Chp.3 quotes

 "Tactics can be thought of as a set of tools. Like a hammer, a glue gun, or a screwdriver, they are means for building and deconstructing a given situation"

I believe the quote above is very true, tactics can be looked at as a tool, for example protesting. Protesting can make an impact whether its on a large scale or small one. Protests can be used to deconstruct a policy or whatever the protesters believe is wrong and should be payed more attention to. It can also be used a as a tool for building depending on what the protest is centered around.

“Get the black out. Bring three to ten items that you associate with blackness to the Black Factory on this appointed day.”

 Before reading the text after this quote I thought the "Black Factory" would be a an event or something that focuses on not necessarily black people and issues but something that can inspire them not just items being transformed into rubber duckies.

The experience is as far away from didactic as possible, yet one can not help but think that in that ambiguous experience, they received the one thing Pope L. promises the Black Factory will provide: opportunity 

Im not too sure or clear on the opportunity that the Black Factory provides.

After further thought, from my perspective I see the Black Factory as a way to show Black People that our culture and anything relative to us can be expanded upon even if it goes against social norms, it doesn't have to be physical items it could be knowledge, stories, compassion and love for others.

recent sets of quotes, as copied from my notebook

Valerie Moore, quotes

Interventionists: Chapter 2

“Through the assistance of slap-stick comedies most enduring prop, the pie, the BBB have managed to embarrass most of the most powerful figures in the world. Targets of their pie throwing include: Microsoft founder Bill Gates, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, ex-president of the World Trade Organizatin Renaldo Ruggiero and Hilmar Kabas of Vienna’s Freedom Party” (page 46)

I enjoyed reading about this project, mainly because it is so lighthearted at first. I do see a tremendous value in the meaning of this project. I think it's important to show that these people are in a position of power; and at the very least have a laugh at their expense, while they constantly profit at our own.

“The Surveillance Camera Players is a group formed in New York City in November 1996. They protest the use of surveillance cameras in public places because they believe these cameras violate a constitutionally protected right to privacy. The SCP manifests this opposition by performing specially adapted plays directly in front of these cameras. They use their visibility – through public appearances, interviews with the media, and the website – to explode the myth that only those who are “guilty of something” are opposed to being surveilled by unknown eyes.”

I found this to be an interesting project, as i personally dont have an issue largely with surveilance cameras used for security. However, I suppose once you create a product for monotoring people, its hard to tell who genuinely needs it and who is using it for a darker purpose. I also found interesting that there are people who like the work enough to go on guided tours of surveiled areas, which the Surveilance Camera Players conduct.

Seeing Power: ch 3 and 7

“The game is up: we see through the pyramid schemes of the temples of cultural elitism controlled by the 1 percent. No longer will we, the artists of the 99 percent, allow ourselves to be tricked into accepting a corrupt hierarchical system based on false scarcity and propaganda concerning absurd elevation of one individual genius over another human being for the monetary gain of the elitest of elite.”

I thought this was a powerful response to the exclusiveness that museums were clearly partaking in. I think it is very apt that this came as an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement, as regular people should have space readily available to them as the well endowed. Many artists are strugglung because they arent well known and have a hard time entering spaces. With a breakdown of social barriers more artists could have significant exposure.

“These things collectively shape the language and understanding of how a person’s idea of art is constituted. Let’s call this an infrastructure of resonance: the set of material conditions that produces a form of meaning. It is, to put it as directly as possible, the collection of structures (newspapers, social networks, academic institutions, churches, etc.) that shape our understanding of any given phenomenon— including ourselves. Anything that circulates meaning is thus a part of an infrastructure of resonance.”

I found this particular passage intriguing. It succintly explains why we develop our own opinions based on the filters our lives provide. The structures of resonance are different for everyone, and as such people respond differently to the same work of art.

Ch 7

“The loud and increasingly demanding presence of these labor protestors is hardly welcomed by the costumed members of the Chamber of Commerce. Why would an unsanctioned group join their parade? Why would they invoke the miserable labor conditions of the nineteenth century? This reenactment of a protest is, of course, a real protest, and it becomes increasingly inconvenient for the official parade marchers as they try their best to brush off the insurgent crowd’s booming demands for decent pay and work hours.”

I liked this passage because the protestors made the Chamber Of commerce feel as inconvenienced by the issue of their unfair labor practices as they themselves had. I think any good activist work should stir some uncomfortable questions; if it doesn't, then clearly no impression had been made.

“The crowds in Tahrir grew as Egyptians set up camp in the square. By January 31, Al Jazeera reported that the crowds had swelled to 300,000. People not only protested in the square— they slept, they ate, they sang, they held meetings. As they were located in the center of Egypt, neither the military, the press, the  government, nor the surrounding citizenry could ignore them. The events of Tunisia and the follow-up events in Cairo triggered what is now known as the Arab Spring. They resulted in popular revolutions throughout the Mideast and the deposition of four leaders.”

I liked this passage because it highlights the change that can come from a simple nonviolent occupation. The peaceful holding of their beliefs leading to the deposition of four leaders, as well as other revolutions gives me faith in our ability as people to rally efforts when things are wrong and work to create change.

Interventionists, pages 98-108

“Lucy Orta develops conceptual and functional projects that extend and perpetuate her socially concerned aesthetic. She produces nomadic architecture as well as nomadic clothing. In Orta’s oeuvre, clothes become tools, and the body becomes activated. Among many of her radical fashion creations, she has developed architectural clothing lines that almost literalize tendencies hinted at in Wodiczko’s Homeless Vehicle”

I admire the idea Orta had to create something that not only addresses an issue we face, but also using the opportunity to devise a strategy. Albeit excessive, but the dramatic flair gives it the artistic integrity it needs to succeed as a piece of socially engaged art.

“Going “under cover” is not so much an entertaining game (although fun does play a part), it is a necessary tactic when trespassing onto the territory of other’s. Disguise is needed to blend into a different game. The Center for Tactical Magic has produced The Ultimate Jacket (2003). As a center strongly influenced by various schools of concealment and espionage (private detective, magician, ninja), they have produced a jacket as a means to augment one’s ability to act in various situations. The jackets contains over 50 secret pockets and allows the interventionist to slip from the identity of a worker to the identity of a ninja.”

I liked this idea, as it has that signature element of the yes men making a claim, fake item, what have you that is easily bought by those that it wishes to taunt. Truth be told while I was reading this excerpt, I thought to myself, I really like this, it’s definitely something the yes men would do, only for them to be mentioned by name as the creators of the piece.

Connecting Art exhibition to Final project

The Pearl Harbor/Japanese Display

The first piece from the exhibition that I have chosen is the Japanese project that says “Pearl Harbor strips American citizenship- “non-aliens of Japanese ancestry” corralled”. Even though this project is referring back to the early 1940’s, this art piece makes a clear connection to what my semester project is about. This image portrays a time when there was discrimination against the Japanese people. It is a very powerful piece of art, from the falling aircraft to the explosion and flames in the background. This art piece brings back a moment of terror, a moment that changed the U.S forever, a moment that we would like to forget. Although the picture could speaks a thousand words, what I see is the war between Japan and the United States. The text reassures me that it is specifically referring to that war, since we all know that Japan attacked pearl harbor leading to World War II. This piece of art illustrates more than just a time of war, it illustrates a time when our nation was weak, when it was divided. The story behind any similar image during this time period is very sad, especially for Japanese people. Japanese people who lived here for a very long time, others practically their whole lives were taken from their homes and placed in concentration camps. The U.S government was treating every Japanese person like a criminal, they were taken as threats, as terrorists. That story almost reminds me of something that is happening in the United States right now. Well, that’s probably because it is… the connection that I am making to that art project is the current discrimination and racism against immigrants (mainly Latinos) by our president and his supporters. Latinos are being stopped on the streets and some of them taken to detention centers where they will be told their fate. In other cases, such as by the US/Mexican borders, children were separated from their families, and kept in cages. Sure, it does not sound as bad as being kept in concentration camps, but come on where do human rights come in??? When do these inhumane acts stop? I think that if I were to modify the image, along with the text on it, I would currently be able to portray the exact same message, but except for the discrimination against Immigrants.

This picture of a young boy crying while being kept in a cage really reminds me of Japanese people being kept in concentration camps.

An image that speaks a thousand words..and every single
one of those words are part of a sad story.

The second project or projects that I have chosen to relate to my topic are the other two Japanese incarceration pieces of art. The 1^st out of 2 pieces of art is what appears to be one of the concentration camps where Japanese people were kept. The background is a very dark shade of red and yellow, it is definitely not a color that reminds you of happiness and joy, it is the complete opposite. There are also mountains in the far back, which kind of gives you an impression that the concentration camps are located in the middle of nowhere. Text in the art piece says, “Our American eyes, aslant like Kamikaze, blink in disbelief as barbed wire encircles and machine guns take aim”. That text is referring to World War II, “Kamikazes” were Japanese aircraft suicide bombers, “barbed wire encircles” refers to Japanese people being kept in concentration camps during this time, and “machine guns take aim” refers to the exchange of gun fire between both countries. There is also what appears to be a young boy on a tricycle, who has his head down, giving me the impression that he is sad.  Young kids were kept in the camps and to me, the boy on the tricycle symbolizes every single kids, every single person who was affected and traumatized by this experience. I can make a connection from the young boy on the tricycle to the migrant children who were separated from their families and kept in cages. Both of those issues should not be something that should be happening in our country; We are a first world country, almost every other country looks up to us, it is truly a disgrace.

This "JAPS NOT WANTED" art work gives us an idea

of how things were in 1944 

 

The 2^nd piece of art has a lady standing outside, pointing at a sign that reads, in capital letters, “JAPS NOT WANTED”. It also has other text that says, “We beg Mom for yellow slices of cheese between white bread or peanut butter and jelly for school lunches.” I don’t necessarily understand what the 2^nd text means but based off the 1^st one, I can assume it is something discriminative against Japanese people. Many Americans wanted Japanese people out of the country, they were unwanted here in the states. I can relate this to a social issue we currently have; Many Americans currently want Latinos out of the country. A lot of people get bothered when they see the MAGA, or make America great again, campaign slogan. People, like myself tend to think that whoever is wearing a MAGA cap in public is a proud racist. The hat has an underlying message, which symbolizes hate within our community. There are tons of videos where people wearing the MAGA caps have been hit or taunted for it, but that does not change the fact that people will express their opinions in whatever way they please. Seeing our government currently discriminate against a specific race of people brings me back to 1942, a dark period in American history.

The MAGA hat to me

-Symbolizes racism

-Brings hate and disagreement among our           community

The 3^rd piece of artwork that I have chosen is “The Migration Series”. This piece of art can very much be connected to my project on immigration. This is literally a drawing of immigrants migrating in a train. A bunch of people are getting inside a train with bags/food and although it looks like it can just be a normal commuting train, the caption of this drawing gives away what it really is. This piece of art is ultimately an illustration of people getting on the train with destination to a new home. Now, the connection that I see to my project is simply, a new opportunity, a new start. Why does one migrate to a completely different and unfamiliar country? What are people after? The answer is a better opportunity… an opportunity change your life around, an opportunity to make money if that’s what you’re after… an opportunity to chase and reach your goal. My project topic is immigration rights in the U.S but before I even get to that, I have to point out why those immigrants are here in the U.S. The migration series is a very strong piece of art; It reflects the struggles, the determination, and the willingness that immigrants have to better themselves.

The Migration Series// Immigration Rights