Thesis: Creation cannot exist without destruction.
Title: Rage The Flower Thrower
Artist: Banksy
The image (above) is a photo of a stenciled man throwing a bouquet of flowers, painted with spray paint on a public wall by the elusive English street artist, Banksy. Spray painting on public property is vandalism and is considered destructive because of how it defaces public property. However, Banksy is considered a creative genius. This painting is creative, because the bright multicoloured flowers being thrown by the black and white male figure helps convey the request for peace in a very humorous way. Also, keep in mind where this was painted; the West Bank Barrier, a gigantic wall in the middle east, a place currently plagued with extreme violence. And the West Bank Barrier, being armed with sniper towers, is no exception. And by painting on this barrier, at one time the most iconic wall in the world, his creative process also suggests that creativity can stem from destruction or destroying/defacing something.
Title: Alton Construction Site
Taken by: Jacob Cavallin
The image (above) is a photo of a local construction site near Alton, which I took. In the photo, in addition to the construction vehicles, something that is very present in this picture is the dirt, bare land that surrounds the vehicles. Early in 2014, this plot of land was teeming with vegetation and plant life. However, now it has been removed and plowed over to prepare the area for a new subdivision of houses. And while this might seem destructive or may be perceived as unnecessary destruction, it is in fact necessary because it is creating a bigger community for new families to create and contribute to the world. Construction is born from some sort of demolition, whether it’s destroying an old building or new land.
http://www.inthehills.ca/2009/09/back/odss-125th-anniversary/
The image (above) is a photograph of the Original Orangeville District Secondary School. It was taken on February 1st, 1948, as the school burned to the ground. As the blaze came to an eventual halt, there were very few salvageable items, and only a few rooms ‘survived’. And after some time, the school was rebuilt as what you see here today. A school that was known as ‘State of the art’ in its time may have burned to the ground, but an opportunity to rebuild something interesting and new stemmed from the ashes.
Industrial Revolution
http://wondergressive.com/90-companies-caused-climate-change/
The image (above) is a drawing made to visually enlighten the viewer on what the industrial revolution looked like. The industrial revolution was a period in human history that roughly took place from 1760-1830. This growing period greatly impacted the way we live, even up to today. In addition, it also greatly impacted the environment and the atmosphere through climate change. Though climate change may be destroying the planet, the industrial revolution sparked innovation in mankind, and since then, we have advanced technologically significantly. In other words, by destroying, we have and continue create, and through creating, we have and continue to destroy.
Works Cited
Banksy. Rage The Flower Thrower. 2003. Street Art/Graffiti. The West Bank, Jerusalem.
Cavallin, Jacob. “Alton Construction Site.” none. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2015.
Industrial Revolution. N.d. Drawing.
ODSS Burning to the ground. 1 Feb. 1948. Photograph.
How would you like it is you have lived in one house all of your life and then after 17 years they have token down all of the natural land that you have created memories on in order to be able to build houses? Heart broken, right? Memories are created everyday but you do not need to destroy anything in order to create these memories. I feel that there is many thing that can be created with out destruction, but yes I understand how people must destroy that natural land in order to create houses and buildings, which are physical objects, but they do not have to destroy to create art and memories. Currently, my all of my childhood memories are getting token away because there is construction all around me. Also, I cannot believe that they are destroying all of the memories that I have made and created without destroying anything. Also, someone can create art they do not have to destroy buildings in order to get there voices heard. They could of used paper instead or do it through a different art form such as dance. Therefore, people everyday create many things with destroying their surroundings. So, how would you feel if someone is taking away your memories away that you have created and you were never destructive in the processes?
ReplyDeleteHello, Cookie Monster,
DeleteThank you for the comment, as it has bestowed upon me an entirely new and fresh perspective, in a sense. However, reading it, and feel free to correct me if I misread, but I sense this slight anger towards what I posted and said. And while I do like what you said about how art can be created with dance or paper, I would like to reiterate that paper has to be taken from cut down trees. I'm relatively stumped on the dance idea, though. But in response to what you said about the how an artist having their voice heard, I have this to say:
In the example used in class ("Rage The Flower Thrower"), there were several reasons why street art was chosen over interpretive dance. Such as, the topic expressed in the painting was largely political based, in a sense of how it regards peace. Street art is very political in its own way, because the very act defies laws. Also, keep in mind, 100 people might see an interpretive dance or 25 people might see a drawing about peace, but literally millions have seen this gigantic testament to conflict.
What I liked about your statement regarding this, though, was how it sort of inspired this idea of a hierarchy of levels of destruction. I suppose it really all comes down to opinion, though. And regarding what you said about memories being destroyed, I feel like the actual memories are still there, just the ability to repeat them is gone. For example; when I was 7, my parents divorced and we were forced to sell the house out of fear of impossible debt, and in the process, I may have been 'heart broken', but I also looked forward to moving to a new neighbourhood with new friends. Just like how I did that another time recently. Everytime I am presented with a new living environment, I'm always moved from it. While this might be sad, it also lets me build on those old memories with new memories.
All in all, thank you for the comment!