“Historically, it’s been absolutely impossible for the vast majority of critics, of white audiences, and even of black audiences to come to the work and not first and foremost fixate on the blackness of the images. As soon as blackness becomes the all-important sign, audiences assume that the images are addressing victimization.”
- When people see artwork that has Black people, people never think that the piece is the author wanting to represent themselves or others. The piece can’t just have Black having fun or doing other tasks without people thinking that the artwork is talking about racism or discrimination. But art pieces that contain White people, they don't think about racism or discrimination and it’s just White people having fun.
“Right now so much in popular culture defines blackness as black urban experience. And, to some extent, I find your focus on the South so powerful- its evocation of our concern with return. In so many ways your work can be talked about as linked to psychoanalysis, particularly the issue of recognition and memory.”
- Popular culture only views blackness as the urban experience and can’t picture blackness in any other setting. Popular culture media can’t fathom nor create ideas that have blackness in any subject matter due to people can’t fathoming the idea that blackness can only be defined by urban and nothing else.
Notes:
- The reading had me realize that media, art, and people have put Black people in a box that when it comes to art and they can’t imagine Black that it either Black that are just drawn, put in everyday scenarios, or a fictional setting without thinking that the piece “has to be” about racism other than Black people just existing. Yet they can picture White people in any situation and story as they please with no underlying meaning.
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