We focused on art as a site for a social change. Alfred Gell’s anthropological theory of art spoke of art as a system of action that has the intention, causation, result, transformation, and most importantly agency (Gell 1998: 6). The function of art in Gell’s theory is to “change the world”, whereby art objects are social agents (Gell 1998: 6-7). As an anthropologist, utilizing Alfred Gell’s theory, lecture, and your museum and/or gallery visit critically analyze how artists and/or museum curators may employ art, symbolism, and/or representations to advocate for social change and/or remodel history.
Possible questions to address:
Does the museum/gallery exhibit address the historical misrepresentations and/or erasures surrounding the Japanese Internment (etc.)?
How do museums (curators) and/or artists, who take on an advocacy role create exhibits to cause social change?
I want you to write any museum that is in Sacramento on SIKH PROJECT: October 27, 2018 – March 10, 2019 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Sikhs have been part of the fabric of America for over a century. Though subject to racism and violence since they first immigrated to the U.S., Sikh Americans have experienced increased hate crimes, discrimination, bullying, and racial profiling since 9/11. The Sikh Coalition’s national traveling exhibit “Sikh Project” challenges misconceptions and bigotry through photographs and accompanying stories capturing the beauty and diversity of the Sikh community in the United States.
The portraits by British photographers Amit and Naroop feature several California Sikhs, including a third-generation farmer, a violinist and one of the longest-serving turbaned law enforcement officers in the U.S.
The exhibit is presented in recognition of November’s California Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month.
Sample Solution
