Tatlin's Whisper #6 (Havana Version) 2009

Tania Bruguera made "Tatlin's Whisper #6" in Havana; it's a piece about performance and participation, and it makes me think a lot about what art can do in the world. I'm really struck by the way Bruguera uses the physical presence of these doves. How they sit on people's shoulders and heads, these gentle white birds. They become a visual metaphor for something precarious, like free speech. The stillness of the subjects in contrast with the potential for flight in the birds is palpable. For me, it evokes the work of someone like Joseph Beuys, who also explored the power of symbols and actions. Bruguera isn't telling us what to think, but she's creating a space where ideas can take flight. In the end, art is not about answers but about the questions we dare to ask.