Journal 6

I have found two examples of assemblages. I find it harder than perhaps I should to find these assemblages, even though in essence, they are all around us. I didn’t realize the prevalence of assemblages until Mrs. C posted a photo of the Phi Mu PC’16 wall- I never would’ve thought of that as an assemblage but once she posted that, I entirely noticed why it was one. One of my examples follows Arola and Arola’s bare repetition theory.

This photo was taken at a parade where a child is dressed up in traditional cultural clothing and makeup for a parade. This is bare repetition because this is directly taking from the cultural practices of their native land however placed in a modern setting with a child who may not even practice their cultural entities. Arola and Arola spoke a lot about types of cultural appropriation and I thought perhaps the most interesting part was when she described the difference between using cultural elements for modern appeal and taking all of the cultural essence out of a tradition.

My second example is one of ethical assemblage:

This is a photo of an assemblage made by bottle caps and leather. This was created to represent the straining that women feel to use their voices. This is to offer a depiction of how women feel stuck in their efforts to speak their minds, held back by the social constructs and constraints. These two photos make me feel completely different ways. The first allows for an appreciation of that cultural artistry with a hope that it was respected and praised. This photo angers me to see a representation of how women are held back. Ethical assemblages offer more of a lesson to be learned rather than a cultural assemblage is to be acknowledged and respected. This photo should incite emotion. I think that fair use is a composers’ only hope for keeping bare repetition out of print. I think that circulation plays a role in the ethical nature of an artifact but mainly in the severity of that ethical awareness. People are much more aware of the Obama poster we viewed in class than this assemblage; however, I think this photo hold just as much importance!

word count: 375