“The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.” Page 8
I think starting off the chapter with the remembrance that we can only see things in our own eyes and perspective was super important. In reality it's the truth we see things and make conclusions only based on things we know or believe. So it’s important to remember this idea when thinking about how we are keeping in mind our own biases when looking and creating art.
“The art of the past no longer exists as it once did. Its authority is lost. In its place there is a language of images. What matters now is who uses that language for what purpose.” Page 33
I think the biggest thing the chapter expresses is how what was once a popular form of art, painting, has become not as unique and individual as before because of the accessibility of capturing a picture. Granted painting is still a unique expressive form of art, but it is perceived differently. Now the new language, the one of images, is more expansive and while sometimes it isn’t seen as something quite impactful or beautiful it is all just a matter of how we use imagery. Purpose plays an important role in any type of art.
Khan Academy Performance Art
“Gutai leader Yoshihara Jirō demanded that members “create what has never been created before” as a rejection of Japanese conventions of social conformity that became linked, in the postwar period, to wartime nationalism.”
I think using the idea of creating or doing something that has never been done before as a way to protest the societal norms of Japan at the same time is super impactful. Rather than conform or oppose in a direct opposite way it was about creating something completely different and expansive. This was definitely one of my favorite pieces to look at just because so simply and without any understanding of looking at the images you couldn’t tell what was happening, but then you get the background knowledge and you understand that the image can’t do the actual performance justice is super interesting.
“Shifting attention from the art object to the artist’s action further suggested that art existed in real space and real time.”
I think making art interactive, live and hands-on is what makes it super impactive. It is not just something you are seeing, it is something that you can take part in, and feels more impactive and long lasting in memory.
Widewalls Yoko Ono: A Groundbreaking Artist, Activist and Fighter
“As she explained, art represents a way of showing people how you can think, and even though some people think of it as a beautiful wallpaper that you can sell, Yoko Ono rather perceives it as a direct connection with activism.”
For a long time, her description of what people think art is, is something that I understood. It was never really about the performance, the experience, the message, or the idea of it, it was just something pretty to look at. Never something I saw in a deeper, more connected matter. Nor did I ever believe it could have such a deep impact, like how Yoko Ono has had.
“The piece was lauded as an enactment of the physical vulnerability of women in a world where they are reduced to mere objects for looking at. This groundbreaking artwork is hailed as prophetic of feminist activism and of performance art as a form.”
This is my favorite piece of all the ones talked about. She took the societal normalities of what it is to be a woman, a woman being an object, and made it literal. The idea of cutting up the physical enactment of what a woman is made me feel uncomfortable because it is something that I am familiar with, but also it shows the severity of how intense it is to see women this way.
Hispanic Executive: An Interview With Shaun Leonardo
“I offer that narrative with the recognition that, over my life and professional career, I have witnessed young people be easily derailed when they don’t see themselves in the representation of who is creating.”
The discussion of lack of representation is something I was glad to see when reading through the interview. When we are talking about artists of color, and we talk about their inspirations, the options of things that are similar to them or representation of them is limited if any. The erasure of POC art is intense. Just the fact that most POC art isn’t admired or studied makes it so that it’s already discouraging to those who want to create. It makes it seem like the doors aren’t open to them .
“What I honed in on is what the community members did with their hands when expressing those stories. Those static murals can be activated on one’s phone into these beautiful animations that slowly morph those gestures into others.”
This individual piece was super interesting to me because he had people talk about what freedom is to them. He looked at how people spoke with their hands and used that as a means of expression. As someone from a culture where a lot of our expression comes from the use of our hands, it was exciting to see that this subtle gesture we use in communication (that often goes unnoticed) is something that can be used to create a piece about freedom.
No comments:
Post a Comment