[FA Worldmusic] a post from anonymous on entrypoints, tokenism, and art

[Dmitri Vietze]

----- Original Message -----

So much to say and so little timeb&

Dmitri has encouraged me to post my comments to this list.  My response to him
was that the usual suspects intimidate me.  My own paranoia, but simply put,
my label would be layperson by comparison to you all who seem much more
knowledgeable in this arena. So, Ibm comfy w/remaining under the radar.
Ibm guessing though, if you donbt stand up, you donbt stand a chance.
b Genesis

Many years ago, while having a discussion with a colleague about the title of
an under attended art exhibition, she pointed out that the chosen name was an
obvious title for those intimate with the history of art; however, the obscure
title for the general populous might not motivate them to visit w/out some
sort of hook, or rather, context.

Butb&did you know the bicycle was invented then?  Wow, that gave this period
some everyday relevance.  And, perhaps this new reference point would even
arouse enough curiosity to inspire a visit.  A little oversimplified, but just
trying to make a point.

While attending a programming meeting prior to the opening of an exhibition of
the work of Barnett Newman, a now deceased artist that formerly created larger
than life, more or less, mono-chromatic canvasses w/a stripe or so down the
middle, or positioned on some other location on the painting.  You know, one
of those artists that elicit reactions such as, bMy Kindergartner could do
that!b orb& bI just donbt get it!b Curators and educators were
debating about what type of tours and gallery talks to present.  Some
historian suggested, bWouldnbt it be fun to just send people into the
exhibition and then gather together after seeing the show for a discussion?b
Maybe fun for them, even if modern art wasnbt their area of expertise,
because they had the knowledge base to bhave funb w/reactions,
understanding the history of art in general.  When one is intimidated, such as
myself, Ibm embarrassed to explore my reactions b/c what if theybre wrong.
Poor assumption on my part, Ibm aware, but as a stereotype, thatbs just
the nature of the beast, Ibm afraid.  Coincidentally, during that show, I
took a musician into see it.  The curator happened to be standing in the
middle of one of the main display galleries, where every work of art was
enormous, brightly colored, and the gestalt was magnificent and powerful.  The
focus for me, as well as the musician, was on the room, the installation, not
just the individual works of art. Following our emotional introduction, the
curator joined us and waxed eloquently about all of it.  It was an eye opening
and exciting experience for all that gravitated towards her.

So, labels, hmmmm.  When convenient, they are great.  When problematic, we
tend to reject them and bwish they would go away.b

I for one enjoy a love hate relationship with them.  When hired to program, I
didnbt have a clue as to what I was doing.  Oy, yet another uninformed
producer! But, I had strong feelings about other conundrums, and they evolved,
just as I did, in this baptism by fire sort of situation.  The first issue was
what do I do on a bBlack Historyb night.  That made me cringe. There were
a series of problems with this label.  First, I hate token, thematic evenings
such as that, or Womenbs History night in March, or, you get the picture.
They donbt bother me as much if throughout the remainder of the year, a
broad spectrum of events is presented without an air of tokenism. Also, I was
told that during my predecessorsb bBlack History Nightsb that Caucasians
didnbt attend and neither did African Americans b/c the overall museum
attendance reported a 1% diversity statistic. That made me angry enough to
attempt to change that.  Long story short again, Black History night, my first
one, drew the usual 1,000 visitors, rather than the previous scaled down 300.
An African American friend and colleague offered, bDonbt be smug, let me
see you do it again, and not just once a year.b

This led to questioning other types of programming.  The origins of the above
mentioned, weekly series were to take a thematic approach. The themes were to
highlight the museumbs exhibitions and permanent collection.  We all know
there are an infinite number of themes in art; therefore, the programming had
no boundaries.  Wouldnbt it be fun to opt for some general theme, Hearts and
Flowers, if you will?  What ethnic group fits there?  Can Abba satisfy that
theme? Can the Carolina Chocolate Drops? You betcha.  But, that doesnbt mean
you canbt turn around and have an American Roots night, or celebrate Malian
culture on another.

I lost myself here with my own free associations, but perhaps, in conclusion,
labels arenbt so much the issue, but what, when and how one uses them.

Enjoy the music and the art...