The Politics of Public Art + Composition Notes
QUESTION: How does the medium of public artwork bolster political movements?
While all forms of art have their own importance in the world of politics, public art is uniquely important. Unlike artwork simply posted online or displayed in galleries, murals and other forms of public art exist out in the world without people having to purposely try to encounter it. People may walk past murals on their work to work or school. The bigger and bolder the art, the harder it is to ignore. The Black Lives Matter movement has heavily used public art to bring the issue of police brutality to the forefront of people’s lives. There is something uniquely inflicting about a political art piece that takes up space out in the world. Those who call themselves apolitical or prefer not to think about issues that don’t affect them are faced with unflinching realities when public spaces remind them of the struggles other people are facing. Political movements depend on action, and BLM murals and other public artwork helped draw attention to the issue, so it could gain more momentum and inspire change (174 words).
COMPOSITION #1
COMPLETED
- The first brainstorm is completed.
- Decided overall themes of the essay.
NEXT STEPS
- Go through my photos on my phone to remember what places I have walked to and things I have done.
- Recount specific experiences based on the photos.
- Select which experiences enhance my prior chosen themes.
- Create an outline of what paragraphs will be in my essay.
- Create my first rough draft.
- Have a friend read my rough draft and give me feedback.
- Revise.
- Format.
- Submit.
Part of my next steps is to look through my photos and select my final choices. I have a good amount of photos to choose from, so I do not think more photos will be required. However, I walk every day, so if I see something noteworthy, I will take a photo. One photo I plan to include is the photo included in my previous post. I think this photo captures the anonymity of my walking well.
The readings we read by Solnit and Turnbull feel the most relevant to my essay. Turnbull talks about the idea of being “disregarded” in the city, meaning that people in a crowded area are likely to disregard or ignore you. This feeling has been new for me because social interactions in the city are very different from the place I come from. It has made me adapt to new social rules where it is considered polite to ignore someone in many circumstances. Solnit talks about anonymity in the city while walking, which has been influential to my experience with walking in the city. In my hometown, people might know me, but that is very unlikely in the city. Her quote, in particular, I would like to include is the quote where she says, “Cities have always offered anonymity, variety, and conjunction, qualities best basked in by walking” (182). In this section, Solnit explains how walking is the best way to enjoy basking in your anonymity as well as the variety of things happening around you at the same time. This fits my essay well because of the anonymity theme as well as the variety, which I also plan to talk about. In the city, you can find almost anything you want, and that has also been a new experience for me.
To strengthen my research, I plan to use the City of Chicago website, which has a lot of information on the city. In particular, the website features a detailed map of the streets of Chicago, which would be helpful for me to describe places I went.
COMPOSITION #2
COMPLETED
- Brainstormed overall ideas/themes.
- Received the physical pamphlet that I will use to create the field guide.
NEXT STEPS
- Reference map of CTA trains, so I can explain how to walk to the different lines.
- Reference a guide for the CTA buses, so I can explain how to walk to bus stops.
- Outline what each page will be about.
- Type a digital outline.
- Have a friend give me feedback.
- Revise digital outline.
- Transfer digital outline into the physical version.
- Print out photos if necessary.
- Bring to class.
For my walk, I need to go to more bus stops and train stations that I have not been to, that way I can describe them better for my field guide.
The story of my field guide is centered around how public transportation can enhance your experience of walking in Chicago. Since Chicago is so large, in order to walk in as many places as possible and explore, public transportation can serve as an assistance to transport you part-way there. That doesn’t mean transit should replace walking, rather that you may be able to explore more new areas if you use public transportation to get there.
