Rosabi Pena Garcia
Acts of Resistance
Chapter 5 & 6 Quotes
10/24/18
Chapter 5:
"With every gesture of help, with every documentary shot, the recovery nevertheless languished. The people of New Orleans understood spectacle in a very concrete way. They had seen the entire arsenal of cultural production from television specials, documentaries, photographs in newspapers, and radio shows all pile up in order to sell their trauma on the visual market. It wasn’t an abstraction. The theory of spectacle had become a disheartening, tangible reality." pg. 110
Media holds a powerful image for those who aren't present in the moment. It allows people to see the trauma occurring in a different place. But it doesn't necessarily share the whole truth. This image could be altered and distorted to the viewers. The people of New Orleans felt like their trauma was a spectacle for others to watch. The help that was once there, no longer was there. Media made it seem that New Orleans was getting all the relief that they needed. And became forgotten after media.
"Illegality as an aesthetic is just the most obvious in a whole range of interventionist and cultural acts that are keenly aware of their position in relationship to existing mechanisms of power. As opposed to institutional critique, which only makes evident the conditions of power, works of illegality and interventionism can actually enter into the juridical condition itself." pg. 123
Art work displayed in museums that are meant to send a message aren't necessarily doing that. The space in which that art is displayed means a lot. The museum walls don't stand for what that artist believes or is trying to display. But there is power resides behind the walls of a museum. This still means it resides in the personal power of artists, activists, and every gesture in the social world.
Chapter 6:
"While the language around the politics might feel radical, the underlying spaces that exhibit them are entirely moribund." pg. 133
The language that is spoken in politics is radical but it makes it less when that language is displayed in institutions. Institutions are built of politics, they are made by those same people. What makes art radical also depends on the space. For example, a lot of graffiti sends a powerful message because it is art that is not supposed to be there. It is legal. Legality is what makes it more profound, it sends a message because it is not suppose to be there. I catches the audiences attention.
"Ambiguous aesthetic actions can often act as facilitators for radically different conditions of being. Because ambiguous aesthetics can be open-ended, they can allow for forms of participation that evoke curiosity and a collective sense of becoming." pg. 137
Ambiguous actions allows for the mind to be free. It allows everyone to have their own interpretation in that space. If the space is constrictive and only shows famous work, it's bland and the same. For new and up and coming artists to be displayed in these spaces allows for creative thinking. It's a backlash at institutionalized power.
I follow a lot of young female artists with amazing minds and artwork that aren't displayed as much as they deserve. Their way of thinking is so creative and untouched, the world hasn't seen. It is very disheartening to see these women not be displayed in museums or media. But after reading the passages, I have to come to the realization that being displayed in a museum isn't the goal. Getting the message across is the goal. Doesn't matter is you become well-known or rich. It's about getting your art work to speak to an audience. To ignite something within someone. A space to display your artwork is very important. But these same female artists display their art through social media and get their message through. They technically are reaching their goal.
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