GOCA (Briseno)

GOCA

Part 1: Imagination

Ah, the peaceful koi pond. They glide through the water. So tranquil- for now.

Something spooked the fish. Triggering a frenetic response as the koi splash around. 

A blinding burst of light in the sky. Has the sun gone supernova?  

Suddenly, a red orb appears overhead. This hovering light feels ominous.

DESTROY! WE ARE HERE FOR YOUR SPICES! Run for your lives! Alien invaders! Oh, the humanities class!

Part Two: Reading Response

Berger starts profoundly with, “We only see what we look at” (8). He goes on to say that our vision of reality is that of “looking at the relation between things and ourselves” (9). Moreover, he states, “every image embodies a way of seeing” (10). The higher the level of imagination within art, the more intensely the art experience will resonate. Artists utilize composition as a rhetorical device. Similarly, “seduction” is used to persuade the viewer into believing that the intended portrayal, possibly fabricated, is the actual conclusion with regard to the subject matter (14).

The thought of perspective as both a part of formal structure and conversely a potentially flawed and limiting element. The camera essentially defines a spacial arrangement within time. As a result of what the camera is able to do, art adapted to show visually what it cannot do. Meaning is questioned with the camera's ability to “destroy the uniqueness of its image” (19). Reproductions and adaptations also become intertextual with malleable context. This is especially evident when text is added to imagery. The setting, atmosphere, or backdrop of an image impacts meaning. Examples include reproductions found in other than their original locations. According to Berger, the printed photos in GOCA are therefore considered reproductions.

Berger discusses expectations and assumptions, which act similarly to bias, such as ideologies including beauty or truth. Another assumption that I contemplated with regard to the GOCA exhibit is taste or appropriateness. This takes me down the road of ethics. Are there rules for consenting to be artistic subject matter? What happens when the subject matter no longer wishes to be shown?

Art has transformed from culturally “sacred” or “magical” to “social” and political. Contemporary approaches to art should include diverse ways to view beyond the typical museum. The downtown GOCA setup is our example of the University's approach to displaying art. Thoughts regarding the availability or access to art are associated when thinking about art as empowering or disempowering. In this technological age, does a “privileged minority” control and manipulate art/text in order to control the masses (11)? Who decides what art is shown at GOCA? The idea of using images as a source of power is a fundamental interdisciplinary issue.

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books Ltd: London 1972 Print