Ryan Wong, "Ryan Wong" (2014) (used with permission of the artist)

Ryan Wong, “Ryan Wong” (2014) (used with permission of the artist)

The reaction to Ryan Wong’s satirical take on Joe Scanlan’s Donelle Woolford project has been intense. From confusion to anger, from elation to we’re not sure what, I thought I’d sift through some of them from around the internet and put them together for your (and my) convenience — though I admit some of them are hard to categorize.

Many commenters astutely pointed out that Wong’s piece was the ultimate form of “scanlaning” (aka calling out white privilege in the art world, though definitions of what this term actually means differ — see comments below). I also want to thank Ashton Cooper of Artinfo for clarifying that the post was a “meta-parody,” particularly since many people didn’t seem to realize that.

Now, let’s take a look.

Presenting ‘Ryan Wong’

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The Confusion

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The Elation

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The Anger

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We’re not sure

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The … Wait, Is This a Joke?

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Who Is ‘Ryan Wong’?

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And the Assessments

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And Some Really Thoughtful Threads on Facebook

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Hrag Vartanian is editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hyperallergic.

13 replies on “Reactions to Ryan Wong’s Joe Scanlan ‘Bombshell’”

  2. I don’t think the definition of “Scanlaning” is “calling out white privilege in the art world.” Where has it been used in that sense?

      1. Thanks, Hrag, I hadn’t seen that. I’m not sure which version is original, but I think I saw it used in the more or less opposite sense, which, to me, makes more sense. But such is language, and such is tumblr.

    2. Lets adjust the definition a bit, shall we.. calling out white privilege in the art world while perpetuating sexism in the art world.

  3. I guess people really didn’t get that it was a joke? w/e I’m the real scanlan any way

      1. That’s the most thoughtful commentary you have to offer on such a well written article? A five word cliche? That evinces the state of critical thinking at this blog even more than puerile article in question.

  5. Yeah, nevermind the sexism in the art world that is going unaddressed by this.. an asian GUY pretending to be a white GUY pretending to be a black WOMAN.

  6. Recapping the wins
    1. Joe Scanlan got catfished
    2. White, male, supremacy in the art world was brilliantly translated first by Eunsong Kim & Maya Mackrandilal in their piece for the New Inquiry and then by Ryan Wong.
    3. The Whitney Museum of American Art was effectively infiltrated, as evidenced by the defensive anons in the comments section of the “I am Joe Scanlan” satirical piece.
    More of this please, carry on Hyperallergic.

  7. Re Carlo Grass: Loving it! One really needs laughter. Ryan,Scanlaning,Black, Gay etc. Life is confusing, just enjoy it. A storm in a thimble.

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