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CG ShopWe are art. A cultural manifesto. |
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| Written by CG Girl |
| Friday, 09 October 2009 21:23 |
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WE ARE ART… A Cultural Manifesto Written by: Olivia Travieso We Are Art that emanates from within and expresses our deepest thoughts and emotions onto the platform that is blank canvas. Each splash of paint, each word written, each move danced is a direct extension of our hearts and minds. When we create Art we have the ability to shape what people see, how they will feel, and demand a response. Art is provoking. Art is power. It transcends all language barriers, cultural stigmas, and geographical divides to call upon the common humanity in us all. We Are Art that depicts our history and celebrates the beauty and magic of our culture. Aztec, Toltec, Maya and Inca drew upon Art to communicate and document their experience. Art is the foundation of civilization, the mark that will remain to tell our story. Art immortalizes people, places and events. It transports us to another time so that we may gain historical perspective and apply it to our lives. Art is vibrant like the colors in a Frida Kahlo painting, like the words in a Pablo Neruda poem, like the rich cultural traditions we celebrate and share. We Are Art that is aware and proud of where we come from and where we are going. It is a beautiful paradox whose image illustrates our many differences yet whose practice reinforces all that we have in common. Art that never forgets our pasts and our futures are all connected. It is both in the writings of scholars and educators, as well as in the fire-side folktales passed down through generations. Art is a window into the endless possibilities and the extent of our potential. We Are Art that reflects the world around us…Art that mirrors our rapidly changing environment. It is of South America, Central America and everywhere in between—filling this country and changing its face forever. No other form of expression can so aptly depict our conditions, from the grassroots to the global. Art is evolutionary and revolutionary like our community, like our place in this country. It is cathartic, therapeutic, violent and stimulating for all those who partake. Art is universal, yet completely singular to one’s own perspective. It is political. It is social. It is expression for voices otherwise unheard. We Are Art that compels original thought. Art that is a cataclysm of creativity, looking down upon what has already been drawn, been said, been done. It is a critical tool that causes us to examine our beliefs in light of an artist’s rendition or perception of truth. It is a paradigm shift. It is asset-driven. It develops masters of language, communication, problem solving, and production. It engenders the creative thought that will boost our society, our economy, our IDENTITY. We Are Art that demands new and innovative leadership. Art discovers and develops a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind. Inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, big-picture thinkers are all artists who will champion our culture. These individuals are creators, empathizers, meaning-makers and mobilizers. They will be the leaders our community needs at the vanguard to ensure its place in this 21st century world. They will determine whether OUR story will remain alive in the hearts and minds of its people, or if it will be nothing than more than a distant memory. We Are Art, and through Art we craft our own reality. |
