Meredith Butler April 23, 2013 LBST 1105 LBST 1105 Arts and Society Final Reflective Essay

I will tell you now: my understanding of art has been severely lacking. Ive never been artistically inclined unless one choses to include marching band in high school as art. Sure, I knew great art when I saw it and I could appreciate talent when I recognize it. To be able to sell pieces for hundreds of thousands of dollars must mean that artist has a true talent and gift; something I could never do. I cant even make my stick figures look right! And personally, I use to always consider art to be a piece that is showcased to the world whether thats a musical composition in a movie, a poem in a collection, or a painting behind velvet ropes. It was something that was easily distinguishable from everything else. To me, there were museums full of art and then there was just the world. However, a close friend of mine, who has a passion for art that shes always tried to teach me, told me that art isnt only in the museums or showcased in movies. But rather, she said, art is everywhere so long as it means something to a person or a group of people and touches them on some level. I agreed for the sake of agreeing but it wasnt until I finally took this class that I learned just how much art covered that I didnt realize before. Yes, some art is showcased in fancy museums but art is everywhere around us as well. On the streets, in the clothing we wear, the furniture we buy, and everything in between. After taking this class, Ive come to realize that art is the expression of emotion, both good and bad. Art is simply a way of expressing things we cant, or is too difficult to, express through words. It can be a musical piece, a painting or photograph, or a piece of literature.

Personally, art is anything that has a meaning to someone or a group of people and is a form of release. Its beautiful, passionate, and emotional. I might not like every piece of art I see but that doesnt mean it doesnt connect with someone else. In our culture, art plays an important role by enabling artists to touch a group of people and make a stand but through a beautiful or passionate medium. Art tells a story and inspires a response and its that response that can change our culture. Without artists taking their experiences or observations and making us pay attention, change wouldnt happen as rapidly as it could. Art shapes our society and helps dictate what we pay attention to, but in the same way society helps shape art by influencing our artists to take a stance and show the world what were missing, what we have, or what we need to fix. Art can also give a voice to gender, racial, sexual identity, and social class problems in todays world. For example, this semester, the Gantt Center was dedicated towards African American history and gave a voice to the struggles they faced over racial issues through history. In Exit Through the Gift Shop we were able to see a very interesting and new voice given to social class problems through street art, specifically the works by the famous Banksy. In addition, at the Mint Museum both Vik Muniz gave a voice towards social struggles and Debora Arango gave a voice of gender difference in areas around the world. Vik Muniz showed the poverty and life in trash in Brazil by recreating famous pieces of art by using junk and trash he collected from a dump. And Debora Arangos pieces of women portrayed in sexual ways gave a voice to women in a time when they were often overlooked or looked down upon due to their bodies. All these examples, from racial problems to social struggles, shows just how much art can shape society and give light to problems that need to be solved in our world today.

The Light Factory was my first significant place and response that meant a lot to me. Both galleries touched on very personal subjects to me personally and to my generation in general by speaking of our over-connection with the world through all our technology. My sole focus and point of fascination came from the exhibit Connected There but Not Always Here: Social Networking and the Power of Image. The exhibit showcased my generation and the continuously growing trend of connecting with social networks to the point where we lose ourselves alone the way, whether that be through abnormal exhibitionist behavior at parties or long nights behind a glowing computer screen. To me, I recognize the fact that social media can dominate my life and change parts of who I am in certain aspects. Ive definitely had my fair share of long nights behind a computer. I connected with the pieces personally and it definitely made me take a step back and look at how connected Ive allowed myself to become. My second significant response was from the Harvey B. Gantt Center. While the gallery depicted artifacts from African American history and struggles, and while Im not an African American nor went through any of these difficulties personally, I connected with the overarching idea of social struggles and the things that unite a group of people together. For African Americans through history these items have been slave ship doors, KKK robes, or items that belonged to significant members of the culture such as Muhammad Alis, but everyone and every culture has items that defines who they are and what theyve been through. They might not be as dramatic or important, but I felt especially tied with the idea of items defining us as we go through our lives and figure our place and purpose in society. Finally, The Mint Museum was probably one of my favorite galleries and most significant response. It was at the Mint where I saw Vik Munizs pieces as well as Danny Lanes extraordinary piece Threshold. Both, while uniquely different in style and presentation, stole

my attention and made me focus on different ways to see the world. In both pieces, there was such complexity that it made me pay attention to how things arent usually so simple to understand. Both artists portrayed the idea of looking beneath an object and seeing its true value and beauty, whether that be glass or trash. I felt really connected to the idea of recognizing things for more then theyre originally worth and using everyday things for beautiful purposes, such as trash. I never really paid attention to the complexity and multi-use of things around me but I definitely walked out of there with a new understanding for the complexity of art and the ability to use an item for all its worth. Because all three pieces meant so much to me, it wasnt too hard to create artistic responses for each place. My piece Facebook in response to the Light Factory took the inspiration of social networks, like Facebook, and showed how it can dominate and overpower everything else around it like homework and studying. As a college study, I can admit I spend too much time updating my statuses than studying. For the Gantt Center, I took that idea of objects defining a person and made it personal. While its not as dramatic, I had always been a big reader and have always loved to read in my spare times so looking back, books and reading made me who I am. My piece My Pastime and Future is my way of showing how these books have shaped me and how they will continue to define me as a person. My response The Girl Made of Dorm Room Items was my silly attempt to make a piece based on Vik Munizs idea of using everyday items to create art. It might look a bit silly, but I tried to use things no one would think about to still make something interesting to look at. I definitely believe my view has art and its importance has changed. By seeing all these piece and knowing what their inspirations were, I feel like I appreciate the artist's process more and its impact. Before, art was just pieces that sold for too much and were displayed behind

velvet ropes in fancy buildings. Now, however, I can recognize that art can be anything and everything so long as someone connects with it. Art influences the clothes I wear, the design of the chair Im sitting in, the buildings I pass every day and so much more. Not only have a gained a better understand for the artist and their purpose but my horizons have been increased. I feel like I can find art anywhere I look now, because art is everywhere. Looking back, I felt that moment where I really connected with art was with Danny Lanes piece Threshold at the Mint. The piece literally took my breath away and I spent a good fifteen minutes just sitting there and staring at it. Ive loved all the pieces I saw, but nothing quite caught and kept my attention as this piece did. I appreciate what artists do, but I can see that when it comes to representing nature through art, some things get lost in translation. However, this piece was exactly how I imagined the Aurora Borealis to look like; it even looked like it moved when you walked past it! The complexity was amazing, but I loved the fact that this was the first piece that ever made me stop everything and try to see everything there was to see. I never thought Id have that kind of reaction to a piece of art before, but Im glad Danny Lanes piece was the first to give me that experience.