Reparative Histories of Art and Architecture

Black Cartographies with Matthew Rarey

Episode 5 of "Reparative Histories of Art and Architecture" features Matthew Rarey, Associate Professor and Chair of Art History at Oberlin College. Dr. Rarey discusses his work concerning art history of the Black Atlantic and examines the intricate nature of social justice in the art history field. Throughout the episode, Dr. Rarey references his book, Insignificant Things. The book focuses on bolsas de mandinga, which are pouch-form amulets of transcultural origins in the South Atlantic. These pouches were spiritual objects meant to bring peace to the mind and body of the wearer. As a result, they provide various cultural insights regarding the values and concerns of the people who wore them depending on the historical circumstances the wearer was experiencing. By writing his book solely about these amulets, Dr. Rarey was able to highlight Black Atlantic art history while navigating archives that intended to erase Black life from this time period. * Rarey, Matthew F. Insignificant Things: Amulets and the Art of Survival in the Early Black Atlantic. Duke University Press, 2023. Key Topics: 2:37 Dr. Rarey explains how his beginnings in archaeology led to his start in art history and the question of how one reconstitutes a diaspora without an archive. He also shares how his start was influenced by his professor, Dana Rush [https://www.usias.fr/en/fellows/2014-fellows/dana-rush/]. 7:53 Dr. Rarey discusses his perspective on how social justice is both a problem and a possibility in the field of art history. Additionally, he explores practical applications with this line of thinking and uses his book to exemplify how social justice is applicable in the field. 17:35 Connecting back to his previous point of discussion, Dr. Rarey shares how he views anachronism and presentism as conditions that need to be ethically managed rather than eliminated. He demonstrates that recognizing them is what provides a pathway for modern justice and advocacy in this highly nuanced analysis. 29:06 Dr. Rarey refutes the idea that art history may need new tools to mobilize scholarly practices. Instead, he claims that current techniques can be revisited with the caveat of not trying to find a totalizing conclusion. 37:24 Dr. Rarey discusses both the problematic nature of relying on historical documents as evidence archives and the value they still hold despite that. While he explores this through Black Atlantic art history, he also clarifies that the critical analysis of archives can be applied in any context. 46:26 Dr. Rarey shares the importance of developing relationships between institutions and communities to further one's understanding of the field they're in and the work they want to be doing. 55:50 Dr. Rarey explains how he has disengaged from typical structures of research by viewing his writing as the thinking in his work instead of doing it the other way around. 1:00:15 Dr. Rarey reflects on the implications of using indigenous maps in academic studies. 1:03:50 Using the film Dahomey [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31015216] (2024) as an example, Dr. Rarey addresses disciplinary discourse in reference to the complicated circumstances for the restitution and return of cultural objects. With questions and comments, please contact us via email at reparative.haa@pitt.edu [reparative.haa@pitt.edu]. Show notes written by Allison Naydan Music by Jacob Napier

The Brazilian Atlantic with Ana Ozaki

Episode three of "Reparative Histories of Art and Architecture" features Ana Ozaki, Assistant Professor of Modern and Contemporary Architectural History at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ozaki delves into how she reached her method of Quilombo thinking through her interdisciplinary studies in architecture and urban planning. Furthermore, Dr. Ozaki also talks about how Quilolmbo thinking has situated her to consider race in architectural analysis. In her work, Dr. Ozaki employs Black Feminist Theory, which examines how racism, sexism, and classism overlap. She uses this approach to develop her primary methodology, "Quilombo thinking". Quilombos themselves were communities for runaway slaves in Brazil and acted as a form of active resistance against slavery. Dr. Ozaki uses these communities to define a way of thinking that observes Brazilian architecture outside of the colonial perspective that it has historically been viewed through. As a result, Dr. Ozaki has found that she has been able to reimagine Brazilian history and think critically about the ways that the history has been told, which often center non-Black narratives in architecture. Key Topics: 3:30 Dr. Ozaki found that going outside of a single discipline allowed her to explore the intellectual questions she had and find a place within her discipline later on. 9:24 Dr. Ozaki describes her experiences with Quilombo thinking, referencing inspirations such as Gilberto Freyre [https://globalsocialtheory.org/thinkers/freyre-gilberto/], Beatrix Nascimento [https://hyperallergic.com/beatriz-nascimento-scholar-who-rewrote-black-brazilian-history/], Ori [https://www.idfa.nl/film/2e15c969-0820-482b-9968-e36af6311266/ori/], Sojourner Truth [https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth], Harriet Tubman [https://www.history.com/articles/harriet-tubman], Jemila Hibade, and Franz Boas [https://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/franz_boas.html]. While Dr. Ozaki felt apprehensive about how to apply this methodology initially, she conveys how it has also been able to advance architectural history through her work. 28:09 Dr. Ozaki comments on the interdisciplinary process of creating the collaborative paper, "The World We Became: Map Quest 2350", and how the project shaped her teaching practices. * Goffe, Tao Leigh, Shannon Gleeson, Atif Khan, Austin Kocher, Christin Washington, Judith Salcido, Rewa Phansalkar, Ryan Persadie, Anisa Jackson, Elspeth Iralu, Erica Violet Lee, Hashem Abushama, Nisrin Elamin, Randa Tawil, Citlali Sosa-Riddell, Esmeralda Arrizón-Palomera, Kelsey Moore, Lydia Macklin Camel, Mónica Ramírez Bernal, Nancy Morales, Amanda Pinheiro, Ana Ozaki, André Nascimento, Christopher Roberts, Essah Díaz, Reighan Gillam, Juhwan Seo, Priyanka Sen, Andrea Chung, Melanie Puka, Tauren Nelson, and Heidi Amin-Hong. "The World We Became: Map Quest 2350, A Speculative Atlas Beyond Climate Crisis", Asian Diasporic Visual Cultures and the Americas 7, 1-2 (2022): 5-49 35:29 In addition to discussing the RHAA project's inquiry into social justice, Dr. Ozaki talks about how she uses architecture speculatively and expands the idea of Blackness beyond thinkers such as Tiffany Lethabo King [https://inspire.gsu.edu/profile/tiffany-king/], Saidiya Hartman [https://english.columbia.edu/content/saidiya-v-hartman], Sylvia Wynter [https://dlcl.stanford.edu/people/sylvia-wynter], and Mabel O. Wilson [https://www.arch.columbia.edu/faculty/34-mabel-o-wilson] with the Reimaging Blackness and Architecture exhibit [https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5219] as social justice in her own work. With questions and comments, please contact us via email at reparative.haa@pitt.edu [reparative.haa@pitt.edu]. Show notes written by Allison Naydan Music by Jacob Napier

Marking Time with Nicole Fleetwood

Episode four of "Reparative Histories of Art and Architecture" features Nicole Fleetwood, professor in Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU. While primarily referencing her book, Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration, Dr. Fleetwood focuses on the impacts of her work resulting from her approach towards justice. She uses her concept of carceral aesthetics to understand how art made in and about prisons is conditioned by the particular circumstances of the US punitive system. These conditions can be the source of further insight rather than cause for devaluing the artwork. Marking Time features a diverse collection of art made by prisoners while incarcerated, and she uses this art to demonstrate the impact of the conditions that led it to be created. * Fleetwood, Nicole R. Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration. Harvard University Press, 2020. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv11vcfjs. 2:39 Dr. Fleetwood discusses how her family sparked her path in a life of inquiry. 7:28 Dr. Fleetwood redirects the conversation on social justice in her work towards justice in general, and how she views justice as being love in action through a forward-facing approach. 13:38 Dr. Fleetwood talks about her views on methodology, holding the belief that methods are tools for inquiry, so while people need to make their work legible, they also shouldn't confine themselves to one approach. 18:12 Dr. Fleetwood emphasizes the global influences her book holds despite focusing solely on the US penal system. Additionally, she references her collaboration [https://www.artbook.com/9783906915852.html] with Mark Bradford [https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2838-mark-bradford/] to speak to the cross-cultural connections that her work has enabled. She also discusses an exhibit for the artist Malangatana [https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9169/malangatana-mozambique-modern]. 27:40 Dr. Fleetwood examines the balance between wanting to create a valuable space for the work of the incarcerated artist and the unavoidable limitations her project had while doing so. She also mentions Steven Fullwood's and Miranda Mims' Nomadic Archivists Project [https://www.nomadicarchivistsproject.com/about-nap] as an inspiration for the archive she hoped to create, as well as artists featured in Marking Time, Jerome Washington [https://www.instagram.com/jeromewashington_pe/], Ojore Lutalo [https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/532], and Kasmisha Thomas [https://thereturningartistsguild.org/about-kamisha/]. 35:42 Dr. Fleetwood talks about the value of using conceptual terms to describe the work she's doing. For example, prison art and carceral aesthetics recognize art's direct relationship to institutions. As a specific example of this relationship, she mentions artist Sable Elyse Smith [https://sableelysesmith.com/]. With questions and comments, please contact us via email at reparative.haa@pitt.edu [reparative.haa@pitt.edu]. Show notes written by Allison Naydan Music by Jacob Napier

Indigenous Futurisms with Nicole Furtado

Featured in the second episode of "Reparative Histories of Art and Architecture" is Dr. Nicole Kuʻuleinapuananiolikoʻawapuhimelemeleolani Furtado, assistant professor of History of Art and Visual Culture at UC Santa Cruz. Dr. Furtado draws on insights from her studies in Indigenous Futurisms, literature, and remix theory to illustrate the impact of perspectivism on art history and social justice. Additionally, she discusses how the question, "What does it mean to be human?" has influenced her thus far. Dr. Furtado's primary research focus is Indigenous futurities, which is a field in both academia and art that centers the role of Indigenous people in imagining the future. Her work is supplemented through speculative aesthetics and remix theory, which are both about considering and altering the methods by which one creates: Rather than accepting the futures prescribed by normative civilizational development, speculative aesthetics imagine different ways the future might look. Remix theory reimagines combinations of preexisting ideas to create something new. Additionally, she highly values perspectivism, a method that recognizes that nothing can be viewed with complete objectivity due to the fact that everyone holds unique viewpoints. Using these practices, Nicole Furtado's goal with her work is to center Indigenous people in the face of progressing social technologies that may prioritize colonial ideologies in art and academia. Key Topics: 3:04 Dr. Furtado shares her beginnings in studying science fiction and her journey from that to Indigenous Futurisms and perspectivism, upon which she now bases her studies. 7:48 Dr. Furtado poses the question of how social justice should be defined, if it can be, and the importance of the conversations that stem from this question. 13:21 Dr. Furtado explains how she applied an interdisciplinary approach to developing a method to discuss problems within her communities. 16:51 Referencing Solomon Enos [https://www.solomonenos.com/meet-solomon], Noah Harders [https://waikapucollective.com/about], Sylvia Wynter, [https://dlcl.stanford.edu/people/sylvia-wynter] and José Muñoz [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Esteban_Mu%C3%B1oz], Dr. Furtado returns to the inquiry of what it means to be human, specifically in relation to technology in art. Additionally, Dr. Furtado further defines futurism and how it transcends solely observing the future. 21:35 Using her short story as an example, Dr. Furtado explores how she applies speculative aesthetics and also mentions two of her mentors, Sherryl Vint [https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/sherrylv] and Nalo Hopkinson [https://dlcl.stanford.edu/people/sylvia-wynter], who helped her begin this practice. 28:36 Dr. Furtado examines remix theory [https://remixtheory.net/?page_id=3] and articulates how sometimes students feel the need to be permitted to claim agency in their work, sharing how people such as Noelani Goodyear-Ka'ōpua [https://politicalscience.manoa.hawaii.edu/noelani-goodyear-kaopua/] and Mark Amerika [https://markamerika.com/pages/who-is-mark-amerika-html.html] guided her. 35:25 Concluding the episode, Dr. Furtado returns to the concept of perspectivism and how it's essential for addressing nuance in art history as opposed to focusing on objective analysis. To exemplify this, Dr. Furtado references a discussion with her colleague, Dr. CJ Jackson [https://nas.ucdavis.edu/people/cj-jackson], about the 1872 painting by John Gast, entitled "American Progress," which illustrates the concept of Manifest Destiny [https://picturinghistory.gc.cuny.edu/john-gast-american-progress-1872/]. With questions and comments, please contact us via email at reparative.haa@pitt.edu [reparative.haa@pitt.edu]. Show notes written by Allison Naydan Music by Jacob Napier

Introducing the Series with Kirk Savage

This first episode of "Reparative Histories of Art and Architecture" features Kirk Savage, Dietrich Professor in Pitt's HAA department and one of this project's Principal Investigators. Dr. Savage specializes in Art of the United States, Public Art, and Memory Studies, with a focus on the intersections between public monuments and social justice. Through the project's guiding questions [https://arthistories.hcommons.org/about/], Dr. Savage reflects on his work inside and outside academia, emphasizing the importance of initiating conversations about the influence of public monuments. Additionally, Dr. Savage explains the RHAA project and discusses the process of open inquiry that will continue in subsequent episodes. Key Topics: 2:37 Kirk explains how social justice emerged as a priority with inspirations such as Angela Davis [https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/feminism-and-the-backlash/angela-davis/] and his mentor, Paula Fass, [https://history.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/emeriti/paula-s-fass] through his childhood and early career. 7:42 Kirk delves into explaining the role of social justice in his work through his publication Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves, interdisciplinary studies with CAA [https://www.collegeart.org/] and the American Studies Association [https://www.theasa.net/about], and projects he has been involved in (Monument Lab [https://monumentlab.com/], MOMUNMENTS exhibition [https://www.moca.org/exhibition/monuments] with artist Kara Walker, [https://www.karawalkerstudio.com/biography] and Beyond Granite: Pulling Together [https://www.beyondgranite.org/exhibition]). * Savage, Kirk. Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America, New Edition. Princeton University Press, 2018. 32:47 Kirk Savage describes RHAA 41:00 Kirk Savage shares his perspective on advancing social justice in the face of presentism and/or anarchism, using the impacts of another one of his publications, Monument Wars, as an example of his own experience. * Savage, Kirk. Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape. University of California Press, 2009. With questions and comments, please contact us via email at reparative.haa@pitt.edu [reparative.haa@pitt.edu]. Show notes written by Allison Naydan Music by Jacob Napier