Yesterday, I learned from Netflix that the sound of the conch shell to call warriors to battle is not only practiced within the legacy of the cultural heritage of Mesoamerica... but around the world. How amazing to see that what I saw as something unique to my regional and cultural identity also belongs to many regions and cultures.
Such is the stuff of the fluid dynamics between culture, art, heritage, appropriation, colonization, reclamation and ecological crossroads at which we find ourselves at this moment, in this time. Do we know exactly where we are headed? Have we been at this juncture before? What vision of the future will come to pass?
These are the types of prompts particularly suited to responses from within the realm of art. And in fact, there was ample evidence in this year's Art Basel Miami and satellite events that the global contemporary art world is indeed rising to the occasion of responding to some of the most difficult paradoxes of our time.
Make no mistake, in
global art, the goal is to make money. But the paradox is that in order to make money, you must have marketable art. And art, if it is "good" is a tangible representation of an intangible feeling, message or vision.... a synthesis of ideas from within and without that presents a new or different or striking or memorable experience relative to the larger social context within which each of us dwells.
This year's Art Basel Miami included three galleries that featured four artists of Native American descent, including the renowned
Jack Shainman with work by
Kahlhamer, and Roberts Projects with
Conversations panelist
Jeffrey Gibson. According to
last year's Conversations panel, the total number of Native artists represented in Art Basel Miami in 2017 was zero. And yet there were dream catchers, and tipis and even an Andy Warhol painting of Geronimo who of course was imprisoned here in Florida as is Leonard Peltier today. Who has the right to produce, buy and sell ideas, traditions, history? These are not easy questions and elicit fiery responses, but the considerations in formulating an answer must be vast, deep and steeped in the true facts of history which all to often are obscured by centuries of "social influence."
One of those facts is, we are in a battle. Each of us, conscious or not, consenting or not, is participating in a battle against oblivion. The ways of life that we have been following over the past 250 years are quickly changing. The industrial revolution is waning. It is time to pick up the mantle of critical analysis once again to chart a course and a goal for the future. We can not accomplish this great task without knowing, for certainty from whence we came. So let us rise together to carve out equitable spaces to share our stories, create protocols for respectful collaborations, and weave mechanisms for acknowledging and overcoming adversity and discord. We will learn from our past and together, if we are determined, we can create a future world in which many fit.
Here on a local level, I am doing what I can to help create this reality of equity, respect and mutual accountability, knowing that my work pushes boundaries, buttons and comfort zones... not moving far and fast enough for some and going way over the limit for others... this is the work of bridge building. It is an infinite test of patience, requires extensive amounts of listening, takes a whole lot of diplomacy and self discipline, and is only possible if one truly cares. I am hopeful though... with pioneering intiatives like Kitty Oliver's "Race and Change," and emerging new work like the #SistrunkAfair launched this week by Emmanuel George, and collaborative approaches to problem solving like what we experienced at this week's Porgy and Bess Gala, a path forward has been cleared and all that is left now is to keep on walking!
This weekend is the final weekend to see the epic #SeminoleArtSceneFromTheFrontlines show at History Fort Lauderdale. There has never been anything quite like it and there may never be again.
Photo Gallery
All images used by permission, courtesy Gordon Oliver Wareham unless otherwise noted.
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