In the face of critiques, Jeanine Cummins is pushing back in public. Her publisher released a statement encouraging discussion around the title, while some authors and booksellers have come to Cummins’ defense. In a culture that is used to debating black and Asian representation and stereotypes, the entrenchment around “American Dirt” is fueling even more complaints over the ease with which popular culture still employs Latino-related stereotypes in contemporary movies, television and fiction. – Los Angeles Times
Australia Must Change Its Laws To Protect Aboriginal Artists From Artistic Carpetbagging
The Indigenous Art Code, established in 2008, is a voluntary code “designed to protect artists by getting dealers to commit to treating them fairly and honestly. Sanctions can be imposed on dealer members who have acted unethically. But the code has no power to regulate private dealers who are not members. [The Minister for Indigenous Australians] said it was not working.” – The Guardian (UK)
Should Architects Work For Tyrants?
The answer seems obvious, and it seems like it must be no. And yet, says a (supposedly) liberal and progressive architect who recently agreed to work with the homophobic and environmentally horrifying Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, “If there’s a responsibility that comes from the creative platform we’ve created, it is to use that platform to change the world for the better.” – The Guardian (UK)