Crystina Castiglione ARE6933 April 14, 2013

Annotated Bibliography The Role of Stereotypes in Artwork and the Mass Media

Abstract: My globalization theme is based on the various roles that stereotypes play in contemporary society and how they are portrayed in art. More specifically I am interested in the role they play in the classroom amongst adolescent students across the globe, and how these stereotypes influence the way new generations view the world. The sources I have found are compiled of artists who deal with this topic within their artwork. Many of these artists talk specifically about stereotypes that are perpetuated towards their ethnicity because of negative global media propaganda. Within their artwork they seek to convey the truth about their race, ethnicity, sex or social status and stop the vicious cycle of stereotypes that surround them.

1. Haupt & Binder. (2004). Tarek Al-Ghoussein. Retrieved from: http://universes-in-

universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2004/al_ghoussein. Tarek Al-Ghoussein is a native of Kuwait and a photography professor at AUS, (American University of Sharjah). His photographs present a visualization of Palestinian identity, and approach the clich stereotypes that often accompany Palestinians, Arabs and Islams. He seeks to portray the varying scope of perspectives that are created because of the mass media, specifically Western mass media, and the way in which it tends to influence judgment on his ethnicity. His frustration with this insensitivity of stereotyping Middle Eastern ethnicities has turning into feeling a need to teach people more about the culture and act as a mediator between countries. The site from which I received information on Al-Ghoussein, Nafas, is an online magazine dedicated to representing current information on contemporary artists who deal specifically with the Islamic world and the stereotypes that surround it.
2. Teresa, A. (2010). Idurre Alonso, Curator of Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA):

In Conversation Series. Retrieved from: http://www.visuramagazine.com/idurre-alonso.

Miguel Alvear is an Ecuadorian artist who first studied in Belgium and later California. His work is a mixture of motifs that draw from pop culture, art history, popular iconography and popular mythology. Often addressed are racial and social stereotypes, specifically as they pertain to Latin Americans. His artwork is full of clichs dealing with popular iconography that we see in the mass media or that are drawn from peoples prejudices based on identity, race and social status. In the work Yo Soy el Otro, and Yo Soy la Otra, curated by Idurre Alonso and displayed on this site, Alvear portrays 4 different recognizable racial groups dressed in the stereotypical attire of each and then that of the other 3 for males and females. He challenges the viewer to deconstruct his or her own prejudices on race and social status through a critical anaylyzation of stereotypical judgments.
3. Dean, K. (2013). Gender Roles in the 21 Century. Ignite Me [Website]. Retrieved from:
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http://ignite.me/articles/culture/gender-roles-in-the-21st-century/. Ignite Me is a site dedicated to human connectivity and the arts, both of which play vital roles in globalization. It is a community of bloggers, interviewers, authors, artists, musicians and citizens that can share their creative collaborations. On it you can find links to videos, artist interviews, cultural research, new music, and links to other sites that support the same themes. Author Kimbriel Dean writes about Gender Roles in the 21st Century, inspired by her daughters already forming perspectives of the gender roles of male and females. She explores the topic for in depth by taking a look at the way gender stereotypes are embedded in our culture at a very early age. She features a video within her article of Professor Judith Butler from UC Berkeley who talks about our behavior being the catalyst for what defines our gender.
4. Eng, K. (2012). Beirut, I love you: Fellows Friday with Zena el Khali. TED Ideas Worth

Spreading [website]. Retrieved from: http://blog.ted.com/2012/10/12/beirut-i-love-youfellows-friday-with-zena-el-khalil/. Lebanese artist Zena el Khali uses an innovative form of installations, mixed media and painting to address issues of violence and injustice as it pertains to

gender and religious stereotypes. Her predominantly Middle Eastern ethnicity paved the way to creating xanadu*, a nonprofit art gallery in New York that she and a friend opened after 9/11 to house the art of Arab artists in an attempt to help break the stereotypes soon associated with the nationality. In her piece Its A Boy, a stereotypically, alpha, muscular, male toy figurine is placed in a wreath of pink roses, blue sequin fabric, a gold hearted belt and pink glitter. A painted on scowl rests on his face and a hot pink toy gun is held high in his left hand, with the other hand tightly wound in a fist punching out towards the viewer. The irony does not go unnoticed to see what is supposed to be a tough soldier surrounded by such traditionally soft and feminine associated fabrics, colors and symbols.
5. MoMa. (1999). Conversations with Contemporary Artists: Kara Walker. Retrieved from:

http://www.moma.org/interactives/projects/1999/conversations/kw_f.html. Kara Walker is a contemporary artist who uses humor, irony and metaphor to discuss racial stereotypes in our culture. She utilizes fictional silhouetted narratives to portray the irony of mainstream Americas perspective on themes of inequality, racism, stereotypes and historical clashes of power between races. She uses humor to represent the cruel truths of human nature to confront the often disregarded issues of race that are so often the roots of cultural issues. In one of her fantastical silhouetted creations, Gone, An Historical of a Civil War as it Occurred Between the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart, (1994), a narrative based on Gone with the Wind, she explores what black stands for and what white stands for in a perceived white America. It is an examination of exchanges of power struggles that are physical, emotional, personal, racial, sexual, and historical.
6.

See Me: The Media, My World and Me. (2011). Queen Victorias Women Centre. Retrieved from: http://seeme.org.au/. See Me is a media literacy site for teachers and students that promotes positive body image and seeks to reduce the stereotypes associated with the ideal image of beauty that is often perpetuated by advertising and the media. It includes sections about the stereotypes of gender roles, the health choices we are exposed

to in the media, the different ways people perceive beauty and how advertisers globally market products to influence how we look. The site also contains advertising clips, curriculum connections, interactive tools for learning, and other references and links. This is a great site to share with middle and high school students who are immediately influenced by the mass media and its ploy to set a standard of idealized body images globally.
7. Cheers, Imani. (2012, May 9). Q&A: Lalla Essaydi Challenges Muslim, Gender

Stereotypes at Museum of African Art [Web blog post to PBS News Hour]. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2012/05/revisions.html. Lalla Essaydi, a Middle Eastern native, and graduate artist of the School of the Musesum of Fine Arts in Boston, tells a story of gender roles, history, tradition and culture in her photographs featuring women dressed in traditional Muslim fabrics and layered with Islamic calligraphy. In a way her work describes her experiences growing up in an Arab culture as a woman. As an artist and an Arab woman, she wants to bridge together the cultures of the East and West, and be seen as a human being, not this projection of the Western world or Islamic culture on us from both sides, (Essaydi, 2012). In her photograph, Dancers #8, the viewer is presented with an image of a Middle Eastern woman in motion with fabric enveloping her, only her eyes gazing at you. Layered over her face and in the background is Islamic calligraphy. The image is reminiscent of the Western voyeuristic tradition of Oriental paintings, (Essaydi, 2012), that Essaydi often challenges the perception of in her work.
8. McQuaid, C. (2012, December 27). Mickalene Thomas at the ICA a Dazzling Display.

The Boston Globe [Online Newsletter]. Retrieved from: http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-art/2012/12/27/art-review-mickalene-thomassolo-show-institute-contemporary-art/lOSgC3v74XIbZEQosffMXO/story.html. Mickalene Thomass paintings are larger than life, and literally dripping with dazzling rhinestones, beading, and bright, colorful textile patterns. Within them reside the presence of powerful black women, surrounded by lush and rich scenery that brings them

to life. She is purposely objectifying the women she portrays, proud in their AfricanAmerican skin. Her imagery invites the viewer into a visual seduction of sorts; it brings to mind the sexuality of women, and the way in which that seduction was once portrayed in Manet or Delacroixs paintings of the 19th century. The difference being that this artist is proud to bear that sexuality for women, that there is no shame in it, and that beauty comes in many forms.
9. Kuhl, C. (2013, February 20). Beyond Stereotypes: Art and The New Arab Reality.

HyperAllergic: Sensitive to Art and Its Discontents [Online Newsletter]. Retrieved from: http://hyperallergic.com/65499/beyond-stereotypes-art-and-the-new-arab-reality/. The article discusses a recent curated art show, Arab Express: The Latest Art from the Arab World. Consisting of 34 Arab artists from Arabic speaking countries, the exhibition sought to humanize the identity of the Arab person, and detach its outdated stereotyped that is still glued to events from 9/11 and the American/NATO wars. Artists were split into 3 categories; Everyday Life and Environment, The Image of the Arab: Gaze from Outside/Voices from Inside & Memories and Records, Histories and Futures. Arab artists are contributing to world culture in real time, offering new ways of seeing and experiencing and sharing their reality. The question is: will this grow and become a two-way street? Western, especially American, mass media and culture have demonized the Arab world relentlessly, (Kuhl, 2013).
10. Gregory, J. (2013, April 4). Muslim Arists Challenge Stereotypes [Web blog post to

Womens View on News]. Retrieved from: http://www.womensviewsonnews.org/2013/04/muslim-artists-challenge-stereotypes/. This post by Jackie Gregory shares a link, (http://muslima.imow.org/), to an international online exhibition of Muslim womens art and stories. She discusses to need to fight the oppressive stereotype title that this group of women have attained because of globalized news and negative media. She goes on to discuss how Muslim women are part of a new movement in this generation that is allowing them to finally fight for equality and challenge their traditional roles in a Muslim society. The site exposes the unprecedented amount of Muslim women who are stepping out of their stereotyped shadows and into the eye of the public so people globally can

perceive them in a different light. The hope is that this light will be positive, and show their connection to their culture, tradition and faith.