Today was actually very interesting since I rarely have the chance to see the New Media Arts mini exhibition that’s inside a small room whenever I roam through the library. I never thought much about plastic besides it having to be recycled and not get thrown out as waste. All my life, I’ve been doing fine arts getting my hands dirty with paint and pencil shavings but this demonstration about plastics really opened up my eyes. I realized that you can do much more in art simply by using what’s around you such as a water bottle or a plastic cup. I got to really analyze my object today and understand the chemical makeup of it. In our daily lives, we don’t think much about what we use as long as it’s useful and quick. After drinking our water bottle, we throw it away in the recycling bin or not recycle at all. The video of the oil drilling was very odd yet unique since she focused on how oil would break down as it gets drilled deeper and deeper into the ground. Even though the video had no sound, I could clearly see the things that were around it. She mentioned having to do lots of research on oil in order to do this so I think that true art requires some planning and researching and not just throwing ideas onto the paper. It was also interesting to see how we got to think around in 50 years what our object will be used for and so this assignment allowed me to use my imagination in a way. From now on, I’ll be more conscious of what I use daily whether it’s plastic or some other material. Who knows what these materials may do to us in the next century so we might as well be informed about it and think before we throw something out.
