Tuesday, October 28, 2014

How Art Can Change the World

6 comments:

  1. Before watching the TEDtalk by Liu Bolin I had seen much of his work on the internet, in National Geographic, and through other media and had marveled at the near invisibility he was able to achieve. I had only ever marveled and had never considered the rhyme or reason behind Bolin's work. Having gained an understanding of Bolin's work I have a deeper appreciation for what he is doing. Bolin is attempting to make a statement through his art rather than just creating something someone halfway around the world can marvel at then forget until the next image surfaces.

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  2. Music is a catharsis, better yet, music is catharsis
    Music is a transcendental connection between individuals across time, ethnicity, geography, and as presented by Robert Gupta; sanity.
    It is a powerful experience to be able to sit down with individuals from all corners of the world, that you have never spoken to before, and find music that you all know and can pick up an instrument and begin playing together.
    All forms of music speak to the primordial, reptilian human brain, giving it divine release from the monotony of life.

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  3. “Music is Medicine, Music is Sanity,” a TED talk presentation delivered by Robert Gupta, explores the transformative and healing powers of music. As Gupta notes in his dissertation, it is through music, and essentially all art forms, that one’s mind can be transformed. He explains how the therapeutic essence of the violin was able to heal colleague, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, from his tragic affliction with paranoid schizophrenia. Although once alienated from the outside world due to inner turmoils, it was the rejuvenating nature of music that renewed and inspired Ayers’s sense of purpose and zeal for life. Through music, as an outlet, Ayers was able to recover from his affliction by escaping from the torment of his delusions. Consequently, music and all other art forms which allow for self expression not only captivate the onlooker, but have the restorative potential to transform the mind.

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  4. I watched Emmanuel Jal: The Music of a War Child. This was very interesting to watch. It is horrible to hear some of the things that people have to see and do while in the tribulations of war. This man was very inspirational in what needs to be done in order to provide a better life from where he comes from. He said that by receiving food and water from the UN it is only killing a generation. They need to be given the tools to better each and every citizen and through this a revolution can happen. This revolution could have the power to stop the wars. He mentioned one of the tools being education, I completely agree with this. Without education than there is no way for the third worlds to ever better themselves. A country cannot consist of only a few educated people running the country. It needs all people with in the country to be educated and voice their opinions based on their knowledge of what’s best for them. It takes more than just food and water to create a sustainable environment in which to flourish in; it takes a vast amount of tools to accomplish this.

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  5. Art is not only for entertainment, it is also a good way for artists to express their thoughts and affect our perspective. For example, as Bolin Liu mentioned in the TED talk, he started to make himself “invisible” in different places when government forcibly demolished the place he worked in. By creating these art work, he is not just trying to attract people's attention, more importantly, he tries to arise our concerns about some existing problems. He made six people “invisible” in front of the wall that was located in a factory. These people used to work in this factory, however they lost their jobs because of the change in government policy. Bolin also said in the talk: “This is not about six people in the picture, it's about all the workers who are suffering the same issue.” I really agree with what he said because the disappeared six people are actually reflection of all the unemployed workers at that time, and that picture actually is an implicit protest raised from them. Just like Bolin made him disappeared in the ruins of his working place, it was also a representation of his anger and resignation. Instead of using explicit words or music, he uses pictures to convey his thoughts, in which people read and feel his emotion and thoughts. In other words, art can affect our perception.

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  6. I watched the TED talk on music and I thought it was incredibly insightful! Music indeed is an outlet for many of us and for me personally, I am able to find a sort of peace and state of rest with music. Music is another medium of communication that words can't describe. It transcends to different dimensions of understanding. This allows for unique ways for one to express themselves. Music most definitely evokes emotion and its interesting to see how two people who might not be able to communicate with each other directly, maybe due to a language barrier, would be able to understand each other through a shared taste in music. Not only is it a medium for communication, music also functions as a time stamp of a sort, or a representation of a time era. Music can mark history. Genres of music have changed over time but if one was to listen to older music, persay, it would remind them of a time in the past that coincides with the style of the music they were listening to. In conclusion, music is another important unique means of communication and can be very therapeutic for some.

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