SAMO: Art as a Langauge
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| Kelsey, myself, Bryn, and Ava outside the Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo by Travis Siegel on iPhone 6 |
As the daughter of a travel writer/almost art history major, I have been to more than my fair share of museums and collections dominated by Western art. I've gawked at Bernini's in Rome, Constable's works in London, and portrait after portrait of extravagantly dressed king in Portugal. So imagine how my Western-art trained eyes and ears perked up when I heard Michele Wright pose the question, "What is the role of the black artist?"
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| Kelsey and I excitedly waiting for the speakers to come onstage. Photo taken by Bryn Muraff on iPhone 6 |
For my SAMO, myself, Kelsey, Bryn Muraff, Ava Izenstark, and Travis Siegel headed downtown for a cultural experience before heading downtown to Skid Row in our performance of Little Shop of Horrors that evening. We attended the Museum of Contemporary Art's Art and Life Talk, lead by New Yorker writer Hilton Als, University of Chicago professor Jacqueline Stewart, and Northwestern professor Michelle M. Wright. All three of these individuals of color were extremely well versed on the topics discussed and gave interesting viewpoints that really made me think.
Now, back to that question (my apologies for the agonizing suspense): "What is the role of the black artist?" One of the speakers answered that the role was "wonderful but annoying," and different reactions came of that too. Wright believed that the black artist has a duty to submit themselves to the community, while Als believed that there was no need for this. I cannot understand this topic as well as a person of color who identifies with black art, but would agree more with Als. While art can be powerful and absolutely has the strength to alter ideas, the word "duty" just doesn't sit well with me. The artist can help to alter ideas, but they don't need to "submit themselves" in a way that consumes their life.
This question diverged into an even deeper inquiry, and one I had never even pondered: what is blackness? It was answered as saying that society is fixated on racial difference, and that people talk about race as if it is a biological condition. A term I never heard before, Middle Passage Blackness, described blackness is just an object of history, rather than the agent; the agent of course being whiteness. The question really came full circle back to the first one after, answering that black art has been reduced to a reaction to whiteness.
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| The three genius speakers onstage filling my mind with lots of cool and interesting information. Photo by me on iPhone 6 |
Black art is full of pain and anguish, and sure, that anguish was caused by whiteness, and maybe that specific work of art would not exist without the oppression, but black art would still be flourishing if racism was decimated. The most crowded work at the Museum of Modern Art would not be Van Gogh's starry night, but there'd be an all-enclosing circle of people trying to see Jacob Lawrence's works. People would have flown out to see MoCA's Kerry James Marshall exhibit the same way people fly thousands of miles to the Louvre for the Mona Lisa (which really isn't all that exciting, if it's not total sacrilege to say so).
Black art's existence is strong. It isn't excluded from museums. It's not said to be ugly or pointless or telling lies. It's just, to put it lightly, overlooked. And young people like me who are interested in art can help to fix this, by exploring past the main corridors of the art museum, looking at the pieces that don't have elaborate framework, check out the piece next to the one crowded with eager eyes. I can take a step forward into my cycle of liberation in the art world, and maybe this very SAMO was my awakening. And next time I pop into the Art Institute, I will be sure to value the Yoakum just as I value the Hopper. And maybe spend a little more time on Yoakum too. He deserves it.
On top of all that, we checked out some of the other works of art at the museum. A few pieces stuck out to me and seemed especially CST-y and couldn't post this blog without them included.
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| Description of Nauman's work. Photo by me on iPhone 6 |
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| Bruce Nauman's Run from Fear, Fun From Rear Photo by me on iPhone 6 |
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| Dennis Adams' work Patricia Heard A thru Z Photo by me on iPhone 6 |
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| Description of Adams' work Photo by me on iPhone 6 |
Both of these pieces touch on the media, which has been a major topic of discussion in class. Reading the word "taboo" in the description of Nauman's work made Kelsey and me jump up and down because of how this entire museum seemed to be curated to fit the CST curriculum. I also noticed something ironic after visiting the museum. Lots of other GBN students did also visited for SAMO or other purposes, and I saw lots of Instagram and Vsco posts of this work of art. However, there was no explanation or showing of understanding of the piece. Just the pretty flourescent colors.
The second piece did a great job of talking about media bias the same way CST has; on Fox News Trump wins the debate, at CNN he was crushed by Clinton. This piece explained through incredible visuals how the media's portrayal of any subject can completely alter the public's viewpoint of that subject.
Until next quarter! Until then, SAMO on and see you soon.
-Gillian
It's good to question your own definition of art just as the black artists questioned what the role of black art is. I would imagine that many people would define it many different ways, and the race of the viewer would be just a starting point to that conversation.
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