Howard Winant is an American sociologist and race theorist. He is most well know for his collabrative work with Michael Omi, Racial Formation in the United States. Winant and Omi's theory of racial formation is that race was created in the United States as a way to organize people in society, however this way of organizing is ever changing through what they call racial projects. In The Theoretical Status of the Concept of Race, Winant identifies different theories of race, dismisses the ones he doesn't agree with and then projects his own concepts at the end of the article. Here are some of the key theories that Winant brings up but does not agree with:
Idea #1 Race as an ideological construct: This idea is strongly held by historian Barbara Fields. This idea is explained as a sense of "false consciousness". Fields believes that the idea of race developed in the states as a way to explain slavery to society or that "it arose to meet an ideological need." According to her this illusion that race was formed upon then becomes a reality. Fields says that race is not genetic but it is something that is learned and handed down through time. She is quoted saying "once historically acquired, race becomes hereditary." Fileds also believes that race is only around today because we continue to create it in society.
Winant calls her theory. "extreme" and says, "that at best it can only account for the origins of race thinking in a social context." He says that this theory fails mainly because it does not recognize how race forms social organizations and identity. Winant more or less states that without a racial identity one has no identity. (p55)
Idea #2 Race as an Objective Condition: This theory objectifies race identity and meaning. Theorist Daniel Moynihan, William Julius Wilson and Milton Gordon follow this theory where race is less fluid an historically defined. They deny the biological formation of race and say that racial groups formed due to social and political happenings. This theory does not allow a lot of room for change and more or less creates racial stereotypes where members of specific races must identify and behave within the constructs of their given race. As Winant states on page 56, this theory puts people in American in one of five skin color based categories, black, white, brown, yellow and red. Winant dismisses this theory by making the clear point that "nobody really belongs in these boxes; many people do not fit anywhere." Winant also brings up that this theory does not account for or accept people of a specific race who do not "act" like their race.
Idea #3 Toward a Critical Theory of the Concept of Race: Winant's own theory recognizes the way that history has framed the idea of race as well as the social constructions of identity. On page 58 he makes a great point by saying, "racial space is becoming globalized, and thus accessible to a new kind of comparative analysis." Immigration is changing the way many countries racial identify.
Winant also makes the point that now more than ever we live in a world where people have imidiate racial awareness, it is a way to instantanously identify with someones culture (though it is not always fitting). However he also remarks on how some race identities are becoming "raceless" over time. For examples white identity has become so mixed from so many nationalities that it is starting to lose it's transparency according to Winant on page 59.
He basically sums up his article by saying that the idea of race has changed over time just as the world has globalized over time. The concept of race is still changing. He believes that the change to come is that race dosen't/ won't signify anything about a persons identity or any sort of difference among people. Each "categorized" race will eventually be watered down (if you will) in a way that will no longer matter, we will all be humans, just a variety of humans according to Winant.
Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self" was an exhibit on display at the International Center of Photography in New York in 2003. The exhibit was curated by Brian Wallis and Coco Fusco (who is also an artist). The review in the New York Times by Holland Cotter, who describes the show as both "confounding and confusing". The show included a wide range of images, spanning in time from pre WW1 to contemporary digital images; all of the work addressed the "American Identity, especially the idea of race.
Cotter says in the third paragraph, "The show proposes that race, far from being a biological fact, is a value-laden social concept, fiction that many find useful. It argues that this concept permits a certain group of people to control other groups by establishing a system of hierarchical ranking..."
A key part of the exhibition was that the curators did not include text other than the titles to explain any of the pieces. Cotter says that, "the data deprivation leaves you in an interesting state of innocence." The viewer gets to figure out the context of the images in their own, how they work together and what they say about race on their own.
The artist in the show commented on different aspects of race in society in different ways. One subsegment was about racial hierarchies an dhow photography can capture these and reinforce a certain way of thinking. In this segment there was the expected imagery of slaves and their owners but there was also Ken Light's image from 1994, "Strip Search, Shakedown Room of Visiting Area."
The exact context of the image is unknown when seen at this exhibition but the racial hierarchy here is obvious.
Racial stereotypes as a form of control and society is also brought up in the show. The article from the 1941 issue of Life magazine on how to tell Japanese and Chinese men apart is especially troubling. These images not only talk about these aspects of racial issues but also show us how racial thinking has changed over time.
Carrie Mae Weems used historical images to make contemporary art. She appropriated the pictures of slaves taken by scientist to support racist social darwinism theory and uses them in a way that relates to how she understands her own historical identity in the piece, "From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried."
Also included in the exhibit were images that were especially difficult to look at, like Ernest C. Withers's l image of Emmett Till's brutally beaten dead body. Thinking about these brutal images makes me think about Azoulay's article and how these images can hold an importance in society. I think it is important for us to realize that these things have happened and the impact that they have made on history.
Cotter wraps up the article with commenting on how race remains an "unbudgeable fact of American life." Race will always be something that we individuals will automatically identify with and it is still something that has become such a prominent part of our countries history. While images commenting on these issues can be difficult to view I think that they are important to view and understand.
A few years perviously Cotter wrote another article in The New York Times on multiculturalism. When I hear multiculturalism I automatically think about the work being made in the 1990's; how it was the first time that identity, in many forms, (gender, sexual, race and ethnicity) was heavily brought into the art world. I always associate multicultralism with the early artist working in this way, especially Jimmie Durham and James Luna who both make work that encorperates their Native American identity.
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| James Luna, Artifact Piece, 1987 However Cotter's article brings up what I think is an important aspect of multiculturalism now (even when this article was written almost ten years ago). While since the rise of the multicultralism movement in the art world more artist from different races and ethnicities have been able to show their work they are also often sort of pigeon-holed or put off into their own categories. Cotter says. "The deal was, you could get inside the gates, but your movements were restricted." Artist who self identified as a minority artist could get into the art world but the danger was/is that they might not ever be able to break out of that world and into the larger at scene. |
For example the "Freestyle" exhibit in Harlem, that Cotter mentions, was made up of 28 African American artist and was also curated by Thelma Golden (an African American woman). Golden called the exhibit, "postbalck art" but creates a confusion. All of the artist are black and much of the work is based on identity (if I am correct) so regardless the term "postblack" seems confusing. Historian, David A. Hollinger comments on how labels like "postblack" seem progressive to the people of that movement but these names still separate them from the majority. Sadly still today in 2011 the typical successful artist is a white middle class man, we think of the contemporary as being so much more progressive but then why is it that the man group getting ahead (in almost every aspect of society) is exactly that.
This article made me think of Ayanah Moor, who happens to be a black woman artist but she also refuses to identify herself with solely black, or African American shows. I'm not saying there is a right way or a wrong way to try to make it in the art world. I myself have applied to shows that are only for women artist, I think it an alright way to get your feet wet when maybe there are not as many options open to you (as a non white, non middle class and or non male artist) but I certainly understand how constantly identifying oneself as a minority artist could almost be detrimental to ones career. Ayanah Moore works in a way that embodies her identity as a black female but she does not let herself be solely confined by those labels.
Krista Thompson is an Art Historian who is especially interested in visual culture in Africa Diaspora. She currently teaches at Northwestern University. She wrote the article The Sound of Light: Reflections on Art History in the Visual Culture of Hip-Hop. Thompson starts the article out by describing an extreme side of black youth culture; the senerio is that of black youth who go to extremes to "be seen being seen". In multiple cases girls have no only rented expensive vechicles to show up in but they also hired photographers to act as paparazzi. These teenagers are striving to make the moment of being made into a representation. Early on when hip-hop first started in the 70's it was all about making comments on politics, but that quickly changed in the 80's; in the 80's hip-hop content changes from politics to pleasure. This turn to pleasure could also be referred to "hyper-capitalization" or an obsession with showing wealth. In the 80's hip-hop also starts to digitalize (much like contemporary art) it becomes more accessible. At this time hip-hop magazines start to circulate and hip-hop culture's visualization spreads, it also starts to spread through album covers, tv and music videos.
The word Bling is coined by B.G. in 1998 and goes on to enter the Merriam-Webster Dictionary where it is defined as, calling attention to a moment where wealth is being displayed in light and sound. This is what hip-hop artist are doing through their music but especially in their music videos. Images of "pimped out" cars, gold jewelry, champagne and scantily clad women become symbolizes of bling-bling or wealth.
Thompson talks about Hype Williams effectivly using this idea of light and sound in the videos that he directs. Hype uses a lot of shiny, reflective surfaces in his videos, bright lights, shiny cars, jewelrey and even black women's skin are used. Hype says that he has been inspired by Rembrandt's use of light in his paintings. In art historical paintings light was used to emphasize materialistic quality Below is the video, Feel So Good, by Mase, directed by Hype William.
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| The Nightwatch by Rembrandt, 1642 |
Hype is also known for his use of a fisheye lens, referencing a magnifying glass and the idea of voyeurism. One of my personal favorite videos of Hype Williams and a good example of his use of the fisheye lens is Busta Rhymes' Gimmie Some More.
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| The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein, 1533 |
Like Rembrandt, Hans Holbein was another historical painter that used a sense of tangibility in his paintings. Thompson brings up his painting, The Ambassadors for its success in showing tangibility and wealth. (and who can overlook that creepy skull at the bottom?) But of course more importantly is how the light highlights the mens "bling" or signs of wealth. Could it be that rich noble men from this era were an influence on hip-hop visual culture?
Could the portrait of King Henry VIII by Holbein be the founding figure of hip-hop, probably not, but look at that bling bling and of course his lifestyle was somewhat indicative of hip-hop culture. Paintings like this emphasized the shinnies of the mens material objects but never of their skin. Making the skin shinny would make it an object, which makes me think of the hip-hop videos where black women (or any woman's skin) is shown as being shinny as being even more sexist than I thought it was before. By making the woman's skin shinny they are being seen as objects. This also makes a negative reference to the way that slaves were oiled up before being sold.
Kehinde Wiley was quoted in an interview in 2004 saying, "I'm interested in history as it relates to bling-bling." Wiley a MFA Yale grad is well known for his shinny oil paintings of black male youth in the style of european art historical paintings. Both styles include the spectacle of their cultures and also gives the subject a sense of power. Wiley is inspired by the use of light and the shininess emphasized on material objects in the art history paintings. He is also inspired by the white lights used by Hype Williams. Wiley incorperates the use of the white lightings into his process of making his paintings. Wiley makes his paintings by finding black youth who are dressed in the hip-hop style from off the urban street, he then brings them to his studio where he photographs them under many lights. He then uses light again to project the image onto the canvas where he then paints the image with oil paint.
Female Prophet Anee, Wiley 2003
Wiley places with space in all of his paintings. He adds a decorative pattern to the foreground and background as a reference to the decorative objects in the historical paintings. The patterns are also indicative of designs used in the 16th century. His paintings highlight how African American youth often perform visibility and represent themselves through visual effects much like how the ornate details of the rich merchants are shown in the historical paintings. Wiley says the way the black youth dresses is about "the importance of being seen being seen." This is much like the teenagers who used paparazzi to gain attention at their proms, they want to be looked at the way celebrities are. Wiley makes his models feel like celebrities through his process.
Wiley is also interested in how male power is depicted in hip-hop culture, he is also interested in the hyper-sexualization of women in hip-hop culture. Thompson describes Wiley's work as homoerotic, which is interesting in the context of a culture that is generally homophobic. Wiley is a gay man, perhaps this is why there are no women depicted in the sense even when his painting is a reenactment of a historical painting that featured a woman.
Overall Wiley describes his paintings as being about, "The consumption and production of blackness and how blackness is marketed to the world."
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| Immaculate Conception, Kehinde Wile, 2003 |
Untitled (Single Floating Cheerleader, a.k.a. Hoochy Goddess)
Luis Gispert (also a MFA Yale graduate) is best known for his large format photos of young girls of different ethnicities dressed as cheerleaders on green screens. Gispert is largely influenced by baroque paintings and how they over use ornamentation much like hip-hop culture, to emphasize this he weighs his models down with bling. He uses cheerleaders because they are a wide known symbol of American pop culture through all races. Gispert poses the girls like virgin mary's, saints and religious figures, they have super natural qualities in the way that they are able to levitate. He is interested in perceptive and scale and how they can create the illusion of gravity and floating in space.
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| Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Bartolome Esteban Murillo, mid 1600's. |
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