Reappropriating the Appropriated

Nightmare - 2001

    Mark Steven Greenfield (http://www.markstevengreenfield.com/) is a visual artist whose work is highly influenced by his experiences as a black man in America. In a recent lecture at CSU Fullerton (found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVlz9NGNXco), he provided some insights on his life and how his experiences with American culture have influenced the conversations he is provoking through his art. As a black man he is familiar with the unique hardships faced by African Americans, and growing up in LA during the height of the civil rights movement made him deeply politicized. He saw how the image of black people had been historically appropriated and twisted by American media into an ignorant and shameful stereotype. 

    His work is steeped in modern black culture while confronting head on the ways in which black people were historically belittled by US popular culture. One of his series appropriated vintage photographs of white people dressed in black face and overlaid text from modern hip hop lyrics in the style of an eye examination chart. He explained that “at the time that black face minstrelsy was popular, it was considered the most pervasive musical artform in the world, and to some degree hip hop now has that same stature.” Another series, titled Animalicious, reappropriated cartoon characters that were racist caricatures, such as the crows from Dumbo or Mr. Popo from Dragon Ball Z. The artist placed these characters in front of intricate abstract designs done in black ink, which Greenfield described as visual representations of meditative mantras. Greenfield believes that these racist depictions should not be erased from American history, but instead should be recognized and studied. By reappropriating these images and displaying them through a black artist’s perspective, Greenfield hopes to spark conversations around these embarrassing moments in history. Greenfield, being a deep believer in karma, told us, “unless you acknowledge that dark part of history, believe me it will manifest itself in ways you have no control over.”