Amending History

I often think of words and how casually we use them. How we open our mouths and respond like an instinct, never mind all that's really going on in our brain allowing us to produce words. Then I see Titus Kaphar’s TedTalk “Can Art Amend History?” And before even really watching the video, I thought about his choice to use the word amend. He did not choose the word erase because that is not what he wanted to propose. This word “amend” suggests a remaking and even a healing of history. Through this amending process, this artist discusses visual intelligence. As I’m watching this TedTalk he is validating art as a meaningful form of literacy, he is validating his own art as a meaningful form of literacy. This acknowledgement within his message highlights what the message is. Yes, art can amend history because artists can amend history. A way to amend history is to acknowledge others’ literacies. These literacies are how we begin to understand all that’s wrong with the Teddy Roosevelt statue. Amending history means acknowledging the way oppression still enacts itself in the presence.