art on my mind_thepoeticsofsoul

8/14/2019 Art on my Mind_ThePoeticsofSoul

1/12


2/12

T lH POETIC . S a t s o t t ,U T tO k t \ - t k VO :>. t 11

Alu on Saar. Sapph ire. 1986 . Beads and stqlll ns. 25" x 3 -1. n COII ,-tSJ off a nBa H'" G alltry.

W he n t he g round IS shak in g un d er o ne's feet , Iundu rn en taljsr ide utit ypo litics ca n offer a sense of sra bihry , T he rregedy is time I t def lec ts att enti on fro m t hose forms of Str uggle t hat mi g ht h ave a more co ns t ruc ti ve.trunsfo rmativ e impa ct o n b lack l ife .

Black folks who are Interrogating e sse ndetis e essc mp uo os about bl ackidemiry an: engaged in an ac t o f d ecol onean cn tha t empowers and liber

are s. In th e e s ~y " M rmma l Selv es ," th e b lack Bnrish cultural critic Sruarr H all affirm s thi s : ~ I t may b e t rue tha t th e self IS alwa ys , III a se nse. afic tion. JUSt as th e kind of 'closures ' wh ich are required e o creat e commurunes of idennfi canon -c-n aric n , e chmc g rou p . famili es , se xuali t ies.e rc .c-c are a rbitrar y clo su res: and th e form s o f politi cal an ion , wh ethermov e r nen rs, or parr ies, th ose tOO are tem porary , pa rcial , arbi rrery , Ir IS anImm ensely importa nt gai n w hen one reco g nizes rh ar all iden my is con

st r ucted acro ss diff e rence." G iven th is real iry, a c ts of ap p rop r iar ion li repa rt of th e p rocess by w h ich we m ake ourselv es . Approp riating - t akingso met h ing fo r on e 's o wn u se - n e e d nor be syno ny mous wirh exp lcrt ano n . T h is is e specia lly H ue of cull ura l appropria t ion . Th e Muse" o ne

ma kes of w ha t IS appropria red i s th e cruc ial fact or .


3/12

12 AR T ON M Y M I ND

T hese day s it is oft en as su med t hat any act of c ultura l app rop ria t ionwherein o ne et hnic g ro up d raws on t he experiences o f a g roup t o wh ichthey do not b elong is suspect . Issues of aut hent icity are ra ised codeva luework th at e merges from cult ural bo rrowings. F or a more expa nsiveunderstanding o f cu lrura l ap propriation to eme rge in this soc iet y, cr it ica lth ink ers would need to co ns rrucc bo th a rev ised o nto logy a nd rad icallydi ffe rent t heories o f kn owledge. Th is wou ld me an t akin g serious ly waysof k nowi ng t hat may not be deemed rati onal. R ig ht n ow, di rect exper ience is pr iv ileg ed in many of the deba tes su rrou nding i dentity politi cs asthe mos t relevant way to a pprehend realit y. Expe rience is cle arly on e w a ~'

to know, yet th ere are manyo ther wa ys as we ll.T he ap peal to exp erie nce is cent ral for all claim s of aut h entic ity, T his

has bee n th e case especi ally with respect to black vernacula r cultu re andits approp ria t ion by in d ivid ual s who an : no r b lack, o r by b lack folk s whoare f rom m ater iall y pri vile ged b ackg roun d s, o r wh o we re ra ised in p redo minatel y white e nvi ronm ent s, or wit h mixed e thni c or racia l pa rentage. Co unte ring cla ims to b lac k nurhenti cuy in the e ssay " Black Art a ndt he Bu rden of Repre sentaei u n," Ko bena Merce r contends: "W he n th e

tr op e o f 'aut hent icit y' is used to defi ne th e qu e sti on o f aes t he ti c an dpo lit ical valu e , it often reduces to an a rg ument abou r who d oes, and doesno t , ' belong' i n t he bla ck communities ." O fte nt im es rhe issueof au thent icity is ra ised w hen indiv idual b lack art ist s produ ce wor k rhar is wellrecei ved b y t he whit e ma ins tr eam. \'Uirh in th e realm of cu ltural p roducno n , as mo re whit e produ ce rs and cons u mers traffi c in th e commodi fic at io n of b lackne ss, sho wing bo t h inte rest in a nd fascinatio n with s ub ject

marre r rela ted t o b lack exper ience, part icu larl y t o bl ack vernacul ar culrure , issue s of c ultural appropriat ion , ownership, an d au th ent icit y co meto th e fa te . Indiv id ua l African -A mer ican a rti st s are m ore likely rc bein terrogated about issues of id entity tha n ever before.

W he n Alison Sa ar recently exh ibi ted he r wo rk at th e Hi rshh c mM useum in Was hingt on , D.C. . Africa n-A me rican criti cs and a rnsr s wereamong t hose w ho judged her wo rk fro m the standpoint of narrow ide n

t i ty poli ces . Accu sed b y c ri t ics of self-consci ously app rop riat ing b lackfolk arc in an att em p t t o mask her pr iv ileg ed upbring in g , Saa r found thather ide nt ity and not he r a es t het ic be came the cent ral is sue. H an k Butcha rd 's review o f the ex hibi t in the W(u hi ngroll P O1 was parti cu la rl yscat h ing, In a me an-spi rited , r idic u lin g ron e , Bur c hard a sse rt ed : " She


4/12

Ti l l : PO ETI CS O f SOU L ART rO R E VI: R" O N 1 1

see ms n or so m uch a rale n red Af rican Ameri can in se arc h of her an in icide nti ty as a n accom p lished art is t in se arc h of an Africa n -A mer ica n id enrit y. Th e immedia te, pow erful impa ct of he r scu lp tu re s fad es ra ther th anb uilds be cau se on e ca nnot h elp seei ng t hat Saar 'd u mbs dow n ' her firstclass c ra ft ski lls in im itat ion of rhe ru de e xecution of folk a n. R Th is co mm ent is h igh ly i ron ic si nce i t is p recisely the self-co nscious d ispl a} ofenisn c skill and craft evident in Saa r's work th at is m eant to Stan le au d ie nces, m ak ing th em a ware r har th ey a re loo king n ot a t folk a r r bu t,

indeed , a t an that is in form ed by th e aes thetic p ri nciples and id eals or

t hai ge ntle an , Saa r's wo rk fuses r radirional ac ademic stu dy of an . bo t hhis tory and c raft, and &a a r's o wn aes thetic experien ce o f folk a rt trad i

tions , Th at fus ion necessa ril y ca rries with it m imet i c tra ces that p roudlyasse rt t hem se lves i n th e work . e ven as Saar revea ls he r u nique art ist i cvmo n . U nfon una tdy, rev iews o f the H irshho rn ex hibit lhat foc used n arro wly on q ces efons of p erson al bac kg round d efl ect ed att enti on fro mSaar 's a rrisnc vision , It was as th ough the ex h ibi t w as t he HTo Tell th eTruth " ga me sho w and th e o nly q ues tion rh ar need ed to be as ked was- Will th e real black perso n p lease stan d Up?M

Robyn J oh nso n - Ross 's shore po lemica l pi ece " Ersa tz Afr ica : A liso nSaa r at t he H irshh c m " was e ven m ore agg ressive in i rs ins istence t hat thevalu e of th e work co u ld b e assessed wit hou t di rec t co nside rat ion o f an}'thin g exce pt the art ist 's identi ty and personal h ist ory. Asse rtin g that th eartis t is, "after all , neith er b lack no r w hite , but something i n b etw een, "Ross nega tes all und ers tanding of identity as loca lly co osrruc eed. fo rm edb y bc rh c ho ice a nd con cex r . In th e first half of the pi ece s he add resses

Saa r 's fai lu re to rend er an "au rhem ic" version of th e bibl ical narra t ive ofSalom e - as t hou g h t h is we re th e fun ctio n of a rt, t o d ocu m ent a lreadyexist ing n arrativ es. T hruug houe h er review J ohn so n- Ross demon srrar esno int eres t in Saa r 's aes ehedc visio n and is conte nt to d ismiss her work a sin aut he nt ic, as " w ill ed rath er t han live d : ' U lti ma tely . thi s di sm issa l isdt receed ac a w hi te m useu m srru cru re t hat J ohn son - Ross perceives to b esh owi ng tOO g reat a n in ter es t in valida ti ng art t hat clea rly in no way

inte res ts her, " You cou ld say tha t African -Am erican t heme s have , at p resen r. a g re at ho ld o n r he con re mp ora ry g alle ry a nd museum age nd a, soeven t he N ew D irect ion s, w hich has a rep ut at ion for 'd iffic u l t ' a rt , wi ll

have a pla ce for A lison Saa r 's na rrativ e folk sc u lpt u re." Ind eed . if thi s co nte nt ion wert' tr ue , we wo u ld b e witness ing major needed t ran sforma t ions


5/12

T i l l PO llTI C S O f SO U L "K T FO K I!VF;J.VON B n

early p iece lik e EncJuUl lt sugges ts , t he sou l is co m pl icated . T ha t whi chlur es us to ple asure also rakes us close to d anger. Th e so ul evoked in Saar'swork is no r a si mp listic m etaph ysi cal co nstruc t ion . It is, as Th om asMoor e sugges ts in Cur t OJ lbe 50111 , "cl osely connec ted to fare , and th erum s of fat e al most a lway s go cou nt er to th e expec tations a nd ofte n to rhed esi res of t he eg o ." T he figu res t ha t inha bi t th e worl d of Saar's wo rkknow t hi s. Th ey kn ow t he cnpr ed ict abi liry of l ife and ci rcum stance. howq uick ly the good can change to evil , rhe d arkn ess to light. It is th is parado xica l my ste r), Saa r C'a lls us ro em bra ce in a mode rn wo rld t hat pri vi legesorder and co nt ro l. t hat de n ies t he power of d eSti ny and fare .

Sexual lo ng in g a nd d esir e rema in o ne of th e s pac es of h um an n eedwh ere m yst ery is e ncou nte red, wh ere th e will to su rrender overw he lmsrat ional concerns . Many o f'Sear's i mages . inc luding)M} MEM gtM, lmiJiblt/\ IUII , and L4 P ," "a Bl a nca , d ep ict da ngerou s de si re: Men wh o see k t o~ s sand lure , who lea ve thei r lovers l os t and won de rin g . Women wholu st w ith a veng ean ce , whose wi ll to pos sess and co nsu me rhe d esi redobjec t is as int en se a nd po te nt ia lly v iol ent as th at o f any ma n. A n oddmixtu re of to rment and d el igh t surfaces i n Saar 's piece s. 1Xlailflouw is o neof the few scu lpt u res d isplayin g a n en t ire body that is Hghr -colored . Th ebla nk d ownca st look o n t h is b lond- hai red lig h t body b espeaks the existence o f a wo rld beyon d th e wh ite-sup rem aci st aesthe t ics t ha t overvaluet hese very tra it s. In th is lopsided world, suc h tr a it s are no t mar kers thatinci te in tere st and d esire . In Saar'ssc u lp tu re Sapphirt . she s hows an im ageof co nfli cred lcngin g s. t he b lack female whosee s he rself as mos t d esirablewhen s he has a loo k of whit eness . Al thou g h she a pp ears stro ng and ca pable , when he r he art a nd sou l are ba red she revea ls th at she has frag ment s.bi rs a nd pi eces, whe re her hea rr wou ld b e . In t he d ark b lue Di oe , (h ebla ck fe mal e figu re w it h so ngb i rd rnagi c in h er c he st is incomp lete.u nr erra in , has a loo k o f hesita tion . Her lon g ing is so in tense she a ppea rso therw o rld ly, as th ou gh w ha t she sees f rom her bri g ht g ree n eye s is awo rld so astou ndin g it ca nn o t b e e xp ressed in mere speec h . lnsml larion ssuc h as LOI" PotiM # 9 evok e (h e d e sp e rate ye arn ing f or love rhat lead sfo lks to lose t heir m inds roo as we used f a say in th e South , "a shoot -andcur k ind a love ," the " if I can 't have you no bod y will." T homa s Moore sugs es tS rhar "so ul is co b e fou nd in th e vici nit y o f ta boo ." Saa r's work rev ea lsa fascina t ion wi t h th e tra g ic d im ensi on of love and d esir e . Figur es lik eSU 'tt ' T hONg and Htll fbm Tea 01 T rUl1Ip 'l hi nt a t th e pow e r o f d esire ro


6/12

1 4 A n ' O N M Y M I N lJ

in t he art wo rld . Unfo rcunerely, i t is th e type of u ninf orm ed h yperbolicasse rt ion t hat m isleads. e ven as It d eflec ts a t t ent ion f ro m th e ex tent towhi ch s tr uct ures o f do mination based o n ra ce , se x, a nd cl ass remainun ch anged a nd i nta ct in g alle ries and mu seums , fu nct ionin g to excl udemarginal g ro ups or di sm iss t he ir work th rou gh th e use of the b inary p ar a ~

dig rns j ohnson -R css relie s on ,Tra ined in trad it ional in stituti ons ro t h ink about art in t he usua l Euro

centric ways. Al ison Saa r chose to b reak with that th in kin g and reed ucateher self . Th at pr ocess of nu rturin g cr i t ica l conscious ness enabl ed her {Qform an o pposi t iona l perspecrive t hat could embrace her hold ing i n h ig he steem ve rnac u lar ees chenc p ractices, es pecia lly fo lk art , even as she co n

ti nued to b e interested in cano n ical work s within whit e Wescern classic alrrad irion s. Freed of t he acade mic biases com m on I I I old -school art d epartme nt s, w hich d evalue folk an and v ernac u lar c ultu re, Saar l oo ked to th oserradir ions as resources, al lowi ng t hem co shape he r aes t he t ic.

Stu dying Af rica n and Africa n- Am er ican a rt w ith the bla c k femalearti st Sam ella Lew is as a tea cher, SaM found her new direction s affi rmed .She e mb ar ked on r ese ar ch to u ncover subjuga ted kn owled g e abo ut

African- Am er ican anis rs a nd be cam e pas siona te ly en gage d wi ch fo lkart ists , i n pa rt icular t hose wh o b elieve t heir wo rk t o be vi siona ry, metaph ys icall y gu ided b y pow ers g reater tha n h umanki nd. T hese arti s tsoffe red an aesthe t ic ped agogy t hat ran c ounte r CO the n orion of "g reat a rt"produced p rim arily for el ite audi ences. Saa r was impr essed by the de pthsof rheir commir menr to making art . not for fame or moneyb ur fo r che eleva tion of th e hum an s pi ne. To thes e a rri srs, ma k ing a rt was tanta mou nt

to religio u s se rv ice, and t o Saar 's a maz e ment th ey wer e de vour in rh ei raspiration "comak e art for anyone wh o would rake t he time t o loo k at it. "D rawin g on t he se pa tt e rns of devoti on , commitment, a nd a v is ion of ba t ht he art ist and rh e in divid ual wo rk as fu ncnoning to se rve a nd sustain life ,Slu r b egan co real ize he r own ar t isti c destiny.

Like h er p redecessors , she se arched in th e world a round her for mate rial to use in ma k ing a rr , Work ing w ith s al vaged "fou nd " ob jects. as well

as with spec ifica lly selec ted a nd soug ht-af te r mat erial s, Saar beg an to e re -are a body o f wor k ce leb rati ng f usion , c u ltural bo rrowing, and Inter mixin g rhar be ars witn ess to a poetics of so ul.

Agai ns r a bac kd rop of po sr modem no t hingness, fr agme nt at ion , andlos s, Saa r's work invi tes us to eng age th e m yste ries of t he so ul. Yet as an


7/12

T il t PO IlT IC S 0 1 SO UL AR T fOR E V t.lt YO N E P

racist iconograph y i t is oft e n d epicted as a s it e o f bet raya l. J USt as lilt'wh it e fema le in raci st se xist ico nog rap h y most of te n sym bo lizes inn ocence a nd virtu e, t he abs ence of se xual passio n , t he b lack female bod y isusua lly mark ed as th e o pposi te.

~ b ny of th e nak ed b lack fem ale bod ies p ictur ed in Saar 's wo rk assumesed uct i ve po ses, t hei r bodi es op e n fo r ent ry . As "swee t rbe ngs." b lackfema lt's mu st use sex uality as a mean s ro survive . Saa r suggests rhar th e rt15 lnre g rit)' in th is cho ice. For exa mple . Saa r's scu lpture Cleo posi ts lha tfema le longing ca n be- posu ioned as won h y eve n as th e- female re ma inssexual, d riven by pass ion. C lea rly, Saar d epicts Salome as a woman d rivenb )' u n req u ited long ing to de- sera)' th e ob ject cf ber effec rion an d desi re . InSaa r's sc ul p ture, Sa lo me rende rly c rad les rhe head o f J ohn r he Bapt ist.Her mouth is o pe n as th ough she ho pe s t o b rearhe life. to n urtur e a ndrescore al l tha t mad desi re has d riven h er eo descrey, T hat rbe d eat h of thelon ged -for mate d oes not re lease Salome from t orment is rhe mos t tra g ica nd so rrowful cu lmina t ion of th is taboo de s ire . I t has d r iven her 10 ebeed g e bu t not affo rded he r pe ace . Th ese a re lov e's fa raliries -c-e nvy and,ea lous ly are emo t ions that can str ip away reason. creat ing unre solvableInne r t ens ion and co nRict. Yet I t IS rhrs su rre nde r t o an all -co nsumin gyea rn ing th at exposes Sal om e's sou l. th e vul ne rabi lit y she would usepo wer, status. and pos ition to mask .

Parado x and corn rsdicr ioe are the m yste rie s o f the so ul . The weird , t heunca nn y art source s o f k nowledge . To know th e se lf. Saar's work sugg ests.one mu st ope n t he hean wide and search every pa rt . Thi s requ ires facingthe un acceptabl e, i he pe f"o'erse , rh e strang e. e ven t he s ick. \X / ith ou t thi s

cri t ical embr ace o f m eraphys ical co mp lexi t y th e so ul cannot b e und ers tood. Moo re co nte nds: "Somet ime s d eviari cn from t he usual is a s pecia lreve lation of tru th . In a lchem y thi s was referred t o as t he op u s rrm fY{1 n a m -Y{IH l , a n effec t con rrar y to natur e , \Vlc m ight see th e sa me k ind o f a rtf ulunna tu ra l exp ression wit hin our own live s . \Vl hen no rm ality exp lod es o rbreaks o ut inr o c raain css or shadow , we mig ht look closel y, be fore run ningfor cover a nd befor e a tt e mpt ing to res to re fam iliar ord er. at rhe porenrial

meani ng fuln ess of t he e vent , If we ar e g oing to be curious about th e sou l,we may need to exp lore its d evia tion s . its pe rverse tendency to contr adic texpecta t ions ," Un like th e visionary fo lk ani ses who inspire her. SaM doe snor see the sou l as in need of sp iritu al p uri fica tion . For her th e sou l is a sit efor excavation - holding archeo logi ca l Sto res of emotio nal mea n ing to be


8/12

1 6 ART O N M ~' N I N O

tHU D" Saa r. D iva. 1988. \Vood, tin , paim. 32" x 30 " x 10 . " Courtny ofJa nBIl H", Gill/ ery .

d isrupt and cha l lenge no rm s. Even wh en it comes to s truct u res of d cmi -

n ano n . ra cis m . se xism, and cl ass bo undaries. l o ve and d es ire c an leadfolks as tray. can nite r w hat app eared to b e a fix ed d ynamic, a se t locati on .It is thi s as pect of d esire t hat Saa r cap tures in the pi ece F ea r a nd P IlJ ll on .

Wi th Inte nse long in g co mes the f ear and po ssib ility o f b errayal . Saa rh ig h lig hts Ihe b lac k: female body pr ecise ly b ecause w ithi n se xis t a nd


9/12


10/12

I II A ItT O N MV M I N D

exa mined wi th ou t jud gm ent . Refusal t o embrace a negat ive, d arker side of

b eing is ranramoun r to de nial. Truth . pa rticularly about ehe se lf, can notbe known if a ny aspec t of the sou l is repudiated . Th e tru e see ke r who longsfor self-real ization journeys w h


11/12

r u r eo r-r r cs o r , OUL A Rl ' fO R EVl!ll,YONr 21

OUt t he beau ry in ehe e ve ryday , an d celeb ra te t he metaphys ical ,s he didnor conte m pla te the rea l it )' t hat no cr itica l fram ew o rk exis ted to I hearerically valida re an d ili um inare th e s igni Iicance o f rhis sh if t, i ts pol ir ica lsub\'l: rsi \'e ness, N ow s he ha s Iived w it h t he im pli cat ions of her c hoice and

und ers ta nd s m ore i n t j mat ely wha t we sac rifice w hen we choose ( Q di ssen t , Th e spi ri t o f sac rifice i s ref lec ted w irh el egan ce and gra ce in he r newpiece H ea r t tlml S ol d seC' cove r iHuscrar ion ). T he so le of rhe shoe is wornpresumably by It rou gh journ ey, by th e trav ersing of te rra ins rhar tesr andtry th e s pirit. Th at th e path w alked is a journey 10 the spi ri t is e vsde r u bythe h ea rt t hat surrou nds th e ho le in the sole . All rhar is sac rificed i s mad emeaningful wh en th e complexity of th e so u l is exposed . revealed . i rs

bea uty an d ime grit) , as eve r-presem witn ess.


12/12

20 ... II T O N M Y ;\II N I>

images wi th an ere for sp irit ual co m plexity sees a bar ren l andscape wi th alife for ce corning from a sign that , li ke rhe su n, pr omises t o nu rt u re . Th arsig n says t hat t he so u l w ill be g iven ca re he re - a l a moc k gaso line sral ion . T he se im ages linkin g man a nd na tu re suggest th at t he ab ility t o

imagine recbnclo gy t hat can inve nt t he automobile , t hat can p lunder r heearth for r esou rces to m ake ga sol ine to fuel cars, d oes not r id u s of rh eneed t o care for t he inner life, t he world of t he so ul. T ech nology is p teseneed here n ot as a n e vil bu t , rather , as a pa ra llel unive rse , J ust as t he carmu sr be giv en gas to go forwa rd, to take us wh ere we wanr t o go , rhe so ulm ust be acknowled ged -c-culrivered and cared for - if we are to b eco meself- rea lized human b eings.

Saar 's poeti cs of so u l is situa ted wit hin the conte xt of everyd ay life . forit is t here tha t our spirits d well and stan d in need o f com fort and she lte r,Rather than dep iCti ng t he metaphysical pl ane as exist ing in som e evolvedhigh e r s ta te be yo nd t he o rdinary , Saar 's wor k seek s to rev eal th e p resenceo f holy spi ri t in o ur da ily life . Saar e nd eavo rs t o create a rt t hat awa ken saware ness of the metap hy sic al , sho win g t hat i t may be, as A. Davi dN a pier sug ges rs i n FO tigll Bodies , "embod ied in t he p h ysi cal , e ven in

wh at we recogruze as t he i na ni mate. " I t is th is oppo sitio nal insi g h t t hatinsp ire s vernac u lar visionary arti sts. It a llows Saa r t o test ify : " ~I workedon ce wit h a t ree. I tho ug ht abo ut the African and Ame rican Ind ian be lieftha t tr ee spi ri ts had to be at peace before anyrhi ng cou ld b e ca rved fro mth em. I also t h ink abou t t he spiri r of iron and t he na tu re of i ron ." N apie rcon rend s: " Ar issue here is no t simp ly what used t o be ca lled 'an imism,'bu t an o ntology , a syst em of connec ted ness by which an i nd iv idu al's

awaren ess of se lf is pred icated o n a system o f recip rocal exchanges i n thevi si ble wo rld , In a uni ve rse of rel ario ns go ve rned by Mauss 's a rch a icnot ion of t he g ift - in w hich ind ividua ls ' know' the mselve s by a ctuallyexch angi ng w ith o ther s chose o bje ct s by wh ich t hey a re ' id en rified'

art on my mind_thepoeticsofsoul

Documents