Monday, June 7, 2010
Creative Aspect
For the creative aspect of my final project I decided to make a provocative statue, which I titled The Cotton Man. This statue can be viewed in several drastically different lights, depending completely on critical lenses, with the one of race being the most influential. While creating him I stayed indifferent to which meaning he has, focusing more on the fact that he has several meanings, and doing what I could to preserve those diverse interpretations. Viewed with no relation to racism or race, the man seems like any hard worker at work in the fields. It appears he’s harvesting cotton, but that is unimportant. Chances are in this view that the statue is a tribute to farmers, representing their hard work and struggle. If viewed through the lens of racism, however, the outcome is much less pretty. It appears this statue is grossly racist, depicting a black man – or slave – harvesting cotton. The questions would be, if it isn’t racist: why is the statue black, why is he picking cotton rather than some other grain, and why make the statue in the first place. Though from the impartial lens it appeared obvious – the statue has to be some color, why not black, cotton is a common crop, and the statue is a tribute – this would be hard to prove in the face of accusations of racism. Though neither of these options singularly influenced the creation of the statue, together they helped me form a provocative work of art whose meaning depends entirely on the critical lens it’s viewed through.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Critical Lens in Several Works of Art
Race is an amazing critical lens to study literature through because it is so variable. Several people could look at the same piece of writing through the lens of race and all draw far different conclusions on the significance of race in the piece. I learned this from reading Chinua Achebe’s essay on Heart of Darkness; we talked about race while reading the book as well but I didn’t think in the least that Conrad was a racist, whereas Achebe read it through the lens of race and found Conrad’s racism evident in every detail. This prompted me to analyze works through this lens with an open mind to what conclusions I would draw. First I chose Heart of Darkness simply because it already as a well-known critique of this sort, and I was interested in comparing mine to Achebe’s. I also chose to read the poem I, Too, Sing America, by Langston Hughes, because if read blindly to race it would mean very little, but with regard to race is quite meaningful... Lastly I analyzed the painting posted on the side here, which I found anonymously on a photo blog, because I wanted to experiment with the effect this lens has on non-literary works of art. I was happy to see the drastically different conclusions I was able to draw from these various works of art.
In Heart of Darkness there is no question that Joseph Conrad repeatedly toys with the idea of race. I think Conrad was actually actively against racism, just in an indirect way due to the time period in which it was written. As I looked at the novel with regard to race I realized that it is hugely prominent, and even many seemingly unrelated events have racial undertones. I don’t, however, think this reflects negatively upon the author, as the purpose of literature is really to incite thought. This means that authors often pose non-personal views and beliefs in their work in order to provoke controversy – internal and external – in readers. Due to the extent of racial content in this novel there is no way that it was accidental, and as I don’t believe Conrad was a racist, I have come to the conclusion that he was trying to expose racism’s flaws. Just as he was critiquing European imperialism he was critiquing European racism by showing first-hand the pathetic ignorance involved. Marlow’s views are so black and white, figuratively speaking, that it reflects ignorance upon him rather than the natives. This quote “we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse.” In which Marlow compares the natives’ everyday lifestyle to a madhouse outbreak, proposes a comparison so ridiculous that the originator must be insane or gravely stupid himself. I realized by reading this novel through the lens of race that it does address race constantly, but instead of deducing that Conrad must be a racist, I realized that he is continuously critiquing racism as it existed both in imperial and in his times.
I, Too, Sing America, by Langston Hughes, is a short but powerful poem, regardless of whether it is about race. If read blindly to race this poem seems to deal with evil. He is the “darker brother,” indicating his menacing ways, and is sent away when company comes because his family is ashamed of him. But he merely bides his time, eating well and growing strong for his comeback, while he’s banished to the kitchen. Then he talks about how next time he’ll be at the table already and be so strong that “Nobody'll dare / Say to me, / ‘Eat in the kitchen,’”. He definitely seems like some storybook bad guy who’s waiting for his chance at revenge, and much of the diction even adds to his menacing personality. Reading this poem with regard to race, however, gives a much different impression. The “darker brother” indicates that he’s black, and is cruelly sent to the kitchen when company comes. He, however, doesn’t let this injustice get him down; he simply laughs and eats well. As the man is portrayed as an abused and innocent underdog, the reader’s sympathy is immediately with him. Hence when he makes his return to the table it is a cause for joy and excitement that he triumphed. The poem now incites thoughts of the injustice of racism and the equality that people really do share, rather than the earlier thoughts of evil triumphing. The lens of race with regard to I, Too, Sing America, is extremely important because, as you can see, the outcome without it is far from the constructive and conscientious poem it seems with it.
Analyzed through this lens, the painting on the side of the blog is absolutely full of racial indicators. The first impression of the situation portrayed is given by the setting. It’s nighttime, an eerie full moon is out, everything is shrouded in fog, there are bats flying around, and the ground isn’t even visible. As one starts to look at the actual picture, the immediate thought is “why are there four kids out alone in this setting.” This lens makes it clear; it’s because they’re black. Perhaps they’re out in this unlikely scene because they are fleeing north to escape slavery, a situation in which darkness and fog are ideal. They are trekking towards a dreamt of city, one always visible in the distance, yet never quite attainable; which is exactly what the city in the painting looks like. The huge full moon, much lower than it should be, represents the North Star, guiding them in the right direction if they lose sight of the buildings. Maybe their parents aren’t with them because they were already recaptured, while only the children were small enough to escape. Not only does the lens explain many of the questions presented by this painting, it also opens the observer’s mind to thoughts of slavery and the hardship and cruelty it represents. This painting could be observed in many ways, but through the lens of race it becomes clear that that is the meaning of the whole, regardless of whether it was intended to be.
The critical lens of race is a very significant one because of the variety of conclusions it can lead someone to. When I looked at Heart of Darkness through it I found, like Achebe did, that Conrad was definitely presenting issues of race. What this lead me to, however, was that Conrad was fighting racism with his novel. That is the polar opposite of Achebe’s conclusion, though we used the same lens. While reading I, Too, Sing America it was very interesting to compare the meaning of the poem through the lens to the meaning without the lens. I found that either way it’s a strong, powerful, work of literary merit, a quite surprising realization. I had figured that most works are considered great because of their addressing of some issue, but in fact, this poem was regardless. It either dealt with evil or race, and though Hughes probably intended the racial aspect, that doesn’t detract from the reality of the other viewpoint at all. Analyzing this painting was a good diversion because it was both the first non-literary work, and it was the first in which I only looked for its meaning regarding race; like Achebe did in Heart of Darkness. I found that an apparently innocent painting, when analyzed through this lens, can actually have numerous references to race and through that slavery as a whole. Critical lenses are great because of that; the endless diversity they can attribute to one work of art. Though I analyzed several works through this lens, my ultimate goal was to display the variability that critical lenses can present a reader with, whether it’s due to different readers, different works, or different lenses.
In Heart of Darkness there is no question that Joseph Conrad repeatedly toys with the idea of race. I think Conrad was actually actively against racism, just in an indirect way due to the time period in which it was written. As I looked at the novel with regard to race I realized that it is hugely prominent, and even many seemingly unrelated events have racial undertones. I don’t, however, think this reflects negatively upon the author, as the purpose of literature is really to incite thought. This means that authors often pose non-personal views and beliefs in their work in order to provoke controversy – internal and external – in readers. Due to the extent of racial content in this novel there is no way that it was accidental, and as I don’t believe Conrad was a racist, I have come to the conclusion that he was trying to expose racism’s flaws. Just as he was critiquing European imperialism he was critiquing European racism by showing first-hand the pathetic ignorance involved. Marlow’s views are so black and white, figuratively speaking, that it reflects ignorance upon him rather than the natives. This quote “we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse.” In which Marlow compares the natives’ everyday lifestyle to a madhouse outbreak, proposes a comparison so ridiculous that the originator must be insane or gravely stupid himself. I realized by reading this novel through the lens of race that it does address race constantly, but instead of deducing that Conrad must be a racist, I realized that he is continuously critiquing racism as it existed both in imperial and in his times.
I, Too, Sing America, by Langston Hughes, is a short but powerful poem, regardless of whether it is about race. If read blindly to race this poem seems to deal with evil. He is the “darker brother,” indicating his menacing ways, and is sent away when company comes because his family is ashamed of him. But he merely bides his time, eating well and growing strong for his comeback, while he’s banished to the kitchen. Then he talks about how next time he’ll be at the table already and be so strong that “Nobody'll dare / Say to me, / ‘Eat in the kitchen,’”. He definitely seems like some storybook bad guy who’s waiting for his chance at revenge, and much of the diction even adds to his menacing personality. Reading this poem with regard to race, however, gives a much different impression. The “darker brother” indicates that he’s black, and is cruelly sent to the kitchen when company comes. He, however, doesn’t let this injustice get him down; he simply laughs and eats well. As the man is portrayed as an abused and innocent underdog, the reader’s sympathy is immediately with him. Hence when he makes his return to the table it is a cause for joy and excitement that he triumphed. The poem now incites thoughts of the injustice of racism and the equality that people really do share, rather than the earlier thoughts of evil triumphing. The lens of race with regard to I, Too, Sing America, is extremely important because, as you can see, the outcome without it is far from the constructive and conscientious poem it seems with it.
Analyzed through this lens, the painting on the side of the blog is absolutely full of racial indicators. The first impression of the situation portrayed is given by the setting. It’s nighttime, an eerie full moon is out, everything is shrouded in fog, there are bats flying around, and the ground isn’t even visible. As one starts to look at the actual picture, the immediate thought is “why are there four kids out alone in this setting.” This lens makes it clear; it’s because they’re black. Perhaps they’re out in this unlikely scene because they are fleeing north to escape slavery, a situation in which darkness and fog are ideal. They are trekking towards a dreamt of city, one always visible in the distance, yet never quite attainable; which is exactly what the city in the painting looks like. The huge full moon, much lower than it should be, represents the North Star, guiding them in the right direction if they lose sight of the buildings. Maybe their parents aren’t with them because they were already recaptured, while only the children were small enough to escape. Not only does the lens explain many of the questions presented by this painting, it also opens the observer’s mind to thoughts of slavery and the hardship and cruelty it represents. This painting could be observed in many ways, but through the lens of race it becomes clear that that is the meaning of the whole, regardless of whether it was intended to be.
The critical lens of race is a very significant one because of the variety of conclusions it can lead someone to. When I looked at Heart of Darkness through it I found, like Achebe did, that Conrad was definitely presenting issues of race. What this lead me to, however, was that Conrad was fighting racism with his novel. That is the polar opposite of Achebe’s conclusion, though we used the same lens. While reading I, Too, Sing America it was very interesting to compare the meaning of the poem through the lens to the meaning without the lens. I found that either way it’s a strong, powerful, work of literary merit, a quite surprising realization. I had figured that most works are considered great because of their addressing of some issue, but in fact, this poem was regardless. It either dealt with evil or race, and though Hughes probably intended the racial aspect, that doesn’t detract from the reality of the other viewpoint at all. Analyzing this painting was a good diversion because it was both the first non-literary work, and it was the first in which I only looked for its meaning regarding race; like Achebe did in Heart of Darkness. I found that an apparently innocent painting, when analyzed through this lens, can actually have numerous references to race and through that slavery as a whole. Critical lenses are great because of that; the endless diversity they can attribute to one work of art. Though I analyzed several works through this lens, my ultimate goal was to display the variability that critical lenses can present a reader with, whether it’s due to different readers, different works, or different lenses.
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