How art gives shape to cultural change

1) The work of art that I have chosen is the very last one. It appears in the speech at 11:09 minutes approximately. It seems to be a picture but it must be a photomontage.

It represents a hand of a black man holding something that has a cone shape. I do not know what it is. In the background there is a white landscape and a blue sky. We can also see mountains on the left and the right.

I do not understand what it exactly represents, I do not understand if there is a hidden message. But when I see this work of art I feel calm. There is peace in this work of art; it allows us to escape from reality and to dream. I can also say that there is an opposition between the white of the landscape and the black of the arm.

2)a) Thelma Golden says that images are powerful, images can change lives. It allows people to understand themselves and each others. She says that art can change the way we think about culture and ourselves. It allows talking about beauty, power, about ourselves and with others persons. She wonders how images could word and did work. She thinks that images have to change ideas in the society.

  b) Thelma Golden wonders if a museum can be a catalyst in a community and if it can allow artists to be change agents. She says that it is a place where we discuss and think about ideas. It is there that artists can expose their creativity and innovation; it is where they can be catalysts.

3) I think that Thelma Golden exaggerates when she says that artists are real catalysts. Firstly, the main objective of the art is to make something that is liked by people, something that is beautiful, original… Sometimes an artist can convey a message (like Guernica) and there are some kinds of art that are made only to convey a message (like a cartoon). But even if an artist wants to tell us something, it is not always a success. Not only, we have to understand the message but also we have to see his work. It depends also on the type of art and how the message is conveyed. For example, it is easy to understand the song Manhatan Kaboul but the message of George Orwell is not explicit in Animal Farm. Sometimes, the message can be understood only by a few people.

What is art?

I think that there is not a single definition of art and I think that each person has his definition of art. Moreover, there are differents types of art. For example, a book, a picture, but also music, cinema or dance can be called art.

I think that we can call art something that causes emotion. Depending on the person, the emotion can be different. For example, there are persons who like modern art and persons who think that it is ridiculous.

For me, art is something that is original, something that takes time to be done, something that is done with passion. We can for example say that tradition is art, it is something that people like, it is singular, an inheritance.

Art is something done by a person, and this person put a part of himself in his piece. The author is the only person who can completely understand the meaning of his piece.

Craft

Firstly, I am going to speak about the card making process :

At the beginning, the woman chooses images and differents papers (4). Then, she figures out good colors to put whith the papers. The next step is to colour the images, to cut it and to put ink on it with a sponge. After, she glues soft flowers on it.

Finally, she makes layers of the papers and she puts her sentiment on the card. She can also put buttons or diamond on the card.

Now I am going to speak about silk painting, it is a way to make scarf, card, cushion... :

The first step is to choose a pattern and to cut the silk. You have to use a framework in order to tense the silk, it has to have the good size. The next step is to reproduce the pattern with paint. It is easier to put the silk on the pattern.

Finally you have to wait your work to dry. If you want a better look, you have to put salt on the silk just after painting. Salt brightens the color, and give a light effect.

The silk painting is a very old art. The silk appeared in China, and the Chineses were accustomed to paint on silk before the invention of the paper.

The composting

I am going to speak about the composting. It is a natural process which consists in decomposing fermentable waste. Microorganisms (like mushrooms and bacterias), water and oxygen decompose organic to begin with. Subsequently, we have the compost. So I am going to explain how to make your own compost.

The first step is making a tank. You can take wooden planks and pallets. On the top, you have to put a lid. In the next stage, you have to gather waste together and put it in your tank. You can take meal waste like pieces of vegetables.

Fermentation causes a rise in temperature. Then, the mixture should be well-mixed every two weeks to allow ventilation. At the same time, will appear worms and other insects. A part of organic will be consumed by them.

The last step is to use compost for your plants. Compost has beneficial effects on the diffusion of nutrients in the soil and it will be used by plants roots.