Shit Talk Re: Blackblack
posted by on February 8 at 12:00 PM
Yesterday I heard back from Blackblack regarding the Deerhoof show discussed in my column. Here’s their response (emphasis mine):
We have played a show before with the same costume, and actually nobody perceived it as blackface and nobody was offended. I think that several people in the Seattle crowd misunderstood the show. We weren’t doing it at all to be interpreted as black face. The intention of the costume was to be a kind of shadow. Blackface typically includes other aspects than just black paint, such as bright red exaggerated lips and certain types of clothing such as coat tails or rags. Our lips were also completely black. The effect of using black paint was to contrast it with the whites of our eyes and white dresses. In response to your other question, we didn’t play in white face the next night, we actually played in safari costumes. We have played as ghosts before, covered competely in white make-up and nobody attached any racial connotation to that either. Also, the people at the Seattle show that were offended were in the minority. Most of the people at the show did not interpret the make-up as blackface, at least this is the feeling that i got from talking to people after the show and from hearing accounts of the audiences reaction from friends who were also in the audience. Two people came up to us after the show and expressed their displeasure, but went on to apologize at the Portland show later that week. I am majoring in psychological biology, which is similar to neuroscience, and something that I have learned is that the way people interpret things has a lot more to do with themselves than with the subject they are interpreting. The brain is very intricate and very powerful. Anyway, I hope that helps in understanding the situation. -Diva Dompe’ of blackblack
there were more than 2 people that had a problem with the 'shadows/blackface' costume but I know the two diva is refering to. I am sitting here with one of them and he says in no way did he talk to them and apologize in portland.
anyway, so am I reading this right: if I have a problem with this it is because I am racist? way to turn that one around and AGAIN not take responsibilty for your actions intentional or not.
I hate to side with these people because they come off as serious chodes, but I buy their story. I know other artists have played with this. I think Marylin Manson and Rammstein did it (I'm a huge fan of neither). I believe that an artist can play with the idea of light and dark without intending a racial connotation. And I also think that we can have gutteral reactions to art that aren't necessarily the intention of the artist, and that does say a lot about our individual bias (not that this specific bias is a bad thing - I much prefer people who see racism where it might not be to people who don't see it where it definitely is).
The example of this that really stewed my tomatoes was that painting of Mary with the elephant dung on it that Saint Rudy tried to shut down BAM over. If the artist wanted to just say "Fuck Mary" he or she could have easily depicted Mary doing a donkey show or covered in some Taco Bell-induced human doody. But it seemed to me that the use of elephant dung was trying to say something else, something more. Maybe it wasn't, but I'm at least willing to give the artist the benefit of the doubt.
Boy I typed a lot for something that's not that big a deal. Oh well.
Well, Eric, it looks like you'll have to give up your "I found a racist" liberal merit badge. Good luck next try, though.
Yeah, but I get to keep my "I found bad taste" music crit merit badge. See you at the jamboree.
How 'bout booking these guys for the jamboree main stage?
The Residents- Third Reich 'n' Roll
Sure, I'll just call the Residents' booking agent, no problem.
I can't tell who's being ironic about what anymore, but in case you check in one more time, I got the new Residents record, Tweedles, a couple of weeks ago and actually was trying to figure out how to suggest that a Stranger music writer check it out. It's absolutely stunning.
I absolutely will check it out. There's many a Residents fan lurking around Stranger HQ, maybe not surprisingly they tend to work in the art/design departments rather than in music/editorial.
thanks!
for goodness sake, they painted their faces black. and then white. and maybe even blue and then red and then pink and then polka dot. Seattle needs to chill outttt.
Seriously people in Seattle need to fucking chill. I remember when people were trying to figure out whether or not Chop Suey was racist. Ohhh controversy.
who gives a flying fuck what color the face paint was? how about the fact that they were totally awful? huh? yeah!
The Resident's Tweedles album is one beautiful, sick, and twisted piece of art. Definitely recommended. Like most of their material since the late 80s, it is best ingested in it's entirety several times over in order to enjoy both the story and the sounds. Once this is accomplished, then the listener can tear the songs apart, allowing them to exist with or without acknowledgment of their original context.
Creating controverys sells more records and advertising. Both the artist and the paper benefit. Kudos.
i'm staying out of this one.
although, i do have to ask this: am i the only person that remembers a well-known seattle punk band playing a show at the breakroom (now chop suey) in blackface?
actual blackface.
i don't recall any outcry in the stranger about it, even though a good portion of the sizable crowd walked out. in fact, it wasn't long afterward that the spits became a very popular band within the pages of the stranger.
just had some corrections to make: you got my name wrong in the article, it's actually diva dompe'. and alex isn't a gap model. also the portland show was a rave, not white face, which i know was a quote, but just thought i'd add that anyway. thanks!
p.s. i don't ever remember Charlie Salas-Humaras being informed of our financial situation. I don't know where he got his information from, but it is also not very accurate.
just had some corrections to make: you got my name wrong in the article, it's actually diva dompe'. and alex isn't a gap model. also the portland show was a rave, not white face, which i know was a quote, but just thought i'd add that anyway. thanks!
p.s. i don't ever remember Charlie Salas-Humaras being informed of our financial situation. I don't know where he got his information from, but it is also not very accurate.
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