ME SO CALGON
2024 ARTPRIZE NEW MEDIA JURY PRIZE WINNER
ME SO CALGON
I grew up as the only Asian-American kid in a small town in the 1970's and 80's. Calgon's Ancient Chinese Secret commercial was the bane of my existence. Ask any Asian-American kid who grew up at that time and they'll groan in acknowledgement. Other caricatures like Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi character in Karate Kid, and the exchange student from Sixteen Candles, Long Duck Dong, rounded out the representation of people of Asian descent.
Recently, I started looking back on these caricatures and discovered so many more from the Gold Rush to the present day. Certain themes became apparent: Asian men are emasculated evil geniuses, or masters of the martial arts. Asian women are submissive, seductive, and have dubious morals. Ironically some of the caricatures were made without malice by people who loved Asian culture. Many of these tropes were aimed at impressionable young children furthering their effects. "Me So Calgon" aggregates these artifacts from comics, pop songs, movies, and tv shows and ads into one intense experience as a critique of the way popular culture perpetuates stereotypes.
Review of "Me So Calgon" by Francesca Pessarelli
Art Prize 2024, Spark Gallery, KCAD
In his three-channel video work ‘Me So Calgon’, Stafford Smith approached the pervasiveness of anti-Asian stereotyping in popular culture with clear wit, research, and clear personal experience. Smith’s smart use of visual and audio cues — the piling of collaged images, the rhythmic repetition of phrases, and the uninterrupted loop — demonstrated a mastery of video as a medium. Smith was able to seamlessly integrate popular media, historical political phenomena, and internet meme culture into one cohesive project. I was impressed by Smith’s clear vision and his ability to communicate the absurdity of these ubiquitous cultural and historical moments without bitterness and, on a technical level, the work was functional, professional, and well presented.
on display at Kendall College of Art Spark Gallery until November 2, 2024. Curated by Michele Bosak.