliances or unspoken animosities form the basis of artistic activity – at least, that activity which is primarily concerned with defending certain privileges.
»Friend« and »foe« less as basic political principles, but rather as principles underlying artistic activity? These days, there is again much talk of the »state of emergency« as the new/old political reality that tries to define friendship and enmity in a continual endeavour to attain sovereignty, or indeed divides up the world again according to these principles. But what resonances does this have in the cultural field – resonances that are more than simply moral and reactive and instead make use of a general sense of reason to work against the notion of sovereignty?
The articles in this issue explore this new sort of critical reason in a variety of ways, focusing explicitly on the constructions of friendship and enmity that are at work even in the most liberal cultural sector. They enquire not only after the principles of inclusion and exclusion in the new Europe and what role »Europe-friendly« art is playing in the process of integration, but also examine the projections and condescending treatment with which scenes on the threshold of this Europe (like the Turkish scene) have to struggle. One article looks at how formerly »Eastern European« art has to fight not only against patriarchally imposed ascriptions from the West, but increasingly against inner-national obstacles as well, while another scrutinises the newly awakened interest in phenomena of »populism« on both sides of the old lines of demarcation.
A special small focus is this issue is on the art scene in Beirut. A report from Beirut itself and a detailed photographic contribution by the Beirut artist Akram Zaatari present a picture of a complex cultural mixture that is still characterized by threat scenarios of all kinds. Here, too, the central question is: what alternatives, what scenarios can art and culture offer for opting out of this much cited state of emergency? How fixed are concepts of friend and foe – particularly those that were considered to have been long overcome?