July 10 Rader pp. 21-30 (Chapter 1); Lampert pp. 22-38 (Chapters 3 & 4)
First off, thanks for your wonderful introductions. I made a mistake yesterday and only covered pages 1-10 in the Rader book. Sorry about that. I will cover 11-20 and 21-30 in todays comments. Please keep in mind that I expect a minimum of four responses each day. That means if there are four questions you can respond one or more times to each; or you can respond twice to two questions.
Here are some comments on yesterday's posts. andrea stated how important the power of story-telling is, especially in many of our family settings. And yet, it really doesn't garner much support as a legitimate way to construct and "keep" histories. One thought I had was what can we take away as art teachers or museum educators from these readings in terms of how we could better democratize "classroom management" issues? Rather than one teacher disciplining, for example, what if there were others in the class that took part--I am thinking more of self-regulation/self-control, etc. Melanie brought up a great question Why didn't they teach us all of the facts? Sort of related to visual art never getting stories correct. Tyler posted about my question alluding to fear. My fear and learning question was questioning possibly what happens when new information calls into question core beliefs, ways I have been taught are facts? White ways of knowing and knowledge, for example. The histories presented are very appealing to me and I am glad many of you are feeling the same. We are currently reading two chapters from the Lampert book. That will change in a week to only one to give you time to think about a semester project. And plan. That project can be a thinning one--an idea or ideation or a plan for something. We really don't have time to create, though if you do, for example, put together a series of watercolors or collages that help you think further through some of these issues, that can work. The project is wide open to allow you incorporate your strengths and interests, however tied to the material--you will determine that.
And remember, any late posts, just post in our current day--and let us know they are for the previous day/s. Thanks.
Chapter 3 Liberation Graphics
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think of the practices and power of the images? I was amazed at the histories of resistance and the many strategies activist employed. And the complexities of the politics and personal relationships affected. And the attacks on the anti-slavery activists--brutal. Comment on the histories presented, if you can. Also, what connections can you make to contemporary activisms in the US or globally--that come to mind.
I was appalled to read the Presidential and State involvement of laws against abolitionists during the slave trade era. The threat of civil liberties and personal information were at risk by our own President due to abolitionist pamphlets and imagery. It interesting how one of the earlier art forms, printmaking, holds so much history that was impacted by the images produced. To think that a picture could be hated and banned based on its message that the reader interprets.
DeleteLooking at the image on page 26, "Blue glass sugar bowl," that reads "not made by slaves," I think about the food movement in the United States. We see more protests and documentaries against Congress and big food labels for forcing farmers to grow their seeds and use their pesticides. If the farm doesn't, they can be completely shut down, losing everything. As soon as I turned on my computer an article was about the bee and bird decline affected by pesticides on plants. To think the government can control what we put in our own bodies by forcing certain products to be used to produce fruit and vegetables, and how it can ultimately redefine the environment.
Although the slave trade and the food industry are completely different serious scenarios, the public finds its way to spread the word and illustrate its affects.
I was also reminded of the food movement in the US, and also the recent Hobby Lobby rulings. People are still using imagery to promote their ideas (on both sides). Now people use photography. It makes me wonder, when I'm looking at political photographs, how propagandized it is. And where the full truth is.
DeleteI went to college in the mid south and graduate school in the deep south. At the time, the class room high school text books in Mississippi called the civil war-- war of northern aggression. It was fairly shocking and that is pretty long time post civil rights. Also, I read somewhere that the Civil War would not have been so easily reinterpreted without the work of Walter Scott, which I found super interesting as a lifetime lover of literature with Robin Hood. (Ivanhoe is the only main character I know of who sleeps most of his way through his novel and needs Robin Hood to save the day a couple of times--I digress). But it was the romance of the lost cause straight from Scott--that steeped those ideas.
DeleteImages will always be part of marketing from advertising to propaganda--it's very effective.
Also--many of the images in the book can be found in the Library of Congress with detailed descriptions.
Lambert Chapter 3: Liberation Graphics
DeleteThe first thing that sparked my interest in this chapter was the bravery the people had who participated in the abolitionist movement. " Abolitionists placed their lives on the line by confronting slavery"( Lampert, 24). It is hard to think of people placing their lives on the line for a cause in this day of age. Besides serving in a war and being called to duty, is there anything else I would put myself out their for. Yes, I know that there was war about slavery, but I'm talking about the people in the community who do not see the fight. Maybe I am just talking about my art today , would I put my life on the line to illustrated something? Christianity teaches us to be brave and stand up for what you believe facing the consequences. I believe this can be where Christianity can be miss represented, because the Bible also says to treat everyone with kindness . Therefore only put yourself out their for what you believe and represent Christianity in a righteous way, not hurting others, but in only lifting others up. Now, if I was in the Middle East where I could be killed or prisoned for being a Christian, the question is would I still put myself out there to make christian art, even though it is a danger to myself. These artist in this time are sure brave to put themselves out there at that time.
The next observation I noted is the idea of the artwork being in "the form of a blueprint: an architectural rending of the slave ship Brooks" (Lampert , 25). This raises a good question, are blueprints for a building construction a form of art? In order to answer this question it takes looking at the definition of art and looking at the process of making the blueprints. In the end, I believe it can be a form of art because it's being drawn even though for a purpose. Is it expressive ? No, not really, but there are some art that is not very expressive, but is more for technique.
DeleteFor all who wanted to read the rest of the Anti- Slavery Alphabet
A is an Abolitionist—
A man who wants to free
The wretched slave—and give to all
An equal liberty.
B is a Brother with a skin
Of somewhat darker hue,
But in our Heavenly Father’s sight,
He is as dear as you.
C is the Cotton-field, to which
This injured brother’s driven,
When, as the white-man’s slave, he toils,
From early morn till even.
D is the Driver, cold and stern,
Who follows, whip in hand,
To punish those who dare to rest,
Or disobey command.
E is the Eagle, soaring high;
An emblem of the free;
But while we chain our brother man,
Our type he cannot be.
F is the heart-sick
Fugitive, The slave who runs away,
And travels through the dreary night,
But hides himself by day.
G is the Gong, whose rolling sound,
Before the morning light,
Calls up the little sleeping slave,
To labor until night.
H is the Hound his master trained,
And called to scent the track
Of the unhappy Fugitive,
And bring him trembling back.
I is the Infant, from the arms
Of its fond mother torn,
And, at a public auction, sold
With horses, cows, and corn.
J is the Jail, upon whose floor
That wretched mother lay,
Until her cruel master came,
And carried her away.
K is the Kidnapper, who stole
That little child and mother—
Shrieking, it clung around her, but
He tore them from each other.
L is the Lash, that brutally
He swung around its head,
Threatening that “if it cried again,
He’d whip it till ’twas dead.”
M is the Merchant of the north,
Who buys what slaves produce—
So they are stolen, whipped and worked,
For his, and for our use.
N is the Negro, rambling free
In his far distant home,
Delighting ‘neath the palm trees’ shade
And cocoa-nut to roam.
O is the Orange tree, that bloomed
Beside his cabin door,
When white men stole him from his home
To see it never more.
P is the Parent, sorrowing,
And weeping all alone—
The child he loved to lean upon,
His only son, is gone!
Q is the Quarter, where the slave
On coarsest food is fed,
And where, with toil and sorrow worn,
He seeks his wretched bed.
R is the “Rice-swamp, dank and lone,” W
here, weary, day by day,
He labors till the fever wastes
His strength and life away.
S is the Sugar, that the slave
Is toiling hard to make,
To put into your pie and tea,
Your candy, and your cake.
T is the rank Tobacco plant,
Raised by slave labor too:
A poisonous and nasty thing,
For gentlemen to chew.
U is for Upper Canada,
Where the poor slave has found
Rest after all his wanderings,
For it is British ground!
V is the Vessel, in whose dark,
Noisome, and stifling hold,
Hundreds of Africans are packed,
Brought o’er the seas, and sold.
W is the Whipping post,
To which the slave is bound,
While on his naked back, the lash
Makes many a bleeding wound.
X is for Xerxes, famed of yore;
A warrior stern was he
He fought with swords; let truth and love
Our only weapons be.
Y is for Youth—the time for all
Bravely to war with sin;
And think not it can ever be
Too early to begin.
Z is a Zealous man, sincere,
Faithful, and just, and true;
An earnest pleader for the slave—
Will you not be so too?
http://jubiloemancipationcentury.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/the-anti-slavery-alphabet-a-pamphlet-from-1846/
That is an AWESOME poem! Thank you for sharing!!!
DeleteIts so hard to believe the consequence for standing up for what you believe in or what is right could be so drastically bad as losing your life. Its sad that artists were afraid to sign their names to their prints for fear of their life! I do think its very awesome that they did these things and they made so many copies to spread the word even risking being caught to share what they believe is right! How often do we stand up for what is right??? So many of my students come from all over the world, and when they go back to visit they have to be careful of the terrible things taking place, we have a family that are refugees and the stories they have told are pretty scary! I love my art and the passion I have about the series I am currently working on, but my blog is kept private many due to being scared of the negative feedback I would receive... maybe its time I take a stand!
Lisa – I totally made the same association with the food movement in the United States. It does not take much clicking around on the PETA website to find powerful images used as tools for activism. If you all are not familiar, just google PETA “Meet Your Meat”. Also, I have more than once driven past pro-life activists picketing with graphic images of human fetuses. These two groups are protesting two different social issues, but one can assume they represent two different political identities (or maybe not, I do not want to make generalizations). The level of brutality depicted in the Abolitionist visual campaigns parallels the graphic content of said contemporary activist groups.
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DeleteChapter 4 Abolitionism as Autonomy, Activism, and Entertainment
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of moving panoramas. What a great idea! And the time it took to construct them, much less move them around. I'm trying to imagine mailing myself in a box as Henry "Box" Brown did. In a sense it's performance art. Lampert writes that he was probably in survival mode his entire life (p. 37). Can you think of any local, state, national or global activism that has caught your eye? Your thoughts on this chapter?
I was blown away a bit by Henry "Box" Brown mailing himself to freedom. It was very ingenious but also dangerous. I don't know as though I would have had the guts to do something like that. I was also struck by the fact that as Mr. Brown took his escape story on the road and kind of turned it into a show, abolitionists and activists distanced themselves from him. I feel like it still works that way--People do amazing things to survive, but if you (as a survivor) try to capitalize on your struggle, or get too outside-the-activist-box, people stop taking you so seriously. It's hard to find that line.
DeleteHenry "Box" Brown
DeletePerhaps the showmanship is what the British expected from Brown. It was not really all that long of after the "Hottentot Venus"(and her remains were on display in England only returned to S. Africa in 2002) and before Josephine Baker. Its sort of in this cultural line of what was expected from "Africa". Surviving might mean falling into cultural norms even if you don't know you are. Priorities of food, clothing,shelter don't often leave lots of room for self reflection.
My favorite activitism is making sure stories are told are remembered.
Also--The industrial revolution was brought about with patents (Arkwright's Spinning Patent). Eli Whitney is credited in our book with the cotton gin. There are Alternative views on the Cotton Gin's invention.
DeleteHere is the Debate on whether Whitney invented the gin:
He worked on a widow's plantation and women could not hold patent nor could slaves.
Some believe the widow invented the gin and had Eli patent it
Others believe a slave on the plantation invented the gin.
It's a discussion worth having.
http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/whole_cloth/u2ei/u2materials/eipac1.html
Ch.4 Abolitionism as Autonomy, Acitivism, and Entertainment
DeleteThe Henry box story is impressive, but the man comes across kind of selfish. Why not help other black slaves escape or help his family? All he did was earn money for himself which seems very selfish. One of the things I wondered while reading about the panorama is if there is " a team of artist creat[ing] the panorama" and it's "six hundred-foot long", how long did it take (Lampert , 35)? Let's think about this, 600 feet is equal to 182.88 meters. That's is high as some tall buildings in some cities, not the tallest, but tall. I wanted to see it, therefore I searched for it, but you can only find a few still images that are in black and white. It would be cool to see.
I related somewhat to Henry and his escape in a sense of having to escape Carson's father and waiting until he left for work to pack everything I could fit and leave in a hurry before he knew I left! As for the second time he did it was all for attention. I thought this was great for the cause but after reading that he took it too far and that they were not sure if he really had a family or not and that he used this to his advantage was pretty crappy of him. It just shows his heart started off in a good place but that he became full of greed...
DeleteI agree with Melanie and Andrea, I thought that Henry's idea to mail himself was genius, but that once it was accomplished, his ideas could have been put to further use. As I am sure he was in a bind by having no money after escaping, perhaps he could have found a more important way to spread his message rather then gaining money for himself.
DeleteRader: Proclamations and Manifestos (missed from yesterday)
ReplyDeleteYour takes on the three proclamations. The ten points on page 13. It's as if we are racing the theories. Next to come are stories/poetry and visual art. I was captivated by the proclamation and manifesto--and the return of the land. I am just thinking about how a "return" could/would happen. Pleas for the return of stolen land. That powerfully resounds. I supposedly own my house--and yet, how do I own land? And who gets to own what land and when? That would be what many global fights are about: Middle East, Africa, Native rights in the Americas… What emerges in you from this section on manifestos? Anything rubbing or bothering you?
What is bothering me about this part of the text is how they refer to Alcatraz being suitable by 'white man's standards,' when I highly doubt that any white man would see this place as favorable to live and raise their own family. It clearly distinguishes how they feel about a race when they not only push them out of their land, but put them on a place where they can't even produce their own food or hunt.
DeleteI found the point made about Native rhetors, specifically Sara Winnemucca Hopkins to be of particular interest. The rhetorical tightrope of legitimizing a cause that on one side risks alienating one’s own group and reaffirms a sense of superiority to the white Americans. It is interesting that in a manifesto arguing for the return of stolen land, these ten points are given that the land is not exactly desirable. I understand the connection being made to the quality of life on Indian reservations (an effective connection), but beyond that I fail to understand the motivation of this section. I would love some clarity here.
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DeletePages 20-28 The Poetry of Protest
ReplyDeleteHas poetry ever galvanized you to some sort of civil action? What is a sense of place for you? Reactions to some of the poems?
I think about all the subversive political British nursery rimes which were so political. When all else fails get the children to sing it.
DeleteI enjoyed reading all the poems. I am not a big fan of poetry but I did enjoy these. I think it really showed the hardships or the way they thought and were treated. Some were so sad, my heart ached for them and the terrible way they were treated by a land and people that we are so proud of.
DeleteI really like the poem on page 26, "Alcatraz: Indian Land Forever, 86. " The words selected such as 'desecrated and disrespected' describe the situation on point to how the land, and the people, are being abused. I also like how the author uses Alcatraz as a symbolism for all the lands that were stolen and lied about and unifies Alcatraz will all the other Indian nations that are suffering. Even if the land may be depleated of the resources the Native Americans can use, I can visualize the dance and joy they could have by obtaining and claiming it back.
DeleteThe repetition of the poetry was kind of hypnotic, the same as Native American songs. I thought that was interesting.
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DeletePages 28-30 War Paint on Walls (the beginning)
ReplyDeleteThe symbol on page 29 reminds me of uprising symbology I saw all throughout Warsaw, Poland when I visited in August of 2009 with my sister. We were on a roots trip. We would eventually train to Gdansk and a small village southwest. See my further explanation of Warsaw Uprising in right hand column.
What happens when we can be a part of changing visual markers around us? How can that alter/support our own ideas of "platemaking"? Is there anything at work or at school where you actively take a stand against or for something? And mark with visuals?
When reading through Rader's discussion about Indian paintings and regarding them as graffiti on page 28, I wondered if he was calling the ancient paintings on caves or walls graffiti. In one case, I believe they are. As he further explains that the graffiti is "a way of placemaking" , a way of " mark[ing] boundaries" (Rader, 29). The images both tell the history with " Indian symbols, Indian Phrases, and Indian images"( Rader, 28). It is an interesting way if thinking about graffiti in that sense. The beautiful and valued ancient cave paintings compared to the graffiti in the images in this chapter. When Rader brought up the idea of "placemaking images", I could not help to think of gangs. The graffiti left around towns that are tagging the gangs territory is an interesting comparison.
DeleteAt my school the fine arts are not looked upon as highly as academics such as science and math. I constantly am having to defend my program as well as the music program!!! Last year was the first year our school had a music program. Given that most of our admin is from Turkey they want to go as cheap as possible. Cut corners, not allow us to order supplies,sometimes its just a battle to get supplies for our classes but they will drop a chunk of change for math or science without batting an eye! I constantly am defending and explaining how our programs only enhance the core subjects and raise test scores and how students need a creative outlet! Its an ongoing battle but I will continue to fight for what I believe in!!!
DeleteThe music teacher and I also go above and beyond to hang artwork throughout the school, hold recitals, we have a once a year Fine Arts festival that is growing, we invite admins, and superintendents and more to come and see what our students are doing and that it is not always about core subjects. We both get so many compliments from our co workers on the great work they see but the few admins that are not for the arts we constantly are trying to prove ourselves to. I hang up my students art all through out the school, changing it every couple of weeks. At the STEM fest each year my students art is what decorates the hallways. They always ask me to make the banners and signs each year, but they do not see the importance of our programs... that is what I do not understand.
DeleteI think placemaking is more than just a physical location. It also encompasses where a person is in society. I have certainly made my own place here in Texas. It's a wonky mix of Midwest and frontierism, but it's mine.
DeleteI try to teach this placemaking idea by strengthening critical thinking and problem solving skills through art. We don't let kids just start over on a piece of art if they "messed up." They need to learn to work with the art medium, and make changes to their art plan if necessary. I do have really strong opinions about the importance of problem solving and critical thinking skills in kids, so this is how I address it at my work.
Melanie – I too think the tagging comparison to be interesting and valid.
DeleteWhile reading this section, I thought instantly of the naming and nationalizing efforts of European colonial powers during the so-called “Scramble for Africa”. Essentially arbitrary geographical boundaries and names were given to sectioned off areas of the African continent and more or less distributed among the European nations. These imposed identifiers had nothing to do with the social tradition of the African people inhabiting the land. I was reminded of this when Rader argues that the placemaking of Alcatraz inverted all Indian place-names that now make up the US – New York, Texas, etc.
In response to the clarification of yesterday’s “fear and learning” question: I now understand what is being asked but I still do not feel like I have a great response. I think that it is a quite natural response for people to be jolted by learning things that challenge the core beliefs that have acted as the foundation to their worldview. I think this is obviously a major issue for educators in any setting. When engaging in this sort of material, “revisionist” or “bottom-up” histories (historiographic terms I personally feel are often used dismissively by those who fear such content), the probability for volatile reaction is greater.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ed’s questions on Lampert’s second chapter (I apologize for being late, the book only arrive in the mail this morning):
ReplyDeleteI was aware of Crispus Attucks’s ethnicity and the general lack of attention paid to this fact in the traditional historical narrative of the American Revolution. I, too, have been familiar with the Paul Revere King Street engraving for most of my life. I recall a large color version of it in one of my earliest American history books in elementary school. However, I had never put two-and-two together, that is, the depiction of Attucks as a white man. That coupled with the small, unarmed crowd is a striking example of an elite wash of an event presented as “news”.