Learning, Unlearning, Relearning: Meditating on America’s Past and Present

Learning, Unlearning, Relearning: Meditating on America’s Past and Present

ABOUT ART 348: CHALLENGING COLLECTING AND EXHIBITION PRACTICES

Instructed by Dr. Rosaline Kyo, assistant professor of Art and Chinese Studies, and Lia Newman, director & curator of the Van Every/Smith Galleries, in spring 2022, this course provided students with a foundational understanding of collection practices and, with the support of a generous donor, a unique hands-on opportunity to acquire artworks for the college. This seminar focused on art collection practices of public and private institutions in the United States and other countries to unpack how museum collection frameworks, methods, and systems of categorization stem from colonialist modes of oppression relying heavily on biases of gender, race, and economics. The treasured artworks are critical facets of our identity, national or otherwise. Yet, an investigation into museum processes, including repatriation, conservation, accessioning, and deaccessioning, reveals how collecting and displaying practices can shift narratives around artworks and cultural artifacts. Eight alumni guest speakers also joined our discussion to share their experience with and insights on the inner workings of galleries, museums, and auction houses.

With a better understanding of the logic behind collection practices, the students examined what is lacking in the Van Every/Smith Galleries’ current collection in areas such as artists’ demographics and artwork mediums. We found a prominent underrepresentation of female artists and racial and ethnic minority groups, including Indigenous people, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and African Americans. To fill in the gaps in the galleries’ collection and stretch their support for the mission of the college, we researched more than 120 artists represented by 120 galleries in New York over the course of six weeks. Eventually, with the aid of a rubric that summarized our considerations that arose during seminar discussions, we narrowed down the initial 120 artists to 12. After seeing their artworks in person and communicating with the galleries, we decided to purchase Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee by William Villalongo, The Last Thanks by Wendy Red Star, and ​​Redaction Order 13769, Page 4 by Johanna Herr.

While we envision the three pieces to address gaps in the galleries’ current collection and serve as statement pieces to Davidson College’s value of diversity and inclusion, we are also aware of areas that need more attention. Moving forward, much effort is necessary to broaden our diversity profile and incorporate more cultural narratives from the global art scene.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION Learning, Unlearning, Relearning: Meditating on America’s Past and Present
The phrase ‘history is written by the victors’ is often thrown around when people talk about historical erasure. However, this sentiment fails to encompass the sheer hegemony of the white, masculine, Protestant point of view and interests that have held command and continue to hold command over American culture, including American art.

The goal of this exhibition is to explore the perspectives of demographics that have been historically neglected in American art. This can take the form of the race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, sexuality, or past experiences of the artist. This exhibition highlights the ways in which some of these artists see and represent themselves and others within the American cultural hegemony. Their works create opportunities to “learn” and “relearn” elements of identity, and thereby “unlearn” forceful assimilation into a singular narrative. This self-reflection takes many forms, from attempts to reconnect with an ancestral past and access cultural memories, to repurposing imperialistic and commercial imagery and rhetoric to produce political critique, to drawing attention to current or historical events that undermine the popular image of America as a free and equal society.

Within the exhibition, we have placed works from the Davidson collection in proximity to our newly-purchased pieces, representing different conversations within these themes. The trio of The Last Thanks, ᏓᏤᏝ ᎠᏑᏗ (Datsetla Asudi), and Dreaming in English (like our ancestors moved) represent Indigenous perspectives, examining ancestral roots and how they manifest in the present. THE EQUAL AND INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF ALL and America: A Hymnal are placed in conversation with Redaction Order 13769, Page 4; they all represent manipulations and desecrations of important American texts, challenging the ideas they express and highlighting their hypocrisy. East Durham Love - Soon as I Get Home I, Soul 101 (A lesson on soul from the Godfather), Lighten Up, and Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee all deal with manifestations of Blackness in America. Pieces like East Durham Love - Soon as I Get Home I and Soul 101 (A lesson on soul from the Godfather) seek to humanize their subjects and combat racial stereotypes, whereas pieces like Lighten Up and Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee invoke themes of remembrance with encoded references to historical events and movements and ruminate on expectations of Black femininity and masculinity respectively.

Curated by ART 348 Class Participants: Alice Berndt ’22, Sam Cochran ’24, Kate Cross ’24, Maggie Cushman ’22, Emily Ezell ’23, Avery Fleeman ’22, McNeill Franklin ’23, Wren Marks ’23, Isabel Nowak ’23, Victoria Pekarovic ’23, Kat Soltany ’22, Sarah Zhang ’23