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For 'State of the Art'
Remarkably little artistic response came out of New York after September 11. A voice that did respond and has toured New
York and Budapest since, is that of Australian multi-media artist, Wednesday Kennedy. Last Night in New York is a phenomenal
hybrid show based on interviews, live footage and personal narratives around S11 and premieres at Kabarett Voltaire @ the
Seymour Centre 4 September.
After the S11 attacks, Kennedy roamed the sleepless streets of New York for weeks, talking to people, capturing their
words, their signs, their political and personal bents and her own emotional rollercoaster. Then she came home to create the
unique, brave and insightful Last Night in New York.
'Basically New York was the source of the wound' says Kennedy, recently retuned to Australia and when I was on the streets
and shot the video, it really captured that anger, the confusion, the fear, the emotions that Bush harnessed to wage war on
Iraq. Similar fears are being harnessed by the Howard government now, she believes, which heightens the immediate relevance
of the show for Australian audiences. The internal political landscape of Australia has a lot of similarities (to the States)
not only the way we manipulate but the way we respond to fear and to threats is not always rational.
'For me now to look at this video in retrospect gives a certain kind of insight into the emotions that were bubbling around
after the shock. After S11, everything was completely shut down in New York so by the time I got back I raced back (with
the show) for the anniversary there was really hardly any art on it
Why?
'Its hard to think with all that fear in the air; hard to digest the emotions. There was a whole empty era of talking
about nothing; the whole Sienfield era; then there was too much to talk about..
'It's November 2002 and they're threatening to bomb Iraq and i'm sitting in New York with my friend, trying to work out
whether the alert is orange or amber. has a child been kidnapped or is it over.
it's over for Iraq....I tell my friend.
'Don't worry about that,' he comforted me. 'It won't affect us here'.
It won';t affect us here ? Do you remember that clear blue sept day when two planes arrived outta nowhere and into the
worlds trades centre...or were we dreaming...
Don't get too excited,he said, patting me. Dead people hate you to get excited. They dont like anything that might remind
them that they too have a pulse. Anyway what's Saddam got to do with it ? I asked him.
And what happened to Osama and whats the name of that other little towel head who maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day,
or maybe next week is going to sit next to you at the bus stop and blow your dead heart to smithereens!
He didn't buy me any more drinks after that. In fact the more I talk the less I drink in this town. What is happening
here? I was just getting into this freedom of speech vibe and nobody wants to play.
(Excerpt from Emotional Deflective, a piece Kennedy wrote in 2002 after her first tour.)
Emotional Deflective was written after the first anniversary tour, which was the hardest, says Kennedy. Then she toured
to Budapest:It was a European and expat. audience; non-defensive intelligent and interesting people who gave me confidence
in the piece again. Then the Cherry Lane in New York for the second anniversary and the show was accepted in New York.
As for the Australian premiere, Kennedy says it was wonderful to have it received well in New York last year but the piece
was originally conceived as a radio feature with ABC and being here to create it gave me a critical eye when I was really
close and to have that personal eye gave me luxury to digest it quickly. And so many people here helped create it.
Ruby Boukabou Sept 2004
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