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Creativity: Learning Outcome 6: January 2020

In the morning we discussed the credibilities of artists and whether or not they should receive credit for art that is assembled by their employees, and the problems surrounding art that have one name on it but was designed by someone else. For example, Jeff Koons, an artist who focuses on everyday objects and creates large sculptures of them, has a giant studio filled with workers who basically do all of his work for him. There are so many problems that follow this being that his studio is based in modern New York where his employees are making only $15 an hour which to some may be considered unfair in comparison to the amount of recognition Jeff Koons is receiving. Another big name in the art world is Damien Hirst. Hirst is well known for his work involving animals and placing them into containers with some sort of gel to hold them in place. While he designs his pieces he has no involvement in installing the piece. After the piece is placed he then hires a group of people to judge whether the piece fits his aesthetic.

Next, we walked from school over to the contemporary art museum, there we saw two exhibits. On the first floor, we saw: Garrett Bradley, American Rhapsody. It consisted of three documentary-style experimental films. They focus on multiple themes such as race, southern culture, class, and social justice. The main film on display is called “America.” The piece is a collection of clips both directed by Bradley and some that she found. The entire film is shot in black and white and she also plays found music in the background. This piece acts as a representation of African American values, history, and culture. The second exhibit we visited at the CAMH was: Will Boone, The Highway Hex. Something I found very interesting about this exhibit was that he focuses on the medical condition “white line fever.” This is where a driver is able to operate a car safely but has no memory of doing so. The overall concept of the exhibit is the drive between California and Texas and the space in between the two.

We ended the day by watching a documentary about Ai Weiwei who is a Chinese contemporary artist. He is a major activist and calls attention to human rights violations within China. He is very engaged with politics within his country which has caused him to be disliked by the Chinese government. My personal favorite piece (I'm not sure if this can be considered a piece or just a way of taking action) is where he published the list of children and their birthdays that were killed in the Sichuan earthquake. He later dedicated a mural created out of backpacks to these children.

This is learning outcome 6 because I demonstrated engagement with issues of global significance. I did so by educating myself on global issues that artists around the world have worked on.


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