Recently I gave a talk about my art in connection with an
exhibition at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa. Afterwards visitors
asked general questions about my process, about materials and inspiration. Near
the end of the evening, an art student approached me with what turned out to be
the most important question. Important because it gave me pause and continues
to perplex.
How, she asked, would I respond to certain people who might
charge that I am appropriating important and even sacred cultural symbols and
beliefs. The question caught me off guard and I’m afraid my answer might not
have been satisfactory.
I told her that artists down the ages have sampled ideas and
images from other cultures. Their appropriations were deemed valid because
under the artists’ creative influences the images became part of unique new art
works. Picasso, van Gogh, and Gauguin, in particular, were adept at
re-interpreting ‘foreign’ artistic styles.
The student’s question may have been in reference to a piece
in the exhibition titled “Singing The World.” The title is based on an Australian
native people’s story of how the world and everything in it were created. The
painting features an image of a kangaroo and a style that harkens back to
Aboriginal art.
My intent is not to disrespect Aboriginal culture but to
celebrate it and to do so in a way that is unique and true to my particular vision.
And I believe the piece fits in seamlessly with the other works in the
exhibition.
I’m thankful the young woman asked me that question because
it continues to bring up other questions. How would native Australians respond
to “Singing The World”? Perhaps they would have no objections to it and could
even come to celebrate the painting. Could it be that in modern society's rush to be politically correct, we simply reject that which we don't understand? I wonder.