For the protest project, I am essentially protesting protest. While many of my classmates are politically protesting against Scott Walker, the budget bill, or some effect it has had on Wisconsin, I have taken my piece in a different direction. The piece I have created does not necessarily project my politics on the matter as much as it does project morals. The events that have taken place as a result of the governor’s, as well as voters’, decisions have caused chaos and resulted in unfortunate actions of many people. I am protesting these unfortunate actions and the negative effects they are having on the public, specifically students.
In all of the excitement as a result of Governor Walker’s actions, many teachers are overcome with the idea of losing their rights. As a result, it has become popularized to walk out of schools in protest. These walkouts have happened in schools all over Wisconsin. Teachers have been walking out to represent solidarity in their union, while either being unaware or carefree of the impact this specific action is having on their students. With these educators being caught up in the moment, they are leaving their students behind when they walk out of schools. Some teachers have had their students participate in the walkouts. This is including them in a political agenda, in which they may not agree with, or may not be mature enough to understand what they are partaking in. It is unclear to me why these educators think that walking out on innocent students is the best solution in the given situation. By walking out, teachers are targeting the wrong audience. The largest impact of these walkouts is on the students, as it directly affects them. There are many other constructive ways to prove a point, while still practicing what you preach.
Just as walkouts are negatively impacting Wisconsin’s students, the general attitude of their teachers negatively impact them as well. As an art education major, I am constantly in and out of schools for field experience. I have observed some very shocking attitudes and actions over the past few years, but there was specifically a recent occasion that caught my attention in accordance to this project. This incident happened in an eighth grade classroom, where I am currently completing pre-student teaching hours. There had been a lot going on with news on the budget bill, the risk of layoffs, and walkouts. This caused tensions to be high. The teacher told the students that she wasn't having a very good day and that, “Today is a bad day for teachers!” One of the students replied, "What do you mean? It's a great day!" I really appreciated his optimism. This interaction between student and teacher was very powerful to me. The negativity of the teacher completely interfered with the students' learning that day. The power that the teacher had in bringing her entire classroom down just amazed me. But, the impact that particular pure and innocent student made was beyond his years. He has no idea how impactful his statement was.
On this particular day, the students were making origami lilies. The juxtaposition of the lilies and the negativity in the classroom was very contradicting. The lily symbolizes devotion, innocence, purity, and youth. A teacher should be devoted to his/her students. I thought that this occurrence had a lot to do with the meaning behind walkouts. A teacher could be symbolized as a lily, in the sense that they are devoted, maternal figures, but this concept is completely backward when teachers decide to walk out. While the educator may be corrupt, the student remains pure and innocent. They remain devoted to learning while they are in school.
For the protest project, I wanted to create something that would represent this interaction between the student and teacher. I decided that there should be two origami lilies - one representing the teacher and one for the student. The teacher’s lily is folded from a newspaper article about walkouts to represent bringing corruption into the classroom. The student’s lily is made of pure white paper to express purity and innocence. I decided to photograph the lilies so that I could permanently capture the teacher’s lily in an ominous, looming manor, and the student’s lily in a small, innocent manor. I also wanted the compositions to appear as if the lilies are separated, but interacting with one another. To aid the interaction, I have included dialogue from the student and teacher with paint on the photo surfaces.
One artist I can identify with is An-My Le. She is interested in the experiences she must go through in order to take her photographs. What she experiences at military sites is very significant in the conceptual aspect of her work (2). I feel the same way with the protest project I have made. It was essential that I experienced what was really happening in the classrooms to decipher how I would make the concept at hand function as an art form. In general, I can also identify my work with hers in the sense that she is interested in the way that humans and nature interact. The soldiers she has conversed with claim that combat is really an interaction with nature. She speaks of this interaction as a “communion,” which I can relate to my own work (3).
Sam Durant is an artist that I can identify with in terms of the visual aspects of my project. Much of Sam Durant’s imagery involves haphazardly transcribed text (1). This chaotic way of making a statement seemed to be appropriate when layered with the photography I have done for my piece. The text I have added creates a dialogue within the diptych in a disordered way, which is reminiscent of the issue at hand.
Sources:
Sam Durant
1. http://www.blumandpoe.com/current.html
An-My Le
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofhqYzW5cxg&feature=player_embedded
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bThyPXhzSOE
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