Art Makes a Difference.

When I first read this topic about art making a difference in society, I had no doubt in my mind that art has made a huge impact on social change throughout history and is still doing so today. One piece I looked at that cemented this idea was Harrell Fletcher's project called "Humans at War". This project was done in 2005 in Wausau, Wisconsin with a group of students. As a result of the war in Iraq, Harrell gave the students an assignment to go out into the local community to find someone who had personal experiences with war. The students were then supposed to ask them to describe a particular scene they had witnessed; dramatic or banal. The students were then supposed to make a drawing based on the scene described to them. After the students had completed their task, the drawings were exhibited and the community came and explored the display of drawings. This is a great example of how art effects the community. This exhibition was a way of students to express creatively people's experience in the war and through these drawings, there has been a social change on how people in their community see war. The drawings did this by not only helping the vouyerists try and visualize these scenes but it also helped them critically think about the war, elicit new actions related to the war, and inspire them to make a difference. Art has this effect because we can take something so "casual" to society and make a conscious effort to facilitate and participate social change by introducing it in a different manner than what the community is used to seeing. 

Not only has art had a huge impact on the past and present, but it will be continuos 20 years from now. There will be events that occur and people will build emotions from these events and create art to present to the community. Things are always changing; war, cultures, technology, economy, politics, you name it. 

Although art can make an impact on society by making viewers think critically about the subject matter or inspire them, there is art that is solely for viewing. I don't feel all art should make you want to go out and change the world. For example, you are not going to want a drawing of a scene from war on your bedroom wall. That's kind of creepy. But you may want a scene from a garden because it is relaxing and calming. Although this kind of art doesn't make a HUGE impact to go out and make the world a better place, it does have an effect that I feel is important; it can calm you and make you feel at ease which we all need in our life. 

Overall, I have always believed in art and its ability to make a difference in the world. Art from other areas of the world can make their way all the way across the world and make a impact on millions of people. Not only does art make an impact on the vouyerist viewing the piece, but that person who goes out and elicits action from it, has an impact on other people. ART MAKES A DIFFERENCE.