Mug shot: Transraciality – Analysing the race with race in art
Keywords:
transracial, post-racial, skin, theatricality, identity, bovarism, cultural appropriationAbstract
In the present article, we analyse the concept of transraciality in art, especially within the performance field, by connecting it with its firestorm manifestations in the modern society. Is transraciality the new frontier in public acceptance or just pure utopia? We’ll talk about our findings by focusing on some pertinent artistic examples and social behaviours. Focusing on the homo fingens as a part of the postmodern deconstruction of the human being, we reach the expending community of persons with mixed background and their interactions with art or the public perception. Hollywood stereotypes, cultural appropriation methods, race bending, collage and pastiche, all form the list of tools we operate with. Furthermore, we’ll focus on media cases involving raw definitions of transraciality, also on some pop culture examples, trying to connect their meanings with theatricality and the theatre/the stage phenomenon. The anxieties of a potential post-racial society put pressure on how we want to be seen by others and break the rules of racial differentiation. The enormous growth in self-consciousness opens a gate for alterity/otherness.
References
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“Eat Dem Taters”, by Robert Colescott, 1975, http://archive.newmuseum.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/3482, viewed July 21st 2015
“Natural Rhythm,” by Robert Colescott, 1976, Savannah Morning News- Collection of Robert and Lois Orchard, St. Louis, Mo. http://savannahnow.com/accent/2009-02-14/jepson-center-showcases-robert-colescotts-provocative-paintings#1, viewed July 20th 2015
Cher, Video Dov’eL’amore, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AzWb951iZo, viewed July 23rd 2015
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