Wednesday afternoon was sunny and lovely as usual but this time we were not at classroom but museums. I assumed this was a bonus after the progress test in the morning in which we suffered a lot both mentally and physically. And a little trip was just right for relaxation.
It was a trip of discovery and surprise though I have to confess that I do not understand many items on display, especially in the art museum. However I was impressed or shocked, more precisely, by a video. In the video, a heavy middle aged woman in black dress and bright-red high heel shoes danced on a piece of glass with butter on the surface. Her serious and glassy-eyed face in the dim light together with strange drumbeats created a frightening atmosphere. She twisted her body to the drumbeats like a snake and for many times she tumbled heavily down because of the slippery glass. The butter ruined her dress, shoes and make-up and finally she took off the shoes and walked away like a drowned mouse.
Feminist was the first word came to my mind after watching the video. The bright-red high heel shoes are like the symbol of discrimination to women. While the shoes are harmful to women’s health, they are willing to wear it mainly because men enjoy watching it and want them to do so. Moreover, the dancing woman in the video seemed to struggle hardly with such stereotype. She fell down over and over again to imply the unfair treatment women have been given. Although she took off the shoes eventually, the hurt could never be removed. This is the same as the hurt which gender discrimination causes to women as something can never be changed once it is done.
I could feel rage, pain, disappointment and fear from the dancing woman strongly and really. Perhaps this is the power of arts. People like it not because what it conveys but how it conveys to impact on you and make you feel real so that you will start thinking. To this degree, this piece of work is successful.
Exhausted was the best word to describe me after the trip but I was glad of it because I learned. And this is what matters.
Waooo~ you observed so carefully and thought so deeply. Actually I just looked though the works generall and did not think much of the works. I should learn from you.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that your observation is very abortive. I watched the same video, but I did not think out so many meanings behind it. Maybe in the past, women’s status was much lower than men’s, it is a kind of reflection of past. But now everything seems different, we are equal. Women have the freedom to do what we like.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that it's a quite creative point about the video! The woman made me afraid and confusing initially, but now I feel that she's a persistent character and the art has some meaningful and helpful spirit to share.
ReplyDeleteYou are so thoughtful! I can hardly understand that video. I could not even understand what the woman is doing! But if it expresses the meaning as you said, i think it is not meaningful for us. Because the discrimination towards women is no longer existing at least among us. In contrast, females seem more precious than men!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I really admire your attitude towards this trip. I never regard it as a bonus of the progress test and in that way I was not attentious during this trip. There are indeed many videos in SAM but I don't even have the patience to watch one completely. Let alone arousing so many feelings. In one word, Well done~
ReplyDeleteBasically, art is like literature, it is subjective and you interpret it based on your experience and worldview. What is important is to justify your view with evidence you can get from the art piece itself.
ReplyDeleteGood points! i think you truly grasp the point of that words of arts. To be honest, I do not think men and women can be equal due to the biological capacities.
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