[spectre] Feminist Art Action Brigade, Tokyo

[Andreas Broeckmann]

Date: Thu, 29 May 2003 02:30:52 +0800
From: "Fatima Lasay" <digiteer at ispbonanza.com.ph>
Subject: two announcements from Japanese feminists

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Action in Silence
I don't want militarisation in my life

announcement
Action in Silence committee and FAAB are proud to announce the inauguration
exhibition.

This exhibition focuses on the gender conscious antimilitarism movement in
the post-9.11 Japan.

The exhibition consists of document photographs, pamphlets, fliers, posters,
clothing and other items used for protest activities which are installed in
chronological order.  Video documentation, interviews and performances (see
the special events) will be also shown.

In the past, male oriented anti-war movement focused on national and
international politics and organising mass demonstrations in which everyone
shouted the same slogans.  Women's role in this movement seemed to be
largely
limited to that of the anonymous participants or that of the "peace loving
mother" .

But recently, there is different, more gender conscious anti-militarism
movement.  For example, Kyoto Joshi-demo started a demonstration organised
by
girls in which they express their concern about effects of militarism in
their daily lives.  Women in Black stand at street corners in silence.
Their
silence is stark contrast to the usual slogan shouting and issue debating.
Great Japan Anti-War Women in Black League is a parody of Great Japan
Women's
National Defence League during the Second World War.  It questions the
women's role in the war and violence and at the same time provoke the
memories of victimisation of women and children in Japan during the war.
These are done mainly by women, but they all welcome participation of either
sexes.

The war is over, but all is not well.
The reality seems that violence is the ultimate solution.
We hope through art and this exhibition we can continue to express our
unwillingness to submit ourselves to violence.

Action in Silence committee
FAAB

Thanks to:  Women in Black Tokyo(and elsewhere), Kyoto Joshi demo.

Exhibition information:
Date:   May 31 - June 7
Time: 12:00 - 19:00
Opening party:  May 31, 19:00-
Place:  Pa/F Space
Shinjuku-ku Baba-shitacho, 18, Phoenix building 3F
Across the street from "Ana Hachi-man" shrine,
opposite to Waseda U. literature dept.
2 min. from subway Tozai line "Waseda" station

Event schedule:
June 1   "We don't want militarism in our lives"
14:00-17:00
   admission  800 yen
discussion with Motoyama Hisako(Women in Black Tokyo), Mizushima
Nozomi(Kyoto Joshi demo), Shimada Yoshiko(FAAB)

June 7  "Big Head" -video showing and talk with Denise Uyehara from LA.
19:00 - 21:00
admission  1,000 yen
4th generation Japanese (Okinawan)-American artist, Denise Uyehara
will show a video of her new work about attack on Arab Americans during
Iraqi
war.  Discussion follows.

June 8  Performances
17:00-
admission  2,000 yen
"Tears" by Ono Nonko
"Insane Body" by Ito Tari

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FAAB (Feminist Art Action Brigade) !

We would like to announce the inauguration of FAAB, the newest feminist art
organization in Tokyo.

   "Feminism? Isn't it dead?"
Well, no.  In the past decade or two, we thought modernism is dead,  history
is dead, etc., but old habits die hard.  While we thought ideologies
weredead, Imperialism, colonialism, and militarism all made great comebacks.
The bad old patriarchal system  is more alive than ever.  They have become
unapologetically ruthless.  Faced with this harsh reality, we think
feminism
is still one of the few ideals we can hang on to in order not to be
completely disillusioned by the state of the world today. We know there are
many different versions of "feminism".  Our version of feminism is made
clear
in the statement below.  We would like to stress that our feminism is not to
expand the rights of the "biological female".

   "All we need is Action!"
FAAB is not a fraternity club.  We are a brigade of artists who use our
artistic expression as weapons.  We don't have one "commander", instead,
whoever plans a project is responsible for the completion of that project.
Our current projects are:
"ACTION IN SILENCE" exhibition in which documentation of world wide
anti-war,
anti-imperialism movement will be shown along with performances and
installation.
"MINI QUEER SHOW" a preparatory exhibition for a big international queer
show
in the future.
Whoever or whatever group which want to do something with us, participate in
our events, support FAAB, be on our Mailing list, please get in touch with
us.
e-mail (English OK)  yoshimada at aol.com
http://www.egroups.co.jp/group/FAAB-net/

Ito, Tari
Lim, Desiree
Nishimura, Yumiko
Ono, Nonko
Shimada, Yoshiko
Takahashi, Fumiko
Yasuda, Kazuyo
(in alphabetical order)

FAAB Manifesto
FAAB questions the prevailing social and artistic value system.
What is valuable art and who can be artists?
Rather than making a pyramid shaped value system, can we make a horizontal
system in which we all express ourselves equally and freely?
We think feminism is still one of the most useful and practical ideals to
make this happen.
What we call feminism here is not a movement for increasing women's equality
to men.
What we call feminism is for all, not only for the biological female.
We think that patriarchal system is pretty much responsible for the current
awful world of violence and greed, but we are not a negative,
"anti-male"movement at all.  Rather, we seek for A better, equal system for
all.
We will work with minority people, groups, individuals who are striving to
make a change in the prevailing mainstream social system.
Our action is not confined in the so-called "cultural" activities.
Culture is closely connected to society, nation, world politics.  We are not
afraid to be political as well as artistic, at the same time.

Membership
Each member can participate in the mailing list.
Projects are planned and decided by the project committee, which now
consists
of the above members. Those who want to be in this committee must present
his/her own project and act as the responsible person to realize the
project.

Correspondence:
       FAAB
       Fenicks build. 3F
       18 Babashitamachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo Japan
$B!!!!(Be-mail  yoshimada at aol.com

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Women in Black Tokyo
http://home.interlink.or.jp/~reflect/WIBTokyo/home.html
FAAB http://www.egroups.co.jp/group/FAAB-net/
GAAP (Gender and Arts Project)
http://home.interlink.or.jp/~reflect/GAAP/index.html
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