Monday, November 13, 2023

Intervention 2, Angela Ordonez

Angela Ordonez
Professor Doris Cacoilo
ART 263
13 November 2023

Intervention 2

Performance art is the artistic expression that is represented on a stage, some examples of performance art are singing, acting, dancing, and much more. Performing art helps people overcome fears, be more creative, encourage good teamwork, improve communication skills, and put aside shyness, among other things. There are a variety of examples of artists like Kimberly Drew and Shaun Leonardo who in their childhood did not believe that art was going to be part of their professional lives, however, they are clear examples that when a person likes and is passionate about something, everything is possible.
The book The Art of Activism by Steve Duncombe and Steve Lambert contains valuable information on how to handle art and creativity. The book maintains that “TO BE AN ARTISTIC ACTIVIST, it helps to have a creative habitat. This habitat is a place where we can cultivate, grow, and replenish our creativity for the rest of our lives.” (page 51) a curious but very important fact, since not only there, but in different readings I have read it, such as in Kimberly Drew's book, in the art descriptions of the NJCU gallery, and also in the reading from Performance, Pedagogy, and Philosophy something similar is mentioned: “Artists need to take in, to process, to decipher, to separate from the noise and create things that are beautiful and impactful to the spirit. Artists have to offer a different type of slowness to work against the speed of today.”

I have learned that art goes beyond many things, art is not only observed but also felt. Yoko Ono is a great example to follow, a great person but above all a great artist. Her story and her purpose in her life have not only been about creating art, but also through her fights for world peace and gender equality. I took as an example the art of this great woman to make my intervention today. Yoko Ono's performance art had a purpose, mine too, it is about raising awareness in society about how harmful smoking tobacco is and the damage we do to our lungs by doing so. It is said that tobacco smoking causes more than eight million deaths a year around the world, but it is not just death, it starts with different types of diseases, tobacco produces cancer and contributes to a decrease in oxygen transport to the body's tissues of the human being.


But why is this topic so important to me? My great-grandfather died because he had smoked tobacco all his life. He used to have to carry an oxygen tank wherever he went since his lungs no longer worked well on their own. My father has smoked since he was 15 years old, today he is 43 years old and when he climbs stairs he has shortness of breath, when he exerts himself it is difficult for him to breathe well, and when he is stressed or worried the only thing he turns to is a cigarette, that is which makes his body relax. How can you make a person who has smoked almost all his life understand that his body is internally being destroyed more and more by smoking? It is a very difficult question to answer since to date we have not achieved anything that will help eliminate tobacco 100%.


My performance art video is based on destroying tobacco. I invited my mom, my sister, and my dad to do it too. My mom, my sister, and I did not find it difficult to do this, on the contrary, it was pleasant to be able to destroy what we have felt has been affecting my dad's health for a long time. My dad, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable doing it, since he has smoked since he was a child and it is like telling a person who loves junk food to destroy or throw away his favorite hamburger. The purpose of my video was to make art and activism at the same time, trying to encourage the elimination of tobacco in the lives of many people.





References:

Soto, Edra. “Performance, Pedagogy, and Philosophy.” Hispanic Executive, 1 July 2022, hispanicexecutive.com/shaun-leonardo/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.
“Yoko Ono - a Groundbreaking Artist, Activist and Fighter behind the Myth of Her Name.” Widewalls, www.widewalls.ch/magazine/yoko-ono-art-story.
- The Art of Activism -  Steve Duncombe and Steve Lambert

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