Re: [-empyre-] race-net-art

[<aka.leafa@xtra.co.nz>]

Kia ora and Talofa Damali

I know exactly what you are doing and why you are doing it and from what your motivation has sprung from.
As a Samoan woman living in Aotearoa or New Zealand to the rest of the world, I look like the indigenous people of the land Maori people and the Maori word for this is TANGATA WHENUA - THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND. Because I look like I am Maori and I have dark skin, I am treated as they are...with disdain...at times...as the old line goes

     some of my best friends are white people 

still today issues of being followed in shops and all sorts of exclusion occur on a daily basis.
As a black person myself, and art practitioner, I have really tried to veer away from such obvious and open forums of discussing the pain and tension around racism directed at me and the Tangata Whenua and brown or black and Asian people in general. This has been almost impossible to escape though as it is the very obvious white aesthetic and art philosphy that is so popular and bandied about as the high art canon.
Here in Aotearoa and I would assume throughout the world any art around identity and the politics of such is deemed ( in my observations) as low art. That it is far too subjective and is more of a modernist concern and it's tired as far as currency in art critical theory.
I am dog tired of being the only black face in a crowd of white people and having to explain and behave in ways that make them feel more at ease with me, which I do in order to make connections and put them at ease. I find it very refreshing to meet the odd person who is keen to discuss with an open mind issues of racism and identity politics surrounding art. If they actually knew me they would know that I am interested in creating a space  for discussing a really volatile subject and at the same time trying to part of a solution. In a sense offering a space for forgiveness and moving toward - as much as it kills me sometimes- grace- and place for people to be their own racist selves or to extend their knowledge of 'other'.
I appreciate what you are doing brother.  The Maori people say ' Kia Kaha' Be strong... cheers Leafa Janice Wilson
ps. I am married to a white man so I have experience of what i speak about.
> 
> From: damali ayo <damali@damaliayo.com>
> Date: 2003/07/23 Wed PM 06:07:24 GMT+12:00
> To: empyre group list <empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au>
> Subject: [-empyre-] race-net-art
> 
> i had to change the subject line....
> 
> there is a lot to respond to, and, i'm not going to really address it 
> all, as i don't think that responding to every point is an artist's 
> job. i think generating discussion and dialogue is where it's at, and 
> that seems to be going on, there the audience finds answers for 
> themselves. and perhaps even more questions. which to me is magical, 
> and why i do what i do.
> 
> i love all the responses to my art. none of them traumatize me 
> (someone suggested such). people have told me i'm selling out, black 
> people have called me a "nigger cunt".  white people have threatened 
> to lynch me. people have told me i've told the story of their lives, 
> others that i've changed their view of the world for the better. it's 
> inspired laughter, rage, tears. it's all audience reaction and it's 
> all part of the art, every last word. it's BEAUTIFUL.
> 
> one of the questions raised by my work is: "but where do we go from 
> here?" a fantastic question. one worth talking about. one worth 
> creating chats and groups and meetings and revolutions to address. i 
> trust my audience to do what they see fit with the work. that is part 
> of our relationship. what they do with their reaction is their part 
> in the work. i honor them for that.
> 
> my work is to hold a mirror up to our world to get us to look at it 
> in a way that sparks a "shift" in our thinking. that 
> re-conceptualizes what we take for granted and makes us think about 
> it again. that's my part in the process. and it is a process, i work 
> hard at it, but it doesn't begin or end with me, i'm just lucky to be 
> a part of it.
> 
> i love that the reaction  i posted is acting as art itself. 
> generating dialogue, drawing lines in the sand, causing people to 
> state their ground and experiences and perspectives and hopes. it's 
> an awesome process and i'm just glad to see that it's engaged.
> 
> people don't always like that this is my take on things. they want an 
> answer..."what do we do?????"
> but we live in a society that is very lazy about finding answers. 
> which is why we've made such little progress on some fronts, and 
> actually allow some heinous rent-a-negro realities to exist (dont' 
> think they don't, just watch tv for half an hour) (god has anyone 
> seen "banzai" ?) but we get frustrated. people scream at me "tell me 
> what to do!"  "give me a solution" "you raised the question!!!"
> 
> but that just isn't the way it works. not for me. i don't want art 
> that answers questions. i want art that raises them. i make art that 
> raises them. then i work on the answers, in all of my relationships, 
> every day.
> 
> 
> damali
> 
> 
>  
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