Wafaa Bilal

Iraqi artist Wafaa Bilal, a professor at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University has been recognized worldwide for his interactive and dynamic Internet encounters that explore conflict and provoke dialogue. His installation "Domestic Tension" placed him in front of a paintball gun which people could shoot at him over the internet, 24 hours a day for a month. Newsweek called it "breathtaking." The month- long piece spurred online debates and intense conversations, garnering the praise of the Chicago Tribune, which called it "one of the sharpest works of political art to be seen in a long time" and named him Artist of the Year in 2007.In fall 2008, City Lights published "Shoot an Iraqi: Life, Art and Resistance Under the Gun," about Bilal's life and the Domestic Tension project. Most recently Bilal was named one of the year's "15 Most Politically Fascinating People of 2008" by the online magazine GamePolitics.com