Cultural Appropriation In Canada - Artist's Show Canceled

[bshole]

A Toronto artist was inspired by an aboriginal artist from the 60s. She created her own unique art works based on that style which she so admired and loved. Her art was good enough that an art gallery scheduled a show for her. There was outrage about cultural appropriation and her show was canceled.

I have to admit that this doesn't make a lot of sense to me. For example, William Shakespeare is the greatest writer in human history. Currently his work is appropriated more than any other writer in history and by a vast margin. There are plays from Pakistan to Japan to Russia which all re-interpret his work from the perspective of the people in those countries/cultures. His ideas are thus kept relevant and vastly more people are exposed to his art.

They call it genocide to appropriate the work of indigenous people in new unique art. I think the case is exactly the opposite. It renders the indigenous art to a tiny corner of the art world with no way possible to a larger audience.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-gallery-indigenous-art-cancels-amandapl-1.4091529

 

[IronWing]

It's unfortunate that the gallery cancelled the show.

 

[Jaskalas]

A story of folks feeding off vengeance and hatred in some maddening zeal to right past wrongs by committing fresh acts of barbarism against innocent people today. An artist is maligned, boycotted, maybe even chased out of town, for nothing. For having committed no wrongs. For merely being different in a way they do not approve.

It is regressive, it is oppressive, and I am disgusted by it.

 

[Commodus]

The question of cultural appropriation is tricky. In this case, I don't think there's a bad intent: hey, I love it, I'd like to share it with my own spin. There are some similarities I'm not entirely comfortable with, but to me this is more artistic appropriation (i.e. a lack of originality) than cultural.

Now, some festival-goer who thinks they're cool because they wear a native American headdress... that's definitely cultural appropriation. The problem arises when you're borrowing from another culture without respect for what it signifies.

 

[UglyCasanova]

The heats turned off on our (I'm lumping Canada in with us) melting pot. The push is to celebrate our diversity which is great, but not so great that not it becomes your own exclusive club. Progressive and regressive have turned into one in the same. Hooray

 

[UglyCasanova]

The question of cultural appropriation is tricky.

It's really not though.

 

[feralkid]

A story of folks feeding off vengeance and hatred in some maddening zeal to right past wrongs by committing fresh acts of barbarism against innocent people today. An artist is maligned, boycotted, maybe even chased out of town, for nothing. For having committed no wrongs. For merely being different in a way they do not approve.

It is regressive, it is oppressive, and I am disgusted by it.

Although her work may not constitute outright plagiarism, the gallery had every right to turn it down.

"Barbarism"?

Get real, she can go peddle her wares elsewhere.

Calm yourself.

 

[pmv]

But art is lauded and displayed or ignored and not-displayed based on aesthetic judgements. Such judgements are always subjective and are going to include people's reactions on subjective ideas like 'cultural appropriation'. I'm not sure how one could separate a judgement about the value and worth of this art from what you think about the political and cultural background and meaning of it.

I don't think one has to buy into the whole 'cultural appropriation' concept to accept that those who control the display of art and who buy it or not, are going to make choices based on their particular aesthetic ideas.

It would be very different if it were legal intervention that 'banned' such work, or if art wasn't displayed due to fear of violence, mind you. But if those that are into 'art' decide they don't like it because they think it's inauthentic in some way, I'm not sure where you go from there.

 

[MajinCry]

Art is to be interpreted. And the owners interpreted it as malignant.

What she ought to do, is work with a Native community to create art, then display the art as a collective. Get a bit of that moral high ground.

 

[WHAMPOM]

You may think this just an opposite and equal reaction to Canada's years of forcible reeducation of Native children and eradication of their language, customs and religion. But I think the cancellation of this woman's interpretation of Native art is just more of the same. This show may have brought old ills to light that needed to remain sweep under the rug.

 

[FIVR]

It's basically intellectual property and art style can be stolen. I dislike her work and I think she should learn to paint her own way instead of being such a poseur.

 

[Ajay]

Awesome - now Canada sucks too

 

[IronWing]

It's basically intellectual property and art style can be stolen. I dislike her work and I think she should learn to paint her own way instead of being such a poseur.

She never claimed to be of the First Peoples. Poseur not found.

 

[Jaskalas]

Although her work may not constitute outright plagiarism, the gallery had every right to turn it down.

The word plagiarism is NOT in the article. So what made you choose to use that?

The topic was actually "Cultural Appropriation", or in their own words "cultural genocide". An innocent person is being railroaded by assailants as they harass others, such as the gallery, into boycotting this artist. It is hateful and divisive, and are you making excuses for it?

Get real, she can go peddle her wares elsewhere.

She shouldn't have to do that.

Calm yourself.

Tell that to the aggressors. I stand for defending this artist from regressive pigs. An open and progressive society does not attack people simply because they are different. Where do you stand? Did you jump to saying plagiarism because you would identity as one of those belligerents? Do you stand for oppressing people if they are not the "correct" ethnicity?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Cultural appropriation, bullshit. Art is a matter of interpretation and if her aesthetic sense leads her one way or another then that is enough justification.

I suppose I shouldn't be making meals from other lands unless I were a native. Too far.

 

[pcgeek11]

Cultural Appropriation. What a load of poop.

 

[FerrelGeek]

So, a hypothetical question. Would those of you defending the charge of cultural appropriation be just as outraged if a Native American artist got inspired by Rembrandt, Renoir, or da Vinci and decided to create paintings based off of the works of the European masters but with a bit of their own interpretation? Would that be cultural appropriation? Should an owner of a gallery be bullied into not displaying said artist's work?

No, for the simpletons, this is not a straw-man; it's a perfectly legitimate recasting of the situation.

 

[Vic]

'Cultural appropriation' is the kind of overboard BS that makes liberals look bad. You can't celebrate diversity if you're not allowed to participate in it.

 

[1prophet]

Political correctness the Liberal version of the Trump/Tea party movement of which cultural appropriation happens to be one of its many children,

and just like ISIS in Palmyra they seek to destroy anything that offends their "CORRECT IDEOLOGY" including the very arts level headed Liberals try to protect..

 

[JimKiler]

They should have allowed her work and included a notice that is came/inspired from aboriginal culture and then people can learn about the culture (win-win. Now it is a fail since no one will know when it is not at the gallery (lose-lose).

OP thanks for sharing this story.

 

[zinfamous]

man, the Beatles and Rolling Stones and Elvis are so fucked!