For class this week we discussed three articles that discussed how we interpret/view African art. From my understandings I learned in class that there are so many stereotypes. I learned that people are quick to make assumptions just based on your skin color or where you live and that people are going to always put your work into some kind of category.
In class we got into groups and discussed quotes from the reading and ours was said by Yinka Shonibare and it says "If I made work about being black, I would be considered simply an artist who made work about blackness; if I did not make work about being black, people would speak of me as a black artist who did not make work about blackness". In our groups we discussed how no matter what he did people were going to criticize him and that people are always going to put you (him) into a category; everyone is a critic. In class we discussed how people automatically assume that people from other cultures should produce ‘traditional’ types of pieces. This brings me back to the first day of class when we were asked what we think of when we think of African art, and I replied with some stereotypical answer.
“The most powerful of the classificatory interventions are the words ‘traditional’ and ‘authentic’, which become shorthand designations for ‘good ‘, and their negations ‘non-traditional’ and ‘inauthentic’, which become synonymous with ‘bad’.” –Sidney Kasfir. I chose this quote because it made me think about how we use the words ‘authentic’ or ‘traditional’. It is true that when something is said to be ‘authentic’ that that work is automatically ‘right’ or ‘good’ and that it somehow is held at a higher importance than say something that is non-traditional. I think that it is interesting to think about when something is said to be ‘inauthentic’ or ‘non-traditional’ that they seem to automatically be wrong or bad.
Sadly, I think people are always going to put people into categories and make assumptions based on their appearances. I also think that the word ‘traditional’ is going to always be used in a loose way. I also think that getting into groups and discussing the readings was helpful in understanding what we read.
I really like the quote you mentioned by Sidney Kasfir. It's so true and I'm also glad you referred all the way back to the beginning of the class because I also replied with a stereotypical answer. It definitely makes you really think about those two words and what they really mean.
ReplyDeleteI, too, associated these articles with our first week of class and all the stereotypes we gave African art before we learned otherwise. I think this is interesting because the only way to get around these stereotypes is to educate people. However, as you said, I also believe that traditional and authentic things will be favored, while non-traditional and inauthentic will always have negative connotations.
ReplyDeleteSarah here suggests education is the way to surpass stereotypes--but what about the implicit biases or unexamined/unconscious assumptions that "educated" people make? Eg: museum curators, etc. etc. Does "education" include the experiences and viewpoints of the artists, then?
ReplyDeleteAnd where do stereotypes come from?
ReplyDelete