Arts Unite

Honestly, I don't know anything about dance. I think I've seen "The Nutcracker" a few times, but I haven't seen much that wasn't on my DVD of Stravinsky ballets.

In my other posts, I've (offhandedly) mentioned the importance of understanding contemporary music in the context of contemporary culture. Today's post will examine the different ways music provides a window into the ways we see ourselves today, and (my) posts for the week will reflect this theme.

In my first post, I talked about the difficulties I was having with teaching my preschoolers Christmas songs for their Christmas pageant. Now it is quickly approaching, and the head teacher has asked me to teach them even more songs!

We have looked closely at the concept of appropriation from the angle of ownership and taking an original art piece and transforming it into a "new" piece. All the same issues and questions can of course be applied to theater, and we challenge you to think about those questions and issues in relation to theater.

But for today let's look at a different side of appropriation, cultural appropriation. This is an issue that is faced in all of the arts particularly with the rise of globalization. Here is an interesting summary of a conference on Asian and African Theatre in Higher Education that was held in the UK, one of the topics it deals with is appropriation. We will look at it from the perspective of theater today but feel free to apply the questions it raises to any of the arts. Rather than me telling you all the issues that cultural appropriation presents I would like to hear from you.... what are your thoughts and experiences?

**note the phrase "cultural appropriation" generally has a negative connotation but you do not need to approach this from a negative point of view, feel free to address the positive aspects as well (the link includes positive issues)

Yesterday we looked at appropriation and how it impacts the dance. Today, let's contemplate appropriation in the visual arts and visual culture.

Here are some questions to contemplate:

What do you consider “fair use” in relation to an artist’s image? What about the image of an individual? When is it OK to “borrow” and image in order to create something new? What constitutes “new”? If someone is inspired by the work of another artist, should it be acknowledged? If so how should this acknowledgement take place? Does it matter if the new artist has paid for rights to use the original image? Should it still be acknowledged? If so how should this acknowledgement take place?

Now let’s look at two current examples:

Recently, an image and quote of John F. Kennedy has appeared in a 2009 advertising selling Omega Speed- master watches. (see images below)

JFK is also appears in a TV ad for Omega that uses historical film footage of a speech he gave in 1962. (see clip below)

Omega Speedmaster watches have history with the U.S. space program; as does JFK, Omega is linking the two by association. There was never any agreed upon endorsement.
It is important to note that there is not copyright infringement here. Omega obtained the required permissions to use the JFK material from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston. The amount they paid for the use of the image has not been revealed publicly, but there is a drawing of the library building in the lower left hand corner of the ad with a line urging readers to “learn more” by visiting the JFK Library at their website, http://www.jfklibrary.org/. So it is possible this was part of the agreement.



Does this impact how you feel about the appropriation of this image?

Here is the second example…

This image is also of JFK, it was taken on the day of his assignation. It appears in an advertising flyer for a bicycle race which created much controversy around the DFW area. (See image below)

You can see the image on the bike shops website here.

The really interesting part is that the image that was creating all this controversy was not even an original image; it was actually copied from a 1978 Misfits album cover “Bullet.” (see image below)



So this begs the question whose image is it? Did anyone have the right to use the image of JFK in the first place? How does appropriation of images impact the way you teach?

For the next few days let’s take a look at appropriation and how it impacts the arts. Today, let's contemplate appropriation in dance. Here are some questions to contemplate.

What do you consider “fair use” in dance? When is it OK to “borrow” choreography? Should the movement be reinvented or different entirely? What about reproductions of other’s work, and the quality of the dance. Is there a problem is the dancers can’t execute the movement in the way it was originally intended? Or perhaps there is there something interesting and unique about that failure? If someone is inspired by the work of another choreographer, should it be acknowledged? If so how should this acknowledgement take place?

To read more about this issue check out this article on choreographer Julia Rhoads and her position on the use of copyright and appropriation.