As we begin this new book we again switch voices. The prologue written by Valoma subtly presents a number of thoughts...one is the use of the word " undercurrents", another is the reference to elders and then the use of the word "unspoken". Look for these words and comment on how you feel about their use.
In chapter one, Valoma gives a very board and in depth look at the condition of Native American lands/image/culture. Take it all in and then ask yourself the following questions: what surprised you? Does any of the information ring true in your life? Are you a part of this situation? Finally, what is your Challenge of Looking?
Durban Diaries is based on fragility of personal experiences. But It is hard to understand the order of reading, feel unorganized. I never thought about Africa’s condition in a that way, feel so bad after reading. This book is amalgamation of personal thought and healing process through artwork. Domestic violence mentioned on that “it is a cultural thing that wife is not supposed to say in front of husband.” (p21) Is a triable example of cruelty. Surprised with dominating male on women and children, how can they have right to beat anyone. Question which strikes me that do they have any law against it? Are women not go out and make complaint about this in police station? Is criminal roaming in the society openly? This is really unacceptable!!!
ReplyDeleteStory of Sindi Lushaba, is really emotional and traumatic. Her husband died because of HIV and not taking ARVs suggested by his girlfriend. I don’t have any knowledge of that believed to be HIV originated from Africa. Not aware of precaution, not follow the information how they can save themselves, and proper medication.
Thank you, Elena to share her talk. Artwork which touched me; Untitled 7, Zulu love letter No.2, untitled 9, untitled 17 and untitled 3. All art works are minimalist fiber art, which have so many hidden meaning. Zulu love letter is very emotional and delicate, unwinding of threads suggests fragility of life. Life is tearing apart due to tortured, trauma, violence, race, marks, tradition, according to me. On the other hand, its extension of tradition. Untitled 9, reminds me of Eve Hesse’s works. Work in form of drape feel like inspired from El Anatsui artwork. “An art that speaks of its own struggle into being. My desire for perfection and the beauty that comes from letting go.” (p62) Her artwork is more into material and process to find pleasure. Dedication for her artwork really incredible, and sometime took long time to complete more than years. Her structural large artwork gave employment to Zulu women. She plays role of community healer as an artist.
HIV is a horrible disease that is surrounded by fear and denial. The stories in this small book are very very small look into the realm of medicine vs the history of local tradition.
DeleteDurban Diaries Response:
ReplyDeleteThis was an informative read for me. I will be teaching Survey III next year and plan to use her kitchen installation as an example for discussing identity in contemporary art. Prior to reading the Durban Diaries I only understood her work it in terms of American domesticity, so hearing about her experiences in South Africa provided a lot of complexity and meaning to my knowledge of her work and process. In terms of recording her experience, I thought the journal was an effective way to stay in the moment but still reflect. Although journaling is a process of recording one’s recollections, it seemed to provide insights about her experiences with a higher degree of immediacy and transparency. Also, her habit of diligently writing expressed different vantage points over time, and seemed to culminate in deeper comprehension of particular themes about culture and society for this reason. Overall I appreciated how sincere her self-reflections were, and how she seemed to consider her participation in South African society respectfully, responsibly, and with great integrity.
One thing I liked about this book was that although Lou is an artist, the story was not told using the artwork itself as the central focus. Instead, the focus seemed to be on the process of being attentive to her experiences with the team and the dynamics of the society. In contrast to the book about James Watkins’ work, which also dealt with place and being a transplant, the Durban Diaries discussed Lou’s process of integration in a way that focused mainly on the building of her relationship with the team and the team members’ individual lives within the context of the local community. I enjoyed learning about James Watkins’ personal experiences, but I found myself more drawn to Lou’s insights about the state of existence in South Africa. The bond she developed with the community touched me; I felt it was an important example to set to Western artists—to focus on the lives of others instead of one’s own. Furthermore, Lou seemed to acknowledge the problematic nature of utilizing the labor of others in art in a healthy way, and her internal feelings about the issue seemed to unfold in a deeply honest and compassionate way over the course of the book.
good points..now you have figure out how you will tell your story
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting how every reading we've had is based in different cultures. Since every culture is so unique and full of riches we can always learn something new. In Scrape the Willow I can sense a blending of innovation and tradition. A connection between nature, ancestors and passion is also being transmitted. In my own point of view I think that the personal relationship between the author and Julia will be a great addition to the story telling.
ReplyDeleteReading about the Native Americans is such a great topic. I've been to several places in New Mexico related to Native Americans like Santa Fe, Mesilla, Ruidoso mainly to appreciate its own architecture but I've never fully researched their history, so this first chapters gave me a good understanding of their culture and made me appreciate it even more. It was really disturbing how people would called them "savages" or "dirty indian" and how boarding school was meant to making them be someone else. I found it great that things changed, that the American consumption of Native American culture grew, how women played such an important role in the economy of their families and the transition in where they adapted non Native American techniques and still keep theirs.
One of the most important topics I found on the reading was promoting old ways and staying true to who you are. When I was reading about the Indian Ceremonial War Dances and how they sold their art it reminded me of Mexico, everywhere you go you'll find Native American people called Tarahumaras, Raramuris etc.. They sell the most amazing and colorful stuff, from baskets like Julia to clothing, everything is handmade. Women wear this beautiful dresses, the way they dress up every day is just wonderful to look at. Just like Julia, they embrace their culture.
I believe Julia has done great in staying true to herself and her ancestors. It was really nice reading how she wants to honor her elders by passing on the knowledge they gave her. There is this part in where she mentions that when an elderly passes away some traditions go away as well. It is to admire how hard she has worked on her philosophy despite any kind of suffering or obstacle she has been through. It was also great reading how encouraged she was by Telles and her foster mother to learn more about her own past. The baby basket in my point of view was turning point on her life, it is funny how a simple item or detail can encourage you in so many ways. Julia's workshops seem to be amazing and it is wonderful how the baskets carry a story that connects to the ancestors. I am pretty sure she has the ability to inspire the next generations.
Hi Karla,
DeleteI also enjoyed reading about knowledge and passion being transmitted from one generation to the next. I felt a relationship to this idea of maintaining culture, as my Jewish ancestors were forced to live in a near constant state of migration prior to arriving in the US. Though we were raised Jewish, as young adults my brother and I reconnected with our heritage and re-embraced our culture.
Each reading is but a small view of very large and layered cultures/histories. One of the questions to ask yourself is what is your culture/history/
DeleteThe author, after introducing herself and Julia Parker, makes a really important comment. She writes: "Rather than using Julia's words to illustrate my thoughts, I allowed her stories to drive the direction of my research, thinking and writing. To me this is an important note because it shows that the author it not simply writing with an agenda in mind, but rather actually letting her research do the talking. This is not always an easy thing to do especially when your project did not start with that in mind. One thing I have have learned these last few years in the MAE program is how important research can be. Much like some of the discussion from Durban Diaries, at some point you have t let the project become what it is meant to be. Last year while taking a print making class in Fredericksburg, I went in with a plan. As second semester approaches, my brain is already starting to formulate ideas of what I want to work on while there, but I am trying to keep it as just that, ideas. I am a planner, but I also enjoy the process of letting the project unfold naturally.
ReplyDeleteI may have drifted of topic there, but that line jumped off the page at me.
Hopefully all the readings will lead you astray and inform your art making.
Delete“Like the plants used to build baskets, we all grow with our feet in the water” (Xvi). I loved this line which eloquently illustrates the influence that the relationship with Julia Parker is having on Valoma’s life and the way she is constantly reminded by her Native American friend that living means much more than dutifully check the daily actions required to survive and integrate in society; as Valoma says “undercurrents of meaning (…) flow just beneath the surface of our routine lives” (Xvi) and we must try to remain aware of the true reasons and motivations behind our efforts. This ties with another observation that Valoma inserts in her introduction to the book, namely that “meaning is carried not in the spoken, but in the unspoken”, same as “value rests not in the extraordinary, but in the ordinary” (XiX). This reminded me of J. Watkins’s artistic philosophy and the manner he suggests that inspiration can be found in everyday things. In a way, I felt that Julia’s approach of creativity as a natural and cyclical process which integrates periods of silence necessary for nurturing inspiration, complements Watkins’s view on creativity as being spurred by intense periods of absorption.
ReplyDeleteI found extremely interesting the conclusion to which Valoma arrived after spending time with Julia and listening to her stories, that is that questioning an elder interrupts “the flow of meaningful instruction” (Xvii), acknowledging in my opinion that an effective transmitted information is selective and reflects what the storyteller considers as relevant. However, communication between the two women seems to function on several levels: one the one hand, there is the age gap which entails relentlessness or hastiness on one side and a calmer, wiser, tempered by experience attitude on Julia’s side; on the other hand, there are the challenges that Valoma as a non-Native or “outsider” has to confront with and part of the wisdom that comes with this relationship is Valoma’s comfort “with the tension of not knowing” and the need “to calm the urge to understand straight away” (Xvii).
In regard to part one, I must say that my contacts with the history of Native Americans were minimal so far; however, some of the information Valoma included in this first chapter was somehow familiar to me from a documentary I saw some time ago and titled Reel Injun (2009); the film looked at how native American were depicted in film during time (mainly in Hollywood, but also some independent productions) and I remember being very interested at that time in the resemblance with the representations of ethnic Roma (Gypsies) in cinema. I wrote my master thesis on stereotypical representation of Roma in Russian and Eastern European film and one of the main issues related to this was the ambivalent attitude of the majority population toward this minority, meaning that they were perceived as exotic and entertaining, free from any authority, colorful, seductive, with a catchy cheerfulness that makes you willing to forget your everyday problems and obligations, but also ugly, lazy, dirty, unwilling to give up their “dangerous” traditions and integrate in society. All these attitudes culminated in a stereotypical, almost entirely unrealistic representation in cinema and art in general, and it is very interesting to notice a somehow similar process in the case of Native Americans which were “demonized and romanticized” (8) as Valoma says, elaborating on Rousseau’s theory of the mythical “Noble Savage”. There were several other aspects which I found intriguing, one of them being “canastromania” and the gendered consumerist obsession (12), but this similarity with the Gypsy case really struck me.
Ignorance is widely shared by folks who are afraid of "otherness".
DeleteYou have touched on some fine points and your reference to Roma is interesting and one I had not thought of...thank you for expanding my vision.
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