parsonsg15's blog

Todays reading was “Body, Gender and Transnationalism: Art and Cultural Criticism in a Changing Europe” by Tal Dekel. The article views the economic and political factors that effect transnationalism, or migration of immigrants. He argues that Ukraine and other northern european countries face a problem of individuals, particularly women leaving the country due to current living conditions. One of the most interesting works of art referenced in the work was “Looking for a Husband with a EU Passport”

http://images.artnet.com/images_us/magazine/features/cone/cone5-3-07-15.jpg

In this work the artist attempts to “sell herself off”. Instead of marketing herself a dating profile in the “normal” way, she sets herself up as a product to be sold. She appears in her add; nude, head shaved, and expressionless.

This art speaks volumes for the current situation in Ukraine in regards to the desire to leave the country and the lengths people will go to to escape an oppressive situation. This also speaks to the current situation in Ukraine that needs to be addressed, the growing human trafficking rings.

http://sputniknews.com/world/20140920/193107370/Human-Trafficking-Cases-in-Ukraine-on-the-Rise.html

http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Ukraine.htm

The above links offer additional reading on the topic and can be very useful to in class discussion.

Todays post comes from one of the vary first reading that we did as a class “Re-Drawing the Art Map of ‘New Europe’”. This reading focuses on the idea that Europe is experiencing a new time in its history. the author makes the claim that western countries are now looking at eastern countries for their art work. The sudden interest in this art comes after the fall of the Soviet Union.

According to the author, the reason for they sudden interest is that the wast wants to see what these pressed countries cultural identities are. One of the best examples of what the west is looking for comes from an exhibit in 2006 called “Living Art -On the Edge of Europe”.

http://www.e-flux.com/announcements/living-art-–-on-the-edge-of-europe/

This is called a great insight to the culture because if was fresh and new with no Soviet or Western influence.

Despite wha the author thinks, I disagree with the idea that new eastern art must not be influenced, but be original. The world is now a global place, and the fact that Ukraine wants to participate in the global marked should be expressed in their art. No one should be forced to make art in a specific way, because that is what someone expects of the, they should make art hat inspires them .

Todays reading was “Two Bad Words: FEMEN & Feminism in Independent Ukraine” by Jessica Zychowicz. The work, written by an american author, attempts to allies the woman rights group in Ukraine, FEMAN. This group as she points out preforms outrageous public displays, often atlas partially nude. One of their demonstrations can be seen below.

http://www.rtl.fr/actu/societe-faits-divers/des-femen-arborant-une-moustache-hitlerienne-manifestent-contre-le-fn-7771340633

As a personal reflection of the article I can sympathize with the authors viewpoint that FEMAN does not set up a cohesive feminist movement. The reason for this is quite simply that FEMAN takes some outrageous steps toward awareness. While many people view this type of behavior as obscene, it must be realized that people thought Oleg Kulik’s performance art as a dog was vulgar and useless. yet it has created a narrative through which change could progress. FEMAN is no different, they have created a new and active conversation about woman in Ukraine. In their view andy publicity is good publicity. Below are two images that compare FEMEN to Oleg Kulik

http://static0.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/3300-8/photos/3389898.jpg

http://xz.gif.ru/images/doc/c1311-interpol10.jpg

From this I have learned that no matter the subject matter artists seeking attention for their cause will go to outrageous lengths. Some people will condemn their actions, but it will always promote talk and increased thinking on the subject at hand. This type of art is not wrong, but progressive and often does not sit well that are complacent in their lives.

More can be learned about FEMEN on their website:

www.femen.org

Today I had the chance to attend an extra credit opportunity in relation to my Art in Ukraine class. A speaker was visiting the college near ours and was speaking on a “Russo-Ukrainian War” This man, Andrei Illarionov, used to be the economic policy advisor to Vladimir Putin.  His bio and intro auction to his talk can be seen on the W&L website below.

http://news.blogs.wlu.edu/2014/10/24/andrei-illarionov-former-economic-policy-advisor-to-president-vladimir-putin-to-speak-at-wl/

The content of his talk was very interesting, to say the least. He was able to provide a lot of details as to the Russian side of the developments, such as talks that occurred on President Putins aircraft. All of his interesting points of view can me seen online at the link provided below.

http://new.livestream.com/wlu/andrei-illarionov

On a personal level, he was very well spoken and knowledgeable. A majority of his speech involved dates and times to events. This way of talking added validity to his talk and made those less knowledge not want to question him. To me, this style seems indicative of an oppressive government.

All things considered, it was a great learning opportunity to see the other side of the debate. What I found most interesting was how he viewed this at World War 4, while to the rest of the world we have yet to have World War 3

Parsons Reflective Essay FINAL AMerican lit

Walt Whitman A Visual History

http://youtu.be/bv2DH7SS2nQ

Garrett Parsons Walt Whitman Research Paper

This semester I will be joining an academic class at the Virginia Military Institute that will cover art in Ukraine from the past, as well as some modern art works. My interest in this class has spawned from the most recent Ukrainian uprising being portrayed on the news.

In an attempt to get an unbiased view of the current situation, the professor has suggested that we view sources other than Fox News, and CNN as these often present a heavy bias.  Instead I will be obtaining  a lot of facts and resources on the subject from Vice News as well as Facebook groups centered in the local area that have a focus on the revolution.

I chose to follow a group on my Facebook called Euromaidan Art and Graphics

It can be seen and followed at https://www.facebook.com/euromaidanart

The site is very interesting and represents itself as a collection of works of all forms of art to show both the good and the bad.

“This page is a collection of artistic interpretations and documentation of the Euromaidan movement and ongoing crisis in Ukraine – including, but not limited to: posters, music, films and creative photography. If you are looking for a page that only depicts positive images and “happy” graphics, this is not the page for you. This page represents the graphic, and artistic realities of the Euromaidan movement and the following crisis with Russia – the good, the bad and the ugly.”

Currently the main art components to this site are political cartoons and info-graphics, with some additional satirical memes.

While this site also seems to have a very biased pro-Ukrainian tone, I think that it is very indicative of what the people are feeling and represents the theme of revolution in Ukraine. I am looking forward to where these posts go, in addition to enjoying the class and learning more about the Ukrainian people.

Tags: #Ukraine #Facebook #ART #Revolution