the dissenting opinion
I feel kind of ignorant after having heard everyone else’s take on the exhibit. Even with music though, I feel an even greater connection with it all if I can understand where the singer is coming from; you can take music, which is like poetry and interpret it any way you like but a lot of times, it’s also the artist’s story. That is why I found it hard to understand his works, especially since they are so in your face. I’ve also been to the Japan Society and seen a photographer’s work after World War Two, and the devastation that people found themselves having to come to terms with; it was the first time that I could look at a black and white picture of an empty hospital bed and be flushed with emotion; it was that deep. I found that the exhibit we visited needed even greater analysis.
I mean, take a look at the scene where he is the lone asian sitting on a pedestal and people are throwing bread at him; you could even take it to symbolize the kind of attitude with which white americans provide for others; he is set apart and even something like bread which is like, a symbol for necessity (”our daily bread”), might be a nice gesture but then… they Throw it at him. And I guess the biggest shocker was the parade of naked bodies; I mentioned “the lighting” because, so used to seeing only lingerie model bodies on television, seeing real average person bodies naked made me feel like “this isn’t beauty”. I see now though, that it could even be the ultimate beauty. Another point I was making was his interpretation of Buddhism. I am not a buddhist myself but maybe I see it as part of Asian culture so when I saw the displays, I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or insulted. You could see it as symbolic because it’s the prayer of the people that make up the buddha but I saw it as a symbol of its futility; like their prayers are as ineffective as their buddha is man-made. I suppose it really is how we the on-lookers interpret it. People in class brought up very interesting points that did make me think. This was not my favorite exhibit but after listening to people share, I guess my opinion of it has definitely improved.
September 29th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I think you make a lot of good points in this blog and a lot of interesting viewpoints that I would never have thought of otherwise. I think the connection between the bread and the necessities of life is perhaps vital to understanding that scene. I think also Huan purposely chose “imperfect” bodies as opposed to model bodies to connect the piece to everyday life and show that outer beauty is not essential in this world. I disagree with your interpretation of the Buddha as a sort of futile statement, although I think you make a strong case for it. I thought the Buddha head was really beautiful and powerful and that the whole concept of burning your prayer from a paper is a really poignant and gracious ritual.