Casual Degradation Artist Statement:

 

Microaggression 

Noun • [mahy-kroh-uh-gresh-uh n]

a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group

Merriam Webster

 

Microaggressions tend to arise as questions and comments when people first meet. They often come up in small talk, as curious remarks made with the intention to learn more about a stranger. For this body of work, I asked the subjects of my portraits to write common microaggressions they receive onto the prints. I wanted to capture portraits representative of each person’s personality, images that reflect how each subject looks in everyday life. While the microaggressions written on the photo might contrast the image, these are real things people have said when first seeing the face.  

 

Everyone, regardless of their race or ethnic background, has a degree of racial bias. I’d like to note that race and ethnicity are different things; your race refers to your physical appearance while your ethnicity refers to your cultural background. Racism is a spectrum. The kind of blatant discrimination that is regularly associated with racism is not nearly as common as the casual degradation I experience and witness on a daily basis. As an Asian-American, I am constantly asked racially-biased questions. Many people consider these questions to be rooted in curiosity, however, I know these questions to be rooted in prejudice. We live in a society in which stereotypes act as a foundation for our knowledge regarding many ethnicities. We all too often make assumptions about people based on their physical appearance. The world is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people who should be judged by actions, not appearance. 

 

Throughout history, certain remarks have been considered politically incorrect or racial slurs, and the weight of these terms shift over time. I am often told my English is surprisingly good. People say this as a compliment, however, no one thinks about why they are telling me this. By commenting on my fluency in the English language, the individual is assuming that the quality of my spoken English would be bad because of my race. The microaggressions that a person receives are not comments that people should allow to slide off their backs. Personally, the microaggressions that I experience have shaped the way I communicate. Language has an enormous impact, and we all need to be more aware of it. People might be asking questions out of curiosity, but they must think about where their question is truly coming from and how it may be perceived. 

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Emma Rehac

Spring 2017