An Open Letter to William Parry and the New Left Project

Dreyfus Amadeus Diallo
Artists4Israel
09 January '11




(Based on this Article)

William Parry reviewed Artists 4 Israel’s website, news articles and blog and, in an article published in the New Left Project, found that we were an organization who supports Israel because Israel has freedoms and rights that support the arts. He saw pictures of children playing and artists creating beautiful works and he got all confused. He made a few determinations that are, to paraphrase his wording, “extraordinary, contradictory and distorting.”

At first he says that our President, Craig Dershowitz and, by extension, Artists 4 Israel are “difficult to take…seriously.” Yet, then, he writes a protracted essay about us. He calls Gaza “besieged,” yet ignores the constant rain of rocket fire from there (over 9,000 since 2001 resulting in 28 deaths) onto the innocent civilians of Sderot and Israel’s south.
He says that when we attempted to paint the Security Fence we were bringing an “artistic siege” against the Arab citizens in the area, yet he supports the tiny few who tried to place a cultural siege against Ariel. He vehemently protests our attempts to paint the Security Fence but champions the artwork on the “Other Side of the Wall.” It seems, so far, that the only issue Mr. Parry has is with constructive dialogue and a peaceful, creative exchange of ideas.



Mr. Parry’s contradictions continue when he claims that graffiti is mostly used by the “dispossessed, the marginalised, as a means of expressing socio-economic-political commentary and undermining authority.” Yet, he then lists the artists whose work he finds so appealing on the Other Side of the Wall. Banksy, Blu, JR, Swoon and Ron English are among the world’s most wealthy and commercially successful street artists. Banksy is one of the world’s richest artists, period. These artists are so rich, partially, because of their ability to market themselves. Doing things like painting in a controversial place gets you more attention which gets you more mentions in books like those by William Parry which gets you more money.

As an aside, it is an interesting question to ask where each of these artists slept, partied and hung out on their trips to the Middle East. Each one spent a majority of their time in Israel. I wonder if this was because the oppressive, totalitarian regimes on the Other Side of the Wall made living as an artist too fearful and dangerous a proposition?

On the other hand, Artists 4 Israel brings the real graffiti artists, the actual counter-culture forces who, growing up in the economically disenfranchised neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Mexico, Spain, Queens, the Bronx, Puerto Rico and elsewhere truly use their art to express truth and knowledge. That is why, while Mr. Parry’s list reads like a whose-who of celebrity fame monsters, our list of participating artists is a roster of graffiti legends and current kings. We have brought NICER TATS, CYCLE TC5, Sue Works MTA, Belin, Myrhwan, 2ESAE and SKI. We have also been supported by countless others, including TRACY168, COPE2, MED, SMART Crew, Cash4 and many others. We would have brought thousands more artists if only we had money to buy enough spray paint.

(Read full "An Open Letter to William Parry and the New Left Project")

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