nocturnal grid - a reflection on the precedents
[GIF: 아가씨 The Handmaiden, Dir. Park Chan-wook]
Growing up in a digital age where many people discuss politics and social issues online, I have seen a lot of different political opinions over the years. My family is considerably liberal, with some conservative views popping up here and there.
That being said, I would mostly attribute my political and moral beliefs to personal experiences from my childhood. Such as growing up in poverty, biracial Black and white, and a woman. I believe this opened my eyes to the unfairness and inequity in the world.
Seeing my family members struggling also "radicalized" me so to speak. I had close family members who were victims of CSA. My dad has been legally blind his whole life. The list goes on.
All this to say, I was well aware of our country's shortcomings long before the year 2016 or 2020. Even though I benefit from being an American citizen in certain ways, such as passport or not living in war zones, I vehemently oppose colonialism, imperialism, and war.
I don't feel conflicted about my opposition to them, but I do feel conflict over how I am privileged as a United States citizen. I don't have to live in active war zones, where people are getting blown up by bombs and drone strikes. Their lives destroyed.
I would love it if the United States military was less funded. I hate that my tax dollars go towards killing people, especially innocent people. At the same time, I like not living in fear of drone strikes. I do feel a sense of protection knowing that is highly unlikely.
I want to examine this dichotomy in my project. Which is why I chose precedent projects that feature themes of colonialism, imperialism and war implicitly and explicitly.
For example, Eight Views of Korea and Cotopaxi are the implicit ones.
Eight Views of Korea is woodblock print created by Kawase Hasui. It is a beautiful landscape depicting Gyeonghoeru Pavilion. However, it was created during Japan's colonization of Korea. It is hard to only focus on the beauty knowing the darker implications of the piece.
Cotopaxi is an oil painting by Frederic Edwin Church in 1862. It depicts a stunning sunset on the active volcano, Cotopaxi, in Ecuador. I was enamored by it when I was able to see it in person at the DIA. However, researching it further, I found that Church was a part of the Hudson River School. A group of landscape painters who painted the Americas in the 19th century. Their goals were to portray three themes: discovery, exploration and settlement.
This goes to show that there is a sinister side to a lot of the art we admire.
