Poor timing, Brontez and space
Important information before you read: I am Black
I walked into the Berkeley Art Museum. It was a normal day: I skipped a few classes, watched YouTube due to waking up late for said classes, drank some water and ate some cereal. But… when I walked into the lecture hall in the back of the art museum that Wednesday, I was met with a very interesting sight.
It may have been my internalized American racism, but when I saw a shirtless and shoe less black man reaching into a crowd of predominantly white and Asian people, I immediately became concerned for them. I thought, “ wow. Look at this homeless black man bothering these innocent students.” The few seconds after these thoughts, I immediately checked myself and thought, “ If you think of others like that, just off of a few seconds of information, what prevents others from thinking of you like that as well?” So, I kept observing the man, and quickly realized he was performing. The way he reached for the strings and walked on the bubble wrap became really fascinating to me. After he had left, I was left with one question:
What does it mean for this man to be allowed to do what he did and say what he did in a space like the Berkeley Art Museum?
I think of the Berkeley Art Museum as a white space. White space meaning: place that attracts a specific crowd because of its geographic location, content or atmosphere. The Berkeley Art Museum always has a squad of white patrons flooding in and out of its doors and due to its location within Berkeley, a town reflective of UC Berkeley’s un-diverse admissions policies, I rarely get to see any people of color heading into the art museum. Brontez broke most of the preconceived notions I had of the art museum and made me feel a bit more comfortable within that space.
Our guest lecturer for the day was Dena Beard, director of The Lab. She introduced us to the concept of “Subjectile space”: not just the surrounding environment for a work of art, but the support for said work of art… it is both acting and being acted upon. The example she used to try and help us understand that concept was “The Lab”, alternative art space where artists are given complete creative. In this instance, The Lab is both a support for the artist’s vision and is also the artist’s vision.
Things that come to mind when I think of Subjectile Space:
- The maze from maze runner
- The wall and the giant concrete flower that had to be removed
- Music
I think of music because music creates space. If you walk into an ice-cream shop and hear: Jay Z’s — “Lost One”
then your perception of this ice cream shop as a space of delight may change. Music acts on us and is acted on by us. We place meaning onto different melodies and sonic waves. Music is its own supporting structure. Music only needs itself to create space. Even if you were outside, the right kind of music can turn a forest into the perfect prom setting (First Twilight Movie).
I did not get to ask Dena what she thought about this understanding of Subjectile Space and am curious to hear what she has to say given she has put more of her time into understanding this concept.
If we move forward with the understanding that music can create space, and black people have the ability to change a space just off of presence a lone, as shown through my perception of Brontez, then we understand subjectile space as a concept that can be attached to physical beings, and a bunch of different things other than just space.
I would like to thank Brontez and Dena for doing a lot for me that day. Things I am still processing and taking an appreciation for. I have linked the website to “The Lab” below in case anyone is interested in visiting.
