LBST Art Final Reflective Essay
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Transcript of LBST Art Final Reflective Essay
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7/30/2019 LBST Art Final Reflective Essay
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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.
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Personally, art is anything that has a meaning to someone or a group of people and is a form of
release. Itsbeautiful, 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 artby 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.
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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
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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
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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.