Excerpts from "To Catch A Terrorist" (Harper's Magazine, Aug. 2011) by Petra Bartosiewisz

Photo credit: Times Union

On the trend of preemptive terrorism prosecutions:

When asked at a press conference following the sentencing whether there was anything connecting the defendants, particularly Aref, to terrorism, the prosecuting attorney answered, "Well, we didn’t have the evidence of that, but he had the ideology."

On the scope of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs):

The Los Angeles Police Department was the first to introduce SARs. Among the “suspicious activities” listed on its website are joggers stretching “for an inordinate amount of time” and people carrying on “long conversations on pay or cellular phones.”

Read the article:
http://harpers.org/archive/2011/08/0083545

Petra Bartosiewicz' website:
http://www.petrabart.com/

Route 28: The Banality of Travel

"Route 28" was inspired by an improvised game that took place one evening in the summer of 2010, while driving from NYC to upstate New York. As such, the video is incomplete: a montage of various scenes along Route 28 with minimal background audio. The crux of the piece comes into being when viewed by a participatory audience: with instructions to either say what they see, say what they're thinking, or to read passages from random texts, each individual's utterance towards the screen merges into a fluctuating chorus of cacophony that highlights the fluidity and ease with which travel-inspired listlessness can transform into delirious, interactive game-play.

Presented at Noise! 2010, St. Mark's Church, NYC - 06/26/10.

Before the start of this clip, I gave the audience a little background and instructions on what to do while watching the video. Here's the gist of what I said:

- This video is incomplete, and requires audience participation.

- This video is split into thirds:
For the first third of the video, say what you see on the screen.
For the middle third of the video, say whatever comes to mind while watching.
For the last third of the video, read random passages from $1 books I bought from outside The Strand earlier that day.

Thanks to Galen Joseph-Hunter, Tianna Kennedy, Madalyn Warren and free103point9. Special thanks to the gracious, creative and eclectic mix of people in the audience, without whom this wouldn't have been possible.

-John "Patience" Dalessi
http://wontloversrevoltnow.com/

Noise! 2010: http://www.free103point9.org/events/2281

Wild Yaks, Open Ocean, Anita Fix & the Ecstatic Gestures, Hexa* - 6/3 @ 435 Broadway [Pics, Video]

The maximum love vibes felt at 435 Broadway epitomize much of what I've come to appreciate from New York: rooftop views; meeting new people; the sounds of bands, either practicing or performing, wafting through hallways; and not having to walk too far to the deli for more beer.  Dave and Sarah's house party a few weeks ago had all of these things, along with a few unexpected surprises. Below are some recorded moments of the night.

The Ice Machine and Swift - Live @ St. Cecilia's Gallery - 6/3/2011

For as long as I've known Nathan, he's been making art and music.  This is his one of his latest undertakings with his pal Graham, called The Ice Machine and Swift.  Below are videos to two of their songs - "It's On Da Road Tonight" and "Go Inside the Plant" - being performed at St. Cecilia's Convent Gallery for the opening of Art Book Club Presents: held on June 3rd.

Excerpt from Return to My Native Land

By Aimé Césaire:

I cast your form
formless islands
on waters obedient to the current of my thirst
absurdly I cast your overthrow and my defiance.
Stubborn reason will not prevent me.

Statement from a recent art exhibition open call submission: Aafia Siddiqui Trial Sketches

My statement from a recent art exhibition open call is reprinted below (the bulk of this text, and a link to the relevant images, can be found at my previous blog post):

I recently had the opportunity to assist with the making of a documentary film about the late artist, Mark Lombardi. Best known for his abstract drawings that depicted the scandal-ridden relationships between international figures of power, Lombardi believed that the most compelling art was based on real world events - events that sometimes remained largely unnoticed by the general public.

Aafia Siddiqui Trial Sketches

From Aafia Siddiqui Trial Sketches

The included sketches are from a series that were made during the trial of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. On September 23, 2010, Siddiqui received a sentence of 86 years after being found guilty of numerous charges - among them, attempted murder of U.S. soldiers and federal agents.



What makes Siddiqui's case unique are the questions that still remain in light of her trial. Where was she prior to her arrest in Afghanistan in July 2008? Was she, as some have alleged, being held in a secret prison at Bagram as Prisoner #650? After all three of her children disappeared, two have turned up - where were they, and what is the fate of her third and youngest child, Suleman?

The fact that some of these questions may never be answered (without the revelation of classified information) highlights some of the shortcomings of the U.S.-led War on Terror. But more broadly, the limits of law, as an ideal of modern, constitutional liberalism, come to the fore. And it is precisely this condition of incommensurability with our ideals that I had in mind when producing these courtroom sketches.



Stylistically, these sketches intentionally differ from the rote, courtroom sketches usually made for evening-news panning. Either finished and flat, or rough, with notes on the side, they retain a resistance to a completely fleshed-out story. A deference to skepticism is maintained, paralleling that which is deserved for Siddiqui's case, as well as any other instance in which a nation proclaims "Victory" over its enemies.

(A digital piece based off of these sketches is in the works...)