Audrey Chan.

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In Spring 2007 at CalArts, I was Teaching Assistant to Nancy Buchanan and Sam Durant for their new course, ID 517: Special Topics in Art and Politics: A Not So Simple Case for Torture. Students from the School of Art and School of Film/Video came together to discuss and make work about government sanctioned use of torture in war and interrogation. We investigated primary documents circulated within the Department of Justice that provided the legal justification for the use of torture. The title of the course referenced Martha Rosler’s video, A Simple Case for Torture, or How to Sleep at Night (1983). There were incredible guest speakers (including Martha Rosler, Dev Nathan, Ashley Hunt, and Gabriele Schwab), readings, screenings, and a class exhibition, Sam and Nancy organized a book project published through onestar press. The book is now available for purchase and download.

Download a free .pdf of the book or purchase a copy here:
http://www.onestarpress.com/A-Not-So-Simple-Case-for-Torture

Direct link to .pdf file: http://www.onestarpress.com/IMG/pdf/durant_int_OK-screen.pdf

As my contribution to the book, I wrote an essay about participating in the March 17, 2007 anti-war protest in Hollywood organized by ANSWER LA and reflections on our interaction with the news media, notably the LA Times. Follow the jump to read.

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Mark your calendars for: The triumphant return of CHAN & MANN!
Election Night, November 4, 2008, Los Angeles, CA (exact location TBD)

Are you PUMPED ?!!

I mean, really, aren’t you?

___
Campaign Trail: The Election in Action
Exchange Rate: 2008 Website Launched

Los Angeles, CA, Aug 04, 2008 - Trade&Row announces the launch of the Exchange Rate: 2008 website. Visit http://www.exchangerate2008.com to learn more about Exchange Rate: 2008, the participants and upcoming events related to the project.

About Exchange Rate: 2008
Exchange Rate: 2008, is an international performance exchange organized by artist Elana Mann in response to the 2008 US presidential elections. A select group of international artists from Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Israel, Lithuania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Portugal, Scotland, South Korea, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States will produce, exchange and interpret performance directions related to the election campaign. Each performance made for the exchange will be a public act, whether in a gallery space or on a street corner. The project will manifest on the web and in a series of live performances and screenings in Los Angeles and abroad culminating with an elaborate election night bash.

On November 4th, Exchange Rate: 2008, in partnership with Trade&Row’s Campaign Trail: The Election in Action series, will produce an evening full of performative punditry, raucous referendums and live coverage of election night activities world-wide. This series of performances will mirror the pageantry of the international political arena and track attempts to engage and affect this seemingly impenetrable stage.

Participating Artists
Danielle Adair (USA), Karen Atkinson (USA), Luchezar Boyadjiev (BULGARIA), Camlab (Jemima Wyman, AUSTRALIA and Anna Mayer USA), Audrey Chan (USA), Bruce Conkle (USA), Maile Colbert and Rui Costa (PORTUGAL), Dorit Cypis (USA), Zackary Drucker (USA), Ana Fernandez (ECUADOR), Liz Glynn (USA), Lora Ivanova (USA), Kevin Jamieson (UK), Eva Jung (USA/SOUTH KOREA), Soren Thilo Funder & Stine Marie Jacobson (DENMARK), Jason Kunke (USA), Michael Lazar and Marc Lewis (ISRAEL), Jean Pierrer Lapeyre (SCOTLAND), Julie Lequin (CANADA), Eric Lindley (USA), Elana Mann (USA), Emery Martin (USA), Sibyl O’Malley (USA), Adam Overton (USA), Aiste Ptakauske (LITHUANIA), Vincent Ramos (LA), Pablo Rasgado (MEXICO), R.E.P. (UKRAINE), Sara Roberts (LA), Ernesto Salmeson (NICARAGUA), Marssares Selector (BRAZIL), Melissa Wyman (SOUTH KOREA)

Upcoming Exchange Rate: 2008 Events
Aug. 30th-Sept. 4th
Exchange Rate: 2008 will partner up with the Unconvention (http://www.theunconvention.com) for arts events in Minneapolis during the Republican National Convention.

Saturday, Oct. 4th, 8-10pm
Performance evening hosted by Farmlab, 1745 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 (http://www.farmlab.org)

Sunday, Oct. 26th, 6-8pm
Performance evening at Sea and Space Explorations, 4755 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042 (http://www.seaandspace.org), in partnership with the exhibition “The Audacity of Desperation” (http://desperationexhibition.blogspot.com)

About Elana Mann
Elana Mann, the organizer and a participant of Exchange Rate: 2008, is an interdisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles, CA. Mann (MFA Calarts, ’07), has exhibited both nationally and internationally including “From A to B,” (Fellows of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2008), “The Collective Body” (Galerie Califia, Czech Republic, 2007), and “Abre-Alas” (A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro, BR, 2007). From 2004-7 Mann organized “TROCA: Brasil/US” an art exchange between artists from the United States and Brazil. In 2007 Mann co-organized “Exquisite Acts and Everyday Rebellions; 2007 CalArts Feminist Art Project.” Mann’s projects have been reviewed in the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Artweek, O Globo, O Jornal do Brasil and Veja magazine. For more information please visit www.elanamann.com.

About Campaign Trail: The Election in Action
Trade&Row presents Campaign Trail: The Election in Action, a series of performances and work by artists who bring their interpretation of the presidential campaign to a public forum, from July through November 2008.

The series examines many aspects of this year’s election and the political process in general, and explores what will engage American voters to want to reclaim their power in the political process.

For more information, please visit: http://www.tradeandrow.org/campaigntrail/

About Trade&Row
Trade&Row is a nonprofit organization established to raise awareness of current social issues. Our projects are designed to bring people together and facilitate dialogue, and require community participation to be successful. We are focused on developing and producing community-oriented programs and events that are accessible, inclusive and conversational.
For more information, please email: info@tradeandrow.org

Adrian Piper, Cornered (1988), video installation

Adrian Piper, Cornered (1988), video installation

ABC News Special (1989): Black in White America. ABC News Anchors Carole Simpson, George Strait, & Charles Thomas discuss various issues of race and racism as they affect Black Americans in a predominately white society.
Broadcast Date: August 29, 1989

A More Perfect Union. Senator Barack Obama delivered a speech about race relations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 18, 2008.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

The French Blob comics (2002-4) are now online! Click on image to view.