Art as a Social Practice

I have honestly never thought of the idea of collaborative artwork. If someone were to ask me who made a particular piece of art I would never guess multiple artists. The idea that more than one person contributes to making one piece of work is an interesting one. I think the more people who contribute the better story that piece of art can tell. If two completely opposite artists come together to create one masterpiece, then in my opinion that work will be greater than any individual piece.

It is my hope that my mug will let the next person understand my story. It may be difficult to find an image to make that work, but if it is done hopefully there will be an impact.

Art as a Social Practice

Having a history of two years of taking AP art in high school and a childhood full of always trying to expand my artistic skills this project appeals to me.  I have always found art to have great importance.  It is a chance for people to express themselves, relieve stress, and inspire other people.  What I love about this project is that it brings together different types of art, writing and 3D sculptures.  This project creates a bridge between two different art forms and allows people to branch out and experience and appreciate different mediums of art.

Art becoming a social practice is something that helps shape our world into a more unified place.   Like I said before, this project is an example of art bringing people together that may not have ever come into contact before.  It's really cool to think that this art project is a collaboration of at least three different people; the sculptors, the writters, and the readers.  All of us get to play apart of this "social practice". 

Brooke Beidler

Art as Social Practice

People many times are intolerant to one another. And intolerance is something that happens due to the differences among them. So, in my opinion, when art becomes a social practice, it makes people interact with one another. When it occurs, we engage in a learning process of the other, and we can also understand our community in a better way, looking at it with an open mind. Thus, intolerance is minimized and we might perhaps, be surprised how the people next to you may share the same values, even though he or she have a total different perspective of the world.

In other words, by passing our mugs, we will be passing our experiences and our history. This will definitely contribute to the development of our community. By adding our thoughts we may build a new way of thinking. By adding new stories, we can inspire new stories. 

Art as a Social Practice

Artwork is unique to every individual. I am sure everyone has their own opinion about the "Mona Lisa" as well as a reasoning as to why it was painted. Artwork can connect people in ways that you would never imagine possible. Everyone has their own unique story, their own piece of artwork, but if we step back and look past the obvious differences, we may find some similarities in ourselves. This project will be a collaboration of many different stories, but they may all connect in some way. Through the presentation of our mugs, our stories will be seen, or heard by many people that have no idea who we are. They will learn things about people that may never even meet, or possibly could one day. We will never know. I think this project is very interesting and will be very successful in showing people how artwork can inform and inspire.

My piece of the puzzle-Social Art

When I think of art as a social practice I think of a community. I also see it as a chance to put together a puzzle between people. I think of each story as a piece of the puzzle. Some will fit where others don’t but all are important pieces because they are what create the whole picture. I am very interested in this project because I believe it is a wonderful tool to unify a community. My work is a piece of me that I choose to share with the world, and who knows maybe my piece of the puzzle can fit in another’s puzzle as well.

Skye Rogers

Art as a Social Practice

I believe that when art becomes a social practice, there are many effects and advantages. Although there are many masterpieces with only one contributor, some of the best pieces have also been collaboratively created. This happens often in the world of arts, where joint creativity is rampant. For instance, there are countless musical duets that provide a connection between distinct musical genres. These introduce the listener to a new art form that would be off limits otherwise. A prime example of this phenomenon is 1985's "We Are The World": a powerful collaboration between dozens of artists.

Making art a social form creates new opportunities for creation. Both professional and non-professional artists can benefit from working together. In this, creative ideas can be bounced off of one another and suggestions can be made for improvement. Ultimately, though, the greatest advantage to considering art as a social practice is the resulting combination of different backgrounds. This establishes something that can relate to more people and create a larger impact.

Art as a Social Practice

When art becomes a social practice it allows people to express themselves through their pieces. This gives the author a way of expressing themselves, but it also gives the people reading it a chance to take their own view. This mug project is a way of sharing our ideas with others. Art is meant to be social. It is meant to be shared with others, and through this project we will be sharing our stories and art. This project will connect us because we will all be sharing our stories and ideas to the community. This is an example of art being a social practice. If this project is done correctly it will unite the community and help us all feel a sense of connectedness.

The Social Practice of Art

When art becomes a social practice it opens the door for a cornucopia of opportunities to present themselves. Art is universal and connects people from all over the world because every individual can offer their own perspective and interpretation to what the artist is trying to convey. With this project and the use of professional artist, the community in which we live will be greatly impacted, as all of our personal experiences can be shared so that us as the artist can relate to our audience in a way that is unlike any other. I see more and more people wanting to partake in this opportunity to have their message shared with the people who are literally right next to them and the people on opposite sides of the world. Art has no boundaries, just as we use the mug as our canvas instead of language to connect people with the things that we all have in common. This can be demonstrated as we will pass along our mugs to someone else in hopes that they will continue the sharing of our stories to connect our lives. When art is used as a social practice the world can be actively engaged in alternative forms of communication, like art, to evoke the powerful emotions to say what sometimes can't be conveyed.

Art as a Social Practice

Many times art is created by one person, and one person only. We always see and here that some painting was painted by one person or another, but you almost never hear that multiple people contributed to a piece of art. The times that you do hear about art being collaborative, it is usually done by multiple professionals. You might see a sculpture that was done by three or four professionals, each contributing to a different portion of the piece, but you rarely hear about professionals working with non-professionals on a piece of art.


Whenever artwork becomes a social and collaborative project, it only adds to the work. Everyone has a different option and a different perspective, so when you bring those differences together it definitely enhances the piece. I hope that the image I create on my mug has at least some impact on not just the person I decide to hand my mug down to, but also on the people to follow. I want them to be able to understand who I am and the story I am telling to tell through the image on my mug.

Art as a Social Practice

When art becomes a social practice, individual stories can intertwine and collaborate with those around us. The interaction between the reader and the author sparks emotional engagement, allowing the reader to feel like he is experiencing the story along with the author. Some stories may be very similar, stirring emotions like comfort, common ground, and understanding. Others may be quite different, but will bring out emotional engagement through the new perspectives it offers. Different cultures, religions, race, and backgrounds all play a part of what makes up an individual’s story, but we are connected by these distinctions. If I give my mug to someone I see in a grocery store, they may have a completely different story to tell than I do. Although, we share the fact that we both shop at the same grocery store and, if only for a moment, our lives crossed paths. This is what makes the collaboration so meaningful. If someone receives a mug we make in English 1030, they are in some way connected back to the stories each of will create. All of our unique stories connect, impact, and contribute to something larger. Both professional and non-professional artists play a role in this creation, which further shows diversity of life. While professional artists might express their story in a way that non-professional artists cannot, both stories portray something personal and significant about themselves. A non-professional artist can tell their story through simple designs, which may even stick out more certain people. I see the work itself impacting the community in a positive way. It should help the community realize that the people you see standing behind you in line at the grocery store, walking to class, or stopped beside you at a red light each have have a unique story that intertwine with ours. 

Art Becoming a Social Practice

Though art is sessile, it has a way of moving people.  Artwork such as drawings, paintings, and sculptures communicate and author to people by evoking certain feelings.  The way a piece of art makes someone feel could be similar to the way it makes another individual feel.  These feelings may open a door to past experiences, which can unfold into an unspoken story, ready to be shared with others.  Art has the power to connect people.

For the upcoming project, our class will bring life to a simple, everyday object.  Each person will place a piece of themselves onto the surface of a small ceramic mug, in hopes that whoever falls upon the mug receives the message or story the creator wanted to share.  Our mugs will connect people socially as stories continue to be passed from one hand to another.  This project will have the power to send a message to others through art.  The mugs will become a reservoir of authoring.  

Art in the Community

What would be the purpose of art if no one ever saw it? If it was kept hidden away from the world, what impact would it make? Art is meant to be viewed by everyone, which thus makes it social. By doing this mug project on campus, Clemson is streching the limits of art. Not only will various students around campus get to read our stories, but these mugs can travel even further from campus. Who knows? Maybe a mug might end up in another state thus further spreading the impact of this art form. I believe if everyone puts forth an effort to write thier own story and image, then this project can really take off.

Art in the Community

When art becomes a social practice it brings people together. Even if we aren't all artists we all have a creative side. Our creative sides will all be different so when they are combined onto one mug, for example, it will become a whole new work of art. Passing around the mugs will allow us to meet and learn about different people. The art community and english communities will intermingle and this will bring better understanding of each other and better communication. This could also be put onto a scale larger than Clemson. Art brings expression of ideas and feelings that might not previously be expressed. The art might allow us to see concepts or ideas in a different way as well. This could, in time, bring more compromise among leaders and have for a better nation.
Sara Freeman

Art and the Community

I think the beauty of art is that art lends itself to different interpretations which are dependent upon the audience. While I don't think the piece itself actually changes, it might, rather, change its audience. Much like I have been impacted by stories that I have read or observed, I hope that my piece will impact those reading and observing my work. This might not be something overly significant, but if my piece impacts someone emotionally, I feel it adds value to what I have worked to create.

I feel as though art has an interesting place in society, in general. Art has a unique way of making people feel connected. These emotional connections encourage interactions among the people who have connected through this art form. For example, say there is a local band in town. They perform often and a group of regulars begin surrounding the event each time that they play. These regulars get a satisfaction from the music that they are hearing - maybe the connect with it on an emotional level or maybe they just enjoy the company. Whatever the case, these people are connecting with the art in the community. These people then build friendships outside of the music events. Maybe they work together to find similar bands in the area or maybe they begin to confide in one another with all things and become the best of friends. Whatever the case, the local band had an impact on their community.

Thinking that our class projects could impact a community this way is absolutely satisfying!

Art Becoming a Social Practice

I feel like this mug project will embrace a sense of unison.  Everyone will have the ability to share a part of their life in the form of a story and a piece of art that will continually be added to.  It is as if we all, professional or not, are authoring one large piece of literature that will go beyond ourselves. We will all unconsciously be connected to one another and our stories. Maybe our stories will even help or impact others!  I can only foresee a positive outcome of such a unique cohesive project.

                 Melinda Terry

Forever Overhead

DFW truly has a gift with creating characters with such detail that you can't help but empathize.  He paints vivid images that makes it almost effortless to put myself into the story.  In "Forever Overhead" DFW goes into more detail than most people would be comfortable with.  His details of the boys transition into manhood really capture Karr's idea of being honest and connecting with the audience.  Everyone goes through the struggle of wanting to be grown up.  Karr says she feels that she owes her readers "a vivid experience without lying", and DFW defiantly does this in his piece.  Once I finished reading "Forever Overhead" I realized that DFW was able to take a simple story of a boy getting enough courage to go off of a diving board, and create it into a long story through the amount of detail he incorporated into the piece.  This seems like such a simple story but DFW adds depth and life lessons and struggles.

Brooke Beidler
  

"Forever Overhead" DFW

Though it may have been a little awkward to read, DFW allows you to see in great detail what it is like to be a 13 year old boy.  We have talked multiple times about this technique.  Making the reader understand what you are trying to say and have them see exactly what you see by using the details like DFW uses in his works.  You could definitely empathize with the young boy.  You know that he wants to be a man and not be considered a boy anymore, I mean, come on he's thirteen, practically a grown man (or in his mind at least).  He wants to be able to go to the pool alone and look at women all without being considered a child and it really makes you feel like you know what he is going through.

"Forever Overhead"

David Foster Wallace’s “Forever Overhead” is a very intriguing piece of literature that describes the events of a young boys thirteenth birthday. His extreme descriptions make you feel like you are experience this day in his shoes. It is almost like you get to escape your reality, and become the boy in the story. You get to experience from his perspective, as he discovers new things about himself. One of the things I found interesting about his piece was the wording of the text and his use of periods to allow the reader to make frequent pauses. He would explain the boy’s thoughts, followed by a sentence that didn’t really make sense until you thought about its deeper meaning. For example, as the character is thinking about killing time he throws in the sentence, “Bees have to move very fast to stay still.” I think these sentences make the readers think about things from a new perspective and it also makes it very memorable and enjoyable.

Throughout Wallace’s work, you can see many explications of techniques we have discussed and that have been mentioned in Carr and Barthleme’s “Not Knowing.” Imagery is obviously a huge element used in “Forever Overhead.” Everything from the boy’s emotions, thoughts, and perspectives can be experienced while reading this story. Barthleme explains how the “not knowing” is crucial to art, and it is what permits art to be made. He describes problems as a type of comfort. Furthermore, he says that people can even suffer from having a “loss of problems” in which everything becomes so simple that it makes their writing immeasurable shallow and trivial. Wallace uses this technique because it is clear that his writing is pretty complex. The meaning behind the story is not always clear-cut, but instead it composed of very jumbled and messy thoughts of a teenaged boy. According to Barthleme, if you render “messy” enough to the point that you are enabled to feel it, he would have to be more graphic than the decorum that the occasion allows.  I think this is exactly what Wallace was trying to do by making the readers able to feel the “messiness” along with the character.   Barthleme also says that art is a true account of the activity of the mind. In “Forever Overhead,” the entire story is the activity of a mind, which shows Wallace uses this technique as well. 

"Forever Overhead" by DFW

"Forever Overhead" by DFW was a very intriguing and interesting piece of literary excellence. In this story the vivid use of imagery and detailed language really makes this work stand out above the rest. The author really knows how to use these techniques to describe a thirteen year old boy's birthday party. By using imagery the author can better convey what is going on in the mind of the boy. Not only does imagery provide good descriptions about what the boy sees but also what he is thinking about during his party. The use of detailed language helps to describe the events in ways that the reader might not expect, which offers a new perspective in which the story is viewed. This technique is perhaps the most important technique we have learned about so far in our class because details offer the reader and better and more enjoyable story to reader which is exactly what DFW did in the piece of literature. When these two techniques are combined the reader has no choice but to feel like they are at the party themselves which is what I feel the intentions of DFW were in this story. Through this use of detailed language and imagery our five senses which I felt through the words that DFW wrote. DFW's use of language made me empathize with the story at hand. In "Forever Overhead" DFW used the Karr's technique of using different perspectives. When he vividly describe the thoughts and actions of the thirteen year old boy at his birthday party he was telling the story through the eyes of a child. Also DFW used the techniques of Bartheleme as he transitioned his paragraphs nicely to create a flow of information. This also was a good technique to use because DFW was able to tie his points together in a way that made it easy for the reader to follow. DFW was able to successfully apply the techniques of Karr and Bartheleme to his work. I would also like to share this quote from "Not Knowing" by Bartheleme which really make me see why authors use the techniques that they do:

"There is art's own project, of restoring freshness to much-handled language, essentially an effort toward finding a language in which making art is possible at all."

This is saying that language is old and we constantly need to add our own new spin to old words. So basically this is why we use certain language techniques to "freshen" up old language. By using these literary technique we can turn old language into new art and even create our own literary techniques within our own style of writing.

- Brison Hood

"Forever Overhead" by DFW

In "Forever Overhead" DFW keeps the reader interested by doing what he does best that is detail. The amount of descriptive details in his work is amazing. The fact that Wallace is able to keep his stories "short" and still have the mass amount of imagery and diction blows my mind. Once again I can almost feel like I am personally experiencing the story myself. Wallace's language definitely enabled me to see and feel the story. I feel that this is one of the better characteristics of his writing.

"Forever Overhead" DFW

In DFW's short story he uses the technique of description to write. The use of detail in his writing makes the reader feel as if they are the one at the pool jumping off the diving board. He does not use complicated words but words that are colloquial. I felt as if I was able to hear the radio playing over the pool, and smell the chlorine filled water. Being a former lifeguard, this story truely relates to me and all the aspects I personally dealt with at work. The story almost sent me into a flashback of the times where I was the blonde-haired guard sitting on the stand watching the children jump off the diving board. I have felt, seen, and smelled the same things that DFW described. I believe this almost excessive use of description truely made his story personal and relatable to the readers. He appeals to the readers sense's "Shake off the blue clean. You’re half-bleached, loose and soft, tenderized, pads of fingers wrinkled. The mist of the pool’s too-clean smell is in your eyes; it breaks light into gentle color. Knock your head with the heel of your hand. One side has a flabby echo." This sentence provides many examples of sight, sound, and touch. Just including such desciption in my own stories will further help me to become a better writer. 

"Forever Overhead" DFW

Once again in DFW's "Forever Overhead, he uses vivid imagery to describe the scenes and characters to the reader.His descriptions are almost life-like and as a reader you are able to picture them in your mind. "Two clean little bright-white boys caped in cotton towels run along the poolside until the guard stops them dead with a shout through his bullhorn." This sentence paints a perfect picture. I can imagine the scene in my head. He keeps the readers wanting more and uses many metaphors throughout the story. Karr mentions capturing childhood during her interview, which correlates with DFW's piece. He captured the image of a childhood birthday party and made the reader feel as if they were there witnessing it. 

"Forever Overhead" by DFW

"Forever Overhead" by DFW is a short story written about a young boy's thirteenth birthday party at the pool. Throughout the story DFW uses great imagery to help the reader paint a picture of not only what this day looked liked, but also of what was going on inside the boy's mind. DFW uses lots of metaphors and personification when describing objects in the story. An example of a metaphor DFW used is found when he describes the mountains as looking like an EKG. One example of personification that was used by DFW was when he talked about how the water looked immediately after someone had just jumped in.


         "Against the red their sharp connected tops form a spiked line, an EKG of the dying day."


   "Then blue clean comes up in the middle of the white and spreads like pudding, making it all new."


While reading "Forever Overhead", I was continuously wondering what was going to happen. I thought the whole time that the boy wouldn't be able to jump off at the end of the story. This sense of "not-knowing" is what kept me wanting to read more and more. Donald Barthelme even says in "Not Knowing" that without not-knowing the story is not as effective.

"The not-knowing is crucial to art, is what permits art to be made. Without the scanning process engendered by not-knowing, without the possibility of having the mind move in unanticipated directions, there would be no invention." (pg. 12)

In "the Paris Review" about Mary Karr, Mary Karr is interviewed by Amanda Fortini. Karr was asked how she was able to capture what it was like to be a child in The Liars Club. She responded by saying that childhood was terrifying to her, and that children have no control. This is clearly shown in DFW's "Forever Overhead" when DFW compares the diving board to a machine. DFW constantly calls the diving board "the machine", and says that the machine does not go in reverse, which implies that the boy has no control over whether he has to jump or not once he starts up the ladder.

DFW was definitely successful in creating an image in my mind of the story. Not only was I able to picture the scene the boy was in, but I was also able to relate and understand what the young boy was thinking. The way in which DFW not only used vivid language to describe every detail in the story, but also compare almost everything in the story to something else using metaphors and personification really helped make the story enjoyable for the reader.

"Forever Overhead" by DFW

"Forever Overhead" by DFW was an intricate and compelling composition. The most striking of its features, in my opinion, would be its use of language. DFW was careful to include not only descriptive words, but also diction that depicted the events in a new way. In doing so, DFW put many techniques to work. One of these is a technique we have discussed in class - the importance of detailing events for the reader. DFW did a very good job of this, as he didn't leave out a single aspect of his son's birthday, nor the changes he had undergone. Reading the composition made the reader feel like he or she was there at the birthday party and could comprehend the boy's thought process and perspective. Further, DFW implemented Karr's process of "capturing what it is like to be a child". As one reads "Forever Overhead", it is apparent that DFW successfully conveys the thoughts and actions of a child his son's age and the fact that he doesn't have control over what is happening (just as Karr explained). Additionally, DFW used Barthleme’s technique of messiness. Although DFW did not necessarily have messy writing, he did skip around some while detailing his son’s train of thought. He did so by distracting the boy and disrupting his train of thought. In my opinion, this did indeed show Barthleme’s messiness technique detailed starting on page 10 of the PDF. In conclusion, DFW implemented many different storytelling strategies in his work “Forever Overhead”.

"Forever Overhead by DFW"

       In DFW’s “Forever Overhead,” he uses his knack for vivid imagery to capture the reader’s attention. He uses explicit details of everything he mentions. The way he describes the pre-teen you can almost imagine how they look and sound. For example in the sentence “moist and busy and distant, full of yielding curves, frantic pistons, warmth and a great falling; and you have awakened through fluttering lids to a rush and a gush and a toe-curling scalp-snapping jolt of a feeling from an inside deeper than you knew you had…” Wallace successfully captures the new experiences of a young man by leaving no stone unturned when it came to description. The use of his details is what I and I’m sure many other readers is what gets me reading and keeps me there. Karr said the unexpected is good and to bring the story to life, well DFW's choice of topics was definitely unexpected but still refreshing.

"Forever Overhead" DFW

Karr mentions in her interview that when writing a short story, character change brings the plot. In DFW's writing we see this technique. We can see how the boy thinks differently in the beginning versus the end of his jump off the diving board. Another technique used by Saunders that is relevant to DFW's story is that he wrote about a common action that is experienced by many kids but describes his specific experience in so much detail that it makes the story engaging and exciting. DFW's language was very successful in my ability to empathize. When reading this story, I could remember times when I did something new and scary as a child. This common story is very easy for everyone to relate to. It was very easy to feel and see this story because of the great detail that DFW used in describing what was going on around him. He described the sights, sounds, smells, and even what things felt like, for example the hand rails.

Sara Freeman

"Forever Overhead" by DFW

By reading Karr and Barthelme, I realized that nothing is better than a story that has a sense of truth. When we write something reliable, it is much easier to catch the reader´s attention and transmit our feelings and experiences. In fact, it happened in DFW story “Forever Overhead”.  As Karr said, it is good when we bring something totally unexpected to the story. This is, in other words, to begin one way and finish it in another. In the beginning, DFW portrays a kid at his birthday, starting puberty; in the end, he is jumping from a diving board. Besides that, according to Barthelme, this “not knowing” what is going to happen is a very useful technique that is crucial to art. It gives the audience a certain kind of anxiousness.

Moreover, the language used by DFW certainly built common ground to his audience. His very descriptive style, full of imagery, made me feel as if I were in the story, experiencing the same things the character were. “The board will nod and you will go, and eyes of skin can cross blind into a cloud-blotched sky, punctured light emptying behind sharp stone that is forever. That is forever. Step into the skin and disappear.”  In this passage for instance, DFW describes in his own way, how one’s feel towards the unknown.

The words he chose were essential for me to understand his thoughts. As Barthelme said, what matters is the way how each part of the work comes together. Due to the fact a work depends upon a complex series of interdependences, DFW knew how to tie each paragraph by using the right words. He brought each part of the text together by very descriptive knots, building a terrific story. Hopefully, I will be able to keep the reader interested in my story by using some of Karr’s and Barthelme advices.

-Renan Lima

"Forever Overhead" DFW

I found this piece to be very interesting. The imagery used by DFW throughout the piece made the entire piece incredibly easy to visualize, which is something I love to see in writing. In the essays written by both Carr and Barthleme, the importance of readers trusting the writer and being able to visualize the story; to place themselves in the story  to understand what is taking place. I personally think the best way to do this is through the use of imagery.

I especially love this line in DFW's piece: "smell, connects with a chemical haze inside you, an interior dimness that bends light to its own ends, softens the difference between what leaves off and what begins.". I think the choice of words used in this passage truly allow the reader to see the image being painted by the text.

"Forever Overhead" DWF

After reading DFW's "Forever Overhead', the main technique Wallace used in his writing was definitely vivid imagery.  DFW created imagery by including detail throughout his whole piece.  This technique of immense detailing keeps the reader intrigued and attentive. Wallace makes the story come alive by painting scenes, smells, and sounds in the readers head. For example, DFW writes, 

"You’re half-bleached, loose and soft, tenderized, pads of fingers wrinkled."

In this sentence DFW is simply describing the feeling and texture of a person's hands when they have swam too long, or sat in the bath too long.  This is a sight that most people have seen, but DFW presents this simple appearance in a unique detailed way.  DFW is successful in writing because he is able to vividly describe an idea in great detail without distracting the reader from the story.  Carr and Barthleme both mentioned that painting a picture for the reader is useful advise.  In my future compositions, I hope to use this advice of including just enough detail to keep the reader engaged.