Ethnofuturism and cultural appropriation.
Before discussing the issue of cultural appropriation, allow me to present you my current philosophy in that matter.
What do I mean and understand by ethnofuturism?
Although the concept of ethnology seems in some way contradictory to the concept of futurism; it is precisely this apparent contradiction of space-time that interests me.
The question is :
Can we envision a future anchored in rites, customs, habits or even social structures which have their origins in particular social groups limited in number ?
I think that our hyper industrialized societies are the result of a concept that has been worn out and conveyed by the white Christian and capitalist man.
Why ?:
Because colonization has only been in the past a solution to two problems:
The creation of new markets as well as the appropriation of new raw materials.
By carrying out this colonization our European societies have quite simply destroyed, eradicated or simply reduced ancient and local cultures by keeping only a folklore subject to a tourist market. The impoverishment of its cultures, even if it is not irremediable, has been going on for several centuries. So the question I propose to ask is:
what can we learn from ancient cultures rooted locally and what is the path they can show us for a more harmonious future?
Not being an ethnologist myself, I will not enter into overly specific discourse on the social structures of different ethnic groups. It nevertheless appeared to me through my reading that certain ethnic groups or mini societies have systems of distribution of wealth far removed from our capitalism.
is this a path to follow?
I'm sure of it, but I myself lack the knowledge necessary to seriously delve into the subject.
So what's my subject? what angle do I want to use to get the most interesting view possible about ethnofuturism?
Well, it's quite simply the creation of image or even artistic collaborations based on my personal culture; mixture of ethnological research as well as science fiction.
Science-fiction is interesting and captivating because it gives free rein to our imagination and very often it has demonstrated its ability to foresee our future(that we call present now).
Cultural appropriation
We are in the year 2021, the Interweb is present in our daily life and the word culture itself has become more and more complicated to glimpse and understand. We are talking about cancel culture, sub culture, counter culture, alternative culture etc ........
At this time in our history when places of culture are not accessible to the population, the Interweb has largely replaced these temples of knowledge and art. I use the word temple not by chance but to accentuate the religious phenomenon (which bonds men) linked to these often secular places.
After researching the exact definition of cultural appropriation I realized that the applications of such a term are very vague and often depend on the context. This appropriation will not be understood in the same way in the world of fashion as in the world of entertainment or the private sector or artistic creation.
For me it is of course the artistic field and the creation of images. The question I often have in mind is :
Not being Navajo Indian or Burmese Naga, not being Australian aborigine or Japanese ; do I have the legitimacy and the right nevertheless to use the iconography specific to these ethnicities and social groups?
If I had to answer as a tattoo artist I would say yes of course without hesitation since the service that I offer in this case to my clients is consciously watered downfrom any religious or spiritual context.
I am well aware of my belonging to European culture and although I am able to do a Maori or Japanese tattoo I am well aware that in both cases I only offer a very superficial service ,ideologically , in comparison to the real one. Experience that my client could find if they bother to travel or meet the culture locally.
But what about the creativity if it is purely artistic?
By that I mean creating images that I would call mine.
I had the lucky opportunity to meet Jungian culture through personal and psychoanalytic research. What I have learned and retained is the concept of the collective unconscious. In the context of ethnofuturism, the strong point on which I rely is more the collective than the unconscious. I believe and have good reasons to believe ; that at the source of all culture is a kind of common pot from which people have drawn.
This theory is justified simply if we observe a number of symbols that can be found systematically in cultures that are geographically and time wise distant .
Since I'm not trying to take ownership of a particular culture and profit from it.
That I use references that I find in books edited by specialists.
I think I have responded to this legitimacy in an honest way in my work and my research.
Of course I am open to any criticism as well as any controversy.
Thanks for reading me.
have a good day.
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