Preface

Call for contributions!

AUSTRIA 2000

”50 years of complexity are enough”, says an extreme right-wing party which believes it can give simple answers to complex questions. The current situation in Austria requires minorities – and these include artists and intellectuals – to make a stand.

The recent issue of CAMERA AUSRIA no. 69 was created by the Austrian artist Jörg Schlick; this statement, however, will not be the last word on the matter. In the coming issue, CAMERA AUSTRIA no. 70, we will not only continue, as before, our critical discourse on international contemporary art, but also create a discussion platform where our readers, artists and writers can contribute to a debate on the legitimisation of an extreme right-wing party in Austria.

It is precisely the knowledge of the fragile autonomy of every artistic statement that urges us to find new ways for a debate on the political situation, as well as to define a position from where we are able to speak – a position, that must constantly be secured. It will be necessary to make the aesthetic and the theoretical positioning of our work in the field of art visible as a political positioning.

But the challenge comprises more than that: precisely because the language of politics has changed dramatically over the last few years, and because in Austria, the Freedom Party in particular has been working with a calculated breaking of taboos, we must not go on the defensive! We would therefore like to invite you to counter the illegitimacy of the language of extreme right-wing politics in Austria both with verbal and pictorial strength.

For this task, we will have to sharpen both our artistic strategies and our language. Without denying complexity, we may have to re-invent our means.

We are looking forward to your participation!

Best wishes,
Christine Frisinghelli, Manfred Willmann
and the editorial team of CAMERA AUSTRIA