"Defending Controversial Art"

For this week’s controversial piece, I chose Maya Lin's Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. I chose this because as a veteran, it is close to my heart. Obviously I'm only 32 and have probably never seen or dealt with anything as horrific as what the Vietnam Vets were faced with, but I have been to war and my husband is "over there" as I type this. I appreciated Maya Lin's humble and creative artistic vision when it came to just simply thinking about drafting the Memorial for the first time. During an interview she said, "I thought about what death is, what a loss is. A sharp pain that lessens with time, but can never quite heal over. A scar. The idea occurred to me there on the site. Take a knife and cut open the earth, and with time the grass would heal it. As if you cut open the rock and polished it." And her vision was born into a world already full of controversy. During that era, I honestly don’t think any model would have been 100% accepted by all. Much of the controversy of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial circles around politics and the feelings and personal experiences of so many people who both survived and died during that dreadful time in history. Ironically, Maya Lin's vision was far from political. Her vision placed people first above all else. She focused on finding the best way to honor the people first. She focused on the essentiality of closure and acceptance of war, two very difficult yet crucial parts of all that encompasses war and its aftermath. Maya Lin's memorial raised controversy across the world. Like usual, everyone had an opinion. War crusaders, family members of those who died, political figures and everyday people all had something to say about her vision. Much controversy also arose due to the fact she, herself was not only a woman but of Asian descent. Her work challenged others to separate themselves from their emotions in order to connect and understand her vision. Her vision was far from setting a negative political statement as wildly advertised by many. There were many positive outcomes that resulted from both the erection and vision of Maya Lin’s Memorial. Her design, though seen as minimal, speaks volumes to all those who visit it today. Honor, remembrance and acceptance are sometimes found the easiest when distractions are at a minimum. The wall isn’t cluttered by fancy statues or other distracting erections. Its serene environment allows the visitor to do just what he went there to do…to honor, remember and maybe sometimes even forgive. I’ve always loved this memorial, but admittedly until now I did not know its entire past nor had I ever taken time to actually read about its creator. In doing so, it has just become that much more special and meaningful. Next time I visit, I’m sure I will see it even differently than I did the first time. Thanks, Maya Lin. We will always remember.

"My Logo"

I think this logo captures my true self. I am a retro girl at heart and love photography. I take so many pictures that whenever my 2 year old is in trouble and I tell him to look at me he says, "Cheeezzz!" I suppose sometimes I go overboard. I think photographs make memories come alive and memories are all we have sometimes to remember special times and people who fill our lives with joy.

What do you think?

I thought I would adding a "What do you think" post every week. So, what do you think?! I thought this photo might help people brush up on their visual literacy skills.



I look forward to reading your thoughts. P.S. I did NOT take this photo. I ran across it on the web, and wish I knew who took it so I could give credit where credit is due.

"Week 2 Reflections"

I signed up for this class with uncertain expectations. It's only week 2, but I couldn't be more happy that I did.

Week 1 encouraged us to answer a question many of us have at one time or another asked ourselves, "What is art?" We learned that art is different to each individual person depending on our personal expectations, life experiences and perhaps even preferences. We were introduced to a plethora of different exhibitions each representing a different flavor and sometimes even century of art. This encouraged us to explore our personal preferences. We began to realize what our likes and dislikes may be when it comes to artwork. We also learned how important emotion is to both the artist and the appreciator of his/her work of art. Our initial reactions to art were challenged as we set off to discover what art really did mean to us as individuals.

Week 2 continued to challenge us as we leapt into a world filled with objects, wods and images. We were schooled on the world of visual literacy and took opportunities to playfully, yet critically, analyze different images around us. We learned the difference between form, which is most often not arguable and content, which is almost always at the appreciator's discretion. These two definitions together help define an image to us. We also discussed the visual continuum and how non-objective, abstract and representational forms come into play. These are all different applications or terms we can use to help us describe different pieces of art. The overall theme of week 2 was visual literacy and the ease or difficulty of being able to actively interpret images.

I look forward to seeing what week 3 has to offer!

~fawne

Critical Analysis

For my first critical art analysis, I chose The Central Mountain by Wu Chen. After spending several minutes looking at this masterpiece, I found my gaze constantly being drawn to the dark patch of trees on the left and then the calligraphy. The colors were restricted to black and white ink drawn on a handscroll. The trees were mostly comprised of dots shaded to the artists liking. I am always fascinated by the complexity of shading and the way it brings meaning to a picture. Simple dots are transformed to trees, shaded lines are turned intou mountains. Beyond the trees were the a group of mountains in all sizes. Behind the Central Mountains, the artist used creative shading again to define a white sky full of clouds. The entire masterpiece screams simplicity. The mountains are simple mountains without animals grazing, snow tops or definied clouds swarming above. The trees are also just trees, they aren't fruit bearing or full of color. I appreciated the artrist incorporating calligraphy into his work. His calligraphy was the most elaborate part of the entire piece. To me, the combination of the calligraphy and the dotted trees makes the art piece much more desirable. The piece brings a distinct calmness to the onlooker. The mountains bring a sense of peacefullness and serentity to the picture. The trees, being so simple in nature, encouraged me to use my imagination. When I look at art, I always ask myself two questions. First, what does this mean to me and second, what do I think the artist's vision was for creating it. I honestly found this piece to be quite 'blah' but certainly respected the artist's vision and willingness to portray it for others to admire. I did appreciate the simplicity of the piece, but found myself using my imagination to make it more desirable to my taste. While looking at it, I grew calm and inquisitive. I imagine the artist probably felt many more emotions before, during and after completing this artwork. Knowing Wu Chen's handscroll fullfills the second roll of the artist it is meant to "give visible or tangible form to ideas, philosophies, or feelings," I imagine he used many different Chinese philosophies as visionary instruments. It is also obvious that Wu Chen is a nature lover, as am I. Still, for me, I was left wanting more while at the exact time realizng that sometimes less IS more and perhaps this was just the thing that Wu Chen meant to leave us with.