When I read the description of what the artist was going for, it wasn't something I could personally relate to, but I could feel the emotions he wished me to feel. His image of smiling, blackface minstrels really came through. As each boy entered the screen with a smile and subsequently left it devoid of one, I caught a fleeting glimpse of what those racial prejudices must have been like. I felt for a moment the pain that accompanied it.
What I really loved most about it was its simplicity. From a literal sense, he didn't do anything groundbreaking. The medium, the subjects, and the sentiment have all been done before. He was able to take those things and use them in a new way that really was groundbreaking. I think the task for any artist is to find a way to take the old and focus it in such a way that it feels fresh and powerful. He did a really great job with that task.
I agree that what made it so great was the simplicity of it. I love how modern art is all about taking ordinary things and making us see them in new ways.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the simplicity of the nature of the exhibit. I agree with in the fact that I don't think any of us can really feel or understand either what the artist has gone through or what the people in the video have gone through in their lives which is something that's really disturbing to me.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool to see how you totally immersed yourself in the piece, to feel certain emotions because of what you were seeing. I didn't do that, i was totally just smiling along with them.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment on simplicity. I have a lot of these blogs and not a lot of people mentioned the simple execution and how powerful that was. I also enjoyed your correct spelling of façade with the proper accent on the "c"
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