Noun. What does it mean to respect one another? It should be a simple concept, yet the modern world is unfortunately filled with intolerance on the basis of race, religion, class, and other innumerable man-made divisions that we are often conditioned by. So what does respect look like in art and creation? Where do we draw the line between appreciation and appropriation? Can artists truly respect a culture foreign to their own, when they borrow inspiration from their traditions? If so, how can we further encourage healthy appreciation and inspiration rather than appreciation of native designs?

Examples

Cultural symbolism and importance in Navajo arts, “Sanchez points to sand paintings, an ephemeral type of art, to emphasize how much Navajo art is imbued with symbolic meaning. At ceremonies, intricate sand paintings are created that Sanchez says might take days to complete. And once the ceremony is over the Navajo wipe the sand paintings away.”

Pangburn