[blind-democracy] Re: Racism, yes or no?

  • From: "R. E. Driscoll Sr" <llocsirdsr@xxxxxxx>
  • To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2015 12:15:01 -0500

Carl:
We shall soon be forced to travel with our personal lawyer in accompaniment and when we wish to say something obtain his legal opinion prior to utterance of our commentary. This will either increase the number of law suits being filed or reduce noise pollution levels.
R. E. (Dick) Driscoll, Sr.

On 7/10/2015 12:26 AM, Carl Jarvis wrote:

Oh for goodness sake! Whoever said, "People are the craziest
animals", hit the Nut right on the nose.
We go prancing around, afraid we're going to offend someone, while we
go about unknowingly committing discrimination left and right. Or at
least, we turn our head when it stares us in the face.

Carl Jarvis

On 7/9/15, Bob Hachey <bhachey@xxxxxxxxxxx> 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 . Follow him on Twitter
at @malcolmgay . .




Oh my goodness! Who said, "People are the craziest animals"?





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