There is a Brazillian rainforest re-creation complete with real live Amazon Indians for our gawking pleasure down at Manhattan’s South Street Seaport from now until sometime in July.
The press release states, “The Amazon Jungle Comes Alive in the Concrete Jungle.When diverse cultures meet…In this 13,000-square-foot re-creation of the Amazon, visitors can experience firsthand the sights, sounds and wonders of life in the Brazilian Amazon, including its biodiversity, people, villages and cities. Visitors will be able to interact directly with communities living in the heart of the forest via the Internet, and meet shamans and artisans from the region in person.”

Sounds fun, no? Not only do you get to interact with the real live Indian shamen/artisans you also get to cyber-chat with their friends and family back in their rainforest home! I mean, holy shit who knew they hand internet access in the Amazon? Well, actually the National Museum of the American Indian recently hosted a video series created by and about the indigenous people of the Amazon. So clearly, they are tech saavy, but I’m curious to see how this rainforest and it’s inhabitants are presented outside of their natural context, and in a touristy area of Lower Manhattan, no less. The idea of shamen/artisans on display for the tourist masses (because that’s about all that hang down at the Seaport) in what amounts to a 3-D interactive museum-style exhibition harkens directly to James Luna’s “Artifact Piece” recently re-enacted by Erica Lord, also at the NMAI. This warrants a what the fuck!?, fo sho! Because no matter which way you spin it it still exoticizes not only the people of the rainforest, but the environment itself, and consequently, re-enforces the notion of native people, their homes, and lifeways as anthro-archaelogical curiosities. But let’s not be too hasty nor cynical. Perhaps nuances were added to challenge my assumptions? Of course, I will go down to investigate! This Sunday, in fact, though it will cost me $16.00, but I would have spent that on less enligtening situations-like happy hour.
More to come!

In light of the ridiculous “Native” inspired cultural detritus I have found lately, and because there are too many instances in daily life to exclaim, “What the Fuck!?” I have created a new category appropriately titled: What the Fuck!?

Our first entrant in this category was the jury panel for Tribeca’s All Access program. You may recall it included Adam Beach and some lesser known non-movie involved types like Damon Dash. Anyway, let’s add this old battleaxe of a blonde, photograher Doris Kloster. Evidently her “sexy” ourvre is popular in Japan. Figures….a sampling of her “work” can be found here, Shit.

The more interesting photos on the site, specfically because they are so ill-conceived and executed, are the self-portraits which claim to reference the, “iconic presence of women in visual interpretations of current world events.” Really? How does a be-feathered Indian girl figure into current world events? Had Doris attended the Miss Indian World pageant at GON this year, and thus obtained her inspiration? Because the last time I hung out with Indian chicks, which was, like, three weeks ago, none of them were wearing feathered head-dresses or wielding corn-of the cob variety.

Perhaps Doris is being ironic? Perhaps that cob is representative of her preferred dildo size and texture? It’s probably organic, the corn, maybe even the feathers, are of the eagle variety. Nothing is more organic than Native Americans and corn. Anyway, she is known for her fetish photography and naughty “video art” so none of this is too far-fetched. It is possible to fetishize anything, right? Her suggestive proffering of the cob (in the none too subtle “Land O Lakes” manner), to you the viewer/voyeur, intimates her fantasy: it will be shoved firmly up her rather large ass where her work gurgitates then rush releases into the artworld, shit that it is. And, the feathers? Why to tickle her with, silly! I mean duh! She is the first lady of sexy fetish photography!

For more of Doris’ dumb-assisms: www.doriskloster.com

We dare you to pop a boner!

As in last year’s Spring collections, which featured “bohemian and Native” inspired fashions (see above photo), we see a re-hashing of the same this year, however less in clothing lines, and moreso in accessories such as bags, jewelery, and shoes. So it seems, every goddamn spring, an inspiration deprived “fashion” designer - from Euro-trash haute couture to a Brooklyn wannabe haute couture - re-hashes the same tired ass “Native American/Tribal” theme replete with feathers, braids, fringe, bead-work, silver, more feathers, and in none too inspirational ways.

Questions of identity, co-optation and exploitation, also cyclically, and just as redundantly as the collections themselves, arise:

Why do they perennially use the Native theme for their Spring collections?

Why do they use quasi-Native looking models who are not Native? Or maybe they are, and in which case, why do these models tolerate such onerous stereotyping?
Why do they conflate all North American Indigenous tribes with one homogenous feather-festooned aesthetic?

Why do they think they have the right to do so?

and, why does this shit cost so damned much money?

Take our friend-o’s at Brooklyn’s “LoveBrigade” a one stop shop for all things Billy-burg hispter. Their Spring collection titled “Namehato” from 2007 featured native inspired silk screened prints on earth toned fabrics. Not too disimilar from our good lady Vivienne Westwood, who in 2007 used native inspired silk screened prints on earth toned fabrics and Leonard Peltier as her Indian mascot. Of course, her models were Native inspired as well (see image above). I tried contacting the publicist for Ms. Westwood’s Anglomania line to ask her about the Leonard connection, but no avail.
Honestly, I am curious to know why this theme, “Native/Tribal”, is trotted out almost every spring in one form or another. I’m just so curious, really, from their perspective, a non-Native design perpsective, why these time-worn tropes in fashion and film are used over and over again, and in similar, if not exactly, the same way season after spring season. But, not so much in music right? I mean when’s the last time you heard some “Indian chant,” and I don’t mean “Om Shanti” type shit either, in a rock or pop song? Well actually, there was that time in 2005 when Andre from OutKast infamously conflated all kinds of contrasting and stereotypical “slightly Native” cultural accoutrements for his Grammy performance of his powwow song “Hey Ya!”.

Anyway, it behooves a questioning agent to go to the source and that is the designer.
Perhaps the kids at LoveBrigade might be more amenable to answering our (my) questions?

Doubtful, but we shall see.

Post-Note:

Love Brigade’s “Namehato” spring collection does have some cute shit I’d love to buy if it were not so fucking expensive. However, the written prologue to their lookbook is just plain stupid. I get what they are going for: ironic self-aware racism. However, I know the owners of LoveBrigade are not Native nor do they know anything about contemporary indigenous concerns, nor do they give a fuck to engage in anything having to do with indigenous concerns-cultural, political, or artistic. And, I am certain they are aware that the use of the sterotypes they employed in this prologue are racist and perpetuating. Their use of the word “squaw” is disheartening because I know they are well educated culturally saavy kids.

Shame on them for willfull insensitivity and for being 25 year old hispter fuck assholes who live, uninspiredly, in Williamsberg. For shame!

Brought to you by a “slightly” Native American looking Asian style editor at Lucky magazine. I bet she has dressed up as a “slightly sexy” Pocahontas on Halloween, and I bet she wore that bracelet too!

Frankly the only time I want to feel “slightly Native American” is when I have a long night of drinking ahead of me. Those Indians sure do know how to pace themselves! I envy them.