The American Visionary ArtMuseum, a self-described havenfor "intuitive self-taught artists,"has recently opened a major exhibitionentitled "An Artistic Explorationof How Race, Class andGender Do Not Define One'sCharacter." The show attempts tovalidate its title through art intendedto reject society's stereotypesand prejudices.
While interesting and enjoyable,the exhibit ultimately falls short ofits goal of demonstrating the arbitrary natureand unfairness of society's fixation on definingan individual by race, class or gender. Cocuratedby Lily Yeh and Rebecca Hoffberger,"Race, Class and Gender" features a mix of localand national artists including Morgan Monceaux, Nancy Burson and Mr.Imagination.
Nancy Burson's Race Machine isa highlight of the show. Using computertechnology similar to the agemanipulationdevices that police useto identify suspects' appearancesover time, Race Machine allows participantsto see themselves in multipleethnicities.
This interactive installationsuccessfully incorporates theexhibit's questioning of the inherentlimitations and arbitrarinessof characterizing a person basedon race.
Another piece worthy of the exhibitionis Mr. Imagination's Throne. Made of scraps of metal and fabric aswell as an assortment of random itemslike bottle caps, the museum invitesvisitors to sit upon the throne. Thenotion of universal equality is effectivelyconveyed through its materials- ordinary "junk" - and its openinvitation to be sat upon.
Henry Sugimoto's and EddiKurushima's works also are relevantto the exhibition's message.Both artists are concerned with thehardships Asian Americans havefaced.
Particularly poignant are a seriesof paintings by Sugimoto thatillustrate the debasement and suffering thatJapanese Americans endured in the U.S. duringWorld War II, specifically in the internmentcamps.
While some of the artists and their worksdisplayed in "Race, Class and Gender" communicate the detriment of society's arbitrary labeling anddefining, this theme is lost to manyof the artworks displayed.
For much of the exhibit, thenarrative seems to be more of acelebration of diversity andmulticulturalism rather than theinsignificance of race, class or genderwhen discussing character.While relevant to the show's thesis,the connection between theconcepts of diversity and individualityis not sufficiently conveyed.Nevertheless, the AVAM remainsa place to see truly visionary art,and this exhibition is both excitingand unique, despite occasionaloverlaps in thematic continuity.
