Artist Depicts the Bill of Rights in a World Out of Joint. Richard Minsky, an artist and professional bookbinder, has found a way to exemplify the first 10 amendments to the Constitution as artworks. By Ralph Blumenthal. [New York Times: Arts]

The Sexploitater Was Rather Proper. In his photos from the 50's and 60's, Russ Meyer recalls an era of pinups who suggested more than they showed. By Deborah Bach. [New York Times: Arts]

The War Finally Ends for an Image of Evil. On view at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, are 14th-century panels from what may be the only stained-glass window wholly dedicated to the life and times of the Antichrist. By Amei Wallach. [New York Times: Arts]

Walking into Susan Hiller's installation, 'Witness' at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney), is like passing through a portal into an alternate dimension.

The work, housed in a darkened room, consists of a cloud of 600 small, transparent speakers suspended from the ceiling playing UFO sighting testimonies from around the world in a variety of languages, creating an almost incoherent babble out of which the occasional distinct voice can be heard.

Standing in this room, surrounded by linguistic confusion, reminded me of what those first mythical moments after the fall of Babel might have sounded like. Many of the most ancient mystic traditions believed that language was not only a form of communication, but also a means of shaping the physical universe.

The Kabbalists, for example, believed that by rearranging the words of the first few books of the bible, they could discover the true name of God, giving them power to change reality. In this account, Adam, the first man, did not just name the animals, but literally called them into being by speaking their true names.

The fall of Babel stripped us of the true language of power, yet in many ways the richness of our cultural traditions stems from the complexity of languages, which in turn shapes differences in apprehension.

Hiller's work is part of the The Biennale of Sydney which opened this week, taking its theme from artists who use fictions, fakes, and invented methodologies as a basis for their reflections on the world.

[s c r e e n m e d i a . c o m]