Bald, Said and Exoticization.
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Said states that “the Orient has helped […] define Europe as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience” (p. 1-2), and this statement is incredibly important.When discussing the dominance of European culture, people tend to lean towards the idea of Eurocentrism, in which Europe is the main point of focus. Within this same concept of centralism, we also have the othering of outside cultures, especially that of the East. In the case of Orientalism, these Orientalists distinguish other cultures through exoticism. Exoticism is the reinforcement of stereotypes but contextualizing them as being fascinating and attractive, rather than negative.The best example of this is the depiction of the East or the “Orient” in European works of art from the 15th through 17th century. An example of this could be found in Rembrandt's work from 1632 called Man in a Turban. In this painting, we see a Dutch man dressed in Middle Eastern, possible Ottoman, attire (I say Ottoman since the Dutch seemed to have a soft spot for Ottomans due to the similarities in Calvinism and Islam). The West (or the Dutch in this case) have exoticized the East by, first, turning the turban into an aesthetic costume rather than a cultural garb. Furthermore, they turned the turban it into a collectible to be flaunted, rather than a part of a population’s culture (the commission of art was either an artist's means of practice or the commissioner's way of flaunting himself/herself). It is hard to say if an object can be objectified, but in this case, and in my opinion, Orientalism and exoticisation have turned cultural objects into playthings. This could also be considered cultural appropriation. This element also reminded me of Bald’s work, in which he describes how Americans determine the value and authenticity of a product by the culture they associate it with (p. 51). By approaching buyers with a stereotypical demeanour that echoes the values of Orientalism, the sellers are capable of also exoticizing their products, turning them into unique and lucrative goods that differ greatly from European culture.
