when i was a third year art history student, i took a course in asian art and the western construction of 'orientalism' and how we as western dominating assholes appropriated chinese, japanese, persian, etc. cultures to suit our own ideal versions of how we thought they should be and represent. consequently, we had to read the essay entitled Of Other Spaces by monsieur Michel Foucault, and his theory of heterotopias. this essay has for whatever reason impacted almost every independent study i have ever pursued since then, and it has influenced the way i see and interpret space and humanity everywhere/ every place i go. so, inevitably, my current research for my Masters project is based around this very thing.
i find it interesting to compare theories that may not at first seem like they relate, like space and interiors to how women/ men/ whatever disguise themselves, or how they are portrayed visually. with keeping the term 'orientalism' (which by the way is pretty derogatory... obviously), this is the image our professor showed us to demonstrate how western idiots believed how 'the orient' should be represented in their more 'civilized' culture:
i actually don't remember who exactly this is, but I know it is someone from the French court somewhere in the 18th or early 19th century. clearly he looks like a douchebag fool.
i googled the term "heterotopia" and i was lucky to find a link with the entire essay written. so here it is. it may or may not change your life. probably it won't.
if, by the way, you, the internet, are interested in reading further about orientalism, i suggest you read Edward Said's Orientalism.
