Fear and phobia

The lecture given by Sean Quimby on fear and phobia and it's effects on American psyche was interesting. Mr Quimby, a well dressed, confident man who will be teaching a course on fear next year at Syracuse produced many examples of how, why, and what American citizens fear. He began by talking about a child's fear of the boogey-man and monsters. He spoke of the development from monsters to things such as spiders, and then to concepts such as isolation and even the dark. He cites Charles Darwin's sutdy of fear by stating that fear is innate in humans and animals alike and everyone feels fear. Quimby used the example of Orsen Wells broadcast of an alien invasion, and the ensuing hysteria it caused, is a good example American's fear of captivity and invasion. This fear of captivity and invasion, Quimby says, is why American's fear terrorism so much.
I must state I disagree with parts of Sean Quimby's assessment of American phobia in regards to terrorism. He states that it is more likely that an American citizen dies in a car accident than in a terrorist attack. While i do not disagree that it is more likely, I do disagree with his explanation of why American's fear terrorism more. The event of September 11th struck a nerve in all Americans and will always resonate in the minds of American citizens. People fear car accidents less because they feel that they can avoid the situation of an accident, while a terrorist attack is completely unannounced and unwarranted. The fear of not knowing is what exists here, not the fear of terrorism installed by a government. I believe that something Quimby failed to recognize in this topic is the fear of the unknown. American's, more than anyone, are a people that enjoy having a degree of control over their future, and the possibility of disaster eliminates that control that American's have over their lives and futures.
I do not believe that the precaution's taken at airports, major entertainment venues, and other places are unnessary hindrances fueld by a terrible fear. It is necessary is best for all traveler's in order to ease the fear of such a disaster, and better protect American citizens and international travelers. Terrorism isn't fiction created by an author to scare us, it's real and I'll welcome anything precautions meant to protect me.

Binh Danh

I visited the Binh Danh exhibit with my freshman forum class. I have never appreciated art as much as some and thought originally that i would be bored out of my mind as my classmates and I walked the exhibit. I instead found myself examing every work with intense interest. I found that the works blended my interest of history and politics with art and manner in which it was presented was moving. The "One Week's Dead" exhibit was a moving tribute to those lost as a result of American involvement in Vietnam. This exhibit makes me think of what art could come from our current involvement in the Middle East. If Binh Danh can be this creative in portraying the war in Vietnam then i hope someone can move people the same way Binh Danh did with an exhibit portraying the war in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Sontag's article and Binh Danh's exhibit are similar in many ways. Sontag wrote that in some cultures the people don't want their picture to be taken because they feel that something is taking from them in order to put their face in a picture. They believe that a piece of their soul is taken with every flash of the camera. The Binh Danh exhibit shows that a piece of someone is taken when a picture is taken but it is by no means a negative process. A piece of these young men in the exhibit exist in their representation by Binh Danh and it allows us to see what they did. It allows us to see the sacrifice that was given up to protect what we hold dear and the freedoms we often take for granted. A piece of these men exists in these photos and everyone should see this exhibit to see what was given up for their protection.

de Duve

After reading about Marcel Duchamp’s famous “ready mades” I can’t disagree of de Duve’s assessment that art is whatever humans call art. Art can only be created if an artist’s intention is to create art. The first time art ever interested me was when a local Native American artist had visited our elementary school to give us a glimpse of his work and introduce us to the world of art outside of the color paintings we were creating in art class once a week. The artist, Ely Thomas, told a story of his past as well as a brief history of his people, the Onondaga Indian tribe, and showed us many samples of his work which interested all of us kids. The one piece that I found most interesting was one that Mr. Thomas had named “The Good Journey”. The painting depicts the Peacemaker gliding in his stone canoe towards a small tree on an island slightly off in the distance. The tree represents the Tree of Peace. While the painting at first glance is a great painting, it’s what’s hidden in the painting is what drew me to it during Mr. Thomas’s visits. Hidden in the sky is the silhouette Grand Council Chief of Mr. Thomas’s tribe looking towards the tree. The painting also has animals hidden in the water and sky all running towards the Tree of Peace. Mr. Thomas’s presentation was only about two hours long but my interest in his paintings and the hidden elements to his work lasted long after. These paintings differ from most others because of its strong cultural connection and it’s relevance to the Iroquois people. His paintings all tell stories or tales of the Iroquois and serve as a way to pass the stories on through the generations. Mr. Thomas’s fame amongst his tribe members and in the area show that his paintings are successful in telling the us of the proud past of the Onondaga Iroquois tribe.
The definition that caught my attention was one of the first ones offered in de Duve’s essay. The definition which states that art “seems to refer to an activity that is either integrative of compensatory, lying midway between their myths and sciences.” I believe his assessment that art is a word that’s meaning often escapes most people trying to define it and is used in many different ways, is a fair description of art. Trying to think of the human race from an outside ethnographers point of view would be very interesting but would confuse most when it comes to the world of art. The individuality of artist’s and the many time periods and progressions that art went through throughout human existence leaves art as the probably the most difficult way to explain and describe the human race. I feel as though art is a word that may get thrown around too lightly. If it were up to me to decide what gets the title of art and what doesn’t I would leave out the style of art referred to as “ready mades”. Art is something that should leave a sense of accomplishment and pride in its artist and the hard work should be seen in the art. An artist who simply takes an everyday object and inscribes his name on it is not an artist but is simply someone who can spell his own name. I also contend that this form of art may be a form of plagiarism. The company who made the urinal used in Marcel Duchamp’s isn’t getting any credit for the supposed work of art the created when they mass-produced their urinal. Unfortunately my lack of artistic ability and art education doesn’t qualify me to pick and choose what art is.