Kim teases me for being a little "star-struck," but I don't mind. Mainly because I really do get star struck. Something about celebrity has always intrigued me. But also, it's usually for a really good reason. Like when we get to meet Glen and Marketa...
So, school is winding down which means my stress level is winding up.
It also means that my schedule doesn't (read: shouldn't) allow for blogging. So here's a cheater's way of updating. I found a few pictures of some street art that relates to the discussion that was started last week.
Enjoy, and I promise to be back in full swing after I get a few papers written...
Cheers, Sam "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery /None but ourselves can free our minds." Bob Marley, Redemption Song
I ran across this video today on Wooster, and it struck me on a variety of levels. It's only three and a half (3.5) minutes long. Try to make it through, because I have a thought-provoking question for you after. It's good, I promise.
First, you need to understand that I have a strong bias towards public art. Art, and art appreciation is an amazing part of our lives, and in my opinion, is being threatened by standardized testing (thanks to my dad for this must-watch video), along with many other factors. But that's just the background. The question really has to do with volunteerism.
There is a large camp that says what Micheal (the artist) is doing is an act of volunteerism. A volunteer is someone who serves the purposes of the community because they choose to. The thought with Micheal, and public art everywhere, is that he is serving a community. Specifically with NOLA, a community that has been devastated and on a search for an identity. And while the structural rebuilding of the city is really important, community members need a source of pride, a reason to believe it's worth staying there as well.
There is another camp that strongly believes that what Fred (the painter) is doing is volunteerism. After all, he is serving the community because he chooses to. He is ridding a city of hateful images harming the public good. And that wasn't even sarcastic. I think that graffiti does not have a place in public spaces. But art and graffiti are two very different things. I can definitely see where he is coming from, the Broken Window Theory has at least a shred of viability to it. But all that white paint? Really?
My question is this--> What happens when two different groups of volunteers have colliding efforts, passions, and missions? For instance, there are volunteers that are running the Olympic Torch all over the world, and there are thousands are protesting in one way or another. There are volunteers aiding immigrants and providing life-giving services to a highly-marginalized group of people, while volunteers are patrolling the border in search of illegal activity. Why the disconnect, and can it be fixed? Looking forward to the discussion!
Cheers, Sam "Contradiction was something I really like when it is embraced in philosophy." Jim Jarmusch
Last week, Darren from ProBlogger, requested that his readers submit videos on why they blog. Here was our entry (as StARs). The full set of responses can be viewed here. There's a lot that were submitted, though, so it takes just a minute to load up. Enjoy!
