Throughlines
1. Artists can be a part of the world’s conversation by expressing their views through artworks, just like a journalist would do but with writing. An artist does not necessarily have to simply draw a picture to bring about awareness. Artists my also use words, and in our case “sculptures”. Our class is sending a message to the outside world about the housing of parts of the world. It is a shock to the viewer, which gets their attention sometimes better than a piece of writing.
4. Traditionally, artists are thought of as painters, drawers, and sculptors. But, some push those boundaries. Artists think of new ways to create art and involve the process more in the actual piece. Such artists as Janine Antoni pushes the limits. Can mopping a floor with your hair that is soaked in hair dye be considered art? Or re-sculpting a bust sculpture made of soap by bathing with it be art? Yes. For example, her hair dye experiment with mopping a floor left beautiful patterns on the floor which came across as very artful. Who decides what and what is not art anyways? Our miniature shanty town is art. We created it right?
Understanding Goals
1. Site-specific art is art that is made to work with a certain environment. Installations to me is a 3-D object installed in a space which changes aspects of the space. It alters one’s perception of an area. Conceptual art is art that stresses the importance of the idea or message behind it instead of the general look.
2. It’s important to have a purpose in this world. Artists should at least make one piece of art that could change someone’s outlook, beliefs, life, or have a lasting effect on them. There are so many inequalities and atrocities in our world, artists can use their abilities to influence the world.
3. Our shelters were made for a reason. They are 3-dimensional site-specific installations. Our shelters were out on this campus for a reason, they are site-specific. They are installations that change the space. How often do you see a shanty town in the suburbs? Through all of these aspects, the shelters could create a new light around what a shelter actually is. It’s not just a box.
4. By using found materials, one can build a shelter that serves a dual purpose: to protect, and to please. As my group was building our shelter, I was working on the inside one day. It was a very warm day, but inside the shelter it was very cool and it shielded me from the sun’s rays. Our shelters actually could protect someone from the elements. But, the shelters are also very interesting and sometimes pretty to look at. For example, my group decided to paint our shelter with many pictures and little designs. With some of the sculptures the actual architecture can be thought of as beautiful.
5. To have a shelter means to be slightly more safe than if you were out in the open. All animals seem to embody that instinct to seek refuge. To not have a shelter means to be vulnerable. Sometimes a shelter is not just for safety, but for happiness.
6. I believe that most people who live in the world live in an average home where the roof over their head is adequate enough to keep them safe to poverty levels where even the shelter may not be enough.
7. How a particular artist grew up and what they had experienced during that time deeply affects what they create and what they are interested in. Most often it would depend on what touches their life on a personal level.
-SHEILA RAMIE
