Theme: racism
Thesis: Many people are not aware of how much racism still exists and is used in our schools, workforces, and anywhere else where social lives are occurring.
Image 1- :Alexander Khokhlov 2012- Representing that the colour of one’s skin does not change the fact that a person is a person regardless. The artist uses perspective with the face paint to show the two points of views and foreground to show how closely the image can come to your everyday life. Racism is around us constantly, yet this photo shows the colour of one’s skin does not change that they are a person with feelings and emotion and everything that a human feels. Racism has been used to discriminate against people of different skin colours, claiming that they are different due to their skin colour. This photo shows us that that is incorrect entirely. The artist has used perspective to show the audience an optical illusion, two different faces however both shown on one. This image shows the audience that people are the same, regardless of ethnicity or the colour of one's skin. The photographer used foreground to bring the woman close to the camera, representing how close racism is in today’s society. The photographer could have put the camera further back or zoomed out to show more of the shoulders, but I believe he made the decision not to because when the model is closer the message is clearer. The photographer also had then model close her eyes to show no sign of the colour of her skin at first glance (ex. if she has blue or green eyes).
Image 2 uncredited photographer, 2014: In 2014, Donald Sterling, at the time owner of the Clippers, made a racist remark to his wife about the players.This created a frenzy all over America and the world, for that matter. After accusations, Donald Sterling got fired and banned from the NBA. In this photo, the photographer caught the anger these people felt from the situation and the protest they took part in. This is proving that racism exists in everyday life, even in major sports like the NBA with a billionaire racist owner. This photographer also used foreground with nothing in front of the sign or protesters to show how clear the message was and how direct he wanted this to be to the audience. The closeness and uninterruption of the camera to the people shows the directness the message was to be. This is also showing how Clippers fans of different races took offence to this act of racism from Donald Sterling. This is also showing that people are determined to stop racism. This is shown through the poster the woman is holding, stating that no more racists should apply to be the owner of the Clippers as the racism and discrimination needs to end.
Image 3- 1983: Jean Michel Basquiat’s “self portrait” is symbolism for how society sees black people. This photo shows the audience that black people were looked at as the same kind of person, “white slits and a black silhouette”, Basquiat says. Basquiat uses symbolism in this artwork to show his loud, undeniable message of racism. The contrast of black and white in this photo shows the separation the artist feels from the two colours, whether it’s on paint or skin. Although this was made in 1983, I feel as though the racism is still happening that was present in the 80’s today. Racism is still an issue in today’s society and this
is from a different perspective, to see how some African Americans see racism through their eyes. Basquiat was trying to show the audience that the race of Africans can be generalized to be looked at a certain way, which is what he believed white people did/do.
I wonder when racism is going to stop or if it will always progress...
ReplyDeleteWhile reading through this post there was one line that really stood out for me. When you said, “this photo shows the audience that black people were looked at as the same kind of person, ‘white slits and a black silhouette,’” I automatically agreed. It is horrible that even in the 1980s, and still in modern day, racism is such a prominent issue. After thinking about the portrait for a while, I developed a different understanding of it. As with any image, I think that this portrait could be interpreted in many ways. When I see this image out of context, I think more of equality than racism. A silhouette is open to such wide interpretation because it does not show very distinctive features. The race of the man in this image, when taken out of context, would be unknown. However, with the context provided, you did a fantastic job proving your point! This leads me to another question: How important is context to the interpretation of an image or another text?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading up on your topic. I really do agree that people do not realize that racism does still exist today. I liked how you used many different types of art to prove your point, it really made your point stronger. I also liked that you branched out into the area of sports as well. It showed that racism really still does exist. I also really like the first picture because it doesn’t show whether or not the women is black or white, which helps convey your message. I wonder if people even notice that they are treating people this way? If so that would be very unfair and unreasonable. It makes me really sad that not everyone is equal, especially since it is 2015. Do you think that we will reach a time where there is true equality?
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