This is both deeply moving and wonderfully written.
You sound like a fellow ADHD enjoyer, potentially :) Many things you describe from your own experience, like seeing many links between things and wanting to connect everything via threads that don't necessarily make sense to other people sounds extremely familiar.
The Dana Schutz painting story ties in to your Rafah story as well, I feel. This tendency of white people to relate to non-white pain and suffering as fundamentally exotic at some level, and to be interacted with in very different ways than our own pain and suffering. I don't think a single white person right now, regardless of how they are relating to what is happening in Palestine (and Sudan, and the Congo, and Haiti, and, and, and....) can actually imagine watching these same images, except with white children. It is unthinkable. We got the tiniest glimpse of it with Ukraine and the shock and outcry was earthshattering.
The fact is that we white people have been somehow led into believing that to be a good, decent, moral person, what we must do is look 'charitably' upon the suffering of others, while still abstracting it to a great degree. To be moved to pity and sadness upon witnessing it instead of the visceral outrage we would feel if those suffering were of the same skin color as we are. It's an insidious issue because it allows white people to contrast themselves against other white people who do not seem to feel anything for the suffering of others, and position themselves as 'The Good Ones', while still failing to comprehend or empathize with the position of others.
I feel so seen, thank you so much! Your comment moves me a lot. The adhd is something I need to look into, so many people have already told me that it sounds like it. Thank you for mirroring that!
And what you are saying with looking at images with white children who have been physically violated is absolutely accurate, especially connecting it to how morally corrupt our system is towards anyone that isn’t white.
Exactly, the system reflects the people, ultimately. The system perpetrates what we, as a collective, allow. We have moved away from direct slavery, from apartheid in South Africa, from lack of women's voting rights, from lack of LGBTQ rights, not because the system decided to be more generous to those groups, but because society at large made it clear that they are no longer ok with allowing those injustices to carry on as before.... So by extension we must, I think, face the fact that whatever our systems of power are perpetrating right now, is exactly what we as a collective are willing to allow - i.e. maybe feel sad, uncomfortable, or squeamish about but not actually step up to fight against.
I like how you always find a way to bring it back to you and share your own story alongside what you are trying to say. makes us understand and see you better! thank youuu
I knew I needed to read this!! I'm taking a break from the art world so I avoid art world content but fuck it.
This is a perfect coincidence, I was studying art market management before giving up because everyone is awful (pretty much), and my thesis coach (white lady) told me about Hannah Black and about how she dreaded working with her because of this debacle. I now understand more what she meant. The funny thing is my thesis was supposed to be about the rise and fall of black artists in the market.
Anyway, this give me a lot to think about. I'm gonna check those names and the infamous Open casket painting.
The art world has a lot of work to do when it comes to those issues and they are very reluctant. They somehow think to be above all this because 'art'. That's something that shocked me when I "entered" this world. Now I'm just saying things but anyway, like I said, a LOT to think about.
thank you so much for reading and that it resonates with you, makes me happy. I decided to stop working in the arts industry (for now) especially with institutions here in Germany – I live and work in Berlin but also work in Frankfurt from time to time – because I could not stand the bigotry and fraudulence of how they would conduct exhibitions about decolonisation for example (I worked for the last Berlin biennale as an art mediator), where they talk about everything else other than their own shortcomings or own history of Germany. I could go on with this forever, I have so much to say ... thank you again <3
This is both deeply moving and wonderfully written.
You sound like a fellow ADHD enjoyer, potentially :) Many things you describe from your own experience, like seeing many links between things and wanting to connect everything via threads that don't necessarily make sense to other people sounds extremely familiar.
The Dana Schutz painting story ties in to your Rafah story as well, I feel. This tendency of white people to relate to non-white pain and suffering as fundamentally exotic at some level, and to be interacted with in very different ways than our own pain and suffering. I don't think a single white person right now, regardless of how they are relating to what is happening in Palestine (and Sudan, and the Congo, and Haiti, and, and, and....) can actually imagine watching these same images, except with white children. It is unthinkable. We got the tiniest glimpse of it with Ukraine and the shock and outcry was earthshattering.
The fact is that we white people have been somehow led into believing that to be a good, decent, moral person, what we must do is look 'charitably' upon the suffering of others, while still abstracting it to a great degree. To be moved to pity and sadness upon witnessing it instead of the visceral outrage we would feel if those suffering were of the same skin color as we are. It's an insidious issue because it allows white people to contrast themselves against other white people who do not seem to feel anything for the suffering of others, and position themselves as 'The Good Ones', while still failing to comprehend or empathize with the position of others.
I feel so seen, thank you so much! Your comment moves me a lot. The adhd is something I need to look into, so many people have already told me that it sounds like it. Thank you for mirroring that!
And what you are saying with looking at images with white children who have been physically violated is absolutely accurate, especially connecting it to how morally corrupt our system is towards anyone that isn’t white.
Exactly, the system reflects the people, ultimately. The system perpetrates what we, as a collective, allow. We have moved away from direct slavery, from apartheid in South Africa, from lack of women's voting rights, from lack of LGBTQ rights, not because the system decided to be more generous to those groups, but because society at large made it clear that they are no longer ok with allowing those injustices to carry on as before.... So by extension we must, I think, face the fact that whatever our systems of power are perpetrating right now, is exactly what we as a collective are willing to allow - i.e. maybe feel sad, uncomfortable, or squeamish about but not actually step up to fight against.
Omg, I had not heard of the Dana Schutz incident before this and that's actually WILD! Thank you for this piece.
Brilliant. Thank you for these ideas.
Thank you so much!
I like how you always find a way to bring it back to you and share your own story alongside what you are trying to say. makes us understand and see you better! thank youuu
Thank you so so much!
I knew I needed to read this!! I'm taking a break from the art world so I avoid art world content but fuck it.
This is a perfect coincidence, I was studying art market management before giving up because everyone is awful (pretty much), and my thesis coach (white lady) told me about Hannah Black and about how she dreaded working with her because of this debacle. I now understand more what she meant. The funny thing is my thesis was supposed to be about the rise and fall of black artists in the market.
Anyway, this give me a lot to think about. I'm gonna check those names and the infamous Open casket painting.
The art world has a lot of work to do when it comes to those issues and they are very reluctant. They somehow think to be above all this because 'art'. That's something that shocked me when I "entered" this world. Now I'm just saying things but anyway, like I said, a LOT to think about.
Thank you Miss 🖤
thank you so much for reading and that it resonates with you, makes me happy. I decided to stop working in the arts industry (for now) especially with institutions here in Germany – I live and work in Berlin but also work in Frankfurt from time to time – because I could not stand the bigotry and fraudulence of how they would conduct exhibitions about decolonisation for example (I worked for the last Berlin biennale as an art mediator), where they talk about everything else other than their own shortcomings or own history of Germany. I could go on with this forever, I have so much to say ... thank you again <3