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Ethnography brushed up against its paradoxical death in 1971, the day when the Philippine government decided to return the few dozen Tasaday who had just been discovered in the depths of the jungle, where they had lived for eight centuries without any contact with the rest of the species, to their primitive state, out of the reach of colonizers, tourists, and ethnologists. This is the suggestion of the anthropologists themselves, who were seeing the indigenous people disintegrate immediately upon contact,…
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Reinterpretations, remakes, and contemporary works are strategically placed throughout God Only Knows Who the Audience Is: Performance, Video, and Television Through the Lens of La Mamelle, engaging viewers in what is almost an infinite loop of observation that changes with every go-around. Douglas Davis’s The Last Nine Minutes (1977) welcomes viewers to the second floor of the exhibition. The video piece involves Davis walking around a space that simulates a dark cave. Viewers’ anticipation bubbles to the surface as they wait for him to…
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Paid a visit to The Curiosity Shoppe on Valencia Street (San Francisco, CA) yesterday. It’s one of my favorite places. It’s a treasure trove of amazingness. I couldn’t walk out of the store without a new publication. I bought Average Magazine founded by artist, Kate Pocrass. One word: Brilliant. I don’t know how she would feel about this but it’s like the Seinfield (I’m a HUGE Seinfeld fan) of print. It’s about all of these, well, average things in life. For goodness sake,…
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The Merriam Webster dictionary defines perceive as, to attain awareness or understanding of. If perception is the way we ascertain awareness, then the frustration for some people who find themselves ‘not getting it’ are probably the same individuals unwilling to understand, right? Well, to my two friends, Justin and Josef, I wanted share a few thoughts… Modern artists didn’t make art to annoy or anger you, trust me. If you’re angry or frustrated, talk it out. One should not be…
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I had two entertaining conversations (both on separate occasions) in the past two weeks. The Understanding Perception posts are dedicated to two intelligent men who, admittedly, have said, “I don’t get it!” when discussing Modern and Contemporary Art. Their innate curiosity and willingness to exchange ideas prompted me to write. Now, Justin and Josef, I’m not trying to persuade you to fall in love with Modern and Contemporary art. Although I’m a huge fan of both, your opinions are valued and respected. What was important to me was your…
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Oh, hello, I would like to get some help. I’m wondering, do you have this outfit in all Black? I’m going to an art opening tonight… Click on Wonder Woman to see one of my Art Heros… I’ve always wanted to be a bit of a Super Hero. Granted, I’m not going to spin myself into a frenzy trying to convince people to have an intelligent conversation about Modern and Contemporary Art with me. Rather, I’d like to think I…
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writer | artist | scholar
Dorothy R. Santos, Ph.D. 