Iconoclasm and Art’s Empathetic Power
Video Response - Empathy
Art is a powerful thing, it can relay the emotions and the experience the artist was going through when creating a piece but it can also relay the emotion and provoke the same emotions from their audience. Knowing this and realizing this is very interesting which is why I found this week's video so interesting because it discussed this idea that art comes from an artist's emotion which relays empathy to the audience whether it was causing them to be sad, or it was causing them to be happy or mad. This empathy is controlled mainly by what the artist was feeling at the time which is what I find so interesting. As an artist, you can make people feel one way or feel another way. I know personally when I try to create art when I go out and take photos I try to relay the feelings that were being felt in the moment. This is why I don't like posing people, I want that emotion to be authentic and un-posed. I want to relay the excitement people were feeling when hanging out with friends or the sadness they feel when they see something sad take place. I think that its important to relay these emotions so it allows for a more authentic and vulnerable conversation that can be made with the audience and the artist.
Response to Blog Readings -- Icons
These posts were difficult for me to interpret and understand, however, after a few times of reading through it I began to understand and realize where I stand with the idea of what they call “icons.” As Christians we are called to not worship earthly things, however, we look around everywhere and it is almost as if that's the only thing going on in this world. More often than not it's easier to see something then believe it rather than believe it and not see it. We tend to see more people now and days pouring more attention into their earthly possessions. So, as I said, as Christians we are called to worship him and refrain from worshiping man-made items, meaning I relate more with the Iconoclast ideology than the iconophiles. With that, sometimes it is hard to question and realize, is what I am looking at, doing, or creating crossing that line, am I making it an idol, or “icon.” Where do we find that line, how do we understand that, that's something I struggle with, and I know other people I have spoken with have struggled with as well. I believe that it is something that we as Christians will continue to struggle with until Jesus comes back to earth.
So, with that, what can we as Christians do now to remind ourselves to not put our earthly possessions ahead of God in our lives? I believe that it can be done with constant prayer and constant reminders. Though it will be a battle, God will always be there to pick us up and rescue us when we fall and that is something I remind myself every day. I remind myself that God is always constant, and he is always there, not things like my phone. God is always there and he is always going to be there to protect us, not some man-made item that can easily be broken and that is what I remind myself of the everyday.
