Andrew's Theory and Methods Blog

( Although the article was written in the 1980s, tokenism is still a huge problem. How can white-dominated institutions and groups, exhibitions, conversations include and amplify the voices of others without falling into tokenism? What are some pitfalls and solutions? Is this even possible? Is it what we should be attempting to do? Is this the question we should be asking or is there a better question?)      The most insidious thing about tokenism is how easy it is to fall into. When an author or film writer has a single character of nebulous race and ethnicity, it's easy to stack a bunch of stereotypes and call it a character. Mostly these problematic origins are restricted to background characters in books and media. Here are four characters that are often considered token minorities. Cho Chang, Played by Katie Leung, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,  J. K. Rowling, 2005.      First up, we have Cho Chang from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series....

(Is there a way to make a definition of universal beauty that isn't ethnocentric, elitist, racist, sexist etc? How so?)      I don't believe so.      As a whole, the "Idea of Beauty" is different between cultures. It also is based in the idea of "haves" and "have-nots." Finally, it's not concrete-- it's definition and features it values are ever changing. Furyu Goyo no Matsu(Maid Passing a Letter), Kitagawa Utamaro, Woodblock Print, 1797-1798 CE, Image by Museum of Fine Arts via Ukiyo-e Search The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli, Tempera on Canvas, 1484-1486 CE, Image by Google Art Project, Altered (Value Corrected) by Wikimedia Mrs. Jessica Rabbit, Tim Rogerson, Painting. 2000's CE, Image by Heritage Auctions     Utamaro's Furyu Goyo no Matsu shows an image of a maid passing a letter to her lady. The letter is probably a love letter from one of the lady's suitors. The lady's facial structure and color were considered beau...

    It is impossible to separate a person from their experiences. There is a reason why Buddhist hymns in Japanese shouldn't be translated by white Christians. Their experiences color the wording used into something that can't have the same meaning. It's a very western and exclusion based way of thinking.      As a kid, I remember singing those hymns in the children's services and not really giving a second thought about the strange wording. "Glory to Lord Buddha, Glory to his name." This is the exact wording of the hymn, 'In Lumbini's Garden,' used by Jodo-Shinshu Buddhists across the nation. In high school, I found the wording of this song to be really uncomfortable because I wasn't Christian, yet I was being forced to conform to their words, their idea of reverence. "Glory to" or "Praise to" are Abrahamic religion based wordings.  Image from 'Home of the Brave', Allen Say, Print, 2002 CE.     Much like translation...

​ Hi, I’m Andrew. My major is fine art with an emphasis in ceramics. The photo above is an example of my work. It's a lidded jar with three orchid flowers on it. This piece is by Hina Aoyama. I’m pretty sure it’s titled Japanese Girl. The photo is mine and, unfortunately, I missed the title on the placard next to it. It's a paper cutting of a highly stylized geisha. According to the artist's biography, the fine, precise, detailed lines of paper were cut using a sharp pair of scissors. I find it beautiful because of the shadow it cast behind it.