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Topic: Global Artist
Replies: 6   Pages: 1   Last Post: Feb 4, 2003 5:33 PM by: Jill Bernard

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Kiyoko Sims

Posts: 13
Registered: Dec 3, 2002
Global Artist
Posted: Jan 24, 2003 9:45 AM
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What does the term global artist mean, and is it just a new way to describing artists of color?

This question came up during yesterday's discussion and it sparked a series of interesting discussion. I would like to talk further. Any thoughts on this topic?


Guest
Re: Global Artist
Posted: Jan 24, 2003 12:32 PM
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I have not given that term a thought until Nahid Khan had questioned it last night. I seems it is a subtle and more politically correct replacement of the term 'artists of color'. Because it describes art made by non-white people, it put everybody else in one pot. As the Chinese choreographer said last night, if this term used in China it would mean art other than Chinese and so on. So it is a description from a very local focus. If it is used to describe art produced by the dominant culture then it carries a totally different meaning. It is interesting though, to ask does it describe the art form or the artist? for example how would we describe a very western looking work done by an artist from Saudi Arabia? Or a work influenced heavily by Latin American culture and aesthetics done by a caucasian?

Alicia Patrick

Posts: 172
Registered: Nov 21, 2002
Re: Global Artist
Posted: Jan 24, 2003 2:18 PM
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hend,
thanks for your post. my two cents on your questions are that if a saudi arabian artist created a very western looking work, that it *is* the work of a global artist. same for a caucasian being influenced by latin american culture.

the element of "global" can mean that an artist looks beyond their own culture for inspiration. or it can mean that the artist is very influenced by their own culture yet is showing their work outside of their culture, which does land us in an uncomfortable place for me because then you are assuming there is a dominant culture and that the artist or artist influence is not from that dominant culture.

hard question. i don't have the answer.

Juliana Pegues

Posts: 3
Registered: Dec 27, 2002
Re: Global Artist
Posted: Jan 25, 2003 3:29 PM
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I think Hend's questions are thought-provoking. While I can intellectually see the label of "global artist" equally applying to both an artist of color whose work is aesthetically western and a white artist whose work is influenced by non-western art forms, I think the term "global" is also political within an art context. It is tied to access, visibility, and funding. And, in that aspect, I would find a white, American-born artist self-defining as "global" in the U.S. as problematic.

I felt Emmanuel Ortiz, spoken word artist on the panel, made a very good point in speaking of terminology and labels. Instead of talking about the term "global" specifically, he made the distinction of when a community self-defines and when a moniker is imposed from outside, from above.

Kiyoko Sims

Posts: 13
Registered: Dec 3, 2002
Re: Global Artist
Posted: Jan 26, 2003 9:31 PM
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Hend and Juliana, thanks for the post. This is a very intriguing question. I do agree that the term could be problematic when the definition is imposed on you especially in a way to confine your artistic work. There have been a variety of definitions about 'global artist' even in the artistic field and there is no one consensus. My interpretation has been that 'global artist' is an artist whose work is actively informed by global context (culture, politics, etc.) However, I understand Juliana's point that sometimes the definition is tied with accessibility as well.

Guest
Re: Global Artist
Posted: Jan 28, 2003 1:11 PM
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My concern is: why do we want to define this art? and who needs the definition? who came up with that definition? Does this definition serve those artists or does it work against them?

Jill Bernard

Posts: 293
From: Uptown Minneapolis
Registered: Feb 4, 2003
Re: Global Artist
Posted: Feb 4, 2003 5:33 PM
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If we make an analogy to music, the introduction of "World Music" as a category in the '80s brought a lot of great music to the attention of an audience that would not have sought it out. People are more comfortable with strange things that they have a name for. Museums like things that they have a wing for. In the best scenario, the category Global Art would be a holding pattern until the art has its own identity. To continue the musical analogy, I think reggae stands alone, it's not lumped in with World Music anymore. I could be wrong, but I suspect that's the impulse. The harm to artists, of course, is the loss of individual identity.

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