Cultural Appropriation Of Dana Schutz

Despite some beliefs, Dana Schutz’s painting is not an instance of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is defined as somebody adopting aspects of a culture that is not their own and Dana is not adopting, mocking or taking away from another culture. Instead, she is using her privilege in a positive way. As a white-women, Dana has the ability to display her painting in a museum, bringing light to this tragedy that occurred. If Dana did not use her privilege to display this painting, then who would’ve had the courage to tell this story to audiences? Her painting was not created to make fun of the condition of Emmett’s face when he was found, but rather to educate the audience on how awful this event was for the black community. This
painting is a portrayal of a historical event and should be used to inform others of this event in hopes that history is not repeated. Dana is not trying to sweep the history of Emmett Till underneath the rug pretending like this never happened. If the painting were to be taken out of the museum because of individuals claiming this is cultural appropriation, then viewers would not talk about Emmitt Till, which would not benefit the marginalized community. It’s also important to recognize that if only black people were allowed to talk about black culture and this tragic event, then the fact that this conversation is limited to the black community is continuing to promote ignorance among all races. Additionally, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Viewing certain pieces of art might not always be a positive and happy experience depending on what is being portrayed, however this spark of emotion allows you to think deeper about things.