Cultural appropriation is a topic that is extremely controversial and relevant in todays society. Many different things fit into this category, whether it is regarding how someone dresses, to the way that they may speak.
This term can be defined as the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.
This is usually conducted by people due to financial gain from it, admiration of cultural awareness, or in Pablo Picasso’s case artistic admiration.
What are my views on this debate?
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was a piece painted by Picasso after visiting Musée d’Ethnographie du Tocadéro (Trocadero Museum of Ethnology) in 1907, where he first witnessed a collection of tribal masks to which he examined and became encapsulated by. He states that after viewing these masks, it became clear what painting meant to him, and so, he found is artistic path as a result. As a mid class white male, I aim to view this debate with all sides considered, keeping my privilege in mind. Although it is clear that Picasso, who was also a white man and also carries a level of privilege, copied and culturally appropriated these African masks for his own gain. Whether he was just inspired or not, using these images without delivering credit to the original creators (which is likely impossible) can be viewed as self-serving. This fact alone pushes my views on this debate, as Picasso should have paid homage to those who had inspired him, to ultimately yield himself from any backlash on the topic. As an artist, it is clear that you are able to gain inspiration from a variety of mediums, but exploiting that inspiration should be withheld for things that derive from your own culture.
Should we admire his work or call him out?
I believe that we should do a bit of both when discussing his work. As with every piece of art, there is a certain level of critique that must be applied to it, so although there is beauty to be admired from it, people must be brought aware of the latter. I believe that appropriating this African culture was ultimately not his goal, as he was simply inspired to recreate the emotions that were evoked in him from viewing these masks. At the same time, we must consider the economic value of these paintings today. Due to Picasso’s wild success before his death in 1973, many of his paintings lead him to generate millions of dollars towards a better lifestyle, which is completely opposite of his life of poverty in his early 20s when Les Demoiselles d’Avignon was first painted. And so, while generating success for himself, it should have been his obligation to pay homage to those that had inspired his early work, so we must carry that narrative and call him out today in hopes of evening the scale.
How does this debate relate to the issue of transit traffic of images between cultures?
This debate relates to the issue of the transit traffic of images between culture by it touching on how Picasso is just one of many people to be able to get away with cultural appropriation. Many other artists in a variety of different art forms have taken advantage of many different artistic images from different cultures over the years (Vanilla Ice, Native Indian costumes, blackface, etc.). Around the early 1900s, the artist style known as primitivism began gaining popularity in European colonized countries such as France, Italy, and England to name a few. This term can be defined as a mode of aesthetic idealization that either emulates or aspires to recreate ‘primitive’ experience. The African masks displayed at the Trocadero Museum of Ethnology were defined as just that at the time of Picasso’s viewing of them, so it is clear that Picasso and Europe in general was not conscientious of how Africans were being defined as ‘primitive’ through these pieces of art. The ideology behind these masks can actually be viewed as quite hostile and discriminatory to African culture due to there work being defined as ‘primitive’, and so this issue is a clear indication of how far the transit traffic of images between different cultures goes.
