Today we will read about two different controversial issues that are happening in the art world. You will pick one issue and write a 250 word response to your blog justifying who you think was right in that situation.
Case Study #1: Censoring Student Art: Controversial High School Art Project Taken Down
Honors students at Oxon Hill High School were given an assignment to create a display that shows what social justice means to them. The display pictured above was eventually taken down, as district officials feared it could be considered disrespectful towards police officers. What do you think? Read more here.
Ideas to consider: Oxon Hill High School is located in Maryland, not far from the rioting happening in Baltimore. The school is about 90% black. How do you think the public would have reacted if the piece were displayed in an state far from the riots, or in a predominantly white school district? What makes an artwork appropriate for public display? How does this change if the artwork is displayed in a school? What types of freedoms do you give up in exchange for the right to go to school (ex. following a dress code)? Why does this happen? If you could create an artwork to draw attention to a controversial social issue, what would you create and why? How do you think the adults in your life (both at home and at school) would react to this artwork?
Case Study #2: Artist sells Instagram photos taken by others for $90,000; keeps all the money
Do you have an Instagram account? How do you feel about someone else selling your photos as their own work (and keeping the money)?
An man named Richard Prince has been printing and selling other people’s Instagram photos, and what he is doing is perfectly legal. Read more here.
Angry? So were the artists he ripped off. Read about how they got revenge here.
Ideas to consider: How would you feel if Richard Prince used one of your photos? How would your answer change if he was selling the images for $20 instead of $90,000? Would you feel differently if he was selling photorealistic drawings or paintings he created of other people’s Instagram photos? Why or why not? If you could make money appropriating another person’s artwork, what would start with, how would you change it, and why? Musicians frequently sample parts of other songs. Is that ok? How do you think sampling music is similar to appropriating artwork? How is it different? What is the difference between being inspired by someone’s artwork and plagiarizing it? How do you think the internet and the prevalence of social media has changed the idea of owning an artwork and fair use regarding that artwork?
Today we will:
- Write a 250-word response to our blog on one of the above case studies. Start by answering the questions listed in the “Ideas to Consider” section of the case study, and then elaborate however you feel best completes your response.
SOTA Foundations 2 