This is one of the most influential pieces of art I've ever seen in relation to the "other" artist and their constant comparison to their American and European peers.

Taken in the Leila Heller Gallery, Moment of Glory, a 2010 neon light installation created by Iranian artist Leila Pazooki is proof that art can be one of the snazziest political statements. I stumbled upon this on Tumblr the other day and went crazy trying to find it again once I realized it wasn't saved in my Likes.

At the root of it, comments like these devalue the artist. A "Picasso of India" invokes the idea of just an Indian version of Picasso, or a knockoff from some "exotic" country, not a stand alone artist who's worked hard to create pieces of art that according to some favour Picasso's work. Artists of non-European and/or American countries shouldn't have to be compared in order to attain relevancy. Do you even know who the so-called "Picasso of India" is? I don't (Google: Maqbool Fida Husain). But of course everyone knows who Picasso is; he has an established identity.

References as such popularize the artists, but lack the notion that they too have their own separate identities. There's no reason that only people knowledgeable in the arts should know who you're talking about when you say "Dali of Bali". Comparison does gather buzz, but when your only relevance to art is deemed by categorizing you with an already famous "western world" artist, how are you supposed to gain your own footing?

Labels: art, commentary