Criticism and Self-criticism: What do intellectuals and artists in Europe and the U.S. think about the attacks?

The terrorist attacks against buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C., provoked a large variety of responses all over the world. It is notable that many intellectuals and artists felt obliged to express their views on terrorism, the role of the U.S. in world politics, Islam, the clash of civilizations, and even the artistic nature of the attacks (the latter response resulting in a scandal).

However, international capitalism and the symbolic World Trade Center towers became the focus of artists¹ attention long before the attacks. Joseph Beuys and Klaus Staeck created an art work titled Cosmos und Damian in 1974 which recreated the towers in fat on a postcard image. This piece of art has recently gained a new retrospect relevance after the attacks.

German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen called the attack the greatest work of art ever created. His statement, which he soon withdrew, produced a scandal in Germany and internationally. Hungarian composer George Ligeti harshly criticized Stockhausen for his statement.

After the attacks against New York City and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001, there were numerous intellectuals in Europe and in the United States who expressed their analysis of the events and their causes. Many also criticized the foreign policy of the United States in the past decades. Susan Sontag and Noam Chomsky in the U.S., Umberto Eco in Italy, John le Carré in Britain, Günter Grass in Germany all expressed their concerns with the behavior of the superpower globally and with its possible consequences.

The Human Rights Project of Bard College created an "on-line archive of essays, newspaper articles, commentaries, and photographs" about the responses to the attacks on September 11.

http://www.bard.edu/hrp/HRresponses/home.htm