Separate but related to using Culture as Decoration, Cultural Appropriation refers to using elements of culture in a stereotypical and exploitative/disrespectful way.
Wendy’s jacket in No.37 showing sleepy Mexican appliqués and teepees— cultural appropriation.
Halloran’s sombrero as decoration in his condo— culture as decoration.
The Native American children straddle the line based on their facial expressions; they’re westernized and representations interpreted here as idealized images for a Western gaze. Their appearance alone does not establish their makers’ identities or how Indigenous viewers would understand them.
In this image · No.5
American History & American Culture
Ullman is dressed in red, white, and blue.
The American flag.
The official pen and star-lined paper.
Cultural appropriation as decoration: the copious amounts of American imagery and the Native American pattern curtains.