Curatorial Project

Curatorial Statement

In contemporary American society if there’s one issue that that has affected us for quite some time and still affects us and our daily lives today it’s the race identity. According to PBS, the word ‘race’ has no biological meaning. Race seems to be just a mere concept. Yet we identify people by it not just physically but in many aspects of life. Race can affect a person’s love life, their profession, their family and themselves as a person. While some people believe we live in a post-racial society others are reminded that we don’t on a daily basis. With race being such an overwhelming topic it’s no wonder why artists like to depict it through their art.

This curatorial project does not center on just one aspect of the race identity. Instead it focuses on different aspects in hopes of getting people thinking to see what race means to them. Because race is a concept with no actual meaning it’s safe to assume that each person will define race differently.  Race is more than just the color of a person’s skin and while many people believe it’s only skin deep, people who are more affected by it will probably tell you differently.

This project is NOT about racism. This project is about race and how people identify it. I say this because when people think race they automatically think of the problems people’s perceptions of race have caused. This project only deals with people perceptions not what they do base off those perceptions. The reason why I wanted to focus on people’s perceptions is because if people didn’t view race the way they did they wouldn’t form hate off of it. Instead of seeing an African American man and thinking he must be a thug because he’s black, a person could easily say that’s a man of a different skin tone than I who is probably just like me. This projects purpose is to help people see how they view race because sometimes we don’t realize it.

The reason why I chose the race identity for this project is because even though it’s always been relevant it’s recently been brought back into the spotlight after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. Do I believe Zimmerman is racist? No. Do I believe Zimmerman has a perception of African American men that made him feel Trayvon was up to no good and resulted in his shooting? Yes. Trayvons death has brought the race identity back into the spotlight and what it means to us as a country. The fact that this young boy may have lost his life because of what another man’s perception of his race might have been is a need for us all to evaluate how we view race so that something like this doesn’t happen again.

The following pieces of art focus on different aspects of daily life from love to careers. The idea is to see how race plays a role in each photo and in essence plays a role in that aspect of life. The purpose is to see and measure the significance the race identity has in normal day to day activity.

Visual Presentation

Title of work: Buzz and Nan at the Afterhours

Artist: Nan Goldin

Year created: 1980          

Media: Photography

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=102267
 This photo is of a black man and a white woman sitting at the bar together after what looks like a few drinks. Up until the year 1967 interracial couples were not allowed to exist. Not only were interracial couples not allowed to exist but they were all together looked down on. In fact, before this law passed a young black boy by the name of Emmet Till was murdered at the age of 14 for supposedly flirting with a white woman. Even today, some people still look down on interracial couples. Abc news recently shot an investigative piece where they sent a fake interracial couple into a diner and showed them revealing to the young girls father that they were in love. The father, who was really just an actor, pretends he disapproves of his daughter dating a black boy. While there were several cases where people stand up against the dad for being mean towards the young man there were also scenes when the couple walks away and many people in the diner support the father. I bring this up only to make light of the fact that race still plays a pivotal role in relationships. At one point in history a photo like this could’ve never been taken. A black man would’ve never been allowed to be this close to a white woman especially in a social scene where they seem like they have some sort of relationship. Even though today, it’s legally allowed that hasn’t changed other people’s perception of it just because of how they identity another race. 

Title of work: Model

Artist: Frederick Wiseman

Year created: 1980

Media: Film

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=125581

This photo relates to not just the race identity but also of Americas idea of beauty. African American women were never regarded, at least not in the general public, as beautiful until recently. Today, an African American has been ranked by People magazine as the World’s Most Beautiful Woman. However in the past, an African American couldn’t even grace the pages of a magazine none the less the cover. The significance of race in this photo is that an African American woman, in other words a woman who is stereotypically not regarded as beautiful, is doing the make up for a Caucasian model that is considered beautiful. It’s a little bit ironic. I think that’s saying something that a woman who is of a race that is not identified with beauty is helping a woman of another race become beautiful.

According to UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography, “Model (1980) extended Wiseman's analysis of American culture by looking at how images are constructed in the advertising business.” This could be an indication of how even the media knows how America identify race. So even though America is falling in love with these models that they believe are beautiful, it’s people who don’t even match that idea of beauty that are behind it. This brings up the question, if the tables were turned and the models were of a different race, would the audience still consider them beautiful?

It brings up the idea of beauty and whether we identify all races with beauty or just one.

  Title of work: Middleton Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts

Artist: Nicholas Nixon

Year created: 1981

Media: Photography

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=49931

Often time’s different races are identified with different economic levels. For example, African-Americans are identified as poverty stricken while Caucasian is identified as rich. While this may reflect how many people identify races it’s not always true.  In this photo we see a family and what looks like a mom and her 3 children in their home. Now someone at first glance might believe this family doesn’t have much. However, you pay more attention you can see the house that they’re in is pretty well kept. The young boy has on a Cub Scout uniform and in the background there even seems to be pretty decent wallpaper. Does this mean this family is rich? No. But it does mean they may not fit the stereotypes their race is identified with.

Title of work: Fido Patee Pour Chats

Artists: Laszlo Sos and Eva Kemeny

Year created: 1982

Media: Architecture and Design

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=8212

 This photo has huge relevancy to the race identity in America. In a part of this photo there is a group of black boys and their grandmother who is poverty and famished. You can see on their faces that they are depressed, hungry, and in need of help. In another part there is a white girl who seems pretty happy and unlike the young boys is well fed. Do we identify certain races with poverty and therefore don’t find it a big deal when we see them like this? Is it not until we match them next to another race when we see that there is a serious problem? If the tables were turned and the young boys were well fed and happy but the young girl was not, would it cause more of a public outcry? If people truly believe that certain races identify with low economic levels something should be done. If statistics show certain communities are suffering due to poverty than we as a country need to come together to fix that problem.  

      Title of work: Untitled

Artist: Bruce Horowitz

Year created: 1983

Media: Photography

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=45829

 What about the race identity and success? Does that even exist? Do we as a country identify a race with successful men and women? Stereotypically speaking, I suppose if you consider Wall Street you might consider a white male. This photo, however, has something else in mind. It’s a simple piece of art work. It looks like a photo of a mother and child. The mother is looks like she’s successful. She’s in a business suit and in area that looks to be more of a place of business than just a community. Her daughter is dressed up in some pretty fancy clothes as well which could suggest that her mother can afford clothes like that. This is significant to the race identity just because it’s not something we see often. Therefore, unfortunately it’s not something some races are generally identified with. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. We choose what we identify races with. We could very easily identify an African American female with business and success as some identify them with poverty and unemployment. If we choose not to it’s a reflection of how we view race not a reflection of what race is in America.

 Title of work: Domestic workers waiting for the bus

Artist: Joel Sternfield

Year created: 1983

Media: Photography

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=82451

 The name of this photo is Domestic Workers waiting for the Bus. But when I look at this photo I see much more than that. I see friends socializing. I see a woman with grocery bags who might have went food shopping for her family and is planning on cooking a big dinner for them when they get home. But apparently the photographer saw Domestic Workers waiting for the Bus. I’m not making that reference to say that the photographer undermined his photograph subjects but instead to once again say that the race identity is all based off of perception. Would the photographer have named this piece of work the same if the subjects had been of a different race? Since they’re not doing domestic work in the photo why make note of the fact that they’re domestic workers? This makes reference as to what some of us might connect certain races to. This piece of art also brings to attention the race identity and profession. Since so many races have problems when they try and move up the career ladder, is this the kind of profession we most identify them with?

 

Bibliography
1) 02.15.00, Posted. "Does Race Exist?" PBS. PBS, 09 Jan. 0000. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/does-race-exist.html>.
2)  "Hulu - What Would You Do?: Dad Rejects Daughter's Black Boyfriend." Hulu. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.hulu.com/watch/335761/what-would-you-do-dad-rejects-daughters-black-boyfriend>.
3) "Frederick Wiseman". UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography. FindArticles.com. 29 Apr, 2012.
4)  "THE COLLECTION." MoMA.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=102267>.
5)  "THE COLLECTION." MoMA.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=125581>.
6)  "THE COLLECTION." MoMA.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=49931>.
7)  "THE COLLECTION." MoMA.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=8212>.
8)  "THE COLLECTION." MoMA.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=45829>.
9)  "THE COLLECTION." MoMA.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=82451>.