The Crit

I found the chapter rather interesting. I like the way the author portrays her experience in the class. It is a laid back world in which one explores the meanings of art, and at the same time understand the mind. It was intriguing the way the students talked about art, the behavior of their professor, the faculty itself having their own way of teaching, a different perspective as to what to say, analyze, the view of culture and what surrounds us.

Some things that I thought or found interesting as part of the reading:

- "Leslie Dick has a different perspective toward MFA program. You come in dumb and get out smart ' The work you do as an artist is really play, but it is play in the most serious sense'...' Taking something from the inside and putting it out into the world so you can be relieved of it.' " (p. 51)

- Artists relate to each other in time, either as friends or acquaintances. This results in the similarity of their art work; known contemporaries.

- The main question that came up throughout the reading is, what is an artist? Some thought it was unfair to be asked such question, but in my opinion, what does truly describe an artist? Artist are those who believe that they can express themselves through art, let it be performance, visual, music, it is an expression of our inner feelings that others may be able to understand.

- "Art comes out of failure" (p. 52)

- "Criticality is a strategy for the production of knowledge. Our view is that art should interrogate the social and cultural ideas of its time. Other places work to produce pleasure or feelings."

This quote was rather fascinating, in the way he was able to explain what a critique should be like. It expands of the ideas of things that should be talked about, how the outer world influences what we believe in, yet we live in the same time and cohort.

New Museum

The exhibition by Iannone was a little disturbing. In some ways, it was understood that women are being compared to men in society, as to who carry the pants (figuratively speaking). The expression that she uses to express sexuality is beyond what normal society would accept. Something that really caught my attention was the small relics/dolls that she created with the same intention of sexuality. The interesting part about it is that they are big enough to have around the house and appreciate her art.

With David Goldblatt, the way in which he depicted South Africa isn't as different as the country I come from, Venezuela. It frightened me to see that similar economical/political situations are ocurring around the world. Another thing that made a big impact in my understanding of his work is the dedication made to AIDS awareness. There were red ribbons all over the streets, showing support or wanting help against it.

Black Panther is a type of art which I still have difficulty wrasping its meaning. Political propaganda is seen everywhere, yet in the times of civil war, I can't understand it. It was understandable that different races were involved since some of his posters had Spanish text written. Minorities create their own alligences against a common cause. Even then, racial problems have been an on-going theme in the present world we live in. It has died out in some areas, but people cannot forget where they come from and their superiority is blinding.