Reading Discussion & Art Discussion

1. You need only make one post during this time. Choose either one is fine. As always, posts should be short and pithy, but insightful: if you exceed 300 words you are trying harder than necessary, and if you write less than 150 words you’re probably not trying hard enough.

• The impact of art can be very personal. Is there an idea in this week’s reading about “belonging”, about “emerging from shadows”, about recovering “neglected” stories that feels personal to your life or life’s experiences?
• Chang quotes mid-20th century artist Dong Kingman as saying his art is rooted “in between” west and east culture. Indeed, Kingman could not escape such perceptions whether he intended them or not. (p. x). Roughly 70 years have passed since these remarks. Do you think artists identifying or perceived as “ethnic” today are also fated to always be seen as bridging two cultures? Are they likely to share Kingman’s wish to “be myself”? (p. x)

2. [Directions: This discussion board will be open for comments during Weeks 6 and 7. You need only to comment here just one time–though be sure you also comment in Reading Discussion II. Your post may respond to a specific prompt below; or, you may reply to another student’s post; or you may initiate a topic of your own. Posts in all discussion boards should be between 150-300 words long.

For Art Discussion Board II, please focus on the artists and artworks featured on the website The Art Story www.theartstory.org (Links to an external site.) Specifically, we are considering three of their Movement pages: pages for performance art, body art, and feminist art. These movements overlap somewhat in their timing; they display some similar values and goals; some of the artists may be associated with more than one of the movements.

Click here to read about:

• the movement in performance art (Links to an external site.)
• the movement in body art (Links to an external site.)
• the movement feminist art (Links to an external site.)

Sample prompts [copy and paste the prompt you choose into the opening of your post] :

• Identify two artists or two specific artworks and explain what about them interests or inspires or infuriates or entices you.
• Discuss a theme from one of these pages or artworks that you find interesting.
• Discuss whether the images speak to “divided culture”
• Discuss what they say about “belonging”
• Discuss what they say about identity
• Discuss ways in which they demonstrate political activism or political action.