Response to readings/videos

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a)       I thoroughly enjoyed reading White’s creativity in his own version of a “cabinet of curiosities” with the source being words. I’ve never really thought of this conjunction of word associations to be so broad, so it was exciting to see this in his work.  There was a dysfunction of object with sound and space, but the themes chosen was based on how he was able to categorize and define all of them- that somehow they all correlated with the sense of being white, or having a feature of the color white. I found it to be lighthearted, witty, and thought provoking at the same time.

With the Art21 clip, I was able to grasp the sense of combining artistic practices and curiosities into perspective. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed with other outside influence, it becomes difficult to edit down. I like the manner in which Fred Wilson articulates the manner in which he never felt like he was a part of a group, that he was casted out. He goes on to say that he sees hybridity in cultures because of his own family, having sisters that married men of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds than his own, so this idea of universality and acceptance is prevalent. This mentality is a way that I think he was able to work well with the museum collaboration, because I think he categorized the stones and artifacts in a broad and universal manner.

The Jurassic Technology was the most difficult for me to connect with, or to thoroughly grasp- I think the lack of visual images was what threw me off when listening to them describe certain items in the shop. However, it was still quite fascinating- I’ve never been to a place that had so many oddities, so it sounds like a gem! What I liked most was when they mentioned if everything was based on reality and had its truth in it, or if some of the histories or mechanisms were fictitious. One man even says that it does not matter whether it just comes directly from the owners imagination, because it is equally as fascinating. I find that this is exactly what I will be dealing with when I do my own research and complete this project, because I am trying to make clear what is true about certain animals and what is not in folklore and stories passed down to us.