Bilal introduces day twelve by saying thins are going well at the gallery but he is suffering a little bit from lack of sleep. He said this was nothing, at that time he had about two hours sleep. He mentions that his energy was good and that friends had visited him, brining company and food
He mentions some people didn't understand or believe the gun was there, so he gives amore extended demonstration of it in action. He shows a close up of the gun, then uses his camera to show the view from the gun. He then closes into the gun, which is tracking from side o side. In then closes on the solenoid which eventually pulls the trigger of the gun firing it.
He closes that section of the days blog by mentioning how the gun sounds louder in the relative silence of the gallery at 4 am compared to the more muted effect at 4 pm when the gallery is busy. He signs off saying his energy feels great but to keep participating by sending email, and support.
When he returns he mentions that some people had complained that no paint was coming out of the gun. Bilal interpreted this to be because is was hard to see individual shots of yellow paint on yellow paint. He used a squeegee to clean the paint from a plexiglas screen then set it up with himself and his documentary camera behind the screen ,. Few seconds later, there is a loud crack as the paint ball gun fires and a splatter of yellow pint blossoms on the other side of the Plexigas. "Beautiful marks that come from a violent act, which is sad" said Bilal. Bilal predicts that more shots will fly at him. He mentions that he is glad the gun mechanism was designed to only pan but not tilt. He then looks over the screen and we watch as the gun tracks jerkily from side to side. Bilal comments that the sudden right/ left movements are due to people fighting for control of the gun. He says that it becomes obsessive to watch the movement of the gun.
He signs off for the day, saying it is "unwise" of him to stand unprotected in front of the gun but he knows how to protect himself by following the pan line of the gun..as he is speaking he frequently glances in the direction of the gun. With a "Good bye for now" the video ends
Bilal frequently mentions energy. Perhaps another way to express this is morale or esprit. I suspect that I will be able to link this use of the term "energy" as Bilal uses it to to the term "biopower" as arises in Foucault and is in turn used by Hardt & Negri.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Youtube Video- The Paintball Project Day 11
Day 11 begins with Bilal mentioning that not much had happened except there was a heavy bombardment to the lamp. This bombardment had destroyed the second lamp which had just replaced the first. Bilal said it made him sad because the lamp seemed o be the only thing beside himself that "stayed alive" inside the space. He then goes on to describe how "Matt", a stranger, brought a replacement lamp. At this point Bilal chokes up, then composes himself sufficiently to continue the story of how matt had seen the lamp being destroyed online, and so decided to show his support by bringing another. Bilal says this brought him feelings of both joy and hope and expresses thanks to Matt.
Shows the destroyed Lamp then we see several shots at the badly damaged lamp. A woman's voice says that it will be a disaster if the bulb is broken. Bilal cautiously turns off the lamp, to avoid being hit by a paintball or by shards of broken glass if the bulb were to be hit.
The video then returns to the original setting, with a street in the background with Bilal addressing us. He expressed the hope that the person who had repeatedly shot the second lamp would one day come to regret it.
Then cuts to an interview with Matt, who brought a new lamp. Bilal smiles broadly, as he chats briefly with a fit, middle aged man who explains that "Sometimes you need all the help you can get". He says "bye" then comes back with a 6 sec clip explaining he forget to mention, "Matt is a Marine".
Friday, August 27, 2010
Youtube Video- The Paint Ball Project Day 10
An emotional day, Bilal reported, because of both technical failures with the server again being overwhelmed by the quantity of traffic, and sadnes over the deaths of his brother and father. His post was quite short, less than three minutes.
The ongoing problems with the site traffic overwhelming thew server lead it to be shut down for about 7 hours. He reported a ongoing series of upgrades that he hoped would accommodate the visitors to the site. He thanked several of his supporters for visiting the gallery to help with varies logistical challenges to the performance.
Bilal went on to say that the issues he had not dealt with surrounding the deaths of his brother and father "hit him particularly hard". As he expressed this his voice began to crack, although he remained composed through the post.
Perhaps the most remarkable comment, was that with the gun silenced by technical malfunctions, he felt "depressed". He described the gun as his company and how emotions welled up when he could "let his guards down" because he was safe from the gun, for the moment. In Shoot An Iraqi Bilal describes himself as being "lonely" because of its absence.
He concludes the post by listing three URL's by which his site could be accessed: wafaabilal.com, crudeoils.us and flatfilegalleries.com. He then signs off by describing the day as very challenging and emotional and saying "thank you".
Bilal, Wafaa (mewafaa)The paint ball project day 10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz6zAwrkolc accessed 2010-08-27 11:55:53
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Youtube Video The Paint Ball Project Day 9
The blog post begins with Bilal still in bed. He says it is hard to wake up and the gun is still firing over his head. He said he had started to be bothered and to become agitated by "it" which I took to mean the performance the performance.
He noted the pace had been quite steady for the previous two days, but usually the pace varies with peak periods at certain times of the day.
People asked on the chat asked where he was. They even demanded he stand or move so thy could see him. He responded that it is his home and was to explore the experience of living under threat.He did not want to "play silly games".
Bilal asks for continued support. This is especially relevant as he notes the expense of paintballs and gas for the gun, as well as it's maintenance.
As he gets up he is wary of being shot. He says he is bothered by how everything is being trashed. He had noticed his favourite table lamp had been destroyed.
As he moves around he remarks that when he moves around the volume of fire increases. He is almost hit and castigates himself for being careless in the line of fire and for not covering his eyes with his goggles. As the video ends, he goes into another part of th gallery to get a cup of tea.
He noted the pace had been quite steady for the previous two days, but usually the pace varies with peak periods at certain times of the day.
People asked on the chat asked where he was. They even demanded he stand or move so thy could see him. He responded that it is his home and was to explore the experience of living under threat.He did not want to "play silly games".
Bilal asks for continued support. This is especially relevant as he notes the expense of paintballs and gas for the gun, as well as it's maintenance.
As he gets up he is wary of being shot. He says he is bothered by how everything is being trashed. He had noticed his favourite table lamp had been destroyed.
As he moves around he remarks that when he moves around the volume of fire increases. He is almost hit and castigates himself for being careless in the line of fire and for not covering his eyes with his goggles. As the video ends, he goes into another part of th gallery to get a cup of tea.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Youtube Video- The Paintball Project Day 8
Bilal introduces "Ben" and asks him to explain what they are doing to correct a problem with the server, as it was being overwhelmed by the number of hits as people logged onto watch, chat and fire paint balls. Ben expresses the thought that it is an uncanny experience in having to fix a computer issue so that more people can "come and shoot your friend".
Bilal then relates how he had discussed with another friend, Erin, about how frustrated some people had become with the difficulties logging onto the website. Aaron related how after the story appeared in the news papers(The Chicago Tribune?) he began receiving angry phone calls from people who couldn't log on the site due to the sudden increase in traffic through their server. He mentions one particular individual who phoned several times demanding to know why the site wasn't functioning. Aaron went on to report the person said they were impatient to Bilal get shot. He could hear others in the background laughing. He mused that performance art often calls for participation, but in this case, the anxiety was to shoot someone with a paintball gun.
Bilal mentions that one of the objectives in his project was both it's success( which has mentioned elsewhere as reaching people who would not normally be involved in art galleries or performance art) and its failure. He describes the failure of technology, networks as part of his manifesto. He then says he will update the blog later as says good by.
The day 8 video resumes about an hour later. He says he is under constant bombardment and the damaged shields are allowing paint to splatter him. He lets the camera roll for a moment, flinching each time as the gun fires. The recording then obviously stops and restarts.
Bilal begins by thanking louis for bringing fruit tapes and
Ben then describes how suddenly the gun fires rapidly, rather than with a thirty second gap, as the computer had been coded with. Ben then says they traced the IP address to MIT" And we're onto you". They tape then stops again.
Bilal returns reminding us that it is day eight, saying their are a few problems. The ability to shoot rapidly has further damaged the screens, so Bilal sets out to repair them. First he asks Ben if the gun can shoot, then asks him to fire the paintball gun. Luis and
Bilal demonstrates the damage, and then mentions that someone using an MIT address had done this damage. The implication is that it could have been Bilal that had been hit a a concentrated stream of paintballs. The video breaks with Bilal saying he would be back soon.
When he returns he is speaking to his friends saying that he wants to make sure they are not being shot at, and so he had asked Ben to test fire the gun to make sure it was disabled. A pause in recording is followed by a sequence of drilling holes in plexiglas and attaching it to the screens with zip ties. he notes this was a temporary fix until he could get thicker plexiglas. He goes out of room to reactivate the gun. On his video recording, Bilal ponders how long it would take before the gun is fired after it is reactivated. The answer was less than 25 seconds. Bilal says his good bye for the day and the video recording ends.
1.Bilal, Waffa (mewaffa)”paintball project day 8”
Youtube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4yApRkisa4 posted May 14, 2007, retrieved 21thAugust, 2010
Bilal then relates how he had discussed with another friend, Erin, about how frustrated some people had become with the difficulties logging onto the website. Aaron related how after the story appeared in the news papers(The Chicago Tribune?) he began receiving angry phone calls from people who couldn't log on the site due to the sudden increase in traffic through their server. He mentions one particular individual who phoned several times demanding to know why the site wasn't functioning. Aaron went on to report the person said they were impatient to Bilal get shot. He could hear others in the background laughing. He mused that performance art often calls for participation, but in this case, the anxiety was to shoot someone with a paintball gun.
Bilal mentions that one of the objectives in his project was both it's success( which has mentioned elsewhere as reaching people who would not normally be involved in art galleries or performance art) and its failure. He describes the failure of technology, networks as part of his manifesto. He then says he will update the blog later as says good by.
The day 8 video resumes about an hour later. He says he is under constant bombardment and the damaged shields are allowing paint to splatter him. He lets the camera roll for a moment, flinching each time as the gun fires. The recording then obviously stops and restarts.
Bilal begins by thanking louis for bringing fruit tapes and
Ben then describes how suddenly the gun fires rapidly, rather than with a thirty second gap, as the computer had been coded with. Ben then says they traced the IP address to MIT" And we're onto you". They tape then stops again.
Bilal returns reminding us that it is day eight, saying their are a few problems. The ability to shoot rapidly has further damaged the screens, so Bilal sets out to repair them. First he asks Ben if the gun can shoot, then asks him to fire the paintball gun. Luis and
Bilal demonstrates the damage, and then mentions that someone using an MIT address had done this damage. The implication is that it could have been Bilal that had been hit a a concentrated stream of paintballs. The video breaks with Bilal saying he would be back soon.
When he returns he is speaking to his friends saying that he wants to make sure they are not being shot at, and so he had asked Ben to test fire the gun to make sure it was disabled. A pause in recording is followed by a sequence of drilling holes in plexiglas and attaching it to the screens with zip ties. he notes this was a temporary fix until he could get thicker plexiglas. He goes out of room to reactivate the gun. On his video recording, Bilal ponders how long it would take before the gun is fired after it is reactivated. The answer was less than 25 seconds. Bilal says his good bye for the day and the video recording ends.
1.Bilal, Waffa (mewaffa)”paintball project day 8”
Youtube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4yApRkisa4 posted May 14, 2007, retrieved 21thAugust, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Youtube Video- The Paintball Project day 7
Bilal begins his day 7 blog by enthusing about the energy in the galley. He reflects back on the previous day's class criticism, and apologises for being outside of the actual space while he conducted his end of session class in another room. He notes that on returning to the room it is a mess, as the result of over a thousand paint balls being expended over the last day.
Within the gallery space he points out the surfaces are covered with yellow paint and the remains of the vinyl shells that comprised the paint balls. As result of this barrage, all the plexiglas shields that he had constructed to provide some protection were broken. He then turns his camera onto a lamp, which has been badly damaged by repeated rounds of paintballs fired at it. As with almost all the videos during the performance the repeated crack of the paintball gun firing can be heard. Bilal says " today is clean up day" but notes he must still be aware of the gun as it tracks him.
Bilal mentions that a friend has brought him towels to help clean up the paint strewn space. He gets down on his hands and knees and begins wiping away paint from the floor. A shot rings out and he notes that it was "right over" his head. At this point he stops recording saying he will update the video later.
The video resumes the Bilal saying te clean up is almost done and he goes on to introduce susan orinkoCK over whose help he enthuses. She appears, and says a few words encouraging conversation over gunplay with Bilal. He explains that she lives above the gallery and is very excepting of the constant sound of the paintball gun. She says it' Ok because her loss of sleep "is for art". Bilal then stops the camera for another break.
When the video resumes, Bilal says it is still day seven, at about 9 O'clock. He explains he is repairing the gun again, but has left the camera operating so as not to "deny access" to the "watchers". He goes on to say he did not consider the need to maintain the gun or to clean the space which he describes a "disaster" as he pans the camera across the paint covered room. He then says it is both figuratively a disaster due to the mess, but also a disaster as everything was breaking down. He shows a part of the gun in his hand as he breaks again.
On his forth segment of the day, Bilal says he will replace the gun, but leave the camera on. On the fifth segment, he seems to have begun replacing the gun and after two more brief clips, he announces the gun is again functioning. He explains he is about to do somethging, but the clip ends before he can continue.
Within the gallery space he points out the surfaces are covered with yellow paint and the remains of the vinyl shells that comprised the paint balls. As result of this barrage, all the plexiglas shields that he had constructed to provide some protection were broken. He then turns his camera onto a lamp, which has been badly damaged by repeated rounds of paintballs fired at it. As with almost all the videos during the performance the repeated crack of the paintball gun firing can be heard. Bilal says " today is clean up day" but notes he must still be aware of the gun as it tracks him.
Bilal mentions that a friend has brought him towels to help clean up the paint strewn space. He gets down on his hands and knees and begins wiping away paint from the floor. A shot rings out and he notes that it was "right over" his head. At this point he stops recording saying he will update the video later.
The video resumes the Bilal saying te clean up is almost done and he goes on to introduce susan orinkoCK over whose help he enthuses. She appears, and says a few words encouraging conversation over gunplay with Bilal. He explains that she lives above the gallery and is very excepting of the constant sound of the paintball gun. She says it' Ok because her loss of sleep "is for art". Bilal then stops the camera for another break.
When the video resumes, Bilal says it is still day seven, at about 9 O'clock. He explains he is repairing the gun again, but has left the camera operating so as not to "deny access" to the "watchers". He goes on to say he did not consider the need to maintain the gun or to clean the space which he describes a "disaster" as he pans the camera across the paint covered room. He then says it is both figuratively a disaster due to the mess, but also a disaster as everything was breaking down. He shows a part of the gun in his hand as he breaks again.
On his forth segment of the day, Bilal says he will replace the gun, but leave the camera on. On the fifth segment, he seems to have begun replacing the gun and after two more brief clips, he announces the gun is again functioning. He explains he is about to do somethging, but the clip ends before he can continue.
Chapter 2- Biopower
Hardt and Negri's discussion of Empire begins by examining the concept of Biopower, originally conceived of by Michel Foucault1. Foucault's conception was that biopower was power realised not simply through social superstructures but through subjectivities such as the body, itself. This power was activated from within subjects rather than from without by disciplinary structures. This view of the distribution of power through networks and nodes other than the nation/state provides the basis for Empire as existing and subsuming sovereignty away from the nation/state into other structures of social production, such as individuals, NGO's and corporations.
1 Hardt, Michael and Antonio Negri. Empire. Cambridge,MA & London. Harvard, 2000. p.23
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Youtube Video- The Paintball Project day 6
Day 6 begins with Bilal describing it as an amazing and violent day. He mentions that there had been a lot of news coverage. He also mentioned that he was happy because a dialogue had begun to start.
He emphasises that he had to fix the gun, but as a result the velocity of the paintballs was increased, causing more damage. He walks around the space, pointing out damage to the walls, the shattered plexiglas shields and the destroyed table lamp. From the beginning, he apologises for donning goggles.
He expresses his pleasure at the increasing dialogue between people. He describes it as a critical time to stop military aggression in Iraq. "A short but busy day" is how he describes the day, with visitors and media stopping by. " The media are part of the community" is how he describes them, and says it is not the exposure that he is happy about. He mentions that the site had been receiving hits from all over the world, and thanks everyone for their participation. He especially thanks those who take control of the gun and turn it away from him, thus keeping him safe for a moment. He describes this as an "amazing dialogue between violence and non- violence"1.
As Bilal winds up the blog video, he mentions he will be conducting his classes final critique in the gallery. He also mentions how the server had crashed due to the demand from the many people visiting the site, but that the server speed would be increased the next day. He encouraged people to try and log on if they couldn't.
He thanks Dan Miller fro coming into the gallery to help.
He mentions a couple of times that the energy in the gallery is fantastic, but he is tired.
One point to note is this video seems to have been transposed with day five in Bilal's original postings. In other words, he got his titles mixed up. Was this a reflection of his increasing fatigue?
Is the internet, and the virtual interface of games and screens, a frame for empire or a window for the multitude?
Youtube video, http://www.youtube.com/v/MOb6JQ3y76Y posted May 12, 2007, retrieved 7th June, 2010
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