Art is the Weapon
This podcast is not art school or intended as an esoteric discussion on styles, techniques, or what art is or is not. This podcast is about artists who create weaponized art—That is, art that advocates, motivates, educates and inspires; art that expands Black consciousness and extends Black culture.
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Episode Summary
Who the hell is sambo, and why was sambo created? Well, wouldn't you know it, it all began with art. The Peruvian artist, Cristobal Lozano, painted a work between 1771 and 1776 entitled Negro con Mulata produce Zambo. Translation: a Black man with a mulatto woman makes a zambo. Zambo is the Spanish word in Latin America for a person of South American negro, with mixed European and native descent. The term "zambo" could have very well been derived from the Congolese word nzambu, which means monkey. The Latin American Spanish derivative would pronounce the word as "sambo."
If the translation of the painting by Lozano is accurate--how and why did it become a derogatory term? And why exaggerate with big or bugged-out eyes, broad noses, and big lips? Unless pursuant to the sinister and diabolical intent of maintaining and furthering the slave industrial complex and physical and psychological oppression of the same, it was necessary to find as many ways as possible to demean and degrade the image and existence of Black people.
The sambo image, which began as art, was the genesis and symbology or iconography of "blackface."
If the translation of the painting by Lozano is accurate--how and why did it become a derogatory term? And why exaggerate with big or bugged-out eyes, broad noses, and big lips? Unless pursuant to the sinister and diabolical intent of maintaining and furthering the slave industrial complex and physical and psychological oppression of the same, it was necessary to find as many ways as possible to demean and degrade the image and existence of Black people.
The sambo image, which began as art, was the genesis and symbology or iconography of "blackface."
New Episode Coming Soon
Thy Hath Turneth My Weapon Against Me - Part 2
In Part 2, I explain how contemporary weaponized art and images continue to be used and curated to denigrate, belittle and oppress Black people in the US and the world. From the media, including film, television, and print, to fashion and beyond—Weaponized art has been used against us to change how we view ourselves and how others view us.