Art’s Proactive Side

[coryweng]

It’s interesting sometimes what we think of right away when we think of the art, its purpose. We often think of art as a piece of work, designed to convey a message and invoke an audience to feel a certain way or in stronger cases, stand up and rise to action. I found it very interesting when our guest visitor Monika was describing how art doesn’t necessarily have to be passive that I usually think of. Art can take on an active form as well. Before the presentation, I have been aware of passive artworks that can call people to action. Monika describes that artwork can have the power to do more than just communicate, call people to action, because they themselves can be a form of change. Monika did an excellent job portraying the various types of active artwork, like the wheat field in Lower Manhattan or the floating apple orchard on a barge, which both supply food for a growing population. Monika really helped me to see art from a different perspective and especially ecoart. Ecoart doesn’t necessarily have to be a painting or poster calling for change in the environment, but it itself can be a change. (I mentioned some of these points in my blog on Canstruction, a fun annual competition but also artistic gallery for New Yorkers in a Downtown mall.)

One side thing I found very interesting about the documentary we had to watch was the cinematographic effects of the camera in taking shots from different angles. There was one scene that was very appealing, which was when the four shots of the forest, with its trees and the water, created a symmetrical effect. Nature definitely plays an important role in the life of many people, like the Brazilians, and it’s important that ecoart is becoming an ever-increasing form of art that aims towards conservation in an age where preservation as well as controlling climate change is crucial.

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