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.