Blog 5

The art I chose was Adrian Piper’s “Decide Who You Are, Anita Hill” because it could be interpreted rhetorically in many different ways. There are numerous statements made in red words that connect to several social and political movements. The first two I thought of were the Black Lives Matter movement and the #MeToo movement which I felt truly embodies what this artwork is trying to say. The words “surely you’re exaggerating just a little” “you’re being irrational” or “the problem? you’re being paranoid” sound as if this person is gaslighting another. To top it off, the color red to me means power, and the person saying these things is in a higher power position in comparison to the person receiving these words. The two movements I mentioned have to do with power dynamics in certain social situations, whether it is a man and a woman, a white person and a black person, or a rich person and a poor person. The fact that Piper also used an image of a black little girl perfectly resembles what women and black people go through growing up into adults. Art can most definitely make an impact on social and political concerns going on in our country. Art starts a conversation and it allows people to opinionate on the situations presented. Just like Piper’s art piece, it can give different interpretations and have someone else think deeply about the issues portrayed in the art and potentially take action against them. As this art piece touches on the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movement, other pieces of art that support different movements can also create conversations and shed light on other important issues.