strange fruit billie holiday
I have restarted the blog now that Stereo Propaganda: Deconstructing Stereotypes, Reconstructing Identity has opened. The response has been overwhelming and positive. Although art critic Felicia Feister complained about the text and accused me of "retribution" and "overstatement", her critique was favorable. This exhibition was indeed a labor of love and took me to places deep within my creative spirit.
However, in response to Felicia's article I must state that no retribution was intended. I knew that I wanted to deal with the subject of lynching but until I sat down with Wendy Alexander, a photographer now living in Nashville, I had not decided on an approach. In talking with Wendy and a friend about race and its construct in our society, which I see as a trap, the question was asked how would a Buddhist view the racial construct. Wendy immediately answered "Be the Trap." That statement was all that I needed and it opened up my imaginal space, allowing me to view lynching not from the viewpoint of the persons lynched or the perpetrators but from the lens of a tree. I used the tree as a memory device, examining not only the crime of lynching but also the crime of deforestation.
Trees are powerful metaphors in all cultures. In the cultures of the diaspora, the tree can represent the spirits of the ancestors. In Haiti, for instance, Loko is the spirit of vegetation and is associated with trees. We are all familiar with the "tree of life." When we consider the images of lynching, trees become even more powerful adding an additional layer of contradiction and sadness. The song "Strange Fruit" sung by Billie Holiday, is haunting and sad. It clings to our psyche because of the trees.
Lynching is a difficult subject and a sore spot for both blacks and whites. To face the reality that our great nation actually sanctioned and supported this kind of lawlessness is almost unimaginable. But it happened, and we must remember the victims of lynching whether it be covertly, overtly, academically or through artistic expression. It should remind us of where we have been. However, although I keep thinking that mankind will learn from its mistakes (notice I said mankind) the sad reality is that this kind of lawlessness continues both here in the US and abroad. The James Byrd lynching in Texas in 1998 and the lynching of Raynard Johnson in Kokomo, Mississippi come to mind. In Iraq, we have witnessed torture and murder at Abu Ghraib and and the recent rape and death of Abeer Qassim Hamza, a 14-year old Iraqi girl. Abeer's whole family was tortured, beaten and set afire. Her little sister was only 5 years old. . While examining issues such as this metaphorically can be interesting, we should not be afraid to face the reality of the heinousness of these crimes. Furthermore, we should be angered by such lawlessness. I am.
Strange Fruit is a blue song. I call the blues the music that makes us both happy and sad. It is a music form through which we can pour out our frustrations and sorrows while celebrating the fact that we must move on. In the photographic series, "The Awakening, A Tree Remembers", pausing, remembering, honoring, and moving on are the intended messages. To accuse the piece of retribution comes across as an inability to face up to the reality of the lawlessness and violence that African Americans have faced--as if we should make the reality palatable and easy.
I have restarted the blog now that Stereo Propaganda: Deconstructing Stereotypes, Reconstructing Identity has opened. The response has been overwhelming and positive. Although art critic Felicia Feister complained about the text and accused me of "retribution" and "overstatement", her critique was favorable. This exhibition was indeed a labor of love and took me to places deep within my creative spirit.
However, in response to Felicia's article I must state that no retribution was intended. I knew that I wanted to deal with the subject of lynching but until I sat down with Wendy Alexander, a photographer now living in Nashville, I had not decided on an approach. In talking with Wendy and a friend about race and its construct in our society, which I see as a trap, the question was asked how would a Buddhist view the racial construct. Wendy immediately answered "Be the Trap." That statement was all that I needed and it opened up my imaginal space, allowing me to view lynching not from the viewpoint of the persons lynched or the perpetrators but from the lens of a tree. I used the tree as a memory device, examining not only the crime of lynching but also the crime of deforestation.
Trees are powerful metaphors in all cultures. In the cultures of the diaspora, the tree can represent the spirits of the ancestors. In Haiti, for instance, Loko is the spirit of vegetation and is associated with trees. We are all familiar with the "tree of life." When we consider the images of lynching, trees become even more powerful adding an additional layer of contradiction and sadness. The song "Strange Fruit" sung by Billie Holiday, is haunting and sad. It clings to our psyche because of the trees.
Lynching is a difficult subject and a sore spot for both blacks and whites. To face the reality that our great nation actually sanctioned and supported this kind of lawlessness is almost unimaginable. But it happened, and we must remember the victims of lynching whether it be covertly, overtly, academically or through artistic expression. It should remind us of where we have been. However, although I keep thinking that mankind will learn from its mistakes (notice I said mankind) the sad reality is that this kind of lawlessness continues both here in the US and abroad. The James Byrd lynching in Texas in 1998 and the lynching of Raynard Johnson in Kokomo, Mississippi come to mind. In Iraq, we have witnessed torture and murder at Abu Ghraib and and the recent rape and death of Abeer Qassim Hamza, a 14-year old Iraqi girl. Abeer's whole family was tortured, beaten and set afire. Her little sister was only 5 years old. . While examining issues such as this metaphorically can be interesting, we should not be afraid to face the reality of the heinousness of these crimes. Furthermore, we should be angered by such lawlessness. I am.
Strange Fruit is a blue song. I call the blues the music that makes us both happy and sad. It is a music form through which we can pour out our frustrations and sorrows while celebrating the fact that we must move on. In the photographic series, "The Awakening, A Tree Remembers", pausing, remembering, honoring, and moving on are the intended messages. To accuse the piece of retribution comes across as an inability to face up to the reality of the lawlessness and violence that African Americans have faced--as if we should make the reality palatable and easy.
posted by Marshall-Linnemeier | 8:17 PM
1 Comments:
But of course Feaster's response to your blog makes sense in a culture that refuses to remember. We will burn, bulldoze, bludgeon, and beat into silence and submission anyone or anything that makes us see ourselves. We don't see, won't see because it is blissfully easier. Gazes deflect rather than reflect the scene/seen of the crime.
I have been working on a few projects about race and community over the last few weeks. What has really pissed me off throughout is the continued "disneyfication" of pain and trauma. We congratulate ourselves for acknowledging that events like lynching occurred while simultaneously insisting that those things remain in the past and that in no way is there a legacy that lives with us to those events. Now is not the time for good and/or conscious people to do nothing. Think. Speak. Act.
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