Make no mistake. As a white man, artist Ryan Doyle does not try to "explain" racism to anyone.
Doyle’s work is a way to explore his own experiences and the racist environment we all live in. Take his recent work using baseball caps. It features molds of the caps’ home team letters, spelling out "spookd."
He first heard the reference while growing up in Florissant in the 1990s, about a noise on the porch. Later, the memory made him question the meaning of the word, and indeed, what’s behind much of what he took in about race as a child.
In our latest Cut & Paste podcast, we talked with Doyle about his use of America’s favorite sport to grapple with our country’s most sinister side.
Here’s a bit of what you’ll hear from Doyle in the podcast:
- About how the baseball hats represent multiple cities: "It’s not just St. Louis and it’s not just Ferguson; it’s everywhere." Tweet #cutpastestl
- About working in tricky territory: "It’s very racially sensitive work, very racially charged work, so it takes a certain amount of framing and timing and nuance to talk about it." Tweet #cutpastestl
- Of a white man making work around racism: "I hope very quickly people understand that I’m talking about imagination and a critique of racism and not that I’m perpetuating anything or hijacking the conversation." Tweet #cutpastestl
Look for new Cut & Paste (#cutpastestl) podcasts every few weeks on our website. You can also view all previous podcasts, which focus on a diverse collection of visual and performing artists, and subscribe to Cut & Paste through this link.
Follow Willis and Nancy on Twitter: @WillisRArnold and @NancyFowlerSTL
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