splatterlink - commission control


	the internet is not only an escapist paradise - it can also be an effectual medium in bringing the real world closer to us. commission control by andy deck and joe dellinger is a fascinating yet disturbing look at marriage between american politics and the media, especially pertaining to the balkan conflicts. What is Commission Control? Commission Control is a critical response to mass media journalism's tendency, especially in the U.S., to trivialize the human costs of warfare. Specifically, the piece was a response to the American bombing campaign in Yugoslavia. But there's a recurring tendency to sensationalize warfare, so it's not just about the past. What do you hope to achieve with your website? We felt we could portray and analyze the situation, focusing attention a bit more on the repressed aspects of the news stories. What was your inspiration on creating the site? Andy: Well, I think they are two-fold. First, there was the question of what Internet information sources could do to ameliorate the passive, helpless condition of news spectators. Secondly, anger, I guess. A sense that the dominant narratives justifying military solutions have become unacceptably simplistic and deceptive. Joe: My father, U.S. Air Force retired, wanted to know more about why the war was happening and why his tax dollars were being spent to kill people in Yugoslavia. As did I. So I started a web page that compiled links to information that offered an alternative to CNN. It was the first time in history that a person could read the Pentagon press releases and then immediately find first person accounts and news stories that directly refuted the official government / corporate media information filter. Then I posted these links together on the Commission Control web page, hoping somebody would read it and realize the discrepancies. Do you consider Commission Control to be informative, or art? Andy: Well, since it embraces a variety of other news sources as part of its content, it is certainly informative. I guess the question of whether it's art is more subjective, but I'm an artist and I approached it as an artwork. Joe was more occupied with filtering news stories and doing research of a factual nature. Joe: I consider it Political Activist Art. The Internet offered us a way to voice creative opposition that was not limited to our specific physical location. I felt that it offered us a louder voice than the anti-war marches in which we participated in New York City. What feedback have you already received on it? Andy: The most interesting feedback, from my perspective, is actually incorporated into the piece. One part of Commission Control is called the "Abridged New World Order Dictionary". Many visitors to the site have added new terms and definitions related to war propaganda and double-speak. What has impressed me about these public contributions is that they reflect a widespread awareness of the realpolitik and misinformation that sustain modern warfare. What are your own views on media and warfare? Joe: Propaganda is essential to warfare. There must be an evil enemy. There must be a reason to fight. However, modern telecommunication technologies give people an opportunity to gather information from a wide range of international sources, and to contrast such diverse perspectives with the declarations of their national leaders. The Internet is only democratic if people have unrestricted access and actively use it to offer as well as receive information. However, governments and multi-national corporations are hard at work trying to control Internet access and content, whether by flooding the Internet with commercial movies or through legal and technical regulation. Andy: The "Military - Industrial Complex" that Eisenhower warned about has become a Military - Industrial - Media Complex. Reversing this development is not a simple matter. It's important that independent media voice an opposition to the chorus of war boosterism, because without a vocal resistance, even our most sympathetic politicians are forced to risk their careers when they criticize militarism. A situation has developed in which a social movement doesn't exist unless it appears in the mass media. One of my objectives as a media artist is to figure out ways to make a movement for social justice and peace appear in the media. What is your own relation to warfare? Joe: Like most living Americans, I have only experienced war through television and movies. War for most Americans is an abstract concept with no real visceral impact. It happens within a TV screen. It wasn't until the Gulf War that I experienced the effect the media can have on the public. I was home in Bossier City, Louisiana, which has a large Air Force base. The amount of patriotic fervor and display was very disturbing to me. It made me want to understand why and how media is used to formulate public perception. Why is Saddam Hussein portrayed as a cartoon villain and the Iraqi people, the victims of war and sanctions, as non-existent? What other projects have you worked on? Andy: I'm currently collaborating with a group that calls itself Personal Cinema, based in Athens. We're coordinating an exhibition for 2003 that is called The Making of Balkan Wars: The Game. It is intended to explore the realpolitik of war in the Balkan region, foregrounding the experiences and views of artists from the area. There's more information about this online at http://www.personalcinema.net/wargame/. Tell us something about the creators of Commission Control. Joe: I teach "Telecommunications for Artists", and I am the Academic Advisor, at the School of Visual Arts MFA Computer Art Department in New York City. Andy: Most of the art I make can be found on artcontext.net. I call myself a media artist. But the work I do is also related to systems art, art and language, public art, and art-activism. It addresses the politics and aesthetics of collaboration, interactivity, software, and independent media. In addition to being an image producer, I try to draw viewers into unfamiliar situations, usually with software that lets them alter some characteristics of the work/system. What are your plans for the future? Andy: I'd really rather not make art about war, but as a citizen of the United States, I can't, in good conscience, ignore the misuse of military force and the hawkish policies being pursued by my government. It's hard to know where to begin. To my way of thinking, the most important thing to fight for right now is a media system that is responsive to the truth, and not merely to the dictatorship of profitability. The consolidation of media ownership, and the unaccountable giantism of media corporations combine to limit the influence of individuals. Nevertheless, I will continue to address my work to a thoughtful, compassionate public in the hope that collective strategies will emerge to contain the war industry.