ADAD Semester 2 | Assessment 2

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FINAL DESIGN PRINTED 

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Full Reference List (UNSW Oxford Style)

1878, C, "r/Instagram - My Instagram explore page went from being memes and stuff I actually like (apart from all the Fortnite spam) to “popular worldwide”... anyone else?.". in Reddit, , 2018, <https://www.reddit.com/r/Instagram/comments/8jpk3t/my_instagram_explore_page_went_from_being_memes/> [accessed 15 September 2018].

Bradford, K, "A Place For Commentary on Cultural Appropriation.". in a Raven and a Writing Desk, , 2017, <http://tempest.fluidartist.com/a-place-for-commentary-on-cultural-appropriation/> [accessed 9 September 2018].

Hill, H, "Hannah Hill (@hanecdote) • Instagram photos and videos.". in Instagram.com, <https://www.instagram.com/hanecdote/?hl=en> [accessed 15 September 2018].

Hosie, R, "What is cultural appropriation - and why it is a very real problem.". in independent.co.uk, , 2018, <https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/cultural-appropriation-appreciation-difference-meaning-fashion-examples-chinese-prom-dress-a8332176.html> [accessed 9 September 2018].

Krupnick, E, "Zendaya Just Nailed the Truth About Cultural Appropriation That Everyone Needs to Hear.". in Mic, , 2015, <https://mic.com/articles/123280/zendayas-cultural-appropriation-explanation-should-be-required-reading#.ZePmDEEPw> [accessed 14 September 2018].

Malik, K, "The Truth About ‘Cultural Appropriation’.". in Artreview.com, , 2017, <https://artreview.com/features/ar_december_2017_feature_cultural_appropriation_kenan_malik/> [accessed 9 September 2018].

Unknown, "#culturalappropriationisnotokay hashtag on Instagram • Photos and Videos". in , <https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/culturalappropriationisnotokay/> [accessed 14 September 2018].

Unknown, "Six contemporary artists making a statement about social media — Acclaim Magazine". in , , 2017, <https://acclaimmag.com/art/six-contemporary-artists-making-a-statement-about-social-media/#5> [accessed 14 September 2018].

Unknown, "Why cultural appropriation isn't cool". in , , 2017, <https://au.reachout.com/articles/why-cultural-appropriation-isnt-cool> [accessed 14 September 2018].

Wright, S, "Shannon Wright.". in Shannondrewthis.tumblr.com, , 2016, <http://shannondrewthis.tumblr.com/post/134820711632/some-time-ago-i-did-a-piece-for-ink-magazine> [accessed 9 September 2018].

Wright, S, "illustrations and comics.". in Shannon Wright, <http://shannon-wright.com/> [accessed 9 September 2018].

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Artist Statement 

Contemporary art and design often looks at the idea of constructed binaries, such as man/woman, soft/hard, straight/gay, dirty/clean, organic/synthetic. Considering the history of these ‘pairs’, how can art and design interrogate these binaries and offers new insights?

The chronicle of the binary between cultural appropriation and appreciation can be dated back to thousands of years, ever since colonialists adopted conducts from traditional cultures, and it has now spread across the globe. However, within contemporary society, the perpetuation of this issue has increased more than ever due to social media and overall pop culture.

Cultural appropriation happens when a dominant culture takes things from another culture that is undergoing oppression, however this delicate issue has been confused for cultural appreciation or exchange, however, this appreciation and exchange are different as there is no supremacy involved. For example, tea, gunpowder and pasta have been shared between different cultures throughout history. These ‘borrowings’ aren’t the same as cultural appropriation, because they don’t involve power. When different cultures come together on an equal footing, exchange and appreciation happens. But when dominant groups take from an oppressed group without due recognition, we’re dealing with appropriation.1 Furthermore, it creates stereotypes such as when these dominant cultures dress as other cultures for Halloween, reducing something of cultural significance to a costume for fun.

Nowadays, society is seeing appropriation through our screens on social media, for example due to heavily publicised events that encourage this adoption of customs such as Coachella and The Color Run, as I explored in my last assessment. Social media has proved to be an essential part of people’s everyday lives recently. The world turns to social media for communicating, keeping up with news and events, subduing boredom, marketing etc.2 There has been this spamming of appropriation ever since social media encapsulated humanity's daily routine, and whilst many people critique the issue - not much is being done. This form of domination over smaller cultures has become so engrained into how cultures interact that there seems to be no way to end this adoption, especially since the perpetuators don’t see how it isn’t cultural appreciation or exchange.

In order to understand how this issue can be translated into art and design, I started researching practitioners that did so, and I found an artist named Shannon Wright. Wright is an artist that comments on how ‘dominant cultures’ can take things from another culture that is experiencing oppression. She chooses to comment on the matter through graphic design, one of her most noticed works being Shared or Stolen: An Examination of Cultural Appropriation.3 She incorporates her graphic design talent and knowledge of how Western society appropriating elements of her culture to make a banner that illustratively depicts this naive oppression. Although my first instinct was to use acrylic paints and canvas for this assessment, her digital designs encouraged me to also explore that area of creating works. However, soon after experimenting there, I wanted to delve more into the area of social media criticisms as it relates more to current society. This pervasive force in our social lives has unsurprisingly become the subject of many contemporary artworks. My inspiration came from the works of Hannah Hill a.k.a ‘Hanecdote’ on Instagram, who uses the medium of needlepoint work as a form of social media symbolism.4 A recurring theme in her work is the representation of contemporary social issues framed within the screen of an iPhone. She comments on gender, body and racial issues within contemporary society through an iPhone template, as social media perpetuates these issues the most. Therefore, I thought of a way in which I could illustrate the same message.

Since social media is a primary form spreading information, a lot of influencers on the platform post images of themselves appropriating other cultures, not that they are doing so intentionally, but a lack of true understanding (appreciation) is evident. Therefore, my poster shows a regular ‘Explore’ page on Instagram as that represents the fastest way of finding images on the platform, with each square having someone adopting another culture inappropriately. The overlay image is how I wish for us to deal with the issue, to report it and continue speaking up about it even though the issue doesn’t seem to be subduing – unless we constantly express ourselves. The options on Instagram that allow this commenting is through reporting the content for being ‘inappropriate’ or for being ‘spam’. This is exactly what’s happening with this form of appropriation, it’s being spammed for society to constantly be observing and it needs to be criticised. I liked continuing the idea of having a poster to advertise a critique on society like with Assessment 1, now instead expanding the issue to show its actual influence, through using existing images and how we can speak up about it. If this was to be in a real world context, I imagine it being plastered in bulk across a street wall - I’ve seen many practitioners utilise this technique as a dramatic form of advertising. 

(Sorry Tumblr won’t let me annotate references properly with an Index) _________________________

1 "Why cultural appropriation isn't cool", in Au.reachout.com, , 2017, <https://au.reachout.com/articles/why-cultural-appropriation-isnt-cool> [accessed 14 September 2018].

2 "Six contemporary artists making a statement about social media — Acclaim Magazine", in Acclaim Magazine, , 2017, <https://acclaimmag.com/art/six-contemporary-artists-making-a-statement-about-social-media/#5> [accessed 14 September 2018].

3 S Wright, "Shannon Wright", in Shannondrewthis.tumblr.com, , 2016, <http://shannondrewthis.tumblr.com/post/134820711632/some-time-ago-i-did-a-piece-for-ink-magazine> [accessed 9 September 2018].

4 H Hill, "Hannah Hill (@hanecdote) • Instagram photos and videos", in Instagram.com, <https://www.instagram.com/hanecdote/?hl=en> [accessed 15 September 2018].

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Inspiration 

This is just a quote I found from a well known celebrity, Zendaya who is one of the few who speak out about the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation and acknowledges the fine line associated with both concepts. I find this quote to be the perfect way to encapsulate what I’m trying to communicate, whilst she underlines the actual issue overall, I’m illustrating the effects of when the issue has been dealt with unjustly. 

"You can go about it as cultural appreciation or cultural appropriation…you have to be very careful. Some things are really sacred and important to other cultures, so you have to be aware, politically, about those things before you just adopt them. In order to appreciate something, you have to know about it and understand."

E Krupnick, "Zendaya Just Nailed the Truth About Cultural Appropriation That Everyone Needs to Hear", in Mic, , 2015, <https://mic.com/articles/123280/zendayas-cultural-appropriation-explanation-should-be-required-reading#.ZePmDEEPw> [accessed 14 September 2018].

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Design Process

Inspired by Hannah Hill and her social media commentary through the Instagram layout, I decided to make a poster that expressed the problem of cultural appropriation being spammed on the platform, and how it isn’t actually appreciation.

I used the same software I used for Assessment 1 - BeFunky - as I received a quality design and print outcome. I began with an A3 template before uploading an existing Instagram ‘Explore’ page template from Google. Although the template has ben updated recently for all Instagram uses, I liked the visual aesthetic of having symmetrical squares across the page, and it also allows me to add more images that the larger, randomly placed squares we have now. Furthermore, it is still recognisable as an Instagram explore page, which is what I desire.

Image credit - cooper1878

C 1878, "r/Instagram - My Instagram explore page went from being memes and stuff I actually like (apart from all the Fortnite spam) to “popular worldwide”... anyone else?", in Reddit, , 2018, <https://www.reddit.com/r/Instagram/comments/8jpk3t/my_instagram_explore_page_went_from_being_memes/> [accessed 15 September 2018].

BeFunky - https://www.befunky.com/create/designer/

I then found a wide variety of individuals appropriating other cultures on Instagram. This was the myself effective way to express the issue in my opinion as displaying well known people in my poster, it proves how appropriation is becoming pervasive for these influencers’ millions of followers to see. I found the images through the hash tag #culturalappropriationisnotokay as this page brings attention to how many people mistake appreciation for appropriation in one area. These users all comment about the issue surrounding the fine line between this alleged binary  and how its pervading through society, through providing an examples of past uploaded images.

Unknown, "#culturalappropriationisnotokay hashtag on Instagram • Photos and Videos", in Instagram.com, <https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/culturalappropriationisnotokay/> [accessed 14 September 2018].

After gathering many images ranging from popular influencers, fashion magazines/shows to random users, I uploaded all the images onto BeFunky and placed them over each existing square image on the Explore template. I randomly placed each image across the squares - from women, men and children - to represent how it’s being advertised to everyone these days. I was then left with an array of images of cultural appropriation that perfectly matches how it would show on a phone screen.

Furthermore, to add to the authenticity of displaying the Instagram explore page and make it more recognisable, I downloaded and added the video and album icons that many posts have, to demonstrate what kind of post it was.

To depict the issue event further and also away of how society should be speaking up about it more, through not condoning this continuation of cultural injustice, I added an overlay of the options Instagram gives you when a user wishes to speak against a post: to report the content for being ‘inappropriate’ or that it is ‘spam’. This to me is almost a metaphoric display of what society needs to continue doing in order to solve this problem, to report (speak out) about this issue to make a difference.

I decreased the opacity of this reporting image by almost 70% in order for the images in the background to still be seen with the overlaying text. 

Image credit -  Instagram Online Help Centre

https://help.instagram.com/519598734752872

Logo credit: Instagram

Now that the entire design was complete I saved the poster as a PDF before going to Officeworks to print it off.

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Artist Inspiration

After discussing how my assessment can go further in terms of really expressing the message in a real world context, I started researching other practitioners that used the social media ‘template’ to critique its effect on contemporary society. 

I wanted to make another poster to demonstrate the problem with cultural appropriation and the particular presence it has on Instagram and generally in pop culture, and another artist who comments on societal issues like this is Hanecdote. 

This pervasive force in our social lives has unsurprisingly become the subject of a range of contemporary artworks. Hannah Hill a.k.a ‘Hanecdote’ on Instagram uses the medium of needlepoint work as a form of social media symbolism. A recurring theme in her work is the representation of contemporary social issues framed within the screen of an iPhone. She comments on gender, body and race issues within contemporary society through an iPhone template, as social media perpetuates these issues the most. Therefore, I thought of a way in which I could illustrate the same message.

Image Credit: Hanecdote

H Hill, "Hannah Hill (@hanecdote) • Instagram photos and videos", in Instagram.com, <https://www.instagram.com/hanecdote/?hl=en> [accessed 15 September 2018].

"Six contemporary artists making a statement about social media — Acclaim Magazine", in Acclaim Magazine, , 2017, <https://acclaimmag.com/art/six-contemporary-artists-making-a-statement-about-social-media/#5> [accessed 14 September 2018].

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Experimentation

I then wanted to experiment the cultural appropriation aspect through graphic design, through recreating these drawings on Adobe Illustrator to develop a set of cohesive images that portray my idea. 

I began through using the same face template I found online and centring it on my A3 template, before drawing the image I had on my canvas onto the software. I used many colours and the brush tool to recreate this.

I added the colourful background onto each image as to alleviate the sense of colour and culture that surrounds the traditional wear, but then the white face in the centre emphasises how it’s being appropriated. 

I then also made one for Asian fashion, before the dreadlocks and the Native American headdress

I really like how these compositions turned out as they are all cohesive and they’re a good, subtle way of portraying my message. However, after discussion this idea with my tutor, she explained how there could be another way of expressing how society perpetuates cultural appropriation and how I could include this realistically through using actual images of the problem. I liked this direction and want to experiment with that too.

Although I like the visual aesthetic of these posters to express the binary between cultural appreciation to appropriation, I could broaden this issue from not just what I’m trying to say, but apply it to the real world through working with existing images.

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Experimentation 

Now that I had these drawings, I wanted to work with different forms of pigments to see what looked best, or to see if it was even the path for me to take with this assessment. 

Materials - acrylic paint, watercolour paint, paint brushes, canvas with drawing (Indian since that is the most completed)

Since I had canvas I wanted to work with acrylic and watercolour paint, however I hypothesised that out of the two - acrylic would look best. This was correct as obviously acrylic is more pigmented than watercolour, and it really presented the bright colours of the traditional Indian dupatta nicely. However I’m still unsure if this is the direction I should be taking, therefore the plan is to deliberate with my tutor again. 

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Experimentation 

My first instinct when it came to this assessment was to work with pencils, paints and canvas, however I had no idea if I was actually good at this technique or whether it’ d be executed well. Another thing I needed to discover is if this method would actually portray the message the best and how I’d wish to present my work in the real world. Before I experimented with pigment I just wanted to see how my drawing was.

Materials – Canvas, lead pencil, eraser, face template

I firstly downloaded and printed a royalty free head clipart image to use as a template to draw the same head on each canvas; I have three canvases to work with.

I then traced all of these templates onto the canvases before drawing the clothes over and around the figure – I put the most effort into one of the pieces. The Indian one was my first design I was clear on so I drew that first, and since I wasn’t sure if I was going to use this method I didn’t draw everything.

I decided to include an Indian representation of fashion appropriation (dupatta and bindi) and Native American (headdress), as these were two cultures I knew that were heavily appropriated in mass/pop culture.

I like the way they look on canvas and I think it’s an interesting way to display my message, but after discussion with my tutor and personal evaluation, I know there are other ways to present my work. I have to experiment with other mediums in the future, but for now I still want to see how acrylic and water paints will work with these canvas designs. When contemplating how my assessment would be presented in the art world, I don’t know if canvas would be the way to go, but I’m not letting go of the idea.

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Artist Inspiration

As I expanded my knowledge regarding cultural appropriation vs appreciation in appearance and fashion, I found an artist named Shannon Wright who’s specialises in exactly this field. She is a cartoonist and illustrator from Massaponax, Virginia who has gained notoriety for her political, feminist, and racial discussion in her works of art.

Shannon is an African American artist that is very aware of how a ‘dominant culture’ (Western culture) can takes things from another culture that is experiencing oppression. She chooses to comment on the matter through graphic design, one of her most noticed works being “Shared or Stolen: An Examination of Cultural Appropriation”  which was designed for Ink Magazine in 2016.

She incorporated her graphic design talent and knowledge of how Western society has appropriated elements of her culture to make a banner that illustratively depicts how this oppression is being swept under the rug.

“Some time ago, I did a piece for INK Magazine titled ‘Shared or Stolen: An Examination of Cultural Appropriation’. Now that the magazine is here, I can show off my illustration! A big thanks to Kendall Bazemore for writing this amazing piece and Aaron Ni'jai for seeking me out and art directing me.”

Posted by Shannon Wright: http://shannondrewthis.tumblr.com/post/134820711632/some-time-ago-i-did-a-piece-for-ink-magazine

As a result of this research, I want to incorporate this idea of illustrating people in m design to portray the idea of cultural appropriation, but not to make it too apparent that this is my message. This subtle critique though showing ‘real’ people is effective, as we have seen this in our contemporary society. I especially like her use of graphics design and want to experiment with that style of design. However, I also want to experiment with more applied methods such as through drawing/painting.

K Bradford, "A Place For Commentary on Cultural Appropriation", in a Raven and a Writing Desk, , 2017, <http://tempest.fluidartist.com/a-place-for-commentary-on-cultural-appropriation/> [accessed 9 September 2018].

S Wright, "Shannon Wright", in Shannondrewthis.tumblr.com, 2016, <http://shannondrewthis.tumblr.com/post/134820711632/some-time-ago-i-did-a-piece-for-ink-magazine> [accessed 9 September 2018].

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Research

My main focus regarding the vast concept of cultural appropriation is through fashion, the main area of this issue occurring in fashion shows and on social media.

Earlier this year, Gucci was criticised for putting turbans on white models. Many Sikhs condemned the move as a huge sign of disrespect, pointing out that the turban is a symbol of faith not a fashion accessory. This issue occurs far too often and inevitably leads to the culture being insulted needing to draw attention to this adoption of significant culture, a mockery for the catwalk.

User Credit: Harjinder Singh Kukreja https://twitter.com/SinghLions (2018)

Even before this, in 2017, globally famous models were put in dreadlocks and Native American headdresses to accompany their outfits, enraging the globe. Furthermore, and luxury fashion label Chanel was criticised for “stealing” Aboriginal culture when it revealed a £1,100 boomerang as part of its S/S17 collection. And when expanding the issue to celebrities, many such as Katy Perry, Selena Gomez and Beyoncé have been criticised for taking an item of cultural clothing and have appropriated it for fashion rather than as a celebration of that culture.

User credit: i-D https://twitter.com/i_D (2017)

However this topic is very delicate, as when it comes to cultural appropriation, it’s not really a black-and-white issue, and according to Dr Royce Mahawatte, Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at Central St Martins, trying to “draw a line” is problematic in itself: “It creates a victim complex in people who have not accepted that [...] British and American exceptionalism is over and that white supremacy in culture is being robustly challenged – especially in an age of social media.”

Since the line apparently hasn’t been clearly defined, on many occasions it has been crossed, however a simpler solution would be to simply leave the idea alone all together. All the traditional culture swishes for is for the dominant culture to leave their clothes of significance alone and thereby avoid the issue.

'The fashion industry and western ideas of dressing up and fancy dress are functions of our colonial and imperial pasts – there is no getting away from it' – Rachel Hosie

R Hosie, "What is cultural appropriation - and why it is a very real problem", in independent.co.uk, , 2018, <https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/cultural-appropriation-appreciation-difference-meaning-fashion-examples-chinese-prom-dress-a8332176.html> [accessed 9 September 2018].

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ADAD Sem 2 - Assessment 2

Assessment 1 to Assessment 2

For the next assessment, I want to continue on the path of cultural appreciation vs appropriation. After class discussion regarding my first poster, the majority of the class liked the direction I took in having a spoof on the regular advertisement for an event. Therefore, for this assessment I want to delve into advertising an idea in a subtle way once again, but not just exploring cultural appropriation in India, but how it’s being done for many other cultures.

The idea of cultural appropriation has, in recent years, moved from being a perplexing theoretical and legal concept to a mainstream political issue that we see in art, design ad media regularly. Contemporary society is becoming increasingly sensitive to these topics however; these occurrences are being called out regularly. Yet, even though times are changing for the better in terms of response, cultural appropriation still happens more than we desire. And a lot of the time, it is not evident that the superior culture is taking from others.

My assessment is going to bring light to this issue, particularly to the area of clothing, as traditional wear has been picked apart and used by other cultures, and that is inadvertently insulting the origins of what they’re depicting.

K Malik, "The Truth About ‘Cultural Appropriation’", in Artreview.com, , 2017, <https://artreview.com/features/ar_december_2017_feature_cultural_appropriation_kenan_malik/> [accessed 9 September 2018].