Skip to main content

Angela Rosado, monuments and Unusual Suspects; week 4

How do context and identity impact the form and meaning of these artistic projects? Post your reflection on our blog post. (30 points)
​
All three of these monuments are a form of political reclamation of identity. They each draw attention to underrepresented/oppressed groups of people and their struggles, which have long been swept under the rug throughout history. Whole histories of these people have been and continue to be erased. It is because of these identities and the urge to speak out against the injustices towards them that the sculptures are made; identity is at the center of the form, not an outside aspect. And because of this fact that humanity has ignored and silenced these groups of people and their stories, this fact then becomes context when observing these sculptures.

The sculpture of the Brazeros in LA: represents Mexican migrant workers (identity) who toiled endlessly in their United States jobs during and after WWII (context)

"Rumors of War" in NY: represents a modern-day young black male (identity) riding a horse in a grandiose pose reminiscent of those of war heroes (context)

"Fons Americanus" at the Tate in London: represents a history of the British empire (~context) and the transatlantic slave trade (~identity)—Britain, and consequently its history, is constantly romanticized and is not often associated with it's oppressive past.

Furthermore, in this time of cultural upheaval and seeking justice, these sculptures represent our society's push for change and determination to bring issues to the foreground.
These pieces are almost entirely centered around context and identity.



In preparation for next week's guest visit, please review the organization's website

I really appreciate what the Unusual Suspects is doing for the community; I've been involved in a couple projects similar to this and still remember how wonderful the experiences have been. As an LAUSD student who came from an underfunded, primarily-Latinx pilot school focused on incorporating theater, I would have loved to have been a part of this. Inspirational stories, creating stories, being a part of a larger artistic community; all of these are things my school strove to do but could never really do because of the lack of resources.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Emmanuel Bradshaw-Monuments article-wk4

While reading some of the monuments pieces I felt as if each of them had something that they  needed to prove. For example, for the Tate piece felt the need to expose what history has done to  people. Each level exposed how much each person was taken advantage of in service of someone  else. For the rumors of war piece exposed the whole idealism of the past resurrecting a past historical  leader to make sure that the event does not happen again. The Bracero monument exposed all of the  work that the people of that time had done in order to make sure that not another person is taken  advantage of again. But truth be told, all of these monuments have come with some sort of backlash.  The bracero monument had gotten criticism for stating that the braceros were free to do what they  wished. From what the article had stated that was not the truth. It was merely one persons  interpretation of what a bracero was, b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Clare Morrissey-Art and Social Change Reader- Week 6

Art and Social Change Invisible Theatre               Invisible Theatre is the art of creating a performance in spaces that are not stages. The people who witness it cannot be aware it is a performance or else they would become spectators. The way this can be done is creating a solid and locked script that the actors stick to but also know it so well it allows flexibility and the ability for them to mess with it when the people witnessing the act give input or there is any disruption. The actors will prepare for anything when it comes to their performance. It is imperative to choose a location where people gather in large groups in the public. An example of how this is done is by having actors play in a scene in a crowded restaurant with many patrons. You have one actor make a big fuss over a meal they hate and the waiter offers them the nicest meal, acknowledging the price which the actor eating the meal lets it be known that the price is o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Scott Goldfarb Week 7

Assignment: Roberta Uno- Blog Post (due October 29th, 8pm) In preparation for Roberta Uno's visit next week, read her  "Steps Towards A New World."    In it she includes 11 precepts. In a blog post, address each of the following prompts: - What are the most important/significant ideas or elements outlined by Roberta and why? - What are the implications or resonances of Uno's precepts in your own practice? - What could be a metaphor or analogy for the kind of theater that Roberta Uno describes in this text? - What questions came up as you were reading this piece? ​ I found that the most important concept in the text was how the organization is not simply chained to a building. The theatre is wherever it is necessary to be, and is defined by the community it envelopes, not the brick and mortar it houses. Community and working together collectively to create art is more important than finding a roadhouse or a nice stage. Interestingly to me, this ...
Post a Comment
Read more