Art is a beautiful thing. As discussed in the TED talk with Dre Urhahn, art is an incredibly healing and inspiring thing. When Dre Urhahn and Jeroen Koolhaas began painting murals in impoverished neighborhoods, this became extremely apparent. Urhahn and Koolhaas went to a total of three neighborhoods around the world including two favelas in Rio, and a neighborhood in North Philadelphia. In each of these communities, anyone who lives there would say the environment has completely changed by the artwork that surrounds the civilians in these cities. By painting breathtaking murals on the buildings in the neighborhoods, the spirits of the people who live there have been greatly impacted. Art is something that effects all of us. It can be loved by everyone and is. Now that being said, it does have its limits. Just because the buildings have been painted, the living conditions most likely have not changed. I consider myself to be an optimist however and truly believe in the power that art is capable of, and it is evident that the spirits of these depressed communities have been lifted. I consider art important to me and it comes in many forms that everyone can relate to in some way.
Taylor's Space
Future Teacher
I completely agree that art is both beautiful and has the power to be extremely influential. This TED talk was so moving and entertaining and the artwork was unbelievable. I personally loved that they showed a scene with the family cooking inside while there were gunshots going off around them, they seemed unmoved. Gun fire is clearly a life or death situation, the artwork led the community to be closer and prevented some of that violence. I wonder what the EA community would say to those artists and how ineffectively they’re spending their time! Great post!
Thank you!
I agree that art is inspiring and beautiful, and it impacts everyone. It got me thinking when you said “Just because the buildings have been painted, the living conditions most likely have not changed.” This is a very good point, and I wasn’t thinking about that before I read your post. Yes, the murals are a good thing for these communities and they have brightened up these impoverished areas, but how much is it actually doing for the neighborhood? This is a situation in which I can see where the EA’s are coming from. I still believe that art can be incredibly healing and necessary, but I can also say that it is not going to completely fix an entire community.
Thank you!