BESKONISTe’ Gone Corporate

     "... While collaborating with artist participating in BESKONISTe’ discussions ensued and we decided to make a company that will be formally registered, and based out if Dallas, Texas. The location where the concept and philosophies of BESKONISTe’ were founded... "

     For Goran Maric’s MFA Thesis show at the Kemper Museum, BESKONISTe’ organized the first public presentation of this newly created “Corporate Entity.” The installation/performance depicted BESKONISTe’s version of what corporations are doing when they organize business conferences to present ideas, merchandise, or new directions. BESKONISTe’ used its artwork and concepts to act as the presentational material. Digitally printed books, CDs along with our web site, www.beskoniste.com, pamphlets and folders were made available for distribution at the opening of the MFA thesis show. These pamphlets informed the viewers and participants to what BESKONISTe’ Inc. is about.

     What differs from the majority of corporate companies is that our main purpose is to deliver information that BESKONISTe’ believes will engage people in democratic discourse, rather than manipulate propaganda for consumerism.

     On the day of the opening, a videoconference was organized. It was a videoconference with Thomas Martinez, and Goran Maric co-founders of BESKONISTe’ Inc., digital viewers, and whoever else wanted to become introduced to our products. During the opening people were also able to take advantage of this presentation to invest in this new “Corporate Entity. The forms were provided and distributed to those interested parties during the peformance. BESKONISTe’ believes that art should be disseminated to as many people as possible, and want our work to facilitate this action.

     The design of the presentational material for this newly created "Corporate Entity," uses a paragraph found on the internet as its motif. The title of the news story on the website read..." GAZA – CONCENTRATION CAMP. WAR CRIMES EVERYWHERE. " While reading about the horror and destruction that Palestinian civilians went through against their will due to an overwhelming and disproportional use of Israel’s military power the first corporate brochures and flyers for BESKONISTe’ were produced bearing this text:

     "Abu Salah died, his wife died. Abu Tawfiq died, his son died, his wife also died. Mohammed Ibrahim died, and his mother died. Ishaq died and Nasar died. The wife of Nael Samouni died. Many people died."

     These names show human suffering of the Palestinian people. The residents of the U.S., and those who are exposed to ignorantly biased, "FREE" media are quite unaware of the many atrocities which occur in the name of freedom and “corporate democracy." The majority of media outlets represent people from the Middle East as religious extremist or radical fundamentalists, these Islamic “terrorist” going after "freedom loving" Americans, and other residents of Western European countries. It is obviously done in such a way, so that people, here in the U.S. are relieved of the sense of guilt for the destruction that our country and our closest allies have been committing throughout the world under the guise of "The War on Terror."

     Reading the names and relations of the Palestinians, one realizes that those people, from the Middle East, are not just "extremists, religious fundamentalist, and terrorist," but they are like ourselves, made of blood, bone and flesh. It shows that they have families, mothers, brothers, children wives and husbands just as we. Unfortunately, the members of their families perished in the last Israeli - Palestinian military conflict.

     So, one could ask, why use this as the main design motif. Well, BESKONISTe’ believes that a number of the most powerful corporations have been built on the sufferings of ordinary citizens and have increased their influence at society’s expense. The suffering of the Palestinian people, so one can be aware after reading these names, is the metaphorical paint used to depict the suffering of ordinary people. Upon whose backs these corporations have built wealth and power throughout the USA and Western European countries. Through pain and poverty these major corporations have been built.