Appropriation & Appreciation

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​I recently had the opportunity to view Edmund de Waal's "the eight directions of the wind" at The Huntington. After viewing, I also listened to his artist talk. After both experiences I was left wondering about the function of appropriation, in the guise of appreciation, that artists frequently employ. de Waal borrows from many cultures, and even employs makers from those cultures to bring the work to life (with minimal to no notation in the currently available supplemental materials). Upon reflection, this work functions as a colonial grab. What is fascinating is that de Waal acknowledges in the wall script that "stories matter. the stories of those who made these things matter most." While it is a lovely sentiment to affirm that stories matter, and that makers matter, privileging one person over another is problematic. And doubly so, when you are presenting yourself as the maker and saying "I matter most." Overall this installation is aesthetically beautiful as to be compelling, and so throughly ego constructed as to be destructive. Viewers beware! How do you navigate the nuance of appreciation and appropriation?