So my cousins from out of town came to visit for the weekend. They came into my room and looked around. Looked at the art and photography I have hanging up; looked at my collection of magazines; looked at the corkboard on the wall by my bookshelf and one asked, "So... what's up with all this... artsy... white girl shit?".
Artsy white girl shit.
The others laughed and agreed. Apparently, I was trying to be white.
It made me feel the exact same way I feel when people tell me that I "talk/act" white. Is speaking proper English a behavior that is reserved for white people? Along with reading, and writing, and now, being into art?
Believing that I have no business being interested in or appreciative of art, simply because I'm black is absurd. My melanin does not contribute to my interests at all. And even if the fact that I'm black did matter, it would only give me more of a reason to love art.
Black people are and have been major contributors to the art world. From ancient African art, to the Harlem Renaissance, to the Hip Hop movement, to the works of present day. We've had a significant impact on fine art, photography, music, literature, film and dance. To suggest that art, and the appreciation of art, is exclusively for white people is ridiculous. I cannot stress the importance of black people's participation in the arts. We help push the limits and revolutionize art.
Like is it even possible to make a list of artistic, black geniuses? Should I even try? Is there even enough time to finish such an extensive list? I mean there's Maya Angelou, Simmie Knox, Spike Lee, Faith Ringgold. There's Henry Ossawa Tanner, Smokey Robinson, Lauryn Hill, Alice Walker, Jimmy Hendrix, Lorna Simpson, James Van Der Zee, Lee Daniels. There's Horace Pippin, Louis Armstrong, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott. There's Forest Whitaker, Toni Morrison, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Langston Hughes, Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Stevie Wonder, Lorraine Hansberry, Ernest Gaines, Gordon Parks, etc., etc., etc. I could go on and on and on.
And literally all other races have been major contributors, too.
Art is not a "white" thing. Art is a human thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment