Short Essay Luke Andaya

        Kimberly Drew, a new upcoming author, and activist published her autobiography book titled This is What I Know About Art which talks about the importance of activism and art and how it all ties in together. Her journey and experiences have a sense of inspiration and allow us as the readers to really catch a glimpse of how she views everything. Throughout the whole entirety of her story, at one point that she talks about how art allows her and others to express themselves and help spread a message across. And just like another reading article that we have discussed so far in class, Susan Sontag's book, On Photography, also discusses how influential photography is and how it can be seen as a form of expression.    

        In the excerpt from On Photography, Susan Sontag talks about the history of photography of how it is used to prove something happened and how it can even be manipulated into someone's favor. "Photographs furnish evidence. Something we hear about, but doubt, seems proven when we're shown a photograph of it. In one version of its utility, the camera record incriminates. Starting with their use by the Paris police in the murderous roundup of Communards in June 1871, photographs became a useful tool of modern states in the surveillance and control of their increasingly mobile populations. In another version of its utility, the camera record justifies. A photograph passes for incontrovertible proof that a given thing happened. The picture may distort; but there is always a presumption that something exists, or did exist, which is like what's in the picture." Sontag goes on to say that even though these photos may set up a certain agenda, these photos are powerful and meaningful, as they hold value and carries a message as it shows the world that something happened at that certain moment in time; almost the same thing as art because art also holds meaning and shows the world that message, though one person may interpret it differently than the next.

        

    Even if someone interprets the photograph differently than someone else, it still holds value as it influences everybody differently. Sontag writes, "Photographs really are experience captured, and the camera is the ideal arm of consciousness in its acquisitive mood. To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge -- and, therefore, like power." which basically means as said before, that every photograph is powerful as it holds a message and knowledge of events transpiring.  

        

    Kimberly Drew even begins to talk about photography as well. Both Sontag and Drew relatively have similar opinions of the power of photography and how it can be used to express messages and capture moments of time. Drew talks about police brutality back in 2014 when it started to ramp up in danger towards the African American community. "In the days following the deaths, images by photographers and other witnesses began to define a resurfacing justice movement for Black victims of police brutality..." In this quote, Drew is basically telling the readers that these photographs were being taken to spread acknowledgment around the whole world that police brutality against the black community was real and that something needed to happen. Change needed to happen and the African American community needed to rally together and to try and spread the message, and sharing the photographs of what's happening to the internet was the first step. But while these photographs were being shared throughout social media as a form of art to help spread the message, Drew also talks about how sharing these images online has allowed her to connect with others to also mourn and heal with and also to share their voices with as well. "I posted a call for art in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement...the page...was developed as a space for collective healing and mourning."

    Personally, the moment that really spoke to me when reading What I Know About Art is about Drew's feelings about how she felt with Black people's art was not really being represented enough in America, and how it felt like it was another form of oppression. While growing up and going to school, she has seen many pieces of art as she goes to art galleries to look at them. However, she did notice one common thing between all of these pieces; they were all created by white artists. She had never seen one piece of art in those galleries that were created by a black artist. She felt as if these people were trying to take away the spotlight away from black creators, despite being as skilled as white artists. Drew writes, "There have been black people since the beginning of time, but I was not seeing any of their art in any of my classes.”. This event has really made her question the things around her and had really sparked her interest in activism and putting herself out there to speak about problems about the community, which again really did speak to me. 

    To wrap up, both Sontag and Drew talk about how photography is a form of art and how it ties into activism as it has the power to capture something at the moment, to create and show a message of what is happening so it can be spread across the world to influence or even unite a community of people. Drew's autobiography had really inspired me because initially, she had spotted the problem within her community when she was younger, and how she wanted to put the spotlight on it, which had eventually lead her into becoming interested in activism and then into a successful person she is today.

Works Cited

Drew, K. (2020). This is What I know about Art.
Sontag, S. (2008). On photography. London: Penguin Books.