chaoticbrainstorm

[chaoticbrainstorm]

Culture

One of the topics that we discussed during the Arts unit was culture. More specifically, some of the questions that were posed were along the lines of cultural property. What belongs to a culture and who does that culture belong to? An argument, or point that was brought up was museums’ treatment of artefacts that do not belong to them, their culture more specifically, such as the British Museum.

As always I’m not here to provide an answer, but to brainstorm the options and opinions. I am hardly in the position to give an answer myself, but it seems that there is not One Widely Accepted answer either, rather it depends on the individual and their values as it is with most things in life.

If I chose the more Abstract outlook on this, it would be that culture is manmade, a social construct and could belong to anyone who considers themselves a part of humanity or wants to participate in that culture. But real life is more complex and so is defining the belonging of and to a culture. As long as there’s divisions and inequalities, it can’t and shouldn’t be this way. So in terms of artifacts in museums from different cultures, such as the case with the British Museum, where artefacts from different cultures are displayed and profited off without said culture’s permission, ESPECIALLY items that contain meaningful history and value to the culture, this “borrowing” of culture should most definitely be considered as thievery. In my opinion, it is highly immoral, to say the least, and I’ve personally held great disliking for the British Museum for a long time for this reason.

Same goes for cultural appropriation; should you hold more privilege or advantage to the group whose culture you intend to “borrow” from, you should probably reconsider. There is, however, cultural appreciation, but the approach is much more different than that of cultural appropriation.

[chaoticbrainstorm]

The Arts

The temperatures are far too low for a warm welcome back, so I’m just going to go straight into it.

The arts. I feel like this unit is certainly going to be my #1 (unless?) because I’ve got a lot to say about it if I don’t put too much thought into it, but barely anything if I actually think it through, so I’m just going to aim for that sweet middle. 

Despite the diversity of the questions that were posed by my classmates and the various opening discussion questions, the main focus always felt (at least to me) as if it were the evaluation of art, whether by evaluating its worth or evaluating if it should even be considered art. Personally, I find this topic very dreadful. The main reason for that is because I am an “art for art’s sake” type of person. Also, because it’s contradicting if it isn’t explained well.

To cover the worth part, I hate the fact that art is seen as something to commercialize. I dislike how it’s reserved (whether you think so or not) only for people who can afford it; Broadway, for example, or museums with historically significant pieces, etc. I despise how some people’s enjoyment of art should be limited because everything has a price. It’s horrible and unfair. Art should be enjoyed by everyone, as well as made for enjoyment, which leads me to my next point. In an ideal society, artmaking would be something to be enjoyed and done because you want to, not because of the crippling pressure of ending up on the street. But, since we live in a capitalist society, making art for profit sometimes saves lives. There should be no shame in creating something that you do not feel strongly for just so you can sell it. When I say “art for art’s sake” it’s directed at giant corporations or rich snobs who think everything lies in the cash, not at the starving artists who are trying to make a living by selling their work. 

My own father could serve as an example. He is a valued and respected photographer in the country. It’s mostly an in-studio job, but there are the occasional weddings, birthdays, and other celebrations. Once, I asked him why he chooses not to photograph sunsets, for example, or aesthetically arranged desks, or flowers, or anything that isn’t a passport or a wedding pic. He said: “If it were up to me, I would never pick my camera up again.” As the conversation progressed, I realised that he is absolutely sick of what he does. I wonder, did he choose this career path because he was actually passionate about photography and had a spark for it that had eventually faded because of the grueling work that was required of him so that he could make a decent living off of art? Or did he just enter the world of photography as a last resort and resented it from the very beginning?

Now that I’ve given my redundant thoughts on the worth of art and then some, I’d like to talk about what is and what isn’t art. In my group, the consensus was that “it’s subjective”. It’s not what is or isn’t art, it’s what the person thinks about what is or isn’t art because, let’s be honest, no matter what anyone says or does we can’t “make” something to be art. Art is a made up concept! We don’t hold enough significance to decide what is or isn’t art, but what we CAN do is form our own opinions. I used taxidermy as an example. Some people are repulsed by it and think it’s cruel, some people see it just like the “average” person sees a painting. You CAN say it’s art because it sure is something, but disproving that is a lot more difficult because there are no set boundaries or requirements for something to be considered art. You can say that something is art because there is no handbook to tell you that it isn’t, but you you’re gonna have a more difficult time saying that something ISN’T art because, again, the is no handbook to say that you’re right.

I’m going to end this train of thought here because I am entering the point of overthinking and I’m afraid that anything from this point on will make even less sense than my previous points (which, in all honesty, are already bordering). There’s a lot more on this topic that I desperately need to get out of my system, so I might make a follow-up post during some other 4am overthinking episode. Shout out to Vincent Van Gogh for my profile picture. It captures the dread of this morning perfectly. Also, shout out to Oscar Wilde for being the reason I’m unable to form a coherent opinion on art. Until my next post,

K. L. S.

[chaoticbrainstorm]

Lingua

Hello and welcome to my first TOKative entry! Here, I will be logging my every wretched (and sometimes not-so-wretched) thought regarding my in-class experiences. I will try my best to maintain an illusion of sanity while still being fully honest to myself and to whomever might stumble upon this blog. Enough of my vaguely cryptic introduction; let’s begin.

The general topic in the last few classes has been language. The term language is incredibly broad and impossible to cover in an entire lifetime, let alone a few classes. But even if my time to ponder over language is short, I’d have to say that it’s going to be fully occupied.

My initial thoughts around language were: blank. I didn’t think much about language. Of course, I basked in the warmth of the comforting words spilled from a poet’s pen, entertained myself by judging a word’s pronunciation as incredibly ridiculous or amusing which had led me to repeat the word in question so many times that it had lost its meaning, I have overthought my choice of words to the point of insanity, but I have never given language, the broad term, much thought.

What makes a language? Is it really the best option of communication we have? Was inventing language a good move? What would be a better alternative? Does language really make us the superior species?

These questions, and more, have been brought to my attention in the recent classes and my usual response to them would be: don’t know, don’t care. Because I already have so many things that are bothering me on a daily basis, I don’t see the point in questioning something that ISN’T bothering me. I could say that, or maybe it’s because I don’t know, and no one else really knows, and indefinite answers terrify me greatly. It could be that. Or it could be the fact that I really don’t know how or where to tackle these questions first; a topic posed similarly to the chicken or the egg debate, except this time, there is more than two options to choose from and there isn’t really a right answer no matter how much logic, reasoning or wit is used. I don’t know where to start! I could say that.

But regardless of what I say, me having to come up with some kind of answer to these questions isn’t “bad”. It’s making me face a topic that I have been unknowingly avoiding all this time and, frankly, it IS rather fun to question a seemingly harmless, intangible topic or “issue”. Or is it harmless? I use language on a daily basis and it’s only unfair that I keep avoiding something that has been aiding me throughout my entire life. I am ready to question the things that no one has the answers to. Here’s to a two year long, existential crisis-y journey!

K. L. S.