Art and Appropriation: Examining Racial Injustice in Contemporary Art

24 January 2024 AFR 370 Précis: “Black Bodies, White Cubes: The Problem With Contemporary Art’s Appropriation of Race” The article, "Black Bodies, White Cubes: The Problem With Contemporary Art’s Appropriation of Race," written by Taylor Renee Aldridge in 2016 explores the relationship between contemporary art and racial injustices. The topic of this discussion begins when the author comes across a disturbing video of an inflated sculpture of a Black man’s body inflating and deflating slowly. The author was extremely distraught at this sculpture because the breathing patterns of the man resembled that of someone who was dying. Moreover, this sculpture reminded the author of the many black deaths, while the other people in the audience were seemingly indifferent. The article then moves into the trend of contemporary artists responding to racial injustice such as police brutality. The author discusses how there is a new wave in contemporary art inspired by racial injustices in which artists glorify the pain and suffering experienced Black people. The author mentions how this new wave of art has gone “mainstream” and is in danger of becoming a means of monetary gain rather than a means of social change. Aldridge expresses how she has questioned the integrity of many artists’ motives, if they actually care about a social cause or if they capitalize on it. Additionally, there have been instances in which White artists faced criticism for their unsettling responses to racial injustice, Kenneth Goldsmith and Ti-Rock Moore. Kenneth Goldsmith read Michael Brown’s autopsy report aloud and Ti-Rock Moore created a sculpture of Brown’s body moments after he was killed. Both of these artists received very little repercussions for their actions and were represented in a pleasant manner in the media. The author criticizes these artists for their inappropriate, rather dehumanizing, depictions of victims of systemic racism that they attempt to present as empathy. Aldridge also discusses the historical context of blackness in art, addressing controversies from previous artists. For instance, in 1971 artists withdrew from Whitney Museum's "Contemporary Black Artists in America" exhibition because of the organization of white curators. Moreover, Aldridge argues that the black image in events relevant to the Black Lives Matter movement has evolved into almost objectification, as a means of capitalism. The author uses the artist from the first example, a Black man’s body inflating and deflating, who acknowledges that his art does live inside “white cubes” but has the chance to remove it from there. Aldridge criticized that artist and said that they are giving the white audience the power and chance to degrade the victim in the work. The author uses this example to highlight the importance of historical context when presenting artwork and uses the Lotus (2011) as an example of a piece that uses historical context in an instructive and respectful manner. Moreover, the author then discusses the works of Simone Leigh that also uses historical context in art that is socially engaging. Moreover, she mentions that Leigh is not solely focused on relating her work to current political movement, as means of glorification and instant success, but rather she depicts the experiences of marginalized people. This article is primarily intended as a call for artists to stop exploiting political moments, and extremely devastating moments of racial injustice, as a way for an artist to achieve success or their own personal goals. The author wants contemporary artists to incorporate racial issues in their art with genuine concern, which can be seen in their work. Moreover, the author questioned the intentions of some artists responding to political movements and raised important considerations about the risks of exploiting social activism into a marketable commodity.