The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Assassination

Explore the intricate relationship between war, culture, technology, and political discourse in contemporary art through this 16-minute conference talk from the 34th Chaos Communication Congress. Delve into the battlefields of the Middle East, both real and imagined, to dissect how academic and artistic political discourse influences everyday discussions. Examine the etymology of the word "assassination" and its racist connotations rooted in anti-Muslim propaganda from the Crusades era. Analyze how assassination has become a primary political tool for Western negotiations with Muslim radicals, often violating citizenship, constitutional, and human rights protections. Discover how artists like Chris Marker, Chris Burden, Haroun Farouki, Anish Kapoor, and Banksy have adapted their work to reflect current political discourse. Investigate the parallel evolution of digital advancements in war zones and their reflection in peaceful gallery, museum, and art house cinema spaces. Consider how the shift from analogue to digital has disconnected the act of killing from the killer, leading democracies to attribute blame to systemic failures rather than confronting the reality of death.