It’s Not Neither

It’s Not Neither, 2016 - Porcelain, pit fired 8’ X 38’

In What is Whiteness1,Nell Painter remarked: “The useful part of white identity’s vagueness is that whites don’t have to shoulder the burden of race in America, which, at the least, is utterly exhausting.” Witnessing that exhaustion is deeply distressing. I reflect often on my white identity, its origins and consequences. Her essay was the impetus for my recent ceramic installation It’s Not Neither, incorporating Braille.  The title references Zen philosophy’s inquiry concerning the nature of existence, examining whether our experiences are real or an illusion concluding “its not neither.”  The philosophy holds that there is no duality at the heart of existence, that it’s neither reality nor illusion; we live in a relationship containing inseparably the complexity, contentiousness, conundrums, and wonders of experience.  In this politically expressive project, I make the point that we cannot separate conversations about race in America into strict categories of “white” or “black.” Race, like meaning in art, is culturally constructed. Racial inequality is a persistent blind spot in our otherwise forward-thinking and democratic society.

Porcelain was chosen to produce the Braille text discs; it is prized for its purity, elegance, and whiteness and is associated with hierarchies of value in our culture. Using the primitive technology of pit firing, multiple shades of greys, blacks, and off-whites formed on the discs. This firing process subverts the history attached to porcelain, and the resulting color range reflects my view that all humanity is inseparably bound together. Alchemical by its nature, clay persists in holding our interest, compelling intellectual, visceral, and provocative responses to contemporary cultural issues.

1. What is Whiteness, Nell Irvin Painter, NY Times Review, June 20, 2015

Braille text on the wall:

Joan says we need to raise each other’s kids.  Mark says the contrived stereotype must not control the narrative.  Will we listen, see ourselves in one another?