An important sign I missed that the American discourse is changing. Last week the Guggenheim Museum awarded a $100,000 prize that includes an exhibition of the winner's work at the Fifth Avenue nautilus itself, to Emily Jacir, a Palestinian who divides her time between Ramallah and the U.S. Jacir's work has included an installation of texts and objects documenting the murder by Israeli agents of a Palestinian intellectual in 1972, post-Munich.
Or so says the Times, which published the news last week (I'm always the last to know):
and a member of the Boss prize jury, said: “Although her work is
clearly very political, she deals with her topic in a sophisticated,
unique fashion that transcends politicized art. It’s complex, poetic
and open-ended. And the fact that she can operate from both Palestine
and the United States allows her to have a broader overview, which I
think is really important.”
Although it's very political. Huh. A necessary hedge. (Although Guernica was political...) Still: Wonderful. And it demonstrates maybe the most important principle at work in the progressive cause here–Let Americans come to know Palestinians, as human beings. And yes, I wonder what pressure the Guggenheim will come under to contextualize Jacir's work.
