boricua!
Monday, November 24th, 2008
I feel that i must tread lightly on such topics- as i have little expertise, or even understanding of them. I don’t mean this in a critical way; my lack of understanding is in no way attributed to a lack of receptivity on my part-more so a lack of immersion. How can I, the cover girl for the average, ever truly grasp third-world ethnocentrism? I admit i have never been to Africa, Asia, or South America. Not to say that i won’t- i just haven’t yet. I’ve never been to Europe either…actually come to think of it, i have never left the midwest. I don’t even know what an ocean looks like. I have read about them, seen pictures, and even watched documentaries; I could probably write a research paper on the ocean. However this ability doesn’t translate into the art world. I can understand the ebb of the tide by hearing it through someone else’s words, but to understand the nuances and the hierarchy of tradition in post-colonial art, not so much.
Mosquera quotes, “…the diversification of artistic circuits clashes with the difficulties of intercultural evaluation already pointed out. Critics, curators and historians have a great responsibility in this sense.” I agree full-heartedly about the circuits, but i disagree with the responsibility. I feel that when the problem at hand is authenticity within cultural circuits, that the critics and curators can only exacerbate the issues rather than rectify them. The spectator is more responsible for the intercultural evaluation than the critic.
Maybe i am wrong in discussing this, but i cant help but overlook the issues with art and authenticity, and focus more on the social-political aspects. What about gentrification? Or more so, the effect that gentrification has on public works of art. Before i moved to west lafayette, i was living in west Humboldt park, a puerto rican neighborhood on the west side of chicago. (although this and the title of my post may confuse you, i am in fact, not puerto rican.) Aside from all the cultural gems i was fortunate enough to experience while i lived there, one of the most communicative and thought-provoking were the murals. Puerto Rican artists have been commissioned from time to time over the last 50 years to create beautiful murals showing pride in their culture and honoring religious and political figures. Does anyone question the authenticity of these AMAZING works of art? I didn’t think so. However, over the past few years, the very edges of Humboldt Park have been succumbing to gentrification. What happens when they need to tear down the building this mural is painted on to build a 3-flat of condos for the young urban professionals who think the area is “up and coming?” Its at this moment that all authenticity is lost, and it becomes street art. Maybe its even considered graffiti. In fact, by existing, these images are disservicing the whole area. The social relevance is what determines the authenticity of these “murals“, ”street art”, unsightly graffiti. How quickly authenticity becomes irrelevant!
This movie was shown in Humboldt Park (the actual park) over the summer, and was created by a young art student at Columbia college. I think its cheesy. Like, really cheesy. I suppose partly because it is difficult for me to truly empathize with the politics and social systems in puerto rican culture. But the point being made was honest enough. As a Puerto Rican artist in America, do you risk losing your cultural vision by “westernizing” your work? (succumbing to eurocentrism) OR do you maintain your cultural tradition and authenticity under the risk of gentrification eradicating your social relevance?