Week 13
This week we read Jan Zita Grovers “Framing the Questions: Positive Imaging and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs,” from 1991. This was about how those in the majority fantasize about the hardships of those in the minority through the eyes of the majority. For example, the author discusses their friend reviewing photographs to feature in a museum for Nicaragua. Instead of choosing the photographs from the people of an average day in their lives, they chose photographs from white photographers highlighting the more dramatic subjects. It is important to humanize minorities when portraying them and especially helping these communities out by taking art from them. Humanizing these artists allows people to get more of a perspective on their daily lives and historians to properly assess any events that happen in the communities. Understanding what led us to people like Martin Luther King or Marsha P Johnson, requires people to understand what the average person from these minority communities was going through and how things led to that point. While many Americans value drama, it requires the calm before the storm to understand the impact. If an exhibit insists on focusing on the hardships and pain of these communities, they need to show what led to these issues in the first place. As for me, I'm sick of exhibits that show nothing but pain for my community. We are commonly shown as being confused, lost, mentally ill people who are taken advantage of by others. It's boring. I want to see my community portrayed as the incredible and creative people that we are, not as victims focused on sex. The artist shown in the piece below is Rae Senarighi, a nonbinary trans artist, who is seen working on their "Transcend" project. The project consists of portraits of average transgender and non binary individuals, painted with bright colors to symbolize how they take courage in living their lives. Below, I've linked an interview with the artist and their process along with advice to educators.
Grover, J.(1991) “Framing the Questions: Positive Imaging and Scarcity in Lesbian Photographs,”
Hey Nathan, you tackled this week's reading with passion and a thorough understanding of the material. Your opinion has a lot of weight to it, considering you are a member of a marginalized community, and your thoughts on the topic are well conveyed. You make a good point that art pieces should address every facet of a person outside of merely their sexuality, as there is more to a person than that trait alone. Good job this week, and keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Interestingly enough many people have a habit of making their own careers and livelihoods from being part of a marginalized community. There are many people who claim that they cant be biased against another group due to their sex or race of a marginalized community. Or they grift for groups who would be against them
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