Poet Republik: Sesshu Foster
Go visit a museum and tell me what you see, who is represented? Who is represented disproportionately? Or, better yet, go to any museum of your choice via the internet and count how many artists of color are represented. Below is a poetic “review” by Sesshu Foster which he wrote after a visit to the U.C. L. A. Hammer Museum in Los Angeles with his mother.
review of “made in l.a.” at the ucla hammer museum
it’s okay that the artists are all white, even the nonwhite artists (2?) are kind of white
it’s okay that the curators are all white, it’s
okay that the l.a. reflected in this show is like the l.a. in robert altman’s “shortcuts” which is a strange all-white l.a.
(in charlton heston’s “omega man,” (1971) i think the head vampire or whatever they were who was menacing the ‘real’ last human beings on earth, that is the humans who were not vampires or whatever (all white, except maybe the black woman hipster with her militant afro) was black)
let’s not go into “planet of the apes” at this juncture, but in the apartheid imagination of the future white people are in peril, isolated with jutting jaw of manifest destiny determination like charlton heston with his guns and his alzheimer’s
it’s okay that the curators at the ucla hammer museum think that ‘minorities’ are best represented by white queer artists (that shows diversity like on “star trek” the aliens are white people who wear prosthetic make-up or paint their skin blue or green—that’s a kind of diversity)
it’s okay that the white artists who are queer artists don’t have anything to do with POC (people of color)
it’s okay in the little museum labels where the curators note the background, issues and ideas in the artist’s work, that none of it referenced POC even when it mentioned “highest rates of incarceration in the world in spite of having only 5% of the worlds population” (it’s okay not to mention that blacks and latinos make up 60% of the incarcerated even though they are 30% of the american people)
it’s okay
it’s all right, like when i sat in one day in marilyn robinson’s mfa writing class at the university of iowa and she shared her course reading list which was all white except for one book by the only black writer and only POC in creative writing at U of I, and she asked did anyone have any remarks or suggestions, and i said, apart from the one, the reading list isn’t very diverse, it’s all white
robinson didn’t answer, she just smiled and white students (maybe i was the only nonwhite in the room) said, “it’s a very diverse list, already” and “yes, for example, look at all the women writers” and “and kafka,” one added
and robinson just smiled
and i left
that’s all right
it’s okay
that was in 1994, 20 years ago
it’s okay 20 years later to walk through the ucla hammer museum through an all white show
when i was a kid i thought maybe american apartheid would slowly change
and now we have a black president who does everything white presidents do
he does everything just like them, all his policies are the same—he’s like colin powell
and in the 1990s i felt like things could change, maybe
but now i see white thinking’s not changing and this exhibit and the exhibits at every other museum in the city show this, but
it’s all right because the ucla hammer museum curated and hosted “now dig this! art and black los angeles 1960 – 1980” which exhibited from october 2011 to january 2012
so it’s okay, because “black los angeles” had its day
it had the one exhibit
it has black history month every year
it had wanda coleman (in those days)
so it’s okay that all the official museums in l.a. show white art all the time
it’s okay because you can go to the “california african american museum” if you want to see art by POC or you can drive to long beach to the museum of latin american art, or the l.a. county museum of art probably has one or two frida kahlos or diego riveras and some great precolombian ceramics
so it’s okay
if the all the other museums like lacma and moca and etc. show white art at all times
asco had it’s one lacma show “asco: the elite of the obscure, a retrospective 1972 – 1987” on exhibition from sept. 2011 to december 2011, so it’s okay
they had that one
one is good, now we can go back to our regularly scheduled programming
like after a public service announcement
it’s okay that the apartheid imagination remains in place and is not disrupted
thank you
that reassurance is like walking on a broken toe
By: Sesshu Foster
Sadly racism still exist in many places. By reading this poem I remembered of a movie were there was a restaurant where only white people were allowed to enter. In this movie there was a black man who thought that by being famous he was going to be able to go into the restaurant so he start to sing and he became famous between his community. I remembered that one time he tried to enter to the restaurant, but the manager didn’t allow him. So in that moment he knew that it didn’t matter if he was famous or not, he was still a black person.
First time I heard the acronym POC referring to people of color and it’s not okay, but is very accurate and discrete as we should say WT (white people). Museums show what the audience want to see. It also depends on where the museum is located. As an example The MET (Metropolitan Museum of New York). The MET is one of favorite’s museum, I go as much as I can, the central area with the European Sculptures is perfect to sit and spend the whole afternoon. The museum is located is the most affluent part and touristic part of the city. Their aim is to target people therefore, they will no exhibit local or heritage exhibitions all the time. They want to show the best of the best, the “distinctive” artists of all times. Unfortunately most of them (artists) are white therefore majority, over the sector and artwork.
A person’s ethnicity should not keep them from their art to be displayed at s museum. Everyone that has talented art to show should be given the chance for their art to be displayed. To be honest when I go to a museum I look forward to look at interesting art. I do not pay attention to the background of the artist. I like to get lost in interesting art. I could be looking at a Hispanic, Caucasian, African American, or any other ethnicity art and ill be more interested in their talent than to what color they are.
I have visited several museums back in high school and I could not agree more with Foster. A majority of the art was by white artists or were white in the paintings. Racial representation is such an important thing to have and it acknowledges that there IS a Black or Latino and there is nothing wrong with it. Its culture may be different from white culture;however, it’s not bad just because its different. Minority art is just as beautiful as white art and it needs to be represented all year round. Not just in temporary exhibits or in black history month (the shortest month of the year).
Thanks for your thoughtful commentary and reflections. Keep the discussion moving!
I have visited multiple museums in the past, and I have noticed a lack of displayed art work created by POC except when the piece is in a museum dedicated to Black, Asian, Latino, etc. arts. I didn’t physically have the chance to visit a museum within the past week, but I decided to look at a museum’s website to see their artists. The website I went to belonged to SFMOMA. San Francisco is a large, urban, multicultural city. There’s a “Little Mexico, a “Japan Town”, etc., so I expected to see more diversity in the art work. Yes, there were POC in the museum’s list, but on any random page of that list, there is only about 1-2 out of 30. I’d also like to add that this disparity between the representation of white people and POC are evident in other forms of media, such as in modeling or in TV. For example, I recently read an article involving a black, female model. She was told that she couldn’t be a model because they already had another black model. To me, this screams, “I only need one black person on my runway to prove I’m not racist.” Frustratingly, I see this mindset still ingrained in much of American society.
I enjoyed reading this poem. It’s really an eye opener to the fact that POC aren’t held as highly as artists, or a lot of things for that matter, as white people are. It shouldn’t matter what a person’s skin color is to be known as a great artists. Everyone has something to say whether it be through an art piece or spoken. Just because someone’s skin color is different from yours means that you should be held on a higher pedestal.
I never really notice misrepresented of color people in museums art until I read this article. I believe art shouldn’t matter what race you come from as long as your the art speaks to the public on how extraordinary their art is. If museums are only representing white people in their art to show the public then we haven’t came far from changing racism. Museums should be showing different artists that want to show ethnicities all over the world and not only allow some artists who are white to show their work.
I applaud the author for standing up and walking out of his college class when the professor said the reading list was diverse just because they add one author who is colored. Something that has always interested me but frustrated me at the same time is that i’ve met several white people who dislike color people but are the same ones saying that they are to pale and white and wish they could be darker if not black.
see also this article:
https://modelviewculture.com/pieces/how-to-uphold-white-supremacy-by-focusing-on-diversity-and-inclusion
“The only way to prevent that is to name oppression for what it is; to speak truth to power. If a group is dominated by whites, men, and other privileged classes, don’t let that be reduced to a diversity issue.”
I never took the time to evaluate the artists background and whether or not they were white or people of color. After reading this poem I think back to museums I have visited and looked up several of the artists that were on exhibit and all but one were white. It really does make me wish that there were more acknowledgement of artists of color.
I found this to be true, at least, in the museums I’ve visited. I think part of it is that not minorities aren’t always given the opportunity to have an exhibit. I think that needs to be done to encourage and support all artists.
I do understand the frustration of the author with the “non diverse” readings and art that have been shown to him. I experience something similar during the holidays. Everyone (well, more like 90 percent of the population) knows what Christmas is, they know (mostly) the story, the traditions, old Saint Nick. But not as many people know of what Chanukkah really is? Not as many as Christmas. What about people who know what Ramadan is? Eid? Even less. Chanukkah is celebrated by people of many ethnic backgrounds, so is Christmas, so why is it one is more obscured than the other?
I honestly don’t understand much of the complaint in this poem, as it is not a problem of ethnicity, it is a problem of ignorance. The books for the class could have been the best books that the teacher saw to teach the class. The art in the museums could just be what is best for that particular exhibit. What I am more upset about is the fact that there isn’t respect for the art shown by the author, only for the artist.
What is worse; being ignorant to beauty because you disapprove of the color? Or be ignorant of color because you disapprove of the beauty?
I had no idea that POC were not being represented in museums. I had no idea this was an issue. This is truly sad. I think art is art, and the race or ethnicity of the author shouldn’t be something to get in the way of them displaying it in an exhibit, art show, or museum. I would think the public eye would like appreciate some diversity not only in the art itself but in the circle of artists who make the art. Wouldn’t this boost sales or maybe the possibilities of exchanging ideas and meeting new people? This is very disappointing that this has been going on for so long. This is sad that in order for the POC art to be displayed there has to be a separate museum or function just for that particular reason. They can’t just be combined? I don’t understand the big deal. I personally think some of the best artists are from POC.
I am currently doing a research paper on how the media does not portray minorities. I have been reading many similar articles and it is very true. Minorities are poorly represented by society. Many wonderful people are discriminated against in certain areas of a city for not coming from their shade of liking. Some only add diverse pieces to not have questions of racism asked. We need better representation. Many great individuals are being denied the spotlight for not looking the part. I’m not saying that who makes it isn’t great but if they were at their primes and these diverse individuals both were to compete in a non-biased competition I know the diverse individual would be good competition.
Unfortunately “racial discrimination” exists in every field. People understand the people who have similarities and values. And people misjudge people who have different backgrounds and culture. it is a very deeply historical and modern issue. How can we make it better? Talk.Bring the sensitive topic on the tables, just like Mr. Sesshu Foster. Let people know how we feel. It will be take a long time, and need extra special efforts. Without any endeavors, how can we solve the problems?
I came from a high school which was for the majority Hispanics, mainly Mexicans. There was a time when someone was shot in the baseball field in the back, and of course the news came flocking to our school. What bothers me is that whenever we did something to help the community, for example, do a can food drive and collect more cans than we have ever done so, the news reporters were never to be seen. It seems as if the media only chooses to represent people of color in the instances of crime and mistakes.
After looking at some museum websites, it was surprising to me to find that minority groups are even poorly represented when it comes to their art. One would think that the people who work in an industry that is supposedly so open-minded, that people of all walks of life would be accepted and supported by them. I also find the idea of Black History Month to also be ridiculous because, as Foster stated, it makes it seem alright to just ignore it for the rest of the year since those people of color already had their recognition. It’s as if they think that one month makes up for all of the discrimination that they have previously faced. It reminds me of Morgan Freeman’s response to a question on 60 Minutes asking his thoughts on Black History Month. Here is the URL to that interview.
http://youtu.be/bIQj7hhqaLg
This poem was informative in a way that it made me think back to the paintings, sculptures, and art in general that I’ve seen and made me wonder whether the images represented the artist’s culture or another race. I enjoy art very much and with seeing art you see an artist’s imagination, inspiration and creativity. Art will not always correlate with everything or be accepted by everyone, but great art will always be acknowledged.
I had never really thought about how people of color are not really presented in museums because I had only visited some in Mexico. Not until I went to one in San Francisco is when I realized there were only white artists represented. Its sad to see there is racial discrimination. I believe POC are also creative and artistic but its sad to see society is still discriminating and shielding itself from a possibility of great art.