Megan Farretta, Minna Kim, Violet Shin
Amy Finkel |Integrative Studio
Final Studio Project
Identity equalizes itself as ownership. The ability to self identify and create a sense of belonging, provides ownership of yourself. You are not liable to others perceptions of who you should be and are in every sense an individual. During the 1920’s era, people were changing. People of color were coming together and forming an alliance. Despite the racial obligations set in place by the white majority, the black community were able to come together, during the Harlem Renaissance. Music and culture were blossoming in the darkest of times. The white community lacked the vibrance that the black community harvested within themselves, and wished to be apart of it. But, their inability to overcome their own racism, is what started and fueled speakeasies with black performers. White people were able to immerse themselves into the booming culture provided by people of color, but were able to leave themselves on their pedestals. Despite this the African Americans of the Harlem Renaissance were able to find their identities amidst the chaos of blatant racism and people trying to appropriate their culture.
Fascinated by this phenomenon, we wanted to investigate further. Identity is something that has always peaked interest for us all, especially through adolescence when we were trying to figure out who we were as people. Following extensive research and an interview with the new owner of the Cotton Club, the reality of the circus show that went on during the years of the 1920s at nightclubs catered to white people became prevalent. The Cotton Club, although today has been reclaimed by a person of color, has a deep and dark history of objectifying the black community and utilizing their talents to please the rich, white community. We wanted to highlight this injustice and the appropriation of culture in a conceptual art piece.
For our art piece, we are creating a clear acrylic box that is lined with curtains. On the inside we are going to have a diorama of the Cotton Club, featuring key people that impacted the club and its success. The acrylic is going to represent the white community and their ability to watch the black performers but never be apart of it. The inner diorama, which will feature music from iconic musicians from the club, will represent the lively inner circle of the people of color. The same inner circle that white people envy and can never be included in. We will also feature iconic African American people who unknown to the white community have lives and have stories of their own. Our goal is for the viewer to grasp the mentality and disconnect that dominated the white community, and understand the identity inducing culture that is found between the lines of racism.
