Today, we continued our discussion of the American Flag and the controversies surrounding various aspects of it. We began the class with a few questions about our research for our term paper, such as how to cite an online database, etc., and then moved to discuss the topic of the day. The focus of the day was to discuss Scott Tyler's "What is the Proper Way to Display a Flag?" In this controversial exhibit, Tyler laid an American flag on the floor underneath a book for visitors to sign in and a picture of a military coffin draped in an American flag. The trick of the exhibit was that to sign in the book, one had to step on the flag itself. When displayed at the Chicago Institute of Art, the work generated much controversy, resulting eventually in a major court case against the institue and Tyler for displaying the flag as such. The presiding judge, Judge Gillis, proceeded to rule in favor of Tyler.
We discussed several facets of this subject in class. Firstly, whether the exhibit was art in and of itself and essentially what art was. Eventually, we seemed to agree that if two people agreed on a work of art as art, it then became acceptable as art. Other people added that to be considered as art, the work must convey some message. We also discussed what the purpose of art was. There seemed to be a dichotomy in the class, with one side feeling that art's purpose was to provoke thought, while the other felt that the true purpose of art was to provoke thought. We also considered whether the work was inherently disrespectful, or was perceived as disrespectful, or whether the two were the same thing. An idea proposed was that if it was perceived as disrespectful and the artist knew the consequences, it had to be inherently disrespectful, but only in order to provoke thought. In our discussion, we drew several parallels between this work and the flag burning we discussed yesterday. While the intents of both acts are different, their perception by others is quite similar and can lead to the same consequences.
After a lively discussion, the bell rang, cutting our discussion short. As a reminder to all, AP money ($84 per class) is due ASAP, by Friday.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hey, it's Erin.
I was wondering about this discussion in class. When we talked about flag-burning, some people thought that it was disrespectful and shouldn't be done (though not outlawed because freedom of speech is important). However for this exhibit, it was less disrespectful to have a flag on the floor because it is art and is sending a message. Why is one situation okay and the other not as much? Couldn't they both be considered equally disrespectful?
Post a Comment