Acts of Resistance: Activists, Interlopers, Pranksters

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The first artist that comes to mind when I think about an artist who addresses and challenges the status quo, patriarchy, and its systemic power and dominance is an amazing artist I've only just started to see on instagram a few weeks ago. Her name is Elizabeth Barreto who mostly paints murals. "...her goal as an artist is to touch on the realidad of Puerto Rican society in the midst of a revived feminist revolution, and collapse after Hurricane Maria." one of her many projects is the one below.

https://wearemitu.com/culture/boricua-barreto-puerto-rico-art/

Caption: “Let’s kick ass! Against fear, silence, tyranny, oppression, inequality, gender and racial discrimination, sex abuse, the colonization of our bodies and minds. Against growing up in shaming and humiliation. We will not get tired of claiming what is rightfully ours every year, everyday. United we are powerful and we know it, the future knows it. And just because nobody has the right to tell me how to act like a PUERTO RICAN WOMAN!"

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FINAL SEMESTER PROJECT 12/18 (2:10pm-5pm+)

*projects must be posted to the blog THE NIGHT BEFORE ON 12/17. *Luanny, Shannon and Besem presented on 12/4 and do not need to return to class on 12/18.*

See below for the project details. Read carefully!

FINAL PROJECT

Mapping Social/Cultural Hot Topics and Interventions: Art, Movements and Civic Action

The goal of this assignment is to get you to take a stand on a significant issue related to the course material and then to highlight and support a past or current act of resistance. In order to be a conscientious participant in community and society, one must attend the current events and important social/political struggles of current times. Race relations, gender equality, social justice, health care, reproductive rights, privacy, corporate regulation, marriage equality, religious tolerance, LGBT rights, etc. are all examples of issues citizens have engaged in acts of opposition and resistance, using any number of creative strategies.

From the database of current events and social issues that we have been discussing during the course, choose an issue, artist, movement or citizen action that exemplifies an act of resistance as we have outlined throughout the semester. Using one (or more) of the readings and resources we have used as a way to make a critical argument, create a writing project that encourages or supports the artist or movement and presents their work to a larger audience. Make a case for why this act of resistance is important, timely and worth engaging in and promoting. Be sure to research extensively and thoughtfully in choosing and supporting your artist or movement. Be sure that your project coincides with your own political motivations, ideas and your professional ambitions.

Consider and research extensively and thoughtfully the history and development of the issue you have chosen. The themes and topics of the course have had a recurring history of friction within America’s culture and institutions. You will need to describe and explain the strategies that have been used and are now being used to engage this issue currently and explain how the example you have chosen to highlight fits into the larger issue. In addition to the media project, each student will do an oral presentation of 4 minutes, with visual support materials that summarizes their project.

INSTRUCTIONS: Be prepared to present your projects to the class in ~4 minute presentations. Visuals are a must. Feel free to bring physical props and handouts if appropriate. Remember you are ”pitching” the project to the class. Prepare a succinct and exciting summary of the project that is clear and makes the class want to look further at your project and potentially share the project, promote it and even get involved!

You must create a written POST for your final project on the class blog. These must be completed and posted the night before you are scheduled to present by 11:00pm. The post must include a link to your project, a clear and well written summary, images and/or videos. You must include your research and connections to other art activism and ideas of power and art from class discussions. Please reference your research and the class readings when appropriate. You will present from your post. Your project must live in the world (online or not) but all components of your project and presentation must link from the blog post somehow.

~500 words with references to class readings and description of the artist or artist group you are connecting to!
Your resource list/bibliography must be included in your post.

____________

Due 11/27

Post 3 (mini post)

Inspiration

Draw on your research for your semester project. Chose 1-2 artists, projects, artist collectives that have inspired or feel connected to your project. How have these artists created activist artwork? How have they used artwork to create advocacy and awareness? How does the work address an audience? What is the message? How does this connect to your own project? How will you raise awareness and address an audience in your own project?

~500 words 2-3 images, links to additional information about your inspiration. Feel free to include additional research in your post. Cite any sources.

two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

WORK ON YOUR SEMESTER PROJECTS! Research, experiment, seek inspirations and similar projects and get into production! Use the short writing assignment to push your project further and to frame it in relationship to other activist projects.

Groups 4 and 5 present

__________________

Due Wednesday 11/20

Post 2 Due on the blog

(if you did not attend the gallery visit you must visit on your own in order to complete the assignment)

Response to the Gallery Visit

Feast & Famine/Art & Activism

Please recall your gallery visit to the exhibition Feast & Famine and curator's tour of the exhibition by Anonda Bell. Choose 2 projects in the exhibition that are connected to your own semester project in some way.

Using the 'Interventionists' and 'Seeing Power' text books as resources focus some research on the socio-political issue and activism techniques that you are addressing and using in your final project. Then connect these to the 2 projects you have chosen from the exhibition. Please write a short description of each of the projects you have chosen. What are the subjects, messages and media of the works? How do the artists address socio-political subjects in the exhibited pieces? Please describe how the work addresses these issues and how the work exists inside of a political and capitalist structure while critiquing it? Please reference your readings from class. How does the exhibition touch upon issues of art, power and activism? How can you connect the exhibition of these works to issues of social and cultural capital and the dialogue of power and representation?

Be sure to address: How do the exhibited projects connect to your own project thematically in message or in form? What medium/media do they use? How do they engage an audience? Why are these challenges/critiques to these issues important? How is activism in art different from political activism outside of the art world? Is it? Use the readings extensively to help describe these projects, their critique of power and capitalist patriarchy and their place in a cultural and political landscape.

~800 words. You must include at least 3 quotes/citations from the class readings and 4 images with captions

REVIEW readings for discussion in class: Chapter 3 Ready to Wear pgs 97-108 Interventionists

And

Chapter 4 Seeing Through the Haze of Social and Cultural Capital pg 83-106 Seeing Power

Group 3 presents

two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

___________

CLASS CANCELLED TODAY 11/13 Apologies but I am very sick. All assignments/readings now due next Wednesday 11/20. Make sure you have done all of the reading , do RESEARCH for your final projects and work on production.

Due Wednesday 11/6

+++Wednesday 11/6 our CLASS WILL MEET AT:

Paul Robeson Galleries at Express Newark

54 Halsey Street, 3rd floor

in Newark

at 2:45pm

We will meet at the gallery in Newark at or before 2:45pm. Please plan to be there early! We will NOT meet in the classroom. We will meet at the gallery in Newark. You must get yourself TO the gallery ON TIME! See below for readings assignments due before the gallery and a blog post due on the blog.

READINGS:

Chapter 3 Ready to Wear pgs. 97-108, Interventionists

2 quotes handed in at the gallery when you arrive

Feast & Famine at Paul Robeson Galleries

https://artgallery.newark.rutgers.edu/exhibitions/feast-famine/

explore the website no quotes due

Justseeds Artist Cooperative - explore their website

https://justseeds.org/

explore the website no quotes due

two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

_____________________

Due Wednesday 10/30

**If you did not present your midterm proposal you will present in class 10/30 (only if you handed in your proposal/emailed it or posted it on the blog by today 10/27.) Please update and edit your proposals on the blog before 10/30 - you will present from the blog and hand in a hard copy of your proposal to me.

Congratulations to those who have already completed their midterms. There are some amazing projects in the works!

READINGS: Chapter 4 Seeing Through the Haze of Social and Cultural Capital pg 83-106, from Seeing Power

Group 2 presents

two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

___________________

Due Wednesday 10/23

MIDTERMS DUE

-Proposals (800words plus a resources/research list) must be printed out and handed in

-Proposals must also be summarized (somewhat streamlined for the web) with some images/sketches and link to any powerpoint and posted on the blog

-Presentations in class 3minutes (present from your blog post)

Many of you have lots to research and many decisions to make. Please research your topic, look at many examples of other things made to address this topic: movies, websites, books, articles. Find as much as you can in order to help you carve out exactly what you want to make your project about and How you will share this information with your audience.. FOCUS your idea as much as possible. Think carefully about why YOU want to make this project, who are you making it for (your audience or perceived audience), what is the message or purpose, what other art or activism projects exist that might be inspiring or helpful for your own project. READ, search online, talk to friends and colleagues Think hard and thoughtfully so you can propose a project that you actually want to make! There are many exciting ideas in the group! Now go figure out what kick-ass projects you can make with these ideas and go make them! Research, read, look, talk, ask, visit until you find the inspiring piece - go go go!

You must present the goals for your semester project in class in a short 3 minute presentation. Think of this as a “pitch” to a group of peers or investors. This proposal and your in-class presentation will be graded as your midterm grade.

**You will use your proposal post to present in class. Be sure to include images and links as appropriate. *You can also make a short slideshow/presentation (like powerpoint) but please be sure that you upload the presentation to the web or make it using a web application like Prezi and link this from your post. You can bring a USB drive only as a backup solution. You will not be able to plug in a USB drive for presentations unless it is a last resort.

*****COMPLAINT****EXTRA piece to include in your proposal to frame/develop your project for midterm: Think about the activism of the Guerrilla Girls. Connect their themes to your semester project and to advocacy and activism that is adjacent to your project. Now frame your semester project as a "complaint" as awareness raising or as a protest. How is your project creating advocacy and activism from an initial problem or "complaint"? Does your project come from you trying to solve a problem? Frame your semester project topic as a "complaint" in a short piece of writing. Then begin to craft a way of addressing this with a solution - this should help your project. Include these responses in your proposal.

WHAT THE PROPOSAL SHOULD INCLUDE:

A project topic proposal (~800 words) and a bibliography and/or research sources list must be handed in and posted on to the blog with images. Please clearly present what you plan to make for your project. What is the main topic of your project? Why you have chosen this topic? What is your message for the audience? How will you reach an audience (ie "publish" the project)? How can an audience engage with the project? How does this project fit into your professional aspirations and your portfolio? What artists have influenced or inspired your project? What other projects have you found that also address this issue and speak to your audience? Your project should be informed by research. Please dive into the subject of your work and also other projects that may be inspirational and in dialogue with your project. Please list all resources that will inform your project so far in a resource list at the end of your proposal.

Good luck!!

No new readings due

two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

____________________

Due Wednesday 10/16

READINGS: Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls pgs 7-95 (the whole book)

WORK ON YOUR SEMESTER PROJECTS! Research, experiment, seek inspirations and similar projects and get into production! I will be asking for updates on projects in class.

two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

GROUP 1 PRESENTS

__________________

Due Wednesday 10/9

READINGS:

Chapter 1 Nomads pgs. 25-60 Interventionists

Chapter 5 and 6 Seeing Power in Spaces pg 107-146

Seeing Power

MIDTERM TOPIC research your topic and focus on what you would like to do. Write 1-2 paragraphs about what your project will address, what you would like to accomplish with your project, what form it will take and who will it be presented to/involve. You must hand this in by the end of class on 10/9.

EDIT POST 1 until 10/9

Be sure to edit your post, check formatting, review references, be sure you included a works cited list and check that images and captions are all appearing correctly.

TWO TWEETS!! #actsofresistanceAIP

__________________

Due Wednesday 10/2

READINGS:

Chapter 1 and 2 pg 3-54

Seeing Power

Chapter 4 The Experimental University pg 111-132

Interventionists

two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

CHALLENGING STATUS QUO post (see bell hooks assignment)

Choose an artist who you feel challenges the status quo. Share a description of their work and their messages through their work on the blog in a short post. Include images and a link to more of their work.

Post 1

Writing response to the exhibition visits (due 10/2)

Please visit the exhibition in Visual Arts Gallery and Lemmerman Gallery. In response to your observations of the artwork and the materials presented as part of the exhibitions please select two works in one of the the exhibitions. Identify and describe the two selected works and write a short analysis of the major themes addressed in the works and in the overall exhibition. Please use all materials available in the gallery to gather information on the artists, curatorial mission and each of the pieces in the gallery. How do the works potentially address space, location, identity and other themes. Research the two works you selected in the exhibition and describe how these works may be activist and connect them to the class readings. Are the works examples of intervention? How do the works act as works of activism? What messages are the works including? How do these messages create awareness and advocacy? Use the examples in the exhibition to discuss the role of artist as activist.

~800 words, 4 images that you have taken at the exhibition (with captions), 3 citations from the readings (include a works cited at the bottom of the post) and 2 links to external resources

RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATE IDEAS FOR YOUR SEMESTER PROJECT!!
Look into various projects and artists that address the issue you have chosen. Find examples that inspire and inform your project. Focus your issue and project mission to address a very specific audience and choose part of the larger issue you proposed to focus on.

**A longer project topic proposal (~2 pages) and bibliography/research sources list will be due for your MIDTERM printed and handed in to me and posted on to the blog. You will be presenting the goals for your project in class in short 2-3 minute presentations on 10/23. This proposal and presentation will be graded as your midterm. Your completed project is due at the end of the semester and will be presented in class as your final semester project.

________________

Due 9/25

READINGS:

Seeing Power, Introduction

and

Interventionists, Anarchy in the Ruins pg 143-146 and Encyclopedia Entries pg 147-154

two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

__________________

Due 9/17

GET THE BOOKS!! Next week you will have readings due from both books.

READING ON BLACKBOARD:

bell hooks, Understanding Patriarchy (+2 quotes (or more) from the reading - to be collected)

Response to the bell hooks reading - to be handed in (this can be on the same page as your quotes to be handed in): Define Patriarchy as per the bell hooks reading.

++++++Then through online or other research find an artist/art project who addresses and challenges the status quo, patriarchy, and its systemic power and dominance. Write a short description of the art project and bring it to class in addition to your quotes. You can share this project on twitter or on the blog if you wish.

REVIEW: the readings from last week - see below

Gallery Visit

We will be visiting the exhibitions in the VA Gallery and the Lemmerman Gallery in Hepburn Hall during class.

Two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

________________

Due 9/11

READINGS

John Berger Ways of Seeing Ch7 on BLACKBOARD

2 quotes + response on sheet of paper in class

Susan Sontag excerpt from On Photography

http://www.susansontag.com/SusanSontag/books/onPhotographyExerpt.shtml

2 quotes + response on sheet of paper in class

Intro on the blog

Who do you think you are?

What is your role in media consumption, critique and/or media making? How much of our common experience involves shared mass media images, events and stories? Use several examples to illustrate your description of your relationship to media.

Can you think of ways that the media covers activists, acts of resistance and protest? How do you feel about this relationship? Use examples to illustrate your answers. Your blog post must be at least 4 paragraphs and you must include at least one link and one image.

GET THE BOOKS!!

Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the 21st Century by Nato Thomson, Melville House Publishing, Brooklyn 2015

The Interventionists: Users’ Manual for the Creative Disruption of Everyday Lives edited by Nato Thomson and Gregory Sholette, MIT Press, Cambridge 2004

Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls by the Guerrilla Girls, HarperCollins, New York 1995

two tweets #actsofresistanceAIP

______________________

Link to the Syllabus

Link to Videos Shown in Class

Link to our twitter hashtag: #actsofresistanceAIP

Discussion guidelines

The course material and discussions can often be provocative and challenging. We must therefore be careful to be respectful of each other and of our viewpoints.

We must come to class prepared and ready to discuss the readings. Please keep discussions focused on the readings and class materials and keep examples relevant and appropriate. If you have not done the readings you are not to participate in the discussion.