17711 (_By taking and …_) 1932

John Elsas created the collage 17711 (_By taking and …_) using cut paper, glue, and ink. Born in Germany during a time of increasing colonial expansion, Elsas' work engages with themes of identity and cultural appropriation through a critical lens. The figure, assembled from patterned paper, gestures with an ambiguous, but knowing expression. The blackface depiction, a painful history of racist caricature, is complicated by the collage’s layered textures and the suggestive title. Is Elsas critiquing the exoticization of non-European cultures? Is he complicit? This collage prompts us to consider how visual representation has been used to construct and perpetuate stereotypes, reflecting the complicated and often contradictory ways in which cultural identity is negotiated and expressed. As we grapple with its visual language, we must confront the emotional weight and the legacy of colonialism.