Today (March 18th) Andrea sent me the photo shown here. She's in Vienna, Austria this semester. I'm uploading the photo, with her permission. Thanks, Andrea!
It is striking! Many questions come to mind... Obvious ones like... Who painted it? Why? What building is it on? How big is it? When was it put there?
Andrea said the building has other paintings on it, too, and that many of them are also stereotypical.
How to make sense of the painting? Is this a common image that comes to the mind of an Austrian when he/she thinks "United States" or "America"?
I wonder what sorts of images of Indians I'd find in children's books by Austrian authors/illustrators?
