PROJECT 2

PROJECT 2: MARGINALITY AS RESISTANCE: “WRITING” BACK TO CENTER
DUE: TH 3/27
CRITIQUE: TH 3/27, T 4/1

Post-colonialism (also known as post-colonial theory) refers to a set of theories in philosophy, film and literature that grapple with the legacy of colonial rule. Post-colonialism deals with many issues for societies that have undergone colonialism: the dilemmas of developing a national identity in the wake of colonial rule; the ways in which writers from colonized countries attempt to articulate and even celebrate their cultural identities and reclaim them from the colonizers; the ways knowledge of colonized people have served the interests of colonizers, and how knowledge of subordinate people is produced and used; and the ways in which the literature of the colonial powers is used to justify colonialism through the perpetuation of images of the colonized as inferior. Colonized peoples responded to the colonial legacy by writing back to the center. This came about as indigenous peoples began to write their own histories, their own legacy, using the colonizers' language (usually English) for their own purposes. As post-colonialist theory has impacted communities of indigenous peoples it has produced a process of indigenous decolonization..

How is art-making an act of inquiry, conversation and resistance? As you consider the larger context for Filipino-American cultural production, and some of the strategies artists have used to “write” back to center, how might you contribute to this conversation, as well?

There are a number of resources that we’ve covered in the past few weeks that have addressed this. As you begin thinking about how to approach Project 2, please consider the notion of an artistic process that allows you to accumulate, test, sift, and ask. Refer to the bell hooks reading, Carlos Villa’s visit, the “kwatro kantos” artists, the Gatbonton Colonial Art reading, the Post-colonialism wiki, the essays by Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde, and The Fall of the I-Hotel film, as a significant part of this “accumulation”. Test what you’ve learned, sift through the many options so that that they don’t overwhelm you, and start your work from this place of reflection and inquiry.

Project 2 is an opportunity for you to explicitly consider Filipino/Filipino-American history, as well as post-colonialism, transnationalism, and the creative strategies and philosophies artists employ. How can creative production, your creative production, be a way of responding to history, “answering back”, answering/asking more questions, dealing with both the personal and political, and filling in the gaps?

Project 2 should also be an opportunity for you to take what you learned in Project 1, and advance your technical, editorial and compositional skills further.

This project is due the Thursday after you return from spring break, and it should look like the culmination of 2-3 weeks of deep work. Your work should look completely resolved by its due date. If you are confused about this project, please set up a meeting with me.

Criteria for success on Project 2:

• Incorporation of hand-made elements
• Implementation of mixed-media
• Implementation of layers of information
• At least one non-traditional art material
• Materials/media/execution appropriate to your project
• Evidence of emotional/intellectual engagement with your theme/themes
• complex investment in idea, theme and execution
• Further consideration of composition and resolution of work (ie, growth since Project 1)
• 2-3 weeks of effort and investment (12-13 hours minimum)
• written reflection/artist statement