Let’s Talk About Art
What about art? Well, I don’t know a ton about art, but I do know that it is considered a form of culture. Being a Communication major at USC, I’ve taken many classes that focus on the culture of South Los Angeles where USC is located. A lot of the time, we discuss art for a good portion of the course and go to different exhibits that are representative of South Los Angeles culture.
One of my professors in particular, Josh Kun, stresses how important being knowledgeable about the culture that surrounds us is. Professor Kun was born and raised in Los Angeles, and he has a great appreciation for the city as a whole as well as a frustration with it as he jokes about. Living in South LA while attending USC, it is important to emerge ourselves in the culture and learn about it.
But wait, what about cultural appropriation? You aren’t allowed to adopt other people’s cultures. You have to stay within the guidelines of your own. That would be offensive if you adopted any part of a different culture. Right?
Once again, that isn’t necessarily true. When you’re living somewhere that has a culture that is different than your own, it is respectful to learn about it. Even though my hometown is only 45 miles away from South Los Angeles, growing up in Orange County, CA is worlds different than living in South LA. It is my duty while I am living here to learn about the culture so I can have a respect for it. Luckily, my Communication classes at USC have started to teach me about South LA.
As one of my assignments, I had to visit the Hammer Museum in Westwood to see Mark Bradford’s exhibition, Scorched Earth. Bradford is an artist who was born and raised in South LA so his exhibition reflects the hardships that are present in the area such as vagrancy and hunger.
I visited this exhibition alone and it was very moving. Even though I have not experienced any of these things that Bradford grew up experiencing, I could still try to relate from my time living in South LA. USC has a beautiful campus, but we are surrounded by poverty.
His piece, Rebuild South Central, is one of my favorites. Bradford is an advocate for the removal of liquor stores in South LA to improve the vagrancy and violence problem. There are more liquor stores than grocery stores in South LA. I was touched by this piece because I see it first hand.
So, by having an immense appreciation for South Los Angeles culture, am I then appropriating? I don’t feel that I am, but critics of cultural appropriation may be frustrated seeing me walking through the Bradford exhibit because they may assume that I know nothing about this culture that Bradford is producing.
We are being respectful if we learn about so isn’t that the same as wearing it? It can be, I think. Art is beautiful and fashion design is beautiful. Art is a form of expression as well as fashion design. Art is culture, so is fashion design. These parallels are starting to get pretty repetitive aren’t they….
