On Explaining Cultural Exchange Products
I believe that culture is to be shared and learned from. Each country has its own unique aspects that challenges how we see the world or show us a completely new way of thinking. And, of course, we end up clustering together cultures that are more similar and exacerbating the contrasts of those that do not fall in the same group — like the east vs west.
Therefore, I do believe that artists and designers should learn about other cultures, especially the most different ones, and create work with those new lenses in mind.
The problem starts with language.
Unless you lived in a culture, or maybe (maybe) studied really hard about it, you won’t understand it completely. You have snippets of it. So if you are an artist and create a work inspired in another culture, don’t try to explain it as if you completely understood the culture. This creates the stereotypes we see. One example is this article about Japanese packaging. While it shows several images of work and talk about the packagings with awe, it explains that the reason behind the creative packaging as a belief that they have a “soul.” It comes out as a gross generalization that is serving to sustain a stereotype. Also, the author uses the word “kawaii” so much, even saying that Japanese go to great lengths to make things “kawaii.” Yes, there is a part of Japanese culture that tries to make things cute, but, again, generalizing is harmful to the culture. It is such a rich culture to be reduced to “kawaii.”
As a counterpart, this article talks about modern design inspired in the ancient Indian crafts. It provides a good array of works that encompass more than one view into the Indian culture, and it makes a good job of explaining the cultural aspects without generalizing. It is also makes concrete references. It talks about the influence of certain practices, like spontaneous gatherings, yoga, hand-pottering — always in multitude and not trying to explain the motives behind such practices. This shows respect and makes you want to learn more about the culture.
In summary, cultural exchange is an amazing thing that can help artists and designers to become more creative. However, the work needs to be explained in terms that uplift cultures, hinting at their complexity, and avoiding generalization. A good work and explanation should make us curious about the culture, not makes us think that we understand it.
