Colin Wood Essay 2 Option 1 Point of View Whether it be 3 hour speech, a 40 page opinionated thesis paper, or a 10 foot tall piece of graffiti stenciled on the wall, a person s perception and point of view is unique to them and will be the basis they use to analyze another s work. A person s point of view can be altered by any great number of things including but not limited to: their occupation, their background, the current world events, their ethnicity, or even whether or not they got enough sleep the night before seeing a great political leader deliver a revolutionary speech. If there is one thing we as humans must learn how to do, it is to take in these different mediums with a dispassionate state of mind and truly look at what may move our fellow man from neutral ground. Believe it or not, we see things more often than you would think which deserve to be judged from this neutral ground. If you flip through the television these days you will eventually come across the atmosphere that most people think of when they see a piece of one of these deserving works. For most, graffiti is strictly associated with gang activity and violence. This act can sometimes be detrimental in the way it is used to claim territory in the inner cities of metropolitan America. I use this example because it was only 1 week before I wrote this paper that my girlfriend s parents house was completely ruined by someone trying to express themself, for the second time. The letters written in the message on their fence are completely indecipherable by anyone including the police. But now, after reading about a number of artist s that found their roots in this art form, I find myself wondering if there is a deep seeded message within this punk s poor penmanship?
I use this example because I too am guilty of immediately attacking things I don t quite understand. This young man s message colored on the walls of my girlfriend s fence probably did have some sort of significant meaning. The problem for mine and Sarah s (My Girlfriend) family s ability to think neutrally is that this expression of views came at the expense of their home. Had this been for instance, an artist with a little more ability, like the well-known street artist Banksy perhaps, I might have tried to study what the letters were trying to tell me. It is not that the image was less profound than that of prolific artists like Banksy. I am sure that this gangster artwork has almost certainly been the cause of more death and pain than any piece of fine art Banksy has finished. It is the fact that I cannot relate to what these less talented graffiti artists are trying to say. I can t relate to the artist s message because I am too pissed off at how they communicated it. Much like how the police are responding to the satire in Banksy s attack at police harassment in the United Kingdom. (George and Trimbur 310) Their point of view is immediately swayed because they are on the police force. There is absolutely no way they can take a neutral stand when looking at their art so immediately they find the need to get rid of it and throw whoever is creating the hostile images away. While graffiti is one great example of how a person s point of view effects their perception, there is in fact a very close cousin to the art form. This relative was such a powerful tool that it helped change the way a nation thought about a huge population in the southwest. I am speaking of course of the great murals that were created during the new deal period in America. These murals helped those of the Chicano movement to resist the ideals of the upper class American s that believed in the Melting Pot theory of the time. (Barnet-Sanchez
308)These have become synonymous with a sense of individualistic pride and strength with those who simply refuse to belong to a universal culture. For the Chicano movement this has become among one of the greatest thing to ever happen amongst their people. Their perception of these images coincides with their inner need to be an individual and not just belong. I believe that Eva and Holly used this example to portray the power of images and perception not because we can all relate to this specific movement but, because every one of us has had a time in our lives where we thought, who am I? How can I identify me? They found this ability to identify themselves as both artist and observer in the murals that were seen throughout the American South West. These people, Not interested in the Hollywood notion that art was an avenue to escape from reality, (Barnet-Sanchez 308) would use the art to project images of who they truly were. In response to the artist work you would even see some people invited to join in with the painting. This led to a renewed sense of self-pride for everyone following this movement. (Barnet-Sanchez 307) Until recently, I don t think I would have personally appreciated this article like I do now. I recently had the chance to take an art class which forced me to learn to draw. I understand just how challenging it can be for you to finish a piece of work that is either of great beauty or great failure. I find myself completely ecstatic with the fact I found out I have a knack for drawing and have since continued to do so in my free time. But as a very amateur artist I know that I should always be careful not say that one thing defines who I am. Much like the Chicano s, you must look at anything you do as merely another thing you are capable of doing and not who you are. What these people were trying to do is communicate a message to the
middle and upper class American s saying, Hey we are not you and we are not them, we are us! Often times we see the human defining who they are through something that seems completely radical and irrational, someone else. Whether we want to or not, the fact of the matter is that most of us will be parents some day and, many of us will live to see our children grow up to be everything that they could possibly dream of. Tillie Olson wrote an amazing short story about her life as a mother and watching her daughter grow up and succeed at something, tap dancing. While the story was primarily about the daughter and her mother trying to get her to see herself as a unique and strong individual, I like to look at what the mom was thinking in this story. The closing quote from Tillie said, Only to help her know. (Olson 390) To most parents anything your children do is the greatest thing you have ever seen. But to teach your children to be something great is also a communication of the parent s life and strength. There is that same sense of pride the Chicano s had in everything your children do. In Tillie s mind her daughter was the greatest tap dancer in the world. The cruel harsh reality of this world is that while her daughter aptitude for clicking heels might be an impressive skill, all of our children will have areas which they excel in. Chances are that they are never going to be the world s greatest at anything and someone looking at Tillie s daughter dance would probably say, That s nice, she is talented, but can she beat my son in football? Of course adults are going to take pride in their children, after all we are a reflection of those who raised us no matter how good or bad our elders are. It is interesting to me to see what happens when young children go against what these elders instruct them to do. It is almost human instinct to rebel against things that we are not used to or understanding of. Take
for example Marjane Satrapi s Graphical Novel depicting what happened during the Islamic revolution. To me, reading the cartoon like strip is almost comical. While I know that this is a real issue in another part of the world it seems so strange to me that children were being asked to cover their faces at school. I also recall reading in the article that, All bilingual schools must be shut down. They are symbols of capitalism. (Satrapi 363) Just reading that makes me think of Hitler. What an idiotic idea. Speech is but a tool. If you use that tool to make money than, yes, I suppose you could say that would be a capitalistic behavior. But for those who were encouraging these young children to wear veils and conform to the religious views of the culture an article like this would more than likely draw out feelings of disgust and hatred. That s just like the way I viewed the graffiti or the way the police viewed Banksy. Point of view has time and time again been something that can either give us the power to change the way a society acts or it can afford us the ability to overlook a piece of graffiti as if it were a simple act of vandalism. The next time you read an article or look at a piece of artwork I encourage you the reader to ask yourself, What was this person thinking when they created this? What would someone that is not me or them think when looking at this? Do they have an interest in what the author is trying to convey? It will almost certainly enable you the ability to gain a further and deeper understanding of the material at hand. In the end it will help you to relate to your fellow man an perhaps one day we can all set our differences aside and just be peaceful.
Works Cited Barnet-Sanchez, Eva Sperling Cockcroft and Holly. "Signs From the Heart: California Chicano Murals." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture. n.d. 303-309. "Banksy -"The Most Honest Artform Available"." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture. n.d. 310-313. Olson, Tillie. "I Stand Here Ironing." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture. n.d. 385-390. Satrapi, Marjane. "The Veil." George, Diana and John Trimbur. Reading Culture. n.d. 361-368.