Dick,
I don't disagree with you, but I personally define racism as a mental
disorder. I believe it could be "cured", but we no longer allow
Frontal Lobotomies.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/10/15, R. E. Driscoll Sr <llocsirdsr@xxxxxxx> wrote:
All:
An opinion.
:Racism is in the eyes of the beholder and within his/her interpretation
of what is needed to allow the gaining of his/her objectives."
You may fire when ready.
R. E. (Dick) Driscoll, Sr.
On 7/9/2015 7:55 PM, Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender
rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx for DMARC) wrote:
I think the claim of racism is embodied in the use of the word
minstrelsy. That is, it is a form of caricature instead of an accurate
representation.
On 7/9/2015 5:41 PM, Bob Hachey wrote:
Hi all,
Here’s a rather interesting story on an exhibit at Boston’s Museum of
Fine Arts that was altered due to protests of racism. I must say that
I cannot see what is racist about the original exhibit. I recall that
when we were studying Native Americans at perkins School for the
Blind, we had the opportunity to try on Native American head pieces.
If the MFA exhibit is racist, then I’m wondering if the lessons we
got on Native Americans was equally racist. One thing that was wrong,
we all, including the teacher called them Indians, but then again, so
did everyone else back in the early 1970’s.
I see nothing wrong with women trying on a kimono as part of a museum
exhibit. IT does not seem as though the exhibit was poking fun at the
Japanese. But, perhaps if Japanese feel offended then this exhibit
was indeed racist. They kept the exhibit, but just don’t allow the
visitors to try on the kimonos. What do others think?
Bob Hachey
MFA backs down over kimono event in response to protests . In an
episode that speaks volumes about cultural institutions, ethnic
sensitivity, and the power of protest in the digital age, the Museum
of Fine Arts is hastily pulling back on an event that protesters
labeled a latter-day form of racist minstrelsy. MFA officials
announced Tuesday they would recast "Kimono Wednesdays," an
attraction scheduled to run throughout July. It is extremely rare for
the MFA to change exhibition plans in the wake of protests; it
appears such action had not been taken for decades. Created as a
light summer distraction, "Kimono Wednesdays" invited visitors to
"channel your inner Camille Monet" by donning museum-provided kimonos
and posing for photos in front of Claude Monet's "La Japonaise," a
painting of the artist's wife wearing a kimono. But the event quickly
raised the hackles of protesters, who charged that the museum was
perpetuating racist stereotypes by presenting Asian culture as
quintessentially exotic. At a celebration for departing MFA director
Malcolm Rogers on June 24, a small group of protesters stood vigil.
"This is appropriation, this is Orientalism," read one sign. Rogers
himself didn't seem fazed , telling the Globe, "A little controversy
never did any harm. MFA's exhibits of Japanese art open with a party
But the protesters were back on July 1. "Asian-Americans in this
country have a history of being mis- or underrepresented - they're
either completely absent from the media or only depicted as Kung Fu,
exoticized, mystical, dragon ladies, prostitutes, or what have you,"
said Christina Wang, 29, who held a sign that read, "Try on the
kimono, learn what it's like to be a racist imperialist !!! today!!!
She added: "This event that the MFA is putting on - asking the public
to come don the kimono - is part of that legacy. 'It's fair to say we
were all quite surprised by the response. We thought it would be an
educational opportunity. Katie Getchell, Museum of Fine Arts deputy
director On Tuesday afternoon, the MFA issued a statement that read
in part, "We apologize for offending any visitors. Starting
Wednesday, visitors will be able to touch, but not to wear, the
kimonos, which will be presented with an educational talk until the
event ends on July 29. "It's fair to say we were all quite surprised
by the response," said MFA deputy director Katie Getchell. "We
thought it would be an educational opportunity for people to have
direct encounters with works of art and understand different cultures
and times better. The protests have been small by almost any
standard, with only two protesters showing up last Wednesday (and one
person "in support") to hold signs as patrons tried on the kimonos
and posed for pictures. (Suggested hashtag: #mfaBoston.) Still, their
presence made some visitors uncomfortable. John Blanding/Globe Staff
Sue Danielson (visiting from Kentucky) with Monet's "La Japonaise"
during the Cheers to Malcolm! event at the Museum of Fine Arts on
June 24. The museum initially stood its ground, presenting staffers
with an internal memo defending the event and saying it would
continue. "We don't think this is racist," states the memo, a copy of
which was obtained by the Globe (and by protesters, who posted it
online ). But if the protests were small on the ground, the core
group of activists garnered wider support online, setting up a
Facebook event page and a Tumblr account. And nowhere was the outrage
greater than on the MFA's own Facebook page , where commenters
decried the event as "vilely racist" and called for the museum to
apologize. "Just stop," said Ames Siyuan, 26, a protest organizer,
who declared that the MFA can "do better. "I don't see how this is
arts education. If anything, it perpetuates Halloween costumes of
various races. Monet's 1876 painting, which shows his wife, Camille,
wearing a blazing red kimono, is thought to be the artist's wry
commentary on the craze for all things Japanese that swept Parisian
art circles in the 1870s. Surrounded by fans, Camille posed in a
blond wig, an intentional choice to highlight her European descent.
Art historians believe Monet was poking fun at his contemporaries and
the movement known as "japonisme. Today, however, some activists and
scholars regard the 19th-century European fascination with Asia in a
more sinister light, dubbing it "Orientalism," a handmaiden of
Imperialism whereby nonwestern cultures are reduced to a handful of
mysterious traits - unknowable exotics and therefore less human. "We
should have a conversation about Orientalism and why it's wrong,"
said Siyuan. "They're perpetuating Orientalism. They don't give any
context. They're like, try this on, and that's it. That's not the way
to do it. But if the protesters were certain of their message, their
meaning was lost on some visitors. "They're obviously here to make a
point," said Katelin Hardy, who arrived at the MFA last week
intending to try on a kimono. After speaking at length with the
protesters, however, she decided to forgo the opportunity, even if
she wasn't "quite sure" about their objections. "They said everyone
was racist," said Hardy. "Maybe there needs to be a little more
context to it, but by the time I was done, we were leaving, and I
just couldn't. The kimonos, which are replicas of the garment in the
painting, were commissioned by the Japanese broadcaster NHK to
accompany "La Japonaise" for the recent traveling exhibit "Looking
East"; visitors to museums in Tokyo, Kyoto, and the MFA's sister
museum in Nagoya could try them on as part of the exhibit. "It was
very successful in Japan, and we wanted to provide an opportunity to
further the visitor experience in Boston," said Getchell, who added
that the MFA presented an educational talk on the event's inaugural
night. "People really appreciated the opportunity to see the kimonos,
to try it on, to feel it, to appreciate its craftsmanship, and to
think about what it would be like for a Parisian woman to have worn
that at the time for her husband to paint her. But Siyuan and Wang
say that things are more complicated in the United States, where
Japanese and other Asians represent an often-overlooked minority. The
event amounted to "cultural appropriation," Siyuan said. "It's white
person after white person after white person saying this is not
racist. In its statement, the MFA acknowledged the protesters'
concerns and hoped the programming change would further dialogue. "We
hope that it will be an opportunity to achieve our original goal to
understand the artwork and the culture of its time," said Getchell.
"We didn't intend to offend. Malcolm Gay can be reached at
malcolm.gay@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:malcolm.gay@xxxxxxxxx> . Follow him on
Twitter at @malcolmgay . .
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