Your Thoughts about Orientalism

[Tom Edgerton]

Sharon--

Interesting reaction...

I can see your point if an artist were recreating false nostalgia for propaganda purposes, but if I go to another land, am I prohibited from setting up and recording the culture that is before me, especially if those being painted are aware of it? If I were there working, what constitutes a factual rendering versus a condescending one--what are "safe" choices versus ones that are not? At what point does this process become exploitive?

Is this any different from taking travel photos? Is this any different from taking photos of another culture for photojournalistic purposes and remuneration, as with National Geographic?

What if, for example, the scenes were a fairly straightforward depiction of rural China, and the artist is a white American? Does this change if the artist is Chinese-American? Does this change if the artist is a city-dwelling, middle-class Chinese native? Does this change if the artist is another rural Chinese native?

I'm not attacking your point of view; I'm merely asking for purposes of discussion and because I think a further parsing of your commentary would help me understand it better.

Thanks--Tom