Weirdness at work

[kellinator]

Necessary background information: There's a new art display at the library, photos of the weirdness that is the South. I think it's weird and wonderful. I've been meaning to LJ about some of the pieces I really like. But that will come later.

One of the photos is of a cemetery in rural South Georgia. Most prominent are two monuments which are facing away from us, two statues of a man and a woman sitting in chairs. The photograph is titled "Keeping Watch." To me, it speaks powerfully of the Southern tension over the past.

About an hour ago I found the framed photograph face-down on a table.

I assumed it had fallen off and someone had just picked it up. I called it to the attention of Will (my boss, for those of you joining us in progress) and wondered if the nail was loose, etc. Will called my attention to the Confederate flag visible on one of the graves.

...Now, I am a bleeding-heart liberal and am by no means a fan of the Stars and Bars. I don't think the Confederate flag has any place over state capitols. But I also don't think acknowledging the fact that it exists, and is important to people, is a declaration of support for it.

If you don't like the art, if it offends you, raise a dialogue over it. Don't just try and take it away because you don't agree with it. That's not going to win any people to your point of view.

We hung it back up for the time being. I'm anxious to see what happens next. If anyone calls me a racist, I WILL go through the roof.

...It just feels really weird to me to be in a spot where I'm not the one screaming against the flag.

Comments

[ex-ilk.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you should print this up and tape it under the frame?

Context:
1 : the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning
2 : the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs :

[sujata.livejournal.com]

Quite a thought-provoking post!

It's a tricky subject, at best, is Art. We've evolved enough to understand that it can convey a message, and that it need not always be beautiful.

But how do you distinguish between the conveyance of a message, and propaganda? How can you be sure of the distinction between a simple presentation of something as-is, and ugliness that is offered in the guise of art but is intended merely to offend?

I am reminded of the late Mapplethorpe(sp?) and the controversial work that made him a household name, Piss Christ. I vividly recall the uproar over the very notion of putting a crucifix, a symbol that is holy to millions of people throughout the world, into a bottle of urine and calling it Art. I also vividly recall seeing a photograph of the actual object: Jesus suffering on his cross, bathed in an almost magical-looking ocean of gentle gold. Seen as itself, it was truly beautiful.

I don't consider myself a Christian. Yet I was moved by that object of art.

There's no actual point I'm trying to make, here. It's just the best comparison I can think of. :-)

[elvis-christ.livejournal.com]

Piss Christ was Andres Serrano, fyi...

[sujata.livejournal.com]

Enh, so my memory for names isn't perfect. *shrug* :-D

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

I love that work. I saw it one time on a slide and was completely blown away by its beauty.

[sujata.livejournal.com]

I've wondered, ever since then, how many of the works and artists cited as examples of the NEA funding "garbage" and/or "anti-Christian propaganda" are being grossly (and maybe even deliberately) misrepresented. I guess if I was trying to make a point, without realizing it at the time, it was probably something about how important it is to think for oneself, instead of reflexively believing whatever one is told by somebody who may have an unstated agenda. I've certainly never been able to listen to someone dis the NEA, since then, without wondering if that person has actually seen the works and artists they're dissing! :-O

[vanguardian.livejournal.com]

Nah, they probably won't call you a racist. Just don't let them see you do it. Otherwise it may go from an anonymous memo about diversity training and harrassment to a pink piece of paper.

Maybe I'm just paranoid.

Oh, and as long as you keep the employee count under a magic number (25 I think), you can hire whomever you please. Even if they are all good looking members of the opposite sex.

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Remember, you can never be too paranoid...

[elvis-christ.livejournal.com]

One would guess that the flag in question was the Confederate battle flag (which isn't the Stars and Bars, btw, but a St. Andrew's cross)...and one would further speculate that it was on the grave of a Confederate veteran. Taking the picture down seems rather silly...we can't retrospectively erase all the bits of history we don't like, and, in fact, ignoring or avoiding those parts of history is a bad thing, because it loeads to forgetting...I say that such things should be accepted, understood, and learned from. NOT thrown into some black hole of cultural oblivion. But, that's just me.

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Me too. I think what really pisses me off is that whoever moved this didn't actually speak to anyone, just took matters into their own hands. Something offends you, so you have the right to take it down? Self-righteous prat.

BTW, it's definitely the Stars and Bars. Yes, I know about St. Andrew's Cross, but keep in mind that most of the people sticking up Confederate flags (like the ones in your country) have no fucking idea which one they should be flying. Really casts doubts on the whole "Southern heritage" argument, when they don't know their heritage well enough to fly the right damn flag...

[39orangestreet.livejournal.com]

(this art exhibit sounds really interesting. do you know how long it will be there for?)

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

I've heard December. I'll try and find out for sure.

[podling]

I was at a Japanese museum in Boca Raton that had old newspaper cuttings that had racist statements in them. They put a disclaimer at the door to the exhibit, saying that there were such statements and that though they are indeed offensive, they have to be viewed in historical perspective. I thought it effective, personally.