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UID:Indybay-98013
SEQUENCE:98013
CREATED:20060427T183600Z
DESCRIPTION:Take a deep breath, listen carefully to those who disagree with your mural, 
 be greatful, and finally, take some reflection before doing what you can 
 still do: Apologize to the local Native community, modify the mural in a 
 way that accommodates the views of a wider audience, and better educate 
 yourself about what Native and non-Native protesters want you to know. This 
 would be a way to be accountable for your commitment to anti-oppressive 
 public art, in particular depicting the indigenous peoples of this land.  + 
  Rocky Baird’s nostalgic murals have the tendency to mourn, in a romantic 
 way, the loss of sensibilities and cultures. In his new mural “The 
 Capture of the Solid. The Escape of the Soul” (25-by-10-foot on the side 
 of Gaylord's Caffe Espresso at 41st Street and Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, 
 CA), the artist depicts the downfall of the Ohlone people and culture, how 
 under oppressive circumstances (in the colonized society of the U.S.) the 
 soul and spirit of the Indian remains, in his own words, “intact” for 
 it “can’t be boxed.” Though the depictions in this mural assume a 
 priori relationship between the ideology and practices of the colonial 
 power, it fails to uphold the grievances and reaffirm the struggles of 
 Native people.  He myopically draws lessons from the mainstream of history 
 (Indians “ran about naked”). Instead of legitimizing subaltern 
 narratives, expose colonizing structures, break forced silences, he 
 furthers the colonization of public knowledge and space by graphically 
 muting voices. Decolonizing, anti-oppression public art must face, 
 explicitly, this country’s long history of ethnic cleansing, in which the 
 U.S. government, for instance, drove millions of Native people off their 
 land by means of massacres and forced evacuations; it may also help unravel 
 and celebrate their resistance and cultural reaffirmations. The challenge 
 for anti-oppression artists is to upset the national bubble (culture), to 
 inspire us to create a different history for the next seven generations, to 
 help people think outside the boundaries of Anglo-American hegemony.   To 
 be made accountable for his commitment to anti-oppression art, an artist 
 would 1) explicitly address the root causes of racism or other oppressions; 
 2) serve disenfranchised communities and create cultural exchanges within 
 underrepresented communities; and 3) develop new relationships and/or 
 strengthen existing ones among artists/arts organizations and non-arts 
 groups.   Lets work together with members of the community and other 
 artists to create art that has direct relevance for the community.   There 
 is a plan reception for, plus an organized protest against, the mural at 3 
 p.m. on April 29. Come one! Come all!   \n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/04/27/98013.php
SUMMARY:A LESSON OF ANTI-OPPRESSION PUBLIC ART FOR THE MURALIST ROCKY BAIRD
LOCATION:at 41st Street and Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, CA
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/04/27/98013.php
DTSTART:20060429T220000Z
DTEND:20060430T000000Z
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