‘Dismantle whiteness’ mural installed at USC

[Maru]

'Dismantle Whiteness' Mural Installed At USC
https://www.dailywire.com/news/29321/dismantle-whiteness-mural-installed-usc-paul-bois

'Dismantle Whiteness' Mural Installed At USC
"The installation is intended to spark dialogue"

The University of Southern California (USC) has joined the fight to "dismantle whiteness" by erecting an artistic mural designed to spark a conversation on "racism, sexism and xenophobia."

According to The College Fix (https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/43805/), the "dismantle whiteness" mural was erected by the "feminist artist collective When Women Disrupt in conjunction with students in the class 'Women: Designing Media for Social Change.'"

"Recently installed at an entrance to the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism building, it depicts large sketch drawings of four women of color on walls flanking the doorway with the words 'DISMANTLE WHITENESS AND MISOGYNY ON THIS CAMPUS' posted on the ceiling above it," reports The Fix.

Communications Professor Alison Trope told The Fix that the mural, which castigates white people in a way that would be racist if applied toward blacks, is designed to spark a dialogue.

"The installation is intended to spark dialogue,” Trope said. "To that end, the signage is meant to offer grounding of terms and ideas. There is no expectation that everyone agree with the statement offered by the artists, but hopefully viewers can acknowledge the experience of peers on campus around these issues."

“In fact, the text was derived from conversations with students about race, gender and class issues on campus. There have already been many generative conversations prompted by the work—by those who align with the sentiments and those who do not,” she said.

The group responsible for the installation, When Women Disrupt, describe themselves as “an intersectional feminist artist collective.”

“Since the summer of 2017, WWD has traveled all throughout the United States installing small and large scale art which call attention to racism, sexism and xenophobia," says a flyer describing the group. "By confronting communities in the public space with art that uplifts the voices and sacredness of people whom history has often rendered invisible and less than human, WWD’s intention is to provoke greater discussion and thinking about the institutionalized and everyday systems of power and representation that reinforce racism, patriarchy, and inequality."

Displayed at the exhibit is an information flyer that explains exactly what it means by "whiteness."

“Distinct from being white, whiteness refers to an unmarked and unnamed place of advantage, privilege or domination; a lens through which white people tend to see themselves and others; an organizing principle that shapes institutions, policies, and social relations," says the flyer.

While certainly provocative on its own, an article in The Daily Trojan (http://dailytrojan.com/2018/04/02/annenberg-mural-addresses-diversity-empowerment/) says that several students were upset that the mural was not placed in a more-traveled area, accusing the administration of concealing it.

“It’s placed in a very hidden area of campus where it’s not usually seen and I think that speaks to the administration and how they want to frame and direct the conversation and the impact — the fact that it is inward-facing not outward facing — all of these factors are intentional from the administration and I think this project would have been much more powerful if the artists were given more freedom,” said one student.

Trope feels the administration should have put the installation on Watt Way, a more public area. “It’s disappointing to me because I think it could have had a great impact on our community in terms of spurring dialogue and conversation about race and gender and campus climate,” Trope said.

[Oliver_W]

How embarrassing that a place of education endorses crap like that.

[Crimson Dynamo]

https://dmlnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/dismantle-whiteness-800x350.png

[Cherie]

The idea that people find this acceptable :umm2:

[bots]

if it had been any term other than whiteness there would have been riots

[Scarlett.]

I honestly don't get what this is supposed to achieve, do they think people will see this and think "Lets have a calm rational discussion"? It's just childish divisive tactics, it actually makes it more impossible to have calm rational debates.

[Oliver_W]

The idea that people find this acceptable :umm2:

Some people think only white people are capable of racism, it probably comes from that train of "thought".

[jaxie]

This is the type of thing that causes problems, not solves them. The word whiteness smacks of racism really.

What they could have said is let's support inclusiveness and equality, but nooooo, they didn't.

[Cherie]

Some people think only white people are capable of racism, it probably comes from that train of "thought".

incredible really, two wrongs don't make a right

[bots]

i tell you what is most wrong with this sign. They are condoning racism with something that should be outlawed (misogeny) It's not a rational sign.

[Oliver_W]

i tell you what is most wrong with this sign. They are condoning racism with something that should be outlawed (misogeny) It's not a rational sign.
They don't even see it as racist though, because they believe in the "power+privilege" thing. It's just a really stupid sign. At least the administration placed it in a quieter area of campus.

[Tom4784]

Terrible choice of words that will cause people to disregard what they have to say regardless of if they have a point or not. They should have replaced 'whiteness' with 'racism' tbh.

[Northern Monkey]

Terrible choice of words that will cause people to disregard what they have to say regardless of if they have a point or not. They should have replaced 'whiteness' with 'racism' tbh.

Exactly.You can’t fight racism with more racism.

[Beso]

The jocks are a traditional part of campus life in the usa so they can forget mysogyny..

Whiteness is a good one, is that like no bad dancing, larger penises for the boys and nice big bootys for the girls.

Sounds not to bad to me.

[Jamie89]

i tell you what is most wrong with this sign. They are condoning racism with something that should be outlawed (misogeny) It's not a rational sign.

It's not really meant to be a sign though, isn't it meant to be a piece of art? If that's the case I don't really see the problem with it tbh? I think the point behind it's message is valid (i'm assuming 'whiteness' in terms of a power structure) and I think it's good for people to talk about that stuff. I suppose like Dezzy said they could have worded it differently to appease people, but in the context that I'm assuming it was meant, I don't really get why it's so offensive.

[Oliver_W]

It's not really meant to be a sign though, isn't it meant to be a piece of art? If that's the case I don't really see the problem with it tbh? I think the point behind it's message is valid (i'm assuming 'whiteness' in terms of a power structure) and I think it's good for people to talk about that stuff. I suppose like Dezzy said they could have worded it differently to appease people, but in the context that I'm assuming it was meant, I don't really get why it's so offensive.

If they have to explain what they mean by "whiteness" in a flyer, the message of the artwork fails. The continued existence of "white privilege" is disputable in itself, so just calling it racism would have been the best way forward.

[Jamie89]

If they have to explain what they mean by "whiteness" in a flyer, the message of the artwork fails. The continued existence of "white privilege" is disputable in itself, so just calling it racism would have been the best way forward.If it said 'dismantle racism' though I think most people would agree with that and there wouldn't be much of a conversation, just people agreeing at a nice sentiment. And although white privilege has the effect of causing racism, it's still a topic in its own right of which people have a lot of different views and experiences. So I don't see what's wrong with the conversation happening or those people being heard. Like they say, people don't have to agree with the statement. They just want people to think about it.

Also I don't think them explaining what they mean by whiteness means that it fails, the point of the piece isn't to test what people understand the word 'whiteness' to mean. And any art installation in a gallery for example will have a piece of writing attached explaining aspects of it (and it's probably even more necessary when it's something potentially inflammatory where people might get the wrong impression if it's not considered in context).

[Oliver_W]

If it said 'dismantle racism' though I think most people would agree with that and there wouldn't be much of a conversation, just people agreeing at a nice sentiment. And although white privilege has the effect of causing racism, it's still a topic in its own right of which people have a lot of different views and experiences. So I don't see what's wrong with the conversation happening or those people being heard. Like they say, people don't have to agree with the statement. They just want people to think about it.

Also I don't think them explaining what they mean by whiteness means that it fails, the point of the piece isn't to test what people understand the word 'whiteness' to mean. And any art installation in a gallery for example will have a piece of writing attached explaining aspects of it (and it's probably even more necessary when it's something potentially inflammatory where people might get the wrong impression if it's not considered in context).
What productive discussions are there to be had about "whiteness" ? White privilege is all-but defunct, and everyone agrees that racism is bad. The only conversations it's sparked so far are about its choice of wording.

[Jamie89]

What productive discussions are there to be had about "whiteness" ? White privilege is all-but defunct, and everyone agrees that racism is bad. The only conversations it's sparked so far are about its choice of wording.Not everyone agrees that white privilege is defunct though, so I suppose the conversations would be about that and people making the cases for and against and sharing their experiences. I really don't see the problem in that tbh.
I agree though that talking about the wording is pretty meaningless. Maybe the students on campus are having discussions about what the piece is saying, according to the article the only complaint is that it isn't more prominent.

[kirklancaster]

Terrible choice of words that will cause people to disregard what they have to say regardless of if they have a point or not. They should have replaced 'whiteness' with 'racism' tbh.

All VALID points. They may be 'Highbrows' but they certainly lack any 'Common Sense'.

[bots]

Not everyone agrees that white privilege is defunct though, so I suppose the conversations would be about that and people making the cases for and against and sharing their experiences. I really don't see the problem in that tbh.
I agree though that talking about the wording is pretty meaningless. Maybe the students on campus are having discussions about what the piece is saying, according to the article the only complaint is that it isn't more prominent.

It should have been focused on equality for all, not attacking a group with a perceived advantage. Its just the wrong message. How can anyone possible describe the sign as art, it is quite clearly a political message and to describe it as art is misleading and disingenuous

[Northern Monkey]

It should have been focused on equality for all, not attacking a group with a perceived advantage. Its just the wrong message. How can anyone possible describe the sign as art, it is quite clearly a political message and to describe it as art is misleading and disingenuous

Indeed.This ‘whiteness’ is in much the same vain as the lefts antisemitism.The idea of the jews holding all the power,Rothschilds and Jewish bankers controling everything.It’s an excuse for racism.This sign is racist and wouldn’t be permitted if it said ‘Blackness’ with a load of stereotypes listed under.
Racism shouldn’t be tolerated from anyone.You don’t get a free pass cos you’re black or ‘progessive’.

[Northern Monkey]

All VALID points. They may be 'Highbrows' but they certainly lack any 'Common Sense'.

Unfortunately where certain ideologies are involved “common sense” is an unwanted distraction.

[Brillopad]

Indeed.This ‘whiteness’ is in much the same vain as the lefts antisemitism.The idea of the jews holding all the power,Rothschilds and Jewish bankers controling everything.It’s an excuse for racism.This sign is racist and wouldn’t be permitted if it said ‘Blackness’ with a load of stereotypes listed under.
Racism shouldn’t be tolerated from anyone.You don’t get a free pass cos you’re black or ‘progessive’.

You certainly don’t. Just the usual double standards.

[Marsh.]

Good idea but silly in practice and will only cause more divisions than it hopes to fix.

[montblanc]

i understand it tbh

[Maru]

It's not really meant to be a sign though, isn't it meant to be a piece of art? If that's the case I don't really see the problem with it tbh? I think the point behind it's message is valid (i'm assuming 'whiteness' in terms of a power structure) and I think it's good for people to talk about that stuff. I suppose like Dezzy said they could have worded it differently to appease people, but in the context that I'm assuming it was meant, I don't really get why it's so offensive.

I think the largest issue with this "artwork", that I can see, is that it's reinforcing the increasing proclivity for the young to hate themselves and others on the basis of their white skin. It promotes self-hate. It's relying on the activation of tribalism, to support it's "thesis", while conveniently using contemporary art as a cheap cover to seep into the mainstream. It's teaching young college folk to self-ingrain the message that white == badThingsHappen(); because some of us made the "unfortunate" mistake of being born that particular skin color... nothing else drives this piece.

Racism should be stopped at every doorway. But for whatever reason, the university doors open to those who spread the above, but close it for others who would otherwise oppose (i.e. conservative, libertarian speakers, etc)... racism is still acceptable in our mainstream, as long as it's towards the group that it deems acceptable... that has still not changed... is what this work actually reinforces.

cRXNaUz5LGY

Also, to critique it's artistic credibility.. if you need an accompanying word document to delicately explain it's meaning and actual interpretation because it can't be understood in the original work, then this piece is a failure. There is almost no innovation to a sign. At best, it's Graphic Design... but it's artistic value is down to it's "shock value"... which actually doesn't shock anything, it stealthily reintroduces racist rhetoric onto campuses. If this piece were from a Neo-Nazi or some other non-negotiable political entity, then we would not be debating it's artistic and cultural merits. (Edit) In fact, it would fall under hate speech laws in certain jurisdictions and we would be deconstructing it's narrative and questioning it's actual underlining motives. I truly dislike when contemporary art in this way used as a propaganda tool to fluff up a concept to be more "mysterious" and "content heavy" than it actually is... it's very poorly thought through.

TLDR: Young kids can get away with these faux paux because we all assume because they're young, they're "entitled" to stupidity and it is treated as them simply "expressing themselves". There used to be a higher standard in collegiate environments. I do feel the educational and intellectual standard has been eroded to a large degree from where it used to be, partially so that this type of propaganda and intellectual "dissent" can easily filter through without any opposing proposition or narrative... who better to use as an ideological weapon than a university student. They can get away with a great deal of many things without negative consequences that us average folk across society just couldn't do without risking our job or their livelihood... and that's where the contention here lies.


Anyway, I don't mean to target your post specifically, Jamie, but you bring up an excellent question and it was a good spring board for my thoughts... what could be the problem with art stretching beyond our cultural boundaries? Great question. I think in this case, a vehicle decal or bumper sticker has more intrinsic creative value than this particular piece... whoever came up with this failed massively to promote any kind of meaningful narrative with their work. It only reinforces what both sides already believe... whether they are for or against the narrative of "white privilege"... but discourse on campus (hence the piece saying "off our campus")... is generally accepted when it is one direction only, so I'm not hopeful that it will generate a new kind of meaningful interest or dialogue.

*Edit - A point I forgot to bring into my post earlier.

[Jamie89]

Indeed.This ‘whiteness’ is in much the same vain as the lefts antisemitism.The idea of the jews holding all the power,Rothschilds and Jewish bankers controling everything.It’s an excuse for racism.This sign is racist and wouldn’t be permitted if it said ‘Blackness’ with a load of stereotypes listed under.
Racism shouldn’t be tolerated from anyone.You don’t get a free pass cos you’re black or ‘progessive’.

Well no but people don't claim that white people are oppressed by black people so I don't think it's really an equal comparison. Black isn't the opposite of white in this context :laugh:
And if addressing racism from a specific perspective (from white people as a class towards non white people) is a racist thing to do, then wouldn't addressing antisemitism be as well, since that would also exclude other forms of racism from the conversation? If someone put a mural up saying 'dismantle antisemitism' would that be as bad as this one since it doesn't include all types of racism? And the mural also refers to 'misogyny' rather than 'sexism', is that sexist of them because it excludes the sexism that might be directed from women towards men? People don't seem to have taken issue with that aspect of it.
The whole thing is about power structure/class systems, and whether you believe they exist or not is open to debate, but what I don't get personally is why the debate happening in the first place is such an terrible thing. I don't find it racist just to want to address that stuff, or even address it in a way that doesn't include all types of racism/sexism etc - looking at it from a specific perspective doesn't mean that people have to deny other perspectives exist.

I think the largest issue with this "artwork", that I can see, is that it's reinforcing the increasing proclivity for the young to hate themselves and others on the basis of their white skin. It promotes self-hate. It's relying on the activation of tribalism, to support it's "thesis", while conveniently using contemporary art as a cheap cover to seep into the mainstream. It's teaching young college folk to self-ingrain the message that white == badThingsHappen(); because some of us made the "unfortunate" mistake of being born that particular skin color... nothing else drives this piece.

Racism should be stopped at every doorway. But for whatever reason, the university doors open to those who spread the above, but close it for others who would otherwise oppose (i.e. conservative, libertarian speakers, etc)... racism is still acceptable in our mainstream, as long as it's towards the group that it deems acceptable... that has still not changed... is what this work actually reinforces.

cRXNaUz5LGY

Also, to critique it's artistic credibility.. if you need an accompanying word document to delicately explain it's meaning and actual interpretation because it can't be understood in the original work, then this piece is a failure. There is almost no innovation to a sign. At best, it's Graphic Design... but it's artistic value is down to it's "shock value"... which actually doesn't shock anything, it stealthily reintroduces racist rhetoric onto campuses. If this piece were from a Neo-Nazi or some other non-negotiable political entity, then we would not be debating it's artistic and cultural merits. (Edit) In fact, it would fall under hate speech laws in certain jurisdictions and we would be deconstructing it's narrative and questioning it's actual underlining motives. I truly dislike when contemporary art in this way used as a propaganda tool to fluff up a concept to be more "mysterious" and "content heavy" than it actually is... it's very poorly thought through.

TLDR: Young kids can get away with these faux paux because we all assume because they're young, they're "entitled" to stupidity and it is treated as them simply "expressing themselves". There used to be a higher standard in collegiate environments. I do feel the educational and intellectual standard has been eroded to a large degree from where it used to be, partially so that this type of propaganda and intellectual "dissent" can easily filter through without any opposing proposition or narrative... who better to use as an ideological weapon than a university student. They can get away with a great deal of many things without negative consequences that us average folk across society just couldn't do without risking our job or their livelihood... and that's where the contention here lies.


Anyway, I don't mean to target your post specifically, Jamie, but you bring up an excellent question and it was a good spring board for my thoughts... what could be the problem with art stretching beyond our cultural boundaries? Great question. I think in this case, a vehicle decal or bumper sticker has more intrinsic creative value than this particular piece... whoever came up with this failed massively to promote any kind of meaningful narrative with their work. It only reinforces what both sides already believe... whether they are for or against the narrative of "white privilege"... but discourse on campus (hence the piece saying "off our campus")... is generally accepted when it is one direction only, so I'm not hopeful that it will generate a new kind of meaningful interest or dialogue.

*Edit - A point I forgot to bring into my post earlier.

Great post Maru, and I think I address some of my thoughts on what you're saying in my post to NM so I won't repeat myself. But on promoting self hate, I don't see that this piece is doing that. I can definitely see why it could be perceived as being in the same general realm as something like the video you posted, but I think there's a line and this mural stays within it whereas that video is at the more extreme end of it, and is pointing towards people being racist as individuals. I don't think the mural suggests literally that all white people are racist, any more than them including the word 'misogyny' in the mural suggests that all men are sexist. If to question the idea that some forms or racism tend to be directed from white people as a class is racist against white people, then is it sexist against men to question the existence of misogyny? And the key word in all of this for me is 'questioning', just provoking discussion and thought on the topic.

Artistic merit I suppose is very subjective. Personally I like their choice of the word 'dismantle'. Something like 'End Whiteness' for example wouldn't look great :laugh: but dismantle to me is more about analysing it, looking at the structure of it and how it's been built etc, which I think fits with what they're claiming the purpose to be.

[Maru]

Great post Maru, and I think I address some of my thoughts on what you're saying in my post to NM so I won't repeat myself. But on promoting self hate, I don't see that this piece is doing that. I can definitely see why it could be perceived as being in the same general realm as something like the video you posted, but I think there's a line and this mural stays within it whereas that video is at the more extreme end of it, and is pointing towards people being racist as individuals. I don't think the mural suggests literally that all white people are racist, any more than them including the word 'misogyny' in the mural suggests that all men are sexist. If to question the idea that some forms or racism tend to be directed from white people as a class is racist against white people, then is it sexist against men to question the existence of misogyny? And the key word in all of this for me is 'questioning', just provoking discussion and thought on the topic.

Artistic merit I suppose is very subjective. Personally I like their choice of the word 'dismantle'. Something like 'End Whiteness' for example wouldn't look great :laugh: but dismantle to me is more about analysing it, looking at the structure of it and how it's been built etc, which I think fits with what they're claiming the purpose to be.

Yeah, my issue is that the artwork's core message is poorly muddled. Admittedly, I don't have the most positive view of the discourse that typically surrounds the topics of white privilege. I feel much of that discourse was always meant to be provocative, to ruffle feathers as younguns will sometimes do (aka "disruptors"). I think the progressive movement has done a terrible job of nailing home where exactly white privilege fits into the context of the average American citizen and their lives for example. Because this creative statement is so vague, it will without a doubt encourage certain political motives and ethnocentric beliefs (not necessarily racist) elements to bubble to the surface... and I have a problem with this type of laziness as a creative person in general, particularly because it is concentrating on social issues and instructing a narrative.. Moreover, I'm staunchly pro-individualist in my belief structure and so I won't defer to the group for my worldview... I have to be convinced with evidence that I can correlate with my own background (as a minority in my case)... and I think many Americans share a similar value system, which runs directly counter to mainstream culture atm.

I understand the university allowing it to be displayed. I wouldn't protest it if it were a latter group. But my "history" teacher had us fill up a glass display case full of our trash at home with cheesy marker drawings in order to "teach" environmentalism... I do think that's too banal for university. We should be enforcing a higher intellectual standard when it comes to our works/contributes in the college setting... filling up a display box with trash, going to pick weeds out in the field, running around angrily chanting pro- this /anti-this when many of the students are holding signs they themselves have not made, much less understand... that's not what the university setting used to be. Those are things that we do in elementary/middle school, create project boards with one-liners to show their class they understand virtue signaling (which is appropriate here) and how it can positively motivate people to think a little bit harder about those things. But in the university setting, all that should go by the wayside and it should be grueling in terms of pushing your ability to critical think and force young people to challenge their predispositions... but of course, should and are are two totally different things.

[Underscore]

i understand it tbh

same