chap 7

 "Artistic activism delivers in all sorts of other meaningful ways that hard numbers will never show. This chapter is about encouraging you to discover the ways that your practice works in the ways that you want it to so you can make it work better." -  pg. 245

Art has a profound way of reaching its audience on another level. When I think of art pieces, I think about music and speeches in terms of their effectiveness. Music uses melodies, rhymes, and words to captivate its audience. For me, I recently fell in love with Radiohead. Their music is very melodic and has a deep meaning behind their lyrics. I get captured by the scenery that the music can play in my head. For speeches, speech givers can capture the audience with words, relatability, and charm. In general, words can play a big deal in helping us communicate with one another. What art does differently is the use of the eyes and perception. It is so interesting to me that standing before a painting can invoke a person to feel a certain way or inspire them to do things. But it is the human connection that makes us relate and understand what the artist wants to convey to us. Art is amazing in the sense that it has a magical way of making us feel, move, speak, and think a certain way. Something that can't entirely be measured by mere numbers.

"if confronting big campaign goals and real objectives feels overwhelming, remember: you are not alone. We are artistic activists, not solipsistic bohemian artists isolated in our garrets." -  pg. 258

Taking on any challenge, especially trying to change the world can be an extremely difficult task. There are so many cogs, wires, and gears that need to be turned to start the process of tackling hard challenges. Most of the time it's like pushing against a wall, but most of the time we push that wall by ourselves. A misconception a lot of people have is that we NEED to take on challenges by ourselves. That our problems are only our problems and that there's no way someone is having the same troubles I'm having. Even if we do or know that other people feel the same way, it is almost unlikely that we will reach out for help. Taking a moment to be genuine and taking the time to talk to someone and reaching out for help can be a bigger change than we think. We come to meet like-minded people who can be in the same boat, and who want to help you cross the murderous seas. You may find other boats that are not similar to yours, but you're headed in the same direction. What it comes down to is speaking first. Voicing your thoughts allows for others to view what your thinking.