Often, those who tread off the beaten path are misunderstood or mischaracterized and so we asked folks from the community to reflect and tell us about the times they’ve been misunderstood or mischaracterized.
Liv Wheeler
Yes, absolutely. I feel I’ve been been misunderstood and mischaracterized at least a few times if not more during my 20 years as a woman walking between the worlds. In honour of the Sacred, I’ll simply speak to why I feel it has happened. We’re living in radical times on earth currently. With the advent of social media and spirituality trending, great confusion can take place in genuine ceremonial spaces. Generations of unhealed ancestral trauma may bleed into the best of healing intentions and culture being celebrated, which casts out the unwanted and essentially perpetuates witching, adding fire to an already firey energy. Indeed, I’ve learned so much from these situations! I’ve learned forgiveness. Read more>>
Julia Spieszny
Yes! I remember when I was in elementary school we were doing a project on a good cause or helping somebody, something like that so I drew a rather obese kid struggling to scoop his ice cream and a girl offering to help him. Unfortunately I received backlash from my classmates from this drawing. They were going off at me on how my drawing was offensive and mean when that’s not how I perceived it or intended it to be. I really thought it was just some innocent drawing of somebody helping somebody. I remember feeling so much shame that day that I hid it from my dad when we were doing parent-teacher conferences later that day because I didn’t want him to think negatively of it. I learned that sometimes people will perceive or interpret things differently than you do and people can interpret you to be “bad” or doing bad things when you actually have good intentions. Read more>>
Carl Gonzales
As an artist of color, I’ve often found that being misunderstood or mischaracterized isn’t the exception, it’s the expectation. I’m a 6’2” Latiné man built more like a linebacker than the stereotype of a musical theatre performer. The last thing people assume when they see me is that I can sing, tap dance, or write plays. I once had someone tell me, without irony, that “my existence was an enigma.” And that’s not uncommon. Before I even open my mouth, music directors assume I’m a baritone. I’ve had people attribute my presence in musical theatre to the influence of Lin-Manuel Miranda without ever asking about my background, training, or influences. (For the record, I’m a Sondheim guy, but yes, Lin, still cast me.) Read more>>
Mona Abboud
As an artist the answer will always be yes-my music will always be misunderstood. You can never control how a song is perceived, especially because they all land on different ears and minds. The truth is that once you release your art into the world, your audience can interpret the lyrics, production, music in any way they choose. Read more>>
Nancy Grimes
I hesitated before choosing this question for fear of sounding self-pitying and whiny, but I do feel my work has been repeatedly mischaracterized as “realism” even though it is not. An explanation for this requires a short art history lesson. Read more>>
Tom Lohrmann
If you put yourself or your work out into the world — whether through music, art, or performance — you’re bound to be misunderstood at some point. And being a touring musician for over a decade, I’ve felt that on multiple levels. It’s actually impossible to in a reasonable amount of time showcase all of the unique variables that we as touring musicians constantly deal with living on the road – there are just too many. Read more>>
Lynxx Zaphiar
As a queer, androgynous woman navigating fashion, acting, and entrepreneurship, I don’t always fit into the traditional mold people expect. Early on, people didn’t know how to categorize me, so they’d try to minimize or reshape what I brought to the table. I’ve been told I was “too much” or “not marketable enough,” simply because I didn’t look or sound like what they were used to. Read more>>
Mike Lamitola
Yes, both myself and my work has certainly been misunderstood by some. And I’m certain that’s a very human thing to do, especially in the arts. We see or hear maybe one song, or a small piece of something someone created and that become what we sum them up as. I would say as recently as just a few months ago I was having a conversation with someone that was trying to make a point about where certain music is popular and has a thriving local scene and it came up that my most recent release “The River” was better suited for somewhere like Colorado because of it’s roots in nature. Read more>>
Devin Urioste
I believe that as a Black and Latino man, my work is often characterized as being political or eluding to a specific social justice meaning or message, especially in the country we live in. Even though my work is about the empowerment, justice, experience, and resilience of my culture and community I think that when people view a piece about black and brown cultures that they think it automatically has a political meaning. I am often only asked to do shows for black history month or events that are related to the social climate of the world. Read more>>