"Destroy this Memory" - Hurricane Katrina and Grafitti

"Destroy this Memory," photo by Richard Misrach

Someone sent me a link to this story on NPR. I was captivated by the photo on the left, which also is the title of a book of photographs (see below) on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There are so many layers to this one image -- the loss of memories inside this intimate space (what was lived there, the house intact); the manner in which the memory of Hurricane Katrina has in itself been covered over; and of course, the fact that the picture resists the grafitti's command.

Richard Misrach's Destroy This Memory is an affecting reminder of the physical and psychological impact of Hurricane Katrina. Rather than simply surveying the damage, Misrach—who has photographed the region regularly since the 1970s, most notably for his ongoing Cancer Alley project—found himself drawn to the hurricane-inspired graffiti: messages scrawled in spray paint, crayons, chalk, or whatever materials happened to be on hand. At turns threatening, desperate, clinical, and even darkly humorous, the phrases he captured—the only text that appears in the book—offer unique and revealing human perspectives on the devastation and shock left in the wake of this disaster.

Destroy This Memory presents previously unpublished and starkly compelling material, all of which Misrach shot with his 4 MP pocket camera. Created between October and December 2005, this haunting series of images serves as a potent, unalloyed document of the raw experiences of those left to fend for themselves in the aftermath of Katrina.

Artist's royalties for this project are being donated to the Make It Right Foundation, which is currently rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

Richard Misrach (born in Los Angeles, 1949) is credited with helping pioneer the renaissance of color photography and large-scale presentation in the 1970s. He has exhibited extensively, and his work is held in the permanent collections of prestigious institutions. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship. Misrach is represented by Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco; Pace-MacGill Gallery, New York; and Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Click here to see more photos from the book

Hugo Chávez Has Bolívar's Remains Exhumed

Caption:
"Venezuela. President Hugo Chávez gets quite a surprise when exhuming the remains of Simón Bolívar."

Artist: Erlich
Appeared in El País (July 18, 2010)

Hugo Chávez has always exalted certain figures -- Che, Castro, Simón Bolívar -- in political speeches. In fact, he is the self-proclaimed leader of the "Bolivarian Revolution." But the news that he has exhumed the remains of Simón Bolívar is a bit over the top. Public exhumations and burials of former national heroes during one's time in office always seem to augur an increase in state control; often, they are an attempt not to remember, but conveniently forget, certain aspects of the past for one's own political gain. The question "who owns the bones?" comes to mind. In this case, the particular "father-son" drama being played out is quite intriguing. If Chávez can claim that Bolívar was murdered, it will no doubt help him justify his "revolution" even further and provide him with more photo opps. for the sort of public, melodramatic weeping he enjoys, even on Twitter!

In the cartoon above, it would appear that we are looking at the skeletonized hand of Bolívar, giving Chávez the middle digit. This is because although Chávez has exalted Bolívar's image throughout his time as "President," many say that Bolívar would not have shared the former's policies.

From: BBC News

17 July 2010
Venezuela's Chavez exhumes hero Simon Bolivar's bones

The remains of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar have been exhumed in Venezuela to determine the cause of his death nearly 200 years ago. 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered Bolivar's tomb be opened because he suspects he was murdered.

Most accounts maintain Bolivar died from tuberculosis in Colombia in 1830.

Mr Chavez announced the exhumation of his hero on Twitter, saying he "wept with emotion".

"What impressive moments we have lived tonight. We have seen the bones of the Great Bolivar!" he tweeted from the national pantheon in Caracas.

"That glorious skeleton must be Bolivar, because his flame can be felt. Bolivar lives!" he added.

'Important discoveries'

 More than 50 experts including criminal investigators and forensic pathologists have been examining the remains to see if Bolivar was the victim of a conspiracy rather than disease, according to Venezuela's attorney-general, Luisa Ortega Diaz.

"We have important discoveries that will be announced to the nation at the appropriate moment," she said.

The exhumation comes as Colombia has accused Venezuela of tolerating the presence on its territory of the main Colombian leftist groups, the Farc and the ELN.

Relations between Mr Chavez, an outspoken socialist, and the conservative government of Colombia have deteriorated in the last two years.

Mr Chavez has rejected Colombia's accusations.

Known as "the Liberator", Simon Bolivar led the 19th Century revolutionary war against Spain, winning independence for Venezuela and several other South American nations.

The Venezuelan president claims him as the inspiration for his "Bolivarian" revolution, though some historians say Bolivar would not agree with Mr Chavez's socialist policies.

Visual Commentary on the Garzón Suspension

The following cartoons appeared today in the Spanish paper Público.

Title: "The winners"
Artist: Manel Fontdevila
Date: May 15, 2010

Here, a group of men gathers to read the news, "Garzón expelled." The first man comments, "Great news! The winners wrote history." And then he states with apparent glee, "And now, we're also rewriting it!" The men clearly represent the "victors" of the Civil War, or at least, the inheritance they left behind.


Artist: Vergara
Title: "Day of the masks"
Date: May 15, 2010

Yesterday, as Judge Garzón left the Spanish Supreme Court, his supporters lined the street, many of whom carried likenesses of the judge ("We are all Garzón"). On the left, we see Garzón in tears, disguised by the old theatrical comedy mask -- perhaps, to symbolize the farce of the suspension and the sham of the justice system, but also because it was reported that initially, the judge appeared to have received good news, which turned out not to be the case. On the right of the drawing we see a Franco-era officer (actually, it looks to be Franco himself), dressed in judicial robes. The mask he is holding up is that of Luciano Varela, one of the Supreme Court magistrates at the head of the charges of "prevarication" against Garzón (and, not coincidentally, someone who strongly opposed the Law of Historical Memory prior to its 2007 passage).

Cartoons and a Brief Editorial on the Garzón Case - Spanish Press

I did not originally intend to use this blog to post about historical memory and Spain, because I have my Spanish blog to do that. However, particularly of late, the Spanish press has been full of news on Judge Baltasar Garzón, and the developing stories (plural, for the web has grown even more complicated) are important enough that that they need to be shared in English.

Pending against the judge is the primary case against him, that he "prevaricated" when he presented a report that dared to investigate the crimes of Francoism as "crimes against humanity." In addition to this initial accusation, made by the ultra-right wing group FE de las JONS (Falange Española, or the Spanish Phalangist Party), a second charge was brought against the judge in relation to funds he received for several colloquia he organized at New York University in 2005 and 2006 (NYU has denied that the judge was sponsored - or bribed - by funds from Banco Santander, and asserted that his visit was paid for through the King Juan Carlos Center, which is part of NYU).

Incredibly, last week, the Tribunal Supremo (TS, or Supreme Court) agreed to hear a third charge -- again, claiming that Garzón overstepped jurisdiction when he investigated a corruption scandal among opposition-party leaders (the case is commonly referred to as "el caso Gürtel" - for information en español, click here - for English, click here). While such ideologically-motivated charges may seem ludicrous to some, the progressive Spanish press seems to be more and more gloomy about Garzón's prospects by the day, as illustrated in the following cartoons, which I have translated for our non Spanish-speaking readers:

1. Title: "Los problemas de Garzón" (Garzón's Problems); Artist: Manel Fontdevila
Source: Público.es

Translation/Explanation:

The title reads: "Loser." In the middle of the drawing, we see Judge Garzón with a shovel on his back. The sign to the left -- probably not coincidental where the signs are planted! - reads "Francoist Graves," while the sign to the right, "Gürtel," refers to the aforementioned case. Garzón states, from left to right, "The cases were different. But the dirt dug up was the same." Fontdevila seems to assert that each issue has dug up painful truths -- one, about the Francoist past, and another, about the corruption scandal in the ranks of the Partido Popular ("Popular Party" -- currently, the opposition). Perhaps I am imagining things, but the artist also seems to be drawing parallels between the PP and the Francoist past, which should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the "historical memory" phenomenon in Spain in recent years. As the blogger Ignacio Escolar writes in a March 5 post, "not only is the topic of Francoism taboo in Spain, so is the PP."

2. Title: "Y ahora, Correa" ("And now, Correa" - reference to judge implicated in the corruption scandal -- currently in prison! -- who has made the second charge against Garzón ); Artist: Vergara
Source: Público.es

Translation/Explanation:

In the right-hand side of the cartoon, we see someone in a judicial robe that has just hung a "call to action" poster, calling for the public to file further charges against Judge Garzón. The poster reads: "YOUR TIME HAS COME! Francoist, Corrupt Politician, Terrorist, Drug Trafficker, Tax-Evader, South American Dictator....NOW YOU TOO CAN BRING A CASE AGAINST GARZÓN!! Last days! Great buys (offers) until removal from office! In small print - Reason: You don't even need one!"

3. Title: Untitled; Artist: El Roto
Source: El País.com

Translation/Explanation:

At the top of this cartoon, we have the likeness of former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. Below, one of his victims. On the "pedestal," the words, "Don't Touch." I'm not quite as sure of this depiction, but the artist is obviously referencing the idea that the Francoist past is not meant to be investigated. Franco is, even in death, still in charge.

Clearly, I am biased toward Judge Garzón. But my feelings regarding this case have far less to do with the person of Baltasar Garzón, and more to do with what this magistrate has stood for in regard to human rights in Spain and beyond. To a certain degree, Garzón has already been put on trial. And when and if he does appear in court, put on trial along with him will be the victims of the Franco regime and their families. What is happening in Spain should be deeply troubling to anyone interested in human rights. A judge that has made his career fighting human rights violations now faces having that same career put in a drawer and locked away. For some in Spain, this is exactly the intent, as the three cartoons illustrate. We are witnessing an "in progress" attempt to promote and install historical and political amnesia. Stay tuned for more on this case.

More on the Garzón Case

When it comes to political cartoons, Venezuelan artist Eneko (Caracas, 1963) is one of my absolute favorites. Last semester, we used some of his drawings on immigration, gender roles and other topics as conversation-starters in my advanced Spanish conversation course. Eneko publishes in 20 Minutos, an online Spanish paper. In the past, he has created multiple works on the disappeared of Francoism. He had this to say about the Garzón case (see original here):

"Contra Garzón" ("Against Garzón") by Manel Fontdevila

[*this note corrects an earlier translation, where I said "And then there are those who think we shouldn't look to the past, yet act like we're living in it." -- I meant to say: "And then there are those who think we (one) shouldn't look to the past, yet act like they're living in it." I don't know how I did that, sorry!]

This drawing by artist Manel Fontdevila in the Spanish paper Público sums up the recent news about Judge Baltasar Garzón's possible trial (see Feb. 7 post).

From left to right, we read:

"Historians rewrite history."

"Justices pursue the one in search of justice."

"And then there are those who think we shouldn't look to the past, yet act like they're living in it."

"Yes indeed."

The skulls allude to the victims of the Francoist repression; within approximately the last 10 years, there have been numerous exhumations of mass graves throughout Spain, often culminating in the "reburial" and dignification of remains, some 70 years after the end of the Spanish Civil War. The phrase "those who think we shouldn't look to the past" most likely refers to conservative leaders of the PP (Partido Popular, or "People's Party") who have argued that memorialist discourse only "opens old wounds," preventing Spain from moving forward. The Partido Popular emerged out of the AP (Alianza Popular, or "People's Alliance"), which was founded by Manuel Fraga, a former Francoist minister.

Book on Art and Memory

Contemporary Art and Memory
Images of Recollection and Remembrance
Joan Gibbons

I.B. Tauris, January 2008
ISBN: 978-1-84511-619-4, ISBN10: 1-84511-619-4,
6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches, 344 pages, 30 b/w illus.,

Description: Contemporary Art and Memory is the first accessible survey book to explore the subject of memory as it appears in its many guises in contemporary art. Looking at both personal and public memory, Gibbons explores art as autobiography, the memory as trace, the role of the archive, revisionist memory and postmemory, as well as the absence of memory in oblivion.

Grounding her discussion in historical precedents, Gibbons explores the work of a wide range of international artists including Yinka Shonibare MBE, Doris Salcedo, Keith Piper, Jeremy Deller, Judy Chicago, Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Christian Boltanski, Janet Cardiff, Bill Fontana, Pierre Huyghe, Susan Hiller, Japanese photographer Miyako Ishiuchi and new media artist George Legrady. Contemporary Art and Memory will be indispensable to all those concerned with the ways in which artists represent and remember the past.

Joan Gibbons is Senior Lecturer at the University of Central England in Birmingham and Course Director, MA Contemporary Curatorial Practice. She is the author of Art and Advertising (I.B.Tauris).