On Militant Art: Part 1 - Black Mask

Black Mask was a radical anarchist art collective operating in New York City in the 1960s. They cited the Futurists and Dada as their only artistic influence.

They gained notoriety for their self-titled broadsheet as well as their public actions and demonstrations. Their first act was to call for the closure of the Museum of Modern Art.  Thereafter they disrupted and sabotaged dozens of art lectures, exhibitions and happenings.  The art world fought back; a panel of experts on Futurism, Dada and Surrealism advertised, throughout the underground press, a ‘trap for Black Mask’ – in the form of a debate about the true revolutionary meaning of modern art.  Black Mask responded by printing thousands of plausible, well printed, invitations to a free party with free music, found, drink, at the same time, place and date at the ‘ambush’.  They distributed the invites to the homeless and “the hardest bastards they could find” in Harlem and the Lower Eastside shortly before the ‘ambush’ was scheduled. 

 (More Photographs from Black Mask's Wall St protest are available at http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2011/10/black-mask-wall-street-1967.html). 

Coming from a street and gang not middleclass art school, background the founding members were inspired by the science, elegance and violence of Futurism and stories such as Marinetti beating up Wyndham Lewis in a toilet before hanging him by his coat collar on some spiked railings.  Black Mask saw value in the looting, arson and tentative gunplay of the US Race Riots.  The French Situationists and Black Mask were the only whites who realised that the only Americans who had to do something were black Americans.  Black Mask quoted newspaper clippings from the Race Riots that could be from the London August Riots of 2011:

‘At times, amidst the scenes of riot and destruction that made parts of the city look like a battlefield, there was an almost carnival atmosphere’.

New York Times 16/7/67

‘Said Governor Hughes after a tour of the riot-blighted streets… “The thing that repelled me most was the holiday atmosphere… It’s like laughing at a funeral”.

Time 21/7/67

Another infamous stunt, The ‘mill-in’ at Macy’s involved organising large numbers of people to enter the store in small groups posing as regular shoppers or staff.  Their aim was to cause maximum disruption during the store’s peak business hours in the build up to Christmas.  Activists systematically moved stock around, stole items, broke items, gave items away and released animals, such as dogs and cats, into the food department.  Even a buzzard was seen terrorising staff in the China section.  Decoy activists identified themselves with flags and banners but made sure to stand alongside regular shoppers, who were subsequently roughed up and chucked out by security and floor staff.

Black Mask was together from 1967 to late 1968 before reforming as Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers. As Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers (UATWM) they shot the poet Kenneth Koch (with blanks) and triggered militant demonstrations at police stations every time someone was arrested for possession of drugs while at the same time sending addicts and dealers on phantom searches all over town for deals that didn’t exist.  They infiltrated the most fashionable bars and cafes to spike the most expensive drinks and dishes with a variety of drugs.

They objected to the Museum of Modern Art putting on a show called “Dada, Surrealism and their Heritage’ (the heritage of Rauschenberg causing offence to the Mother Fuckers).  In response UATWMF organised 400 dropouts to storm the exhibition, on the night of the private view, screaming obscenities, hurling paint, flour and smoke bombs.  UATWM were loosely associated with the Situationist International, King Mob, and the Diggers. Their chief goal was the integration of art in to the political program of anarchist revolution. They petered out after many of their members were arrested and imprisoned for terms ranging from 10 days to 10 years.  Fleeing NYC UATWM spread across the states attempting to form their own individual, independent cells (much like Al-Qaeda).  

Further Reading:

http://joaquincienfuegos.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/wall-street-is-war-street-1967.html

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2011/10/black-mask-wall-street-1967.html#ixzz1cq9IufXA

 

Twitter - Just Like a Phonebox Really

London rioted again last night.  On Thursday the Police shot and killed Mark Duggan in Tottenham.  Riots broke out and shops were burned and looted.  Last night (Sunday) saw a wave of “copycat criminal activity” (Met) across the capital: “Disorder spread to Enfield, Walthamstow and Waltham Forest in north London and to Brixton in the south of the city”. 

Reports from mainstream media (old media) quickly turned to the economic cost, how this could damage the Olympics next year (economics again) and how the trouble is perpetrated by minority groups.  There has been speculation that that some of the people involved were anarchists, and we all know the police don't like anarchists because they asked us to report on any known anarchists just last week (as if having a political belief is criminal).  Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London and Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority said "Obviously there are people in this city, sadly, who are intent on violence, who are looking for the opportunity to steal and set fire to buildings and create a sense of mayhem, whether they're anarchists or part of organised gangs or just feral youth frankly, who fancy a new pair of trainers."

Once more the role of Twitter is in question as Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Kavanagh told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that there were too few officers in Tottenham on Saturday night, but blamed Twitter for fuelling looting and violence, saying: "Social media and other methods have been used to organise these levels of greed and criminality."

You can read more about how the Daily Mail blamed Twitter for the riots here.  I wonder what rioters of the past used to organise levels of greed and criminality?  I guess they might have spoken to each other or maybe used a telephone to call up their mates but, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't recall newspaper reports or police chiefs blaming payphones for the riots.  Twitter, and all social media, is just a means of communicating.  What sort of person you are and who you choose to communicate with is up to you, it has nothing to do with the service provider - just like payphones.   What we need to recognise is that there are a lot of old people who have no idea how the internet works, fear Twitter and Facebook and so put the blame on them rather than tackle real issues. 

What seems to me to be more important is a) why the police were so ineffective b) why is this happening in the first place and c) what the ramifications will be for free speech and our right to protest. 

On the first question, Mayor Boris Johnson issued a statement referring to a "Michael Duggan" - so incompetence goes right to the top!   BBC London's Paraic O'Brien said of the situation in Brixton:

"They smashed a William Hill, they set bins on fire.  And now what we're seeing as the night progresses is that replicated, sort of flashpoints all along Brixton High Street.  I'm standing outside Halfords on the other side of the road and they've just smashed through the doors of Halfords. They're taking bikes out the front entrance.  I have to say, what really struck me was the small number of police officers that there actually seem to be on Brixton High Street responding to this."

We can only conclude that the police are scared of Brixton "the ghetto", were ill prepared or that the level of unrest was so great that the police had no chance - in which case the press have failed to communicate the level of severity.  

On the second point - the old press (and politicians) seem to have no interest in "why".  Rhetoric such as "outside agitators" and "anarchist groups" upsetting the "hardworking majority" (Tottenham MP David Lammy for example)is not helpful.  Richard Seymour (on Facebook) calls this "Crocodile tears from people who spend a lot of their time screwing over the hard-working majority...The point is to understand that this is an inevitable reaction to police murder, racism, and - more generally - the destruction of working class communities. The point is to get that what's happening can't be reduced to 'yob politics'".

On the third point (the ramifications for free speech and our right to protest): I've already pointed out that Social Media providers cannot be blamed for what users decide to discuss.  Users should also be free to discuss whatever they like, if they disclose criminal activity then they are potentially incriminating themselves but monitoring Twitter to see what people might do...  Can you imagine the police phone-tapping every call made from every telephone and arresting people based on what they insinuated they might do?  I can, sounds a bit Stalinist or reminiscent of the Stasi or Gestapo doesn't it?  Yet when this occurs with Social Media it's OK?  Richard Seymour points out (on Facebook) the police are using rumours (on FB/Twitter) as the basis for a crackdown.  "Cop car parked diagonally on Enfield town pavement while young kid was stopped, searched etc. Vans driving up and down, shops closing in panic."  See photos here.  The danger is not that Twitter can spread rumours of a riot but that rumours of a riot on Twitter reach a far bigger audience when people start seeing arrests, shops closing early and panic setting in in places like Enfield.  I'm sure word will soon spread - through Twitter or by word of mouth, it doesn't matter.