Stereotypes and art

I wanted to put up one last blog post, before the end of the year, seeing as how my participation hasn't been what it could have.



Maybe some of you have seen this already: the racist cake cut by the Swedish culture minister at the opening of an event for the Swedish Artists Federation. The cake was designed by artist Makode Aj Linde, who uses images of blackface in his work (as he says) to criticize ideas of black identity. The cake, made into the stereotypical, "blackface" image of an African woman, was supposed to be a commentary on gender mutilation in Africa. As the guests (including the culture minister) cut into the cake, Makode, who built himself into the piece as the African woman's "head," would scream.

From the video, it seems obvious that the attempt at commentary, or criticism, failed entirely. One can see the party's attendants in the video, smiling and laughing as the cake is cut. For them, it seems that the event is a riotous good time, and the cake, in the degrading image of the stereotyped African, was a jolly good joke. If this was the purpose of Makode's art, to reveal the complacency and racist attitudes of wealthy Westerners, then he was successful. But inasmuch as the artwork was intended to rise awareness of genital mutilation in Africa, to raise consciousness of its horrors and the suffering caused by the practice, it would seem that the work resoundingly failed.

The work brings up a number of questions pertinent to our course. One such question is who has the right to speak for those who suffer injustice. In the same vein: how can a man claim to speak on behalf of women?  How can a comfortable Westerner claim to speak for those growing up and living in Africa?