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| Miki
Kratsman's photo of a Palestinian policeman uncertain of what to do
first caught my eye some years ago. I think what attracted me to the
photo was that its an archtype of a soldier in action and at the same
time seems entirely ambigious: he could be Palestinian or Israeli
or any of a dozen other nationalities, could be read as an aggressor
or someone trying to defend himself, as a macho figure but obviously
not sure what to do, what action to take. The photo is open to contradictory
readings which is what interested me. Mutiplying the image demonstrates
how one soldier becomes a unit, mirror-imaging it refers to the attack
on oneself inherent in any conflict. "Crossing it out" serves
on the one hand as a reference to all the people being killed today,
and on the other as a statement against war. So again there are different
and perhaps contradictory readings, which I think makes sense as an
artist's point of view while observing "real events". I
was very glad of the oppurtunity to participate in the new "Kufia"
initiative, which by addressing the new and increasingly violent new
phase of Israel's occupation of the west bank helps draw attention
to it and helps bring us closer to an eventual solution, and is also
an important attempt to raise money to help the Palestinians rebuild
what has been and is being destroyed. All violence, especially violence
against unarmed civilians can only make things worse. In spite of
the carnage and destruction going on these days I am confident that
sooner or later a free and strong Palestinian state will be established
to everyone's benefit.
David
reeb
Jul 2002
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