Wangechi Mutu

Wangechi Mutu on the weight of beauty, from a recent interview in Border Crossings magazine:

"...But we would have discussions about art (at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art) and one of the worst words you could say in class was 'beautiful.' What in heaven's name is wrong with the word and why do people get a rash whenever they hear 'beauty' or 'beautiful'? I went from questioning to resenting why no one was willing to discuss why we wouldn't utter the word. I believe the reason is because beauty was actually available to them, their culture decides for the whole world what is beautiful, how beauty should evolve, where it begins and ends. So they were rebelling against the very thing that protected them. They didn't want to use the term beauty because they owned it."

"Females carry the marks, language and nuances of their culture more than the male. Anything that is desired or despised is always placed on the female body.”

For more, see here.