Participation Type
Art
Session Title
Session 3.15 Performance
Presentation #1 Title
The Rape of Appalachia, The War on Poverty and the Sterilization of the Dullards
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This presentation will trace the history of photographic representation in Appalachia. Emphasis will be placed on the problematic period just after Harry Caudill published Night Comes to Cumberlands. Caudill invited the media to come to Eastern Kentucky to see poverty first-hand during a series of poverty tours that he hosted. It was during this time that Appalachia became the poster child for the War on Poverty. I will look at this period of problematic representation using photo essays from Life magazine, Newsday and the New York Times, as well as CBS’s Christmas in Appalachia and other important news pieces that had a hand in shaping a specific view of Appalachian life. These representations will be connected with my own work that takes up Caudill’s controversial call for sterilization of “dullards.” In this performance, I question the value of the word “dullard” and it’s relationship to theories of poverty. I will incorporate my own photographs and fieldwork that comments on the visual stereotypes that Caudill contributed to. This visual performance will avoid the common reaction of creating positive propaganda to offset a history of stereotyping and instead examines the root causes of stereotypes and the ways we are all implicated in their creation.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Stacy Kranitz’s work explores history, representation, biography, personal narrative, and otherness within the documentary tradition. She uses the photograph to consider important social issues while commenting on this tradition and challenging its boundaries. During the past three years, she has done 12 months of fieldwork in Central Appalachia examining representation and stereotypes in the region. She received a BA in photography and film from New York University and is currently finishing her MFA at the University of California, Irvine.
The Rape of Appalachia, The War on Poverty and the Sterilization of the Dullards
Smith Hall 154
This presentation will trace the history of photographic representation in Appalachia. Emphasis will be placed on the problematic period just after Harry Caudill published Night Comes to Cumberlands. Caudill invited the media to come to Eastern Kentucky to see poverty first-hand during a series of poverty tours that he hosted. It was during this time that Appalachia became the poster child for the War on Poverty. I will look at this period of problematic representation using photo essays from Life magazine, Newsday and the New York Times, as well as CBS’s Christmas in Appalachia and other important news pieces that had a hand in shaping a specific view of Appalachian life. These representations will be connected with my own work that takes up Caudill’s controversial call for sterilization of “dullards.” In this performance, I question the value of the word “dullard” and it’s relationship to theories of poverty. I will incorporate my own photographs and fieldwork that comments on the visual stereotypes that Caudill contributed to. This visual performance will avoid the common reaction of creating positive propaganda to offset a history of stereotyping and instead examines the root causes of stereotypes and the ways we are all implicated in their creation.
