A Visual Experiment in Cultural Appropriation
PROPOSAL
While it is every artist’s dream for his work to have an expiration date far past that of his own physical body, when a work is wholly divorced from the name and experience of its original author, it is crushed beneath the weighty hand of misappropriation and negligence. The creation is then observed, praised, enjoyed, and manipulated as a work with no origin, no backbone, and no previous animation or aura. It is wiped clean and becomes a blank slate for disparate cultures to incorporate and claim as their own.
For my project, I would like to focus on these artists who have seen their words ripped from their own hands and subsequently reanimated and restructured by the same cultures that have oppressed and persecuted them for who they are – separating the words from the author, the text from the context, and the spirit from the creation.
My project would focus on cultural appropriation in rap music, where artists have seen their music and lyrics adopted by cultures with no appreciation or due praise for history or heritage. This is artistic and cultural hijacking, and it is just as prevalent today – arguably more so even – than it has been in the previous 65 years.
I have provided examples of this work I have created in my Printmaking class and wish to expand on in this hybrid project, where artists are hand-drawn using only their own words, and subsequently blurred, abstracted, and reappropriated by throwing corrosive and damaging chemicals on these lithographically-printed portraits, symbolic of the cultural appropriation and creative separation and subjugation they have faced. This process is an attempt to visually demonstrate the separation of artists from their own work, as well as society’s attempts to silence their humanity while simultaneously profiting from an alteration of their creation.
EXAMPLES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Thompson, Juan. “FADE TO WHITE: Black Music, White Artists = Big Money.” EBONY: Entertainment & Culture. EBONY, 26 Aug. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/fade-to-white-black-music-white-artistsbig-money-504#axzz42HvPy5au>.
Westhoff, Ben. “Pop Appropriation: Why Hip-Hop Loves Eminem But Loathes Iggy Azalea.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/11/hip-hop-appropriation-eminem-iggy-azalea>.
Ballin, Sofiya. “Who Owns Hip-Hop?: ‘Cultural Appropriation’ Debate Rages On.” Philly Archives. Philly.com, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://articles.philly.com/2015-02-13/news/59088096_1_ryan-lewis-macklemore-grammys>.
Charity, Justin. “Rap Game Christopher Columbus.” Complex. Complex, 12 Dec. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://www.complex.com/music/2014/12/cultural-appropriation-in-music-hip-hop-and-pop>.
Whoa, this is extremely cool and well-thought out! I love the direction that you are taking with this project, and it seems as though you have already gotten a head start.
Some things to consider as you move forward with this project:
1. How will you select the rappers? And what lyrics will you choose? Perhaps you might want to look at rappers whose lyrics have definitely been hijacked by others, whether in film, other song lyrics, etc. and provide specific examples of this “cultural hijacking” as you begin your artistic process.
2. Here’s a good, possible scholarly source for you to take a look at, that deals with the work of art’s “aura” or integrity, and how it deteriorates in the age of mechanical reproduction. It’s a well-known essay that I’ve included in a number of projects during my time at Davidson: Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” (1936). Here is a link: https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm
Awesome, awesome work!! Having experienced aspects of this project in more of a visual capacity, I think the addition of the words and your voice to the images is really powerful and gives insight to your vision for the images. I think a powerful component that could be useful in your personal reflection or potentially as part of an artists’ statement could be the analysis of your positionality as a white artist. What perspective do you bring to this project, why does it matter to you, and how has it influenced your work?
I think this is a really neat way of entering a dialogue with the creator, their work and the public’s use or misuse of it.
I would be cautious of loosing the words in the pursuit of creating an image.
Also I think it would be neat to have some versions that have the words as they have been misused not just the creator’s words.
Wow, Stephen, those images are gorgeous, and this topic is really exciting! Keep in mind this is just the idea stage–not a proposal. Your proposal will need to have more clear cut parameters and definite limits. I think a cool idea would be to act as the literary/art critic of your own artwork. One question I would ask is: how does your work avoid being an appropriation of the rapper’s lyrics? Where is the line between appropriation and remixing, between sabotage and homage? Remember that the project must have a critical component as well as a creative one, and you can’t get credit for the same work in two different courses. But you could, for example, compose a critical essay on your print work, created on an online platform like WordPress, Scalar, or Atavist, which would allow you to present images, video/audio clips, etc… And writing a multimedia critical essay on such a platform is definitely a creative effort!