AVATAR: March Edition SHS ART & LITERARY EDITION

Greetings From The Editor!

By Jazmyn Scott

Hello and Happy March! In this edition of the Avatar you'll find articles on the different projects that some of our art students at Shawnee have done, a few on the perception of art itself, and a tribute to Sojourner Truth for Women's history Month. Throughout different articles you'll find links to Google forms where you can give your opinion on the subject of a article. Your participation is appreciated!

Fine Art or Farce?

By Isabella Salem

Fine Art

The argument of Comb is whether or not it is Fine Art of Farce, Comb by Marcel Duchamp is Fine Art because nobody can decide the difference between fine art and farce. Attempting to make the deduction or whether or not a certain piece of work is fine art of not is simply impossible because art is all about meanings and opinions. One person could always differ from another about the specific meaning of Comb and exactly what fine art is versus farce.

First, there is the argument of what is fine art? Fine Art has a very vague definition, “creative art, especially visual art whose products are to be appreciated primarily or solely for their imaginative, aesthetic, or intellectual content” (Oxford Languages). Comb is a visual piece, you can see the comb and it can be appreciated for it’s simplicity of the piece, no loud colors or pieces sticking out. It could also be looked at intellectually, why did the person behind the piece, Duchamp, decide on that specific comb? A corresponding argument is what is Farce? Farce is “a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations” (Oxford Languages). If someone claims another work is farce, then why would said person’s art be fine art in comparison, because the idea of Fine Art and Farce is completely relative, something that can only be decided by the artist themself.

Farce

By Tyler Wicks

Recently some artists have been producing art works that require little to no effort to create. From signed urinals, to bananas taped to walls, to even a rusty pipe that someone has named God, these artists are creating conversation and controversy. These artworks can be seen as mockeries to artists that spend time, effort, and talent into their creations that are sometimes overshadowed by these farce artists. There was another artwork done that involved an artist sitting in a chair for 8 hours with an open seat across from her which was intended for viewers to come sit in and stare into her eyes. The argument here would be, where is the art? It was said that some attendants were brought to tears while others say they were also incredibly moved. Could this “art work” instead be viewed as a social experiment as it's not a physical piece that can be showcased but an idea that is temporary. Some of these artworks are even replaceable and the artists see them as such. When the banana duct taped to the wall was showcased, they kept a spare banana just in case the one got stolen. If something can easily be replaced as this then is it even art? Another case like this, a dead shark in a tank was shown as a means to help people overcome their fear of death. The shark decomposed after some time and was replaced with another shark. How can it even be called the same work of art? As more and more of these things are being shown and produced, it changes the meaning of art and it diminishes the validity of artworks that artists spend much of their hard earned talent to produce.

Senior Visual & Performing Arts Spotlight

by Jazmyn Scott

This month's senior visual and performing arts spotlight goes to the drama club´s student technical director, Leah Shawver! She has been involved with theater tech for all four years of high school. Her favorite show was the Sound Of Music because it is a classic and it has always been one of her favorite musicals. Leah has been in charge of lights while working with tech. Most of the work gets done before tech week when the full run through of the show happens. Leah works with Ms. Hirn and they will set each scene in advance and practice throughout tech week to make sure everything is perfect. Tech also does the spotlight when needed. Leah’s favorite thing to do in the tech booth is mess around with the light board. After the covid year, the tech booth got a new light board that has a lot more abilities, such as flashing the lights or even more adjustments to the coloring. When asked about her favorite memories in theater she said ¨I have two favorite memories I always go back to. My first was during Seussical The Musical. We see the show so many times you kind of memorize it with the actors. I can remember my sister and I singing and dancing up in the booth with the show. I could even catch some of the crew laughing at us. The second one was in my first show. I was still figuring out all the timings. There were a couple of times I would catch the stage crew still on the stage. I felt bad and would quickly turn the lights off but I couldn't help but laugh at how shocked they were.¨. Leah is also a member of the Shawnee Band of One. She has been in the band for eight years. She started out on the french horn and eventually picked up the trumpet and mellophone. She says that The best part ofthe band will always be the friends you make. ¨You constantly have people there for you and people who understand you.¨ For college, She will be attending South Dakota State University for Aviation Maintenance Management. Some wise words from leah about her experience within the arts is that ¨the best thing about the arts is it is okay to make mistakes. You just need to keep trying and you need to better yourself and learn from those mistakes. Everyone is very open and willing to help you to improve.¨

Ain't I A Woman?

Den dat little man in black dar,

he say women can't have as much rights as men,

'cause Christ wan't a woman!

Whar did your Christ come from?

Whar did your Christ come from?

From God and a woman!

Man had nothin' to do wid Him.

If de fust woman God ever made

was strong enough to turn de world upside down

all alone,

dese women togedder ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!

And now dey is asking to do it,

de men better let 'em.

Bleeged to ye for hearin' on me,

and now ole Sojourner

han't got nothin' more to say.'

-Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth was an African-American abolitionist and feminist who did a lot of her fighting through her words. Her poetry was powerful and depicted the struggles that she faced as not only a woman, but a black woman in America in the 1800s. She was born into slavery with the named Isabella Baumfree but changed it after converting to Christianity to represent her new mission to spread the word of god. This is a small excerpt from Sojourner Truth´s poem ¨ Ain't I A Woman?¨. This poem was actually a speech that she delivered at a Women´s convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851. It was written down and published after the speech was given and became one of her most popular works. It is likely that someone else was the scribe for the speech because of the dialect it was written in. She grew up in the north and although she was a slave, the dialect of the poem above is stereotypically southern. This speech was a call for the right to vote for women. It dives into all of the things that women do for their societies and the hardships that they face and how they deserve the right to vote for all of the things they do.

If you would like to read the entire poem (without the southern dialect) you can find the link to it below.

https://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/sojour.htm

by Jazmyn Scott