Drexel's College of Design Arts - Racism
Sandra Burgess
I'm a student in the Nesbitt College of Design Arts. This morning while
attending my art history class, a classmate and friend of mine asked the
professor a question; as we were viewing slides from the High Renaissance,
she asked if the painters and sculptors of that era had exposure to people
of African Heritage, and if so why weren't these people depicted in their
art. Of course he couldn't come up with a good answer, but he pointed out
that Hiëronymus Bosch, depicted people of African heritage in his
painting The Garden of Delights. But, so far this is the only
representation shown thus far. He also pointed out that Raphel in his
painting the Last Judgement may not have had African representation, but
that maybe the demons which appear in that picture could be or were
thought of as being of African Heritage.
Needless to say, I am hurt and appalled. I and my friend plan to write a
letter to our school paper about this and other forms of Race ignorance
that we've both experienced. What I need is advice as to what to do
next. I'm really angry right now and havn't been able to think clearly
about this situation without becoming emotional. I would like to address
the curriculum review board for Nesbitt, as well as speak with the
professor and make him aware of how offensive his comment was to me. I am
so sick of White people acting as if they can say and do anything they
want in classrooms. I don't think that Art History should include those
works which could be concrued as offensive to any of its students. I feel
that I don't pay these people 21,194.00 a year to be insulted.
Tamarie Jordan
Sandra Burgess (sbur...@cbis.ece.drexel.edu) wrote:
: I'm a student in the Nesbitt College of Design Arts. This morning while
: attending my art history class, a classmate and friend of mine asked the
: professor a question; as we were viewing slides from the High Renaissance,
: she asked if the painters and sculptors of that era had exposure to people
: of African Heritage, and if so why weren't these people depicted in their
: art. Of course he couldn't come up with a good answer, but he pointed out
: that Hiëronymus Bosch, depicted people of African heritage in his
: painting The Garden of Delights. But, so far this is the only
: representation shown thus far. He also pointed out that Raphel in his
: painting the Last Judgement may not have had African representation, but
: that maybe the demons which appear in that picture could be or were
: thought of as being of African Heritage.
Was this the professor's opinion, or is it something that is supported by
the research of art historians? I think it is important to determine this
before you make any complaint.
: I would like to address
: the curriculum review board for Nesbitt, as well as speak with the
: professor and make him aware of how offensive his comment was to me. I am
: so sick of White people acting as if they can say and do anything they
: want in classrooms.
I understand your feelings. At my predominantly (95%) white college, I
took a course called "The Sociological Aspects of Sports". My professor
made a statement to the effect of "OJ Simpson cannot be considered a
sports hero in America, simply because he is black". Yeah, of all people,
he was talking about OJ. But this was back in 1979, when OJ was still the
man. Anyway, I countered him by saying that that was ridiculous, and that
little white kids would still look up to OJ as a sports hero, unless their
racist parents filled their heads with the kind of crap that the professor
was spewing. I'm certain that what he said was his own opinion, not held
up by any research or surveys. I didn't make a complaint to the school,
because unfortunately, this professor was my faculty advisor. But I did
argue with him in class, and he backed down. I just couldn't stand to see
all my classmates writing that crap in their notes, and thinking of it as
fact.
: I don't think that Art History should include those
: works which could be concrued as offensive to any of its students. I feel
: that I don't pay these people 21,194.00 a year to be insulted.
Well, history isn't always factual, but, there are going to be some
historical facts, and artworks, that you may find offensive. And some
people, often women and minorities, are going to be offended by a lot of
artworks. But, that doesn't stop these artworks from existing, or being a
part of history, and so they really should be included in Art History.
You're going to be insulted by a lot of things in life, I don't think
paintings of Africans as demons (if that's what they were) are worth
getting insulted about. Turn your negative feelings into positive action
by doing your own research on these types of works. Perhaps there is
something in history that will be enlightening and worthy of a helluva
research paper. Good Luck.
Tamarie
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Jerome Boyd
Sandra Burgess wrote:
>
> I'm a student in the Nesbitt College of Design Arts. This morning while
> attending my art history class, a classmate and friend of mine asked the
> professor a question; as we were viewing slides from the High Renaissance,
> she asked if the painters and sculptors of that era had exposure to people
> of African Heritage, and if so why weren't these people depicted in their
Please clarify. What do you mean by good answer? An answer that was
historically accurate. Or one that you wanted to hear?
> ...but he pointed out
> that Hikronymus Bosch, depicted people of African heritage in his
> painting The Garden of Delights. But, so far this is the only
> representation shown thus far. He also pointed out that Raphel in his
> painting the Last Judgement may not have had African representation, but
> that maybe the demons which appear in that picture could be or were
> thought of as being of African Heritage.
Are you leaving something out because I don't get it? I never studied art
so I hope you or somebody can help me to understand if I'm off the deep
end. If you're studying art of the High Renaissance, you're going to be
studying about european art and artists. Unless there is some well known
Renaissance artist, who was known for dealing with african subjects that
your instructor neglected to mention, what's your beef? This is 14th & 15th
century Europe that you're talking about! Is it really so surprising that
european artists of that period were dealing with themes revolving around
african heritage. And is it really a shock that a european artists who did
portray africans in their work would demonize them?
>
> Needless to say, I am hurt and appalled. I and my friend plan to write a
> letter to our school paper about this and other forms of Race ignorance
> that we've both experienced. What I need is advice as to what to do
> next. I'm really angry right now and havn't been able to think clearly
> about this situation without becoming emotional. I would like to address
> the curriculum review board for Nesbitt, as well as speak with the
> professor and make him aware of how offensive his comment was to me. I am
> so sick of White people acting as if they can say and do anything they
> want in classrooms. I don't think that Art History should include those
> works which could be concrued as offensive to any of its students. I feel
> that I don't pay these people 21,194.00 a year to be insulted.
What specifically offended you? Did the instructor make some unnecessarily
offensive comments about africans or african art? Or were you upset by the
fact that the artists that he mentioned didn't paint their african subjects
in a favorable light? If your reason for being upset is the former, then
perhaps all you and your friend need to is to have a sit down to talk things
over. If that doens't work then go to the dept. head. However if your reason
for being upset is the latter, then that's another matter entirely. The purpose
for teaching history should be to help us learn from the past, not to make us
feel good about ourselves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I hate people who are intolerant" -Laurence J. Peter
Jerome Boyd <jer...@cat.focushope.edu>