Print Gallery Reflection

The idea of a gallery in my opinion will continue to be a feasible one since it is one universal method of presenting one's work to the public domain. Artists cannot expect immediate public attention if they believe there is something aesthetically intrinsic or valuable about their work that people need to take note of, thus the gallery is a fantastic way for artists to make professional entrances into the art world. The show we had this week does not hold that much in stake, but it at least provides a good tutorial on how one curates a gallery event. A person hosting such an event should be mindful of the attractiveness to visitors pertaining mostly to its accessibility. That person cannot expect those people to line up to look at portraits, especially in a small room, so there should at least be some complementary drinks, snacks, and books to accommodate them. I believe the purpose of a gallery is to not only show appreciation of art, but to also instigate conversation about it, and a way of inviting that is food and beverage as well as books corresponding to their respective portraits to discuss over in greater detail. The contents of the gallery should also extend outside the small room that it is being held in, and our show did exactly that with our snacks and drinks.

My experience preparing for this show was interesting to say the least. The process of printing photographs and hanging them as portraits is in of itself rudimentary, but understanding the organization of a small event provides a valuable lesson in teamwork and management. Cooperation leads to strong results, and I believe we achieved just that. Many people came in on opening day, and they were respectful and appreciative of our work, and I think that is perhaps the best that we could ask for, especially for a show held in a relatively small room in a densely packed building, among many more accessible locations. Size aside, I felt the room fit with the photographs tonally right, with the portraits exhibiting many different moods and the aesthetic of room being rather neutral and not pertaining to one theme alone. The noninterference of the room also allows for a more open feel and more room for free discussion about the artwork.

The books are probably a more preferable form of presenting our artwork because visitors get to appreciate more of our work than the limited number officially displayed on the wall. I noticed more people gather around the pedestals where the books were located and how there was more discussion going on there than at the walls where the portraits were hung. Perhaps there is a subconscious button in our minds that switches our talkative sides off when we venture near the walls as opposed to when we gather around the pedestals.

February 17, 2015 Convocation Lecture Reflection

Before I give out my thoughts about that convocation thing that a surprising number of people did not like for some reason, I would like to get one thing out of the way by personally admitting I was not feeling too hot and extremely tired, so while I was there physically, I was nodding off a bit. However, I did find time to read an article about one Kwame Anthony Appiah and relatively got the gist of what he was talking about at convocation. Some people seem to be under the impression that Appiah was encouraging the assimilation of eastern nation into western cultures, but I do not think he was doing that in the least bit.

 There is a book by Appiah called The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen that he so obviously references because it covers the same topic and he goes over similar content in that book. Appiah is simply making an analysis of the problems in some honor systems in particular cultures, while not neglecting the fact there also problems with those systems in the west. I am sure that if there is one quote from McLuhan people who were not favor of Appiah's lecture will reference, it is "In the name of 'progress,' our official culture is striving to force the new media to do the work of the old," which can be interpreted as western cultures using its technological advancements to gain the upper hand over other less fortunate countries and potentially attempt to impose themselves on them.