3/20 Adrienne Rivera

 "One of his most famous parablesinvoles likening the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed. We dont really understand the analogy, and we're not convinced anyone else does either. This confusion was intentional. Using parables like these, Jesus created an opening for his audience to make the message their own." (90)

The textbook says that the principle of this statement is to teach, not to preach. I think in many ways it also demonstrates sort of meeting people where they are at, something regarded later on in the chapter in other ways as well. I just think it's important to consider this when we think about the kind of rhetoric we use in regards to the audience receiving it.

"We can "queer" mass culture by making it say things it was never designed to say, and act in ways it was never meant to act. ... ACT UP's activists drove to the house of homophobic senator Jesse Helms. They didn't picket or chant, and nor they hold a candlelight vigil for the friends they'd lost to AIDS; instead they wrapped his two-story house in a giant condom." (127)

The chapter goes on to mention the sacrifices truly made by activists, and the ways that they often lose more than gain. Especially, in regards to others. It also reminded me of conversations we had in class about Ben Jones, who would create art that was meant to be joyful as a challenge to the past and current persecution of black men. By creating something playful, something gay or joyful, or "queer" that flips the intentions of the other party, you take the power away in a different way.

"That privileged perspective is confronted when artists represent reality in different lights, showing the world from different perspectives. In the early 1800s, Spanish artist Francisco Goya created a series of works called The Disasters of War. "

I may have taken this out of context but I find this interesting. Im assuming it was really only the privileged back then who would have been able to see these pieces. & it is the artist who experiences the empathy and desire to capture the moments. In the modern day, and I consider this even the past century with television and social media, but the average person is far more privileged now than then, and can be confronted with similar art and imagery for the times, and yet this same struggle persists for artists and activists to get people to empathize.

"While what cultural elites remember and cherish about Ancient Greece and its philosophy, theater, and art, what ancient Greeks most enjoyed was likely their own popular culture, a dram of wine, a game of dice, and listening to a story or song. As artistic activists we need to be attune to pop culture as well as "high" culture. " (150)

High and pop culture are like two sides of the same coin as they try to reflect the changing values, beliefs of a society. Essentially, be not only a representation of the truth, but also an aspiration for what it is working towards. As artists and activists, pulling from our everyday world is the best way to, in essence as I've mentioned before, meet people where they are at, and then get them to move forward with you.

Francisco Goya "The Disasters of War"

Throughout the early 1800s, Goya created a series of works that were based on the Spanish people's uprising against French occupation and the horrors of war he witnessed. They showed War as Goya saw it, which was the destruction of communities, women and children, in all its gore and macabre. His depictions were meant to shock and move his intended audience.

Yoko Ono "Cut Piece" 1964

The performance involves Ono sitting motionless on a stage while audience members are invited, one by one, to approach and use a pair of scissors to cut off pieces of her clothing. The piece explores themes of vulnerability, trust, and the relationship between the performer and the audience. As participants cut away at Ono's clothing, they are forced to confront their own actions and the implications of their participation in the act of "cutting." Ono's stillness throughout the performance adds to the tension and intensity of the piece, as she passively submits to the actions of others. "Cut Piece" has been widely regarded as a powerful exploration of gender, power dynamics, and the boundaries of art. It has been performed numerous times by Ono herself, and other renditions have been done by other artists.