DATE
2014
MEDIUM
Vector
The title ‘Caught Looking’ is derived from a baseball term used to describe a batter who does not attempt to swing at an oncoming baseball thrown into the strike zone, resulting in a third strike.
Reasons for this lack of action include:
1. The batter does not think that the pitched baseball will result in a strike, but rather a foul ball.
2. The batter is (purposefully) misled into thinking that the pitched baseball would not reach the strike zone.
This type of play is primarily put into effect by a skilled pitcher who is attempting to catch a batter looking on called third strikes.
With this term in mind, I used a baseball pitch as a metaphor for an insult (intentional or unintentional), and being “caught looking” as a metaphor for not bothering to speak out against Chief Wahoo – official mascot of the Cleveland Indians baseball team, and a blatant caricaturization of First Nations people.