Why Should YOU Care About Art History?
To the unaware, Art History can seem like a classist, euro-centric, and vague field for the Academic Elites. And don't get me wrong, in many places, that's still very much the case. Most universities default to studying Art from nations like Spain, France, Italy, England, and Germany. In this typical scenario, you're not even considering eastern European countries! That leaves us with a microscopic world view, at best, and at worst, it can serve to silence diversity and white-wash those that don't conform to that standard and aesthetic.
Euro-Centrism in Academia
This issue with Euro-Centrism is far-reaching and has had some profound repercussions that go much deeper than what I could explore in a single blog post. While many curriculums need to change, I'm not the only one who sees this as an issue and wants to change it. The University of Puerto Rico, the place where I became an Art Historian, offers two bachelors in this career field, one specializing in European Art and another in Caribean Art. It's nowhere near as diverse as it should be, but it offers a great place to start. I dream of a day when students can take a general art class that teaches and highlights the best of what each continent has created thus far.
Beyond a simple lack of diversity in classes, there's another ugly elephant in the room. Many Western Museums serve as reminders of the colonization and fetishization of the arts and people from Africa, Latin America, and Asia. If that gets under your skins and enrages you, trust me, you aren't alone. It's incredibly demoralizing to be a Caribbean woman and see the Art of the indigenous Taino people and African Slaves brought over displayed as curiosities for white European audiences. And beyond that, there's a huge issue to reckon with when it's ingrained within your culture. Many Latinxs nations have to face the anti-blackness and anti-indigenous rhetoric that's so prevalent in most cultural spaces. It's gotten to a point where it's deeply internalized and affects so many facets of our day to day interactions.
I'm sure many Afro-Latinx people can attest to this, with comments and behaviors taught to them by their families and communities. Seeing our traditional Puertorican Art treated like "artesanias" (a word that has connotations of arts and crafts) rather than Art with a capital A within our own cultural spaces serves as a prime example. This art has a substantial African and Taino legacy, so categorizing this art as a hobbyist's work, rather than Art, is frustrating and perpetuates the idea of European Art being superior.
What Can We Do About It?
These seem like huge issues, and it can feel like trying to build the Tower of Babel. Unlike the sheer impossibility of creating a tower to the sky that reaches God, these problems have actionable, real-world solutions. Along with myself, there's a whole battalion of passionate and bright individuals who want to make those changes to create a genuinely universal discipline as the human experiences they draw from.
To answer the question I posed at the title, having a diverse group of individuals to spearhead those changes is what's going to make that happen. When we speak about how valuable it is to have diversity and representation in media, Art History should also incorporate that. Seeing the Art of your People treated with the respect and dignity it deserves is truly empowering while also allowing other people to see you as equal. The concept of parasocial relationships isn't just from digital mediums; its effects are incredibly far-reaching. I don't think that what I've exposited is a pipe dream; I think it's a tangible goal that we can reach if we put in the work.
Final Thoughts
If you have ever been disillusioned by Academic circles, I hope this post serves as a place to start rekindling that interest and love. As for this blog, I want it to serve as a repository of information and a place for respectful intellectual discourse and cultural dialogue.
