In her article Talking Art as the Spirit Moves Us (1995), bell hooks writes about art criticism, and how a person’s positionality and biases can affect the way they see, understand and judge the worth of art. She cites the art critic Sylvia Ardyn Boone sharing a popular proverb in Mende society: “There is a thing passing in the sky; some thick clouds surround it; the uninitiated see nothing”. You need an “informed intellect, a widened vision, a deepened discernment” (Boone in hooks, 1995) to metaphysically see what is before you.
hooks further discusses Edward Lucie-Smith’s book Race, Sex, and Gender in Contemporary Art (1994)and the 1993 Whitney Biennial Exhibition, where African-American art and “works by artists from marginal groups” were given exposure. In both examples, the author and curators of the exhibition frame the work within the context of revolt, automatically seeing it “as ‘political’ and lacking in appreciation for aesthetic concerns.” Hooks states: “By situating all the work of these diverse artists as a gesture of revolt against mainstream culture and its values, whiteness was not decentred, it was constantly the point of departure.” Though there are positive implications for the individual artists being exhibited, such as gaining status, attention, and a large audience, this type of inclusion re-inscribes patterns of domination by framing their work in narrow politicised contexts that don’t appreciate them on their own terms. She argues that more diverse criticism that “truly addresses the aesthetic dimensions of that work in its diversity and complexity” (1995) are needed. Though hooks’ focus in on African-American art, many of her conclusions are universal, and should also be considered when teaching a craft subject.
We need to be aware of our own positionality and unintentional biases without letting fear of misrepresenting an object stop us from using examples from different cultures. When examining an object from a “marginalised” artist or practitioner, focus should be on the value of the object itself, not its relationship to “mainstream” culture. My classes are mainly technical, so when analysing examples of practice we often focus on the actual object, generally a garment. The emphasis is on technical details, construction, function, craftsmanship and design features.
Boone’s thoughts about an initiated way of seeing also applies to the way you learn about a craft. For the uninitiated every suit looks alike, but for the trained eye endless variation and meaning can be read into garments. In addition to analysing research, we encourage our students to look at the samples and garments they make, to pay attention to quality and aesthetics. If something does not look the way they anticipated, we analyse why and how to fix it. By teaching them to evaluate garments and research, we “initiate” them to our subject, opening their “metaphysical eyes: an informed intellect, a widened vision, a deepened discernment” (Boone in hooks, 1995).
References:
hooks, b (1995) ‘Talking Art as the Spirit Moves Us, in Art on my mind The New Press: New York