4/3

 "But artistic activism is not only aimed at people’s hearts; it also aims at their minds. Our emotions, thoughts, and actions are deeply interconnected, so we must know how people think, as well as how they feel." - pg. 171

It is great when a piece of activist art is captivating. To get people's attention its true that the art needs to be interesting and needs to entertain the audience. Making that happen can be very difficult and can sometimes be too much. It's great to be able to capture the audience, but when the art ONLY captures the audience, it can sometimes lose its meaning. Art, especially activist art is supposed to tell you something or inspire you into action. The art should make you think and should inspire you to take action. Of an art piece is just eye-catching without having any meaning behind it, then what was the purpose of the art piece in the first place?

"Our issue is not with facts themselves, but with the assumption that facts are sufficient. It’s too often believed by activists that if people just had access to the same information that we do, they would become aware and act on that awareness. So we supply access: problem solved." - pg. 175

Continuing on what I said from the last quote, art should have people thinking. But thinking is only the beginning of how to get the audience to move. Sometimes just supplying the audience with information, or expecting the audience to know the same information you do can be a flawed form of thinking. Just think about an amazing professor, who has a PHD and knows all the information, but when they teach they mindlessly talk about information with a slide show with 50 words per slide. Even though there is valuable information there, if the artist (professor) cannot make the audience (students) care enough, then everything loses meaning. 

"The aim of an advertiser is not, ultimately, to change our minds, but to get us to buy particular products; in short, to translate their ideas into our actions." - pg. 212

Continuing on... once we're able to captivate the audience, we then need to make them care about the information we provide. Most of the time, using a connection based advertisement can get you to make thoughts into action. Empathizing with the audience, telling them relatable stories to make them feel like they're the same as you can easily help you get through to them. It is an amazing gift to be able to provide information, but at the same time make the audience feel as though the information your providing is important. When I think about these things, I think about speeches... tedtalks and speeches from great public figures like MLK and Malcom X comes to mind. 

"We also need to understand why, even in the face of all the good arguments we put forth, and why, even when there’s seemingly “nothing to lose,” people are so resistant to change. Not because they’re bad, dumb, or stubborn, but because they, like all of us, experience loss aversion." - pg. 227

I relate to this a lot. I think we most often don't take big risks or gamble is because we are scared of what the negative outcome can be. Sort of like being scared of the unknown, taking big risks can leave us even more hurt knowing we decided to gamble and came out losing. That's why I find it so frustrating that when you try to tell someone to do something that can easily benefit them, but they decide not to do it, it makes my brain explode. But I completely understand, because in the face of big risks when I don't know all the information, it can seem a bit out of reach. Which is why it's important to be able to captivate the audience, give them the information in a way that relates to them, and show them why it matters to them and not just you. 

Chapter 5 pg. 192

I chose this art because I resonate with the message it was trying to say. In the art, you see four different people with different identity backgrounds talking about issues they feel strongly about. One of them talks about over population, but thens said they want to have four kids. Another person talks about being a committed vegan, but makes an exception for fried chicken. I resonate with this art because it can be very common for anyone to have a committed, but not fully committed mindset. Having this type of mindset can set you back or make you seem less credible because of it. I am one of those people for certain. I feel like I can feel very strongly about a topic, but I don't take action or make exceptions that gives me a easy out to whatever issue I may have. For me personally, it feels more like a commitment issue and a lack of self confidence more than anything else. This art struck me because of how relatable it is. To be genuine and to actually put 100% of what you feel strongly about is very impressive. Though this art is not something I want to do for my final intervention, it does inspire me to be more confidently and bold with my ideas for the upcoming proposal.