Reflections on Tulu Bayar's Presentation

 Artist and photographer Tulu Bayar presented “Diversity, Ethnicity and Minority Status in China: A Focus on the Uyghurs” at St. Edward’s University through the cooperation of the SEU art department and the Kosmetsky Center. Bayar’s presentation of her findings from two trips to the Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China included photographs, video clips, and lecture. Although Bayar initially traveled to Beijing with her camera in an effort to document a facet of the economically booming country she found herself drawn to what she calls a more anthropological than artistic study.

            Bayar began with geography and statistics. She explained that China, with its five thousand year history, is currently the most populated country in the world with 1.3 billion people. She also stressed that China is the fastest growing country in terms of economics. She then narrowed the focus to the Uyghur Autonomous Region in the Northwest portion of China where she states that forty percent of the population is Han Chinese and fifty-five percent Uyghur.

            Bayar spoke briefly of the riots that took place in the Uyghur Region that spurred her to make the trip. 200 people died during the riots and China shut down access to the region for a short while. Bayar learned of the riots over the phone with her husband who was in the United States where there was very little news coverage about the situation. She observed that there was no news coverage of the riots at all in Beijing. When the area was opened again and Bayar traveled there she was denied free access to the people as she was often accompanied by a government official.

            Bayar explained that despite a drive toward assimilation of the Uyghur into the Han Chinese population the result has been increased segregation. Although the focus of the two trips she made has been the Uyghur and their situation she acknowledges the struggles of Han Chinese in the area that are resulting from the same causes. She showed video clips of the capital of the Uyghur Autonomous Region, Urumqi where there is now a majority of Han Chinese. Another clip of People’s Square in Kashgar showed a very different view of the region where eighty-five percent of the population is still Uyghur.

            Defining the problems that face the Uyghur people led Bayar to discuss the central tenants of the Uyghur culture that lie in their native dialect and their Islam religion.  Language and religion are simultaneously the great obstacles for Chinese authorities that want to assimilate minority groups into the Han population. Therefore, the government systematically discriminates against minorities by making it illegal to practice or even discuss religion for people who work for the government. Government employees are also required to speak flawless Mandarin. These practices make the best jobs inaccessible to Uyghurs and widen the gap between poor and rich. Universities only accept people who can pass rigorous testing and the testing and education is only provided in Mandarin, which again denies access to minority groups.

            Bayar briefly touched on some fascinating cultural practices, showing photographs and videos, of Uyghur dancers in their colorful costumes, traditional music sessions, and above ground tombs. In doing so she connected faces of the people in context with their extraordinary cultural heritage. These three views of Uyghur society are unique in specific practice but universal in human experience.

            Bayar concluded with her sentiments that she believes China will be forced to deal with the issues she presents to maintain their growing economic power on the world stage. Her testament of the Uyghur people through artistic media exemplifies the power of an artist to bring activist anthropological study to viewers through art especially when media fails or is censored. Her ongoing desire to document the peoples and diverse cultures of China will surely continue to benefit global understanding and interest in the human rights of the population of China.

Five Year Plan

I expect to continue my education at St. Edward’s in the Liberal Arts Master’s program with an emphasis on anthropological study. I will take every opportunity offered to combine my study with creative processes, for example, a course offered in creating documentary film. That process will take one or two years. I expect that I will work after receiving a Masters in a position where I can be creative and work with the public directly.

I am currently a member of Serenity Sorority that brings together women with common histories in a cooperative and collaborative process of art creation and craft production. Within the group I have a partner who is also actively seeking a degree. She and I plan to maintain our individual and collaborative work with an expectation that we will grow our group in terms of membership, events, and projects after we culminate our formal education.

I am a participating artist in the Sketchbook Project put on by the Brooklyn Library of Art. This will be my second year to participate and I will continue to do so. I also look forward to the opportunity to participate more fully in the local art scene.

I intend to move my studio to a space outside my home in a shared studio where I will have access to other artists that I do not have connections to through other organizations. It is important to me to maintain an art practice whether it becomes a part of my full time work or is a side to traditional employment.

Narrative Bio

Active in her father’s business Genevieve
was exposed to a creative and practical
working environment from the age of five.
Imaginative creativity honed by exceedingly
fine craftsmanship were the tenants of the
team based projects that flowed through
the family shop. She learned skills for
working metal, wood, and especially fabric.
Sail and canvas construction demanded
solution based creativity as well as
patterning and customization including text
creation and arrangement. Genevieve’s
apprenticeship relationship to her father
continued until his death in 1995.
Having moved to Austin, Texas in 1998
Genevieve once again found herself
working in a colorful and inspirational local
business. She attended Austin Community
College part time while working at a toy
store south of the Capital in the oldest part
of downtown Austin. Through her
education in conjunction with the unique
urban life of the area she began to develop
ideas about artistic value found in close up
inspection of color application and tactile
qualities of various objects. By 2002 she
was employed by The University of Texas
working with technology that she would use
later in the development of themes and
execution of her art.
In 2003 Genevieve spent a portion of the
year attending Instituto Allende in San
Miguel de Allende, Mexico. There she
studied indigenous drawing methods,
traditional Mexican rug weaving, and
language. Before and after her time in
Mexico she developed a unique style and
practice in ceramics in AMOA’s Laguna
Gloria studio space in west Austin.
Beginning in 2004 Genevieve delved into a
career managing a local non‐profit
corporation. She had the opportunity there
to create projects and design publications.
She also earned an AA in Art from Austin
Community College in May 2010. Three
months later she resigned her position of
six years to become a full time student at
St. Edward’s University in south Austin. She
will graduate with a BA in Art in May 2012

Artist Statement

    Senior Show brings together studies from the 2012 Sketchbook Project themed
“Monochromatic” with life sculpture studies in an exploration of how color is interpreted and
the effects of color on individuals.
Inspiration for this study comes from the many scientific studies and experiments on color that
I love to read. I also am fascinated with the house paint industry that has grown up around a
cultural need to paint everything a new color. I like to match paint chip colors in different
brands just to prove that they really have, unbelievably, run out of colors. But even when the
end of the color spectrum seems near, there is another factor to consider: matte, satin, or
glossy?
In this project I seek to understand and illustrate ways that color in particular environments
affect individuals. I explore how color affects people at an unconscious level as well as how our
culture has defined meaning for particular colors. I begin with the actual environments, from
homes to institutions, where we define meaning with color. I add color and consider finish and
texture that also play a vital role in how emotion and meaning are derived from environmental
colors.
Search the color palettes, look into the color rooms, and join me in an emotional exploration of
the meaning of color.

Senior Show Proposal

Color studies will be the focus of my senior show. Specifically how color effects people and how our culture defines our environments with color. The questions I seek to answer and illustrate are: How does environmental color affect individuals? and How does our society use color to define our environments?

An example is what I call institutional green. A light green color has been used for decades to cover the walls of insane asylums. The thought is that it acts on the senses to soothe and calm. That may be true, however, after a long history of connecting light green with insanity the reaction can be very different from soothing and calming yet our definition of asylums is light green, so they continue to be painted "institutional green."

I will pursue this project with images that I repeat in different colors. Some will seem right and others may feel disturbing because the color clashes with our interpretation of the image.

Relating to Artists and my Story

In our text there are stories about artists who were creative in getting their work seen. One group is the Gorilla Girls. They have remained anonymous while enjoying a great deal of fame. Another artist re-purposes cigarette vending machines to sell his art. Both of these approaches appeal to me. In the case of the Gorilla Girls they use their art primarily as a way to achieve a social goal. I believe this is one of the most powerful and appropriate uses of art. Finding creative ways to sell art appeals to me because I feel like art should be accessible to the general population.

I would like to use my art to enforce the values and practices that are important to me. This includes sharing my art openings in venues that support the same values and can benefit from the interaction with the public. For example, I am currently working on a series of sculptures that include hands and feet in yoga positions. The venue for the opening of this collection will take place at Star Bella Studios where yoga classes are an important part of the community. The combination of the show and studio will bring about discussion and bring people from the yoga community into the art circle as well as people coming to view the show into the yoga realm. Most importantly, it helps several artists with exposure while supporting a local business.