Using words such as Communism, Class Struggle and Revolution in a
       Danish context
will qualify you for a free consultation with a psychiatrist.
           Det Fri Universitet i København, July 2001

While one could perfectly subscribe to the quote above some months ago (or probably still can), we are now witnessing the return of the political into the realm of art and culture in Denmark. This obviously happens after the outcomes of the last elections, but first of all analogous to developments that have been taking place in Italy, Austria, Germany or Sweden over the past years. It is the global uprising of the new social movements against the neoliberalist totality of the Empire that can be seen behind all of these developments. In fact, we have to see the multitude of political acting in order to be able to act ourselves. It is the monstrous intelligence of this multitude, the general intellect of the oppressed, the manyheaded subjectivities of the legions of colonized bodies, that forms resistance against biopower.

Seeing the load of politically inspired work mostly by young artists in the copkop 2002 exhibition, we have to state that we feel a lack of direct resistance against the actual power structures. In lack of a widely expressed resistance in society and a broad movement (like Ya Basta in Italy or the "Widerstand" against the rightwing government in Austria two years ago) it is even more easy to turn the political to a trend in art, a momentary surplus, another niche, a commodity. We strongly feel the enormous power of the Danish Consensus, the elimination of any antagonistic formulation in the guise of "tolerance". This false consenus, that is in fact the endless reiteration of existing power structures, calls any radical action futile and tries to laugh at the struggle from its pseudo-mellow neoliberalist throne called "posthistory". We will riot down your Cool Babylon and the laugh of freedom will be ours.

Art is NOT a vanguard of political movements. In fact it is the avantgarde of postfordist exploitation, providing the "artist" as the role model for the future entrepeneur of her own immaterial labor.
Art CAN be catalyst to existing social movements. It can be only by acknowledging political activism and by linking up to mothership multitude.
Hanging up MODSTAND banners at the art academy and critical drawings in the basement of a bourgeois gallery is not enough. Take the drawings to the office building next door, grab your spray can and demolish Wonderful Copenhagen. As for the art institutions, fight against their power structures most radically: There is no use of being against racism in Danish society while enjoying the exclusivity of the Royal Art Academy or of the gallery. The message is the same: "WE CAN'T TAKE EVERYONE - it's a question of maintaining the standard..."

Wonderful Copenhagen introduced the new methods of dealing with resistance years ago, when the police fired over hundred shots at anti-EU-protestors. That reformulation of the Danish Consensus is a true story of success: The cops of Gothenburg and Genova are proud disciples of Danish Export Quality.
These incidents, the killing of Carlo Giuliani in Genova, the elimination of the constitutional state in the course of the scandalous Gothenburg trials and the recent redefinition of "Terrorism" to include the new social movements are only the most blatant examples of the violence of the imperial totality. For years people are being killed while being deported from EU-countries, thousands of refugees have died at the borders of Schengen.

In the light of the coming Danish EU-Presidency we would like to suggest a revival of decapitations of mermaids, smashing first of all the consensual historification of political art (i.e. the de-politicalization of the past).
Do not think that you have to be sad...

FUCK DENMARK, AUSTRIA AND THE EU!
FREEDOM FOR ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!

WE ARE MANY
wr, København, March 2002


wr-@gmx.net