I am not great with words, public speaking, or large crowds. When I started this class I had the mindset that i will just keep my camera off, do the work, and listen to my professor teach. It was a major step for just turning on my camera. As we get into the subject of art and activism and the different ways people use it my interest grew and my mind started to turn. Out of the classes i take now this is the only one where I feel there are no wrong answers. It is taking what you see and making it your own. Developing your own interpretations. As I saw that my other classmates had different views on what we discussed and it was not considered as wrong I found the courage to speak.
To tie my story to Kimberly Drew’s autobiography throughout the book she was experiencing growth and learning from her events and the people around her. It took this one class to help me actually start participating in my others. I am not all the way there with public speaking but I feel when it comes to activism my creations can speak for themselve and relay my stand on a topic.
“I am not your typical activist. I am still learning what art and protest mean to me. And so, this book is more about my journey through art toward activism. This book is about discovery, confusion, and progress.” Kimberly Drew stated this in her autobiography. Everyday art is evolving. Art provides a way for people to express what they feel, how they think, and a different interpretation of what they see. In her book she touched on a few topics like racism and police brutality, life events where art has brought more attention from places we did not see.
To get her thoughts out she used social media. The different forms of social media have grown to a platform of pictures, videos, and sharing. Drew posted a status on Facebook of what professor said, a statement that caught her off guard. Like many others going to facebook, instagram, blogs to post a meme, voice how you feel, is nothing new now. “As a byproduct of social media, memes and protest art act as a way to gauge a country’s political temperature.” (Fison). There are so many ways people are getting their art out; social media is the fastest way especially when there is a possibility millions of people can see it and tell how they feel about the subject.
There was a moment in the story where Kimberly uses her Twitter to tell her audience about the lack of diversity in a particular art exhibition. Her angry tweets caused her to be called up by the director. Now as i continue to read i thought she was going to be fired and out looking for a job but her director took the time to mentor her and give other options of communicating what she has to say. It is ok to be angry and passionate about a subject people will only listen if what is said is planned and strategic. Not coming off angry and aggressive.
The quote that sticks out to me is “Blues is about anticipation” (Drew 36).When I think of the blues I think of storytelling. A story that happened in the past that made the artist feel deeply about a situation to put it in a song in the present time. I would like to believe the anticipation of what is to come and why might happen next because of what is going now. With this quote I am still working on my explanation. Hopefully I will have another chance to explain.
Ever since I can remember I have always wanted to work with computers. Always interested in how they work, what they need to operate, how they are able to produce vibrant and interesting graphics. I have my associates in Electrical Engineering and want to keep exploring the different ways I can continue learning about technology. I feel like I can relate to Kimberly Drew because of her love for art and the fact she wants to keep learning about what she loves.
The major that I am pursuing at the moment is Computer Science. A field where there is not a lot of women and the ones that are in it work even harder to be seen as equal then the men in this field. Using social media can help spread the word on equality in the workplace. Making sure that more women are recognized for the work they do in this particular field. Kimberly Drew is relatable and inspiring
Bibliography
Drew, Kimberly. This Is What I Know About Art. Listening Library, 2020.
Fison, Lizzie. “How Memes Are Making Protest Art More Powerful.” Artsy, 2017, https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-memes-making-protest-art-powerful.
No comments:
Post a Comment