HOW I BECOME A POLITICAL AGITATOR IN THE DOCUMENTA 13 RESOURCE CENTER OR....
How I became a political agitator in the Documenta 13 resource center or if I write it I will manifesto (Bringing the Bronx to Kassel), 2012
Digital images from mobile phone
For four hours, I read and transcribed a chapter from Gerald Matt in Conversation with Tania Bruguera, reflecting on the nature of political art. In this process, I considered Joseph Beuys' well-known assertion that "every act is art" and compared it to Bruguera's provocative statement that "every action is political." Beuys, renowned for his belief in the transformative power of art to reshape society, often blurred the boundaries between art and life. Bruguera, on the other hand, places the political at the heart of art, suggesting that art can never be neutral in the face of power and injustice.
This performance was not only a meditation on these ideas but also an attempt to reflect on my own role as an artist within this context. I entered the Documenta 13 resource center, a space brimming with research and critical discourse, and engaged with the material spontaneously, questioning whether art—specifically political art—has the power to create lasting change. It was a moment of self-reflection about my work during my residency and the political potency of art, especially in a world where the division between power and the oppressed often feels insurmountable.