COP 3 Proposal OUIL501 - Neneh Patel
In the era of globalisation, to what extent do contemporary illustration practices represent core British values?
Core British values: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith
The work that I have completed for COP 2 looks at design language and its power in relation to brands and advertising. I am talking a different route for COP3 as I want to see how campaigns and social movements are able to address ‘British values’. My proposal is intended to address the teaching of British values as a method to prevent radicalisation in Britain. Moreover, I want to explore what British values are and question how they can be taught. One of the values taught in schools is to teach children right from wrong, but I wonder how this can be learned across a series of lessons rather than as lived experience. Based on this as a stating point, I want to incorporate the work of theorists such as Stuart Hall, who was an important figure in critical race theory and helped to found Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. I want to challenge the perception of ethnic minorities in the media by exploring alternate representations of minorities and looking at the channels available for expression, such as gal-den which is an online platform for women of colour. I think that this topic is relevant to me as I feel that I uphold British values and consider myself British, but I can see how in mainstream media there is a narrow portrayal of minorities which falls into specific categories. By exploring this through cultural theory, I hope to gain a better understanding of how to globalisation has affected the portrayal of minorities and ways to challenge this.
Case Studies
Orientalism Social Realism Showing the experiences of the working class poor
A critical approach to representations of Eastern cultures encompassing the Middle East, North Africa, South West Asia, and South East Asia
Synecdoche, 1991
Smeda Rmeda
by Byron Kim "This Is a Portrait If I Say So: Identity in American Art, 1912 to Today" at Bowdoin College Museum of Art. Based on the skin colours of all the subjects.
by Noa Snir A retelling of Cinderella with a more vengeful main character, Snir made an effort to consider race whilst drawing influences from Moroccan culture.
Immigrant art by Jacob Lawrence Known for his Migration series, he depicted African-American life
Websites
Official information for teaching British values in schools - http://www.doingsmsc.org.uk/ british-values/
Education and Extremism: “Fundamental British Values� in the Classroom - http://www.eir.info/2016/04/25/education-and-extremism-fundamental-british-values-in-the-classroom/
Organising political art movements - http://culturalorganizing.org/tag/art-and-socialmovements/
Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies - http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ schools/historycultures/departments/history/research/projects/cccs/about.aspx
Full transcript of extremism bill by David Cameron - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ uk/politics/david-cameron-extremism-speech-read-the-transcript-in-full-10401948.html
Quotes ‘Not only, in Said's "'Orientalist"' sense, were we constructed as different and other within the categories of knowledge of the West by those regimes. They had the power to make us see and experience ourselves as “‘Other"'.' (Stuart Hall) ‘Continued investment made Orientalism, as a system of knowledge about the Orient, an accepted grid for filtering through the Orient into Western consciousness’ (Edward Said) ‘Language becomes the medium through which conceptions of "'truth"', "'order"', and "'reality"' become established. Such power is rejected in the emergence of an effective post-colonial voice.’ (Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin) The effect of mimicry on authority of colonial discourse is profound and disturbing. For in "'normalizing"' the colonial state or subject, the dream of post-Enlightenment civility alienates its own language of liberty and produces another knowledge of its norms (Homi Bhabha) The nation gathers together the various indispensable elements necessary for the creation of a culture, those elements which alone can give it credibility, validity, life and creative power. In the same way it is its national character that will make such a culture open to other cultures and will enable it to influence and permeate other cultures. (Frantz Fanon)
Images
Amna Asghar
Cornelia Parker Official 2017 Election artist
Karl Joel Larsson
Picasso - Guernica Daiana Ruiz
Practical proposals I have a few ideas about possible practical ways of interpreting this question, but the main focus is on the theory and I want that to come first in order to inform my work.
Exploration of political cartoons - making my own in response to theorists. Explore this as part of the democracy. Cartoons as social commentary. Courtroom illustrations - transparency in the justice system/rule of law Political art movements and posters/banners for movements - how does this affect perceptions of the movement during and afterwards - iconic imagery that has lasted? Educational art - artwork that accompanies lessons. How this changes the presentation of materials, such as the values being taught in schools Campaign for British values - Editorial type illustrations used to promote the campaign and used for promotional material
Theory/articles
Orientalism Oreintalism Reconsidered by Edward SaĂŻd Orientalism: History, Theory and the Arts by John MacKenzie Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices by Stuart Hall The Culture Industry Reconsidered by Theodore Ardorno Race-ing Art History: Critical Readings in Race and Art History by Kimberely N. Pinder