Michi
Suazo
November
20, 2018
Professor
Doris Cacoilo
The
Persistence of History Exhibit reaction paper
In the words of Gallery Directory, Midori Yoshimoto, “The concept
of the exhibit is to bring in various aspects of history into contemporary art.
These aspects that are usually unacknowledged are brought in by a diverse group
of artists.” The Persistence of History exhibit displayed pieces by artists
that included parts of their identity, historical events and political issues
into their artwork. Keeping my semester project in mind—which is a column in
the Gothic Times newspaper that I will write articles for twice every month—I
have chosen three artists whose works resonated with me: Jaune Quick-to-See
Smith, Gaku Tsutaja, and Debra Priestly.
Jaune Quick-to-see Smith working on sculptures
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s Trade Canoe: The Dark Side
(2017-2018) is mixed media on canvas and portrays a white colonist (General
George Armstrong Custer) and a Native American warrior (Tonto) at opposite ends
of a trade canoe with a mountain of bones between them. What I find interesting
with this piece is that the mountain of bones is present on both sides of the
canoe which may imply that it is an observation by nature that both human
beings kill. However, the mountain of bones is much bigger on the side of
General Custer. Smith explores the marginalization and oppression of Native
American identities as well as the destruction of its cultures. Upon doing
further research, I found that Smith has something in common with Yayoi Kusama
(the artist whose documentary film inspired me to form the semester project
that I am currently developing). Like Kusama, Smith was told by her professor
in high school that she drew very well but that she needed to think of a
different career. She was told that she will never become an artist, and that
women cannot be artists. Smith is also an art educator and a political
activist. She is one of the most acclaimed Native American artists working
today.
Debra Priestly with her piece, mattoon 5
Another work that immediately demanded my attention is Debra Priestly’s
mattoon 5 (2002) which is composed of acrylic, photo transfer, ink and
resin on wood. It is focused on memory and storytelling. This piece shows
canning jars in a five by five grid that holds black-and-white photos of people
from seemingly bygone eras. In a statement, Priestly said, “the canning jar
becomes an infinitely versatile prism where narratives unravel. It can also
function as a frame, which proudly displays its contents, or in other contexts,
a window that provides a bearable distance for the viewer, or even myself.” The
daguerreotype-esque style used in her piece gives it a nostalgic feel. The
people (who are people of color in the jars, by the way) portrayed are
predominantly black. Her title, Mattoon 5, also prompts the viewer to wonder what
happened at Mattoon or if there is an event it is referring to since Mattoon is
a city in Coles County, Illinois. Priestly also has another piece I find highly
intriguing; this piece uses soup bowls as some sort of vessel that her
ancestors can speak through. Debra Priestly is a visual artist exploring themes
of memory, ancestry, history and cultural preservation.
Gaku Tsutaja with her pieces, Monk Parakeet Theater and The Project to Dismantle the Enola Gay.
Finally, my favorite artist and artwork since viewing the exhibit
a week prior to the class tour is Gaku Tsutaja’s The Project to Dismantle
the Enola Gay (2018). This piece is composed of reeds, branches, wire net,
Spanish moss, wood, paper, clay, India ink, canvas cloth, net and string.
Tsutaja uses the invasive species of monk parakeets to symbolize immigrants in
America. The piece portrays parakeets trying to stop the Hiroshima bomber,
Enola Gay, before it could drop the atomic bomb and take hundreds of lives. Her
other piece located at the Visual Arts gallery is called Monk Parakeet Theater. Most of it is made out of wood but it looks
like the interior of a plane—a bomber plane. She uses two video screens which
display her drawings and announces excerpts of poems written by Sankichi Toge,
a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing. Tsutaja is a Tokyo-born artist whose work
focuses on subjects concerning national identity and trauma brought upon by
disaster such as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In a written
statement, Tsutaja said, “My research is influenced by living between two
cultures and translating experiences as a Japanese immigrant to a generation
unaware of significant events. By being intermediaries, the parakeets are
revealing what museums should say about objects of war, like how many people
the Enola Gay killed. This is information missing from the actual museum where
the Enola Gay is displayed.”
These works address socio-political issues while existing inside
political and capitalist structure because the artists have brought their
background as minorities into the equation and weaved it into cultural capital.
But they are also critiquing the structure in which they exist by allowing
their work to be displayed publicly to give viewers a chance to discuss the
issues their art is focusing on. Tsutaja critiqued World War 2 and the bombing
of her home country, Smith critiqued the culture clash between Native Americans
and Europeans, Priestly brought her history as a black woman to the forefront
by using everyday objects to associate them with relatives.
Yes, these artists do benefit from the capitalist patriarchal
system they are in by producing cultural capital (their artwork) to be
displayed in galleries in order to gain financially. However, the cultural
capital itself—just by existing and prompting gallery viewers and museum goers
to think and discuss the political issues the art is targeting—has done the
work. These artists, just by being women existing and producing content in the art
world (which itself has been a male-centered for a long time) is a statement
itself. Like Kusama, they are protesting through art. This is where the line is
found that divides activism inside the art world and activism outside of the
art world.
A passage in the book, Seeing Power cites, “…. Grassroots movements
catapult left-leaning academics to be the faces of a movement, any movement;
connectedness in service of data mining and market research; political artists
bend over backwards to become palatable, safe, user-friendly.” (Thompson 83)
While there is truth in political artists becoming “safe”, I simply do not
agree with them being user-friendly and palatable. They are safe because they
operate within the confines of museums and galleries in which they obtain the
permission of viewers to view politically charged art. Whereas activism outside
the world of art can be disruptive to the average civilian and can be labeled “hooliganism”
(Pussy Riot’s Performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Moscow,
February 21, 2012). Political artists or art that is political in whatever
medium they present themselves as (video, performance art, interpretive dance, sculpture,
painting, etc.) can flourish in a controlled space with no objection like the
Room of Requirement in Harry Potter where students practiced their defense
against the dark arts spells under Harry’s tutelage during a time when it was
forbidden to do so.
Everyone is playing this game, whether artist or viewer, producer
or consumer. “We gain a sense of how the game is played; and we play it well,
for the purpose of gaining more power.” (Thompson 85) “History is not a new subject matter. But you
see here a different approach in telling it--away from the same repeated
narrative,” said Yoshimoto.
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