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Silence is Golden - Spring 2020
in 2020 Disney acquired the National Geographic society. National Geographic's roots are deeply tied to US politics. (in 1888) Its founding board were primarly men working in government, and the purpose of the magazine was to compete with European exploration and science of the time. After reconstruction, US aristocrats turned their interest overseas. The US was funding ships to go "discover" other parts of the world to advance economic interest. National Geographic would become its means of distilling the "science" and success of these efforts of US imperialism to the public. National Geographic was a huge success. For the first time people could engage with research first hand. The camera became a tool to shape what it means to be American and "un-American" In the 1930s, Walt Disney started using National Geographic photos as a source of inspiration for characters and environments. (Which, photography from a white mens lens, then further interpreted through a white man's illustrations, shows the level of distortion of culture Disney was built on) further reiterating the silence in the cultures who cannot speak for themselves in the process of "exploration" and now entertainment. Walter Benjamin's work, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1935) was a warning about government and entertainment becoming the same. |
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Tiger Balm, Spring 2019
This work was inspired by the dichotomy of a healing product (made of camphor) associated with a violent past that displaces and eliminates the animal that represents it. |
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Synchroni - City, Fall 2019
