Week 7 & 8: Reading Response 2

Making a Visual Argument: How Others See Us

1. What’s your response to each of these paintings? Is it primarily visceral – a feeling in the gut, emotional, intellectual, or some combination of these? Why, in your opinion? Is one of these categories of response more important? Why or why not?

Anispas P. Delotavo Jr.’s painting “Europe Gave Us Shakespeare and Beethoven; American Gave Us Jesse James and John Wayne, 2003” was amazingly real. I thought it was a picture. Because I do not have any background on art my view of the painting will not be examined as such. When I first viewed the visual, it displayed to me how America was established, and continues to hold that gun in place for America. It also symbolizes that America is ready to come against any opposition in the world as well. Strikingly interesting, but what was the painter really portraying? To me it is a mixed message, maybe because of my background.

Zaid Omar, Misconception, 2002.
Strangely enough, when I first viewed this visual, and without reading why the painter created it, I too saw a two conflicting views, but with the wars against Indians. I mean, I saw it from the top to the bottom and looked at it as the Indians once roaming freely, then, formed to group on reservations, misconception occurred, and only a few really make a difference to the strong forces of American government. Isn’t that odd? Not really, because it shows to me that visuals can relate to your own background or knowledge of conflict. On the other hand, it showed a breaking away from strong forces of government to freedom which in this case must have been the point. How weirdly fascinating!

Jibby Yunibandhu, At Home with the Braves, 2003. Photograph by Prach Kongsubto Rohitchan.
Here again, I viewed the picture without understanding the intent first and was surprised to learn what it really meant. The vision I saw was an Indian woman sending a message that although a white woman may have created the American flag, it was the Indian that sat in its place first and helped in part to create this symbol, The American Flag. The picture pictured in the picture is not clear to me, but it looked like feathers were in front of the flag that helped me come to that conclusion. I see how what was really meant by this picture that this Thai citizen was embracing American and showing that America is made up of different threads of life.

In all these settings, I was surprisingly disproved by my own thoughts and suggestions of each of these exhibits. I certainly had a feeling of a combination of feelings from yester history to today’s society. America’s image is that one of freedom for all, but other countries may not view these exhibits as it intended to do. Freedom by force, perseverance, and hope imply here to the globe, but not all may see it this way as I viewed them each in a different state of being with the Delotavo Jr. Painting portraying the most effective intellectually and globally.