Waterloo Arts Center Adventure!

Well, to make a long story short, my visit to the Waterloo Arts Center was very interesting.  Since I have time to blog though, I'll give you the long story!  The only day I was able to visit the arts center was a week ago today(Sunday).  The Waterloo Arts Center isn't open on Mondays and I was gone the rest of the week for a conference.  Unfortunately though, I felt very sick on that Sunday.  I muscled up though and went anyway.  On the way there I unfortunately got even sicker and had to make a pit-stop outside of a bank(it was the closest place and I HAD to stop!) to, pardon me if this makes you queasy... throw up.  I couldn't hold it in!  After this little... incident... I felt much better and was able to proceed on to the arts center.  I still didn't feel excellent but I was able to make it through the exhibit.  While this may not be important to the arts center or Haitian Art, I feel the need to pre-curse my blog with this to explain why I, unfortunately, didn't get to spend as much time looking around as I would have liked.  Plus, I think it's really funny now looking back on it because I was throwing up in some random bushes... I feel really bad for that bank.

So, anyway, the biggest thing that I noticed was the detail that I hadn't seen before in the drapos.  Looking at them on the projector in class does no justice to them.  All of the intricate details with the sequins and beads is very impressive.  I brought a friend along with me and we kept marveling at how much time and effort that would need to be put into these.  My friend, who had never(knowingly) seen Haitian Art before asked me why they would put so much effort into these objects.  I felt very knowledgeable when I explained to her that these were religious objects used for rituals and honoring the Lwa.  

I personally enjoyed the sculptures from Haitian Art.  I'm someone who tends to be drawn to three-dimensional objects (interestingly enough since my emphasis is graphic design).  My friend and I both noticed the use of birds through most of these sculptures.  I was not able to remember what the birds signified and was unsuccessful in finding what they mean.  I do remember that the use of snakes often refer to Danbala.  Danbala is a deity that is often related with water and wisdom.  Crossroads are often used in Drapos as well, of course symbolizing the connection between the afterlife and this world.

As much as an "adventure" this trip was, I really was bummed that I was sick because I was not able to focus and appreciate the art as well as I would have liked to.  I have decided that in the future I want to go back to look at the Haitian exhibit as well as the rest of the arts center so that I am able to take the time that I would like to and absorb all the art has to offer.  Especially the kids area! That looked really fun.

Stereotyping and Art

Earlier this fall I took part in a diversity training.  I have taken place in a couple different diversity sessions before but in this past one we talked a lot about stereotyping.  The big idea that I learned from this training was that we all make stereotypes.  It's just a fact of life!  With all of the information our brains receive and intake we have to do something with all of the information.  We categorize, adapt(a reference to my previous blog) and stereotype everything.  Subconsciously or consciously, we do it.  It, however, is what we then do with these stereotypes that makes the difference.

I bring up this idea of stereotypes because this seemed to be an underlying theme within the three articles we read and discussed in class.  Artists, art and more specifically, in our case, African Art are always being stereotyped.  Each article, while not specifically focused on stereotyping, eluded to this idea different.

In the article African Art and Authenticity: A Text with a Shadow by Sidney Kasfir I focused on this quote, “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’.” (Page 95).  Why do we take artwork(and plenty of other things) and deem them 'authentic' or 'traditional'?  In class my group discussed briefly about whether something is authentic or is it original.  Often times we place these terms on African Art.  Do they restrict us or guide our views about the work of art to assume that because it's 'traditional'?

The article by Olu Oguibe, Art, Identity, Boundaries: Postmodernism and Contemporary African Art the quote that struck me the most was this: “Clearly against his will, Ouattara finds himself repositioned in the frame as the object.  And though he is coerced to sketch the contours of this subject, to narrate himself and to trace the ethnography of his body, his is made to do so within confines defined by another.” (Page 19).  In this interview, Ouattara wanted to talk about his artwork but his interviewer kept wanting to talk about his past, family and where he was from as if it was the reason his art is the way it is.  While I personally believe that our past experiences have an effect on an individual's artwork, it's unfortunate that Ouattara is unable to explain himself without being stereotyped because he is from Africa.  

The last article, an interview with Yinka Shonibare, offered up a lot discussion in class.  Different groups discussed different quotes from the article.  One that stuck out to me when I was reading the article was when Yinka talked about how he has never actually seen an African tribe in real life and that he wasn't from one either.  Why then, do we just assume that he is from an African tribe just because he lived in Nigeria?  The quote that I chose to bring to class was when Yinka talked about his blackness.  “In Nigeria I was open to a lot of experiences: I was living in Lagos, a contemporary society, and I could watch American programs and just basically be a citizen of the world, show interest in many things simultaneously-I did not have to choose.  Then when I moved to Europe, to my surprise, I had to choose.  I believe that my blackness began when I stepped off the plane at Heathrow.  I did not have a notion or a concept of blackness until I stepped off the plane.” (Page 166).  Why was Yinka immediately stereotyped when he came to Europe?  Is this stereotype useful or not?  Many may say that this is harsh, but I would venture to say that stereotypes are useful ONLY when we use them correctly.  Correctly to me would be when we use them to categorize and understand others not as a hindrance but a useful tool.  When we understand others and are open to what they can offer we will then be open to many new learning experiences.