Off the Wall

Off the wall is what I think this class was for me. I was so busy with other stuff that I forgot to do the last post for this class, and though I'm not getting credit for this one I think it's still worth the typing.

Off the wall is also what qualifies the art of Doze Green, graffiti writer and artist, whose work I'm linking below - I mentioned his art in class, and how crazy he is. The music to this short video piece is amazing as well, and the intricacy of his work is amazing.

This class was amazing too! I was excited to take this course merely based on its title and description but fell in love with it immediately after the first week of classes - it had everything I liked, visual culture, critique, feminist and queer theory. I was afraid that the readings would be dry, but I thought all the readings were fantastic and on point, and the way Cathy connected the visual culture to these readings was perfect. I have only encountered few instructors who are as approachable and delightful as Cathy, but also as knowledgeable as she is - and not condescending at that! My brain was stimulated on a daily basis and I felt very at ease in the class - sorry if I talked too much.

I thought the topics covered were great and diverse, I liked that we included disability studies and current topics such as the Body Exhibit because it is really important to me to relate theory and critique with current aspects of society as we live it. I also really liked that Cathy brought extra material to class to complement the lectures, which incited me more to share anecdotes and thoughts to add on to the discussions. My favorite set of readings where those dealing with Abu Ghraib, particularly those written by Puar Jasbir, and the whole concept of biopower knocked me off my feet and made me even more of a fan of Foucault.

Over all this class has taught how to critically look at the visual culture that surrounds me even outside of my field of expertise, which is film and photography. If I was skeptical of TV, advertisement and art before...imagine now. I wished everybody had to take classes like this because visual culture is such a part of our lives that not critiquing it is just nonsensical. This class is a tool to critically position yourself in your environment to understand how it affects you not just theoretically, but concretely.

So, this video is just for fun and I'm sharing it because I think it's amazing, not because it ties in to the discussions we had per se. Enjoy and have a wonderful break!