Meet & Greet
Hi Everybody!
My name is Courtney and I currently reside in State College. I am a teacher of both first graders and yoga students alike in this central Pennsylvania town, where rural countryside intersects with the academic world that is Penn State. Downtown is the geographical location in which the university borders end and the town begins. Here, student and university life is prevalent in the town's makeup and rears its head in many ways. When walking down the street, one might see a student, back pack in hand, rushing to class walking by a couple who made their way from a few streets back to grab a bite to eat downtown. Paces of life vary here, but not nearly as much as what one might hear when venturing into the throws of College and Beaver Avenues. Whether it's a heavy political debate led by the insightful and hopeful youth of the university or a townie concerned about the date of the annual Christmas tree lighting, one is guaranteed to encounter interesting conversation.
One place student and resident life collides is in the downtown bar scene and culture. Below is a picture from a State College bar bathroom. People of all ages come Sharpie in hand to add their thoughts to the artistic creation that has become the bathroom wall. While this is not particularly unique to State College, it is representative of its culture in numerous ways. You have everything from thoughtful quote, quick sketch, and gender commentary to political opinions thrown together in a way that represents the time, context, and intent of the people who reside in State College. In the video presentation, time, context, and intent were referenced in relation to the article about the art existing in the less than ordinary sign creation one area was experiencing. The bar bathroom mural tells us about the time we live in, what ideas people are having, and how they feel they can and do express these ideas visually in a public sphere.
How Slaven discusses public sphere in his article is applicable to the idea of the bar bathroom mural reflecting the culture and people of State College. The concept of relational art hits hard here because people are taking in what they see when they spend time together in these types of dwellings, seeing how others interpret it as well, and then adding their own spin and interpretation to an ever evolving piece that is the both the intersection and culmination of so many schools of thought in one place. Not only is art being created and sending messages here, but people are interacting with each other, and are thereby influencing each other in one another's creation.
My name is Courtney and I currently reside in State College. I am a teacher of both first graders and yoga students alike in this central Pennsylvania town, where rural countryside intersects with the academic world that is Penn State. Downtown is the geographical location in which the university borders end and the town begins. Here, student and university life is prevalent in the town's makeup and rears its head in many ways. When walking down the street, one might see a student, back pack in hand, rushing to class walking by a couple who made their way from a few streets back to grab a bite to eat downtown. Paces of life vary here, but not nearly as much as what one might hear when venturing into the throws of College and Beaver Avenues. Whether it's a heavy political debate led by the insightful and hopeful youth of the university or a townie concerned about the date of the annual Christmas tree lighting, one is guaranteed to encounter interesting conversation.
One place student and resident life collides is in the downtown bar scene and culture. Below is a picture from a State College bar bathroom. People of all ages come Sharpie in hand to add their thoughts to the artistic creation that has become the bathroom wall. While this is not particularly unique to State College, it is representative of its culture in numerous ways. You have everything from thoughtful quote, quick sketch, and gender commentary to political opinions thrown together in a way that represents the time, context, and intent of the people who reside in State College. In the video presentation, time, context, and intent were referenced in relation to the article about the art existing in the less than ordinary sign creation one area was experiencing. The bar bathroom mural tells us about the time we live in, what ideas people are having, and how they feel they can and do express these ideas visually in a public sphere.
How Slaven discusses public sphere in his article is applicable to the idea of the bar bathroom mural reflecting the culture and people of State College. The concept of relational art hits hard here because people are taking in what they see when they spend time together in these types of dwellings, seeing how others interpret it as well, and then adding their own spin and interpretation to an ever evolving piece that is the both the intersection and culmination of so many schools of thought in one place. Not only is art being created and sending messages here, but people are interacting with each other, and are thereby influencing each other in one another's creation.
I went to PSU main campus right out of high school, I found the entire experience very overwhelming and ended up only staying two semesters. I was not old enough for the bar scene, so it looks like I missed out on a whole word of art!! Good luck this semester!
ReplyDeleteI went to PSU main campus right out of high school, I found the entire experience very overwhelming and ended up only staying two semesters. I was not old enough for the bar scene, so it looks like I missed out on a whole word of art!! Good luck this semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Courtney- Where you live sounds very similar to Morgantown with the unavoidable college culture. I enjoy your example of the bathroom wall as a form of relative art. I think this form is great because it undoubtedly reaches even those who may not consider art as part of their lives.
ReplyDelete-Caroline
Hi Courtney, I love the idea of the bathroom wall as an area of public art. It is certainly an area where people feel free to write whatever they want. It reminds me of the graffiti found in Pompeii, and how little people have truly changed at their core. There is an interesting article with some examples here: https://kashgar.com.au/blogs/history/the-bawdy-graffiti-of-pompeii-and-herculaneu A head's up to anyone clicking that, people were just as rude then as they are now!
ReplyDeleteI feel that Andrea and I saw the same thing in your image. "People feel free to write whatever they want." What I am taken by in this image is not just the response to one another but the content of those responses, specifically the gender or sexually charged content. What about the culture makes the addition of statements like, "Lick on those nuts and suck the dick" okay? What does it say about the rules or expectations of this visual community?
ReplyDeleteOne of the things you hear often when discussing conceptual art (which I believe relational art to be a part or at least a branch of) with both insiders and average people alike, is “Is This Art?” and by extension “What Is Art?. A bar bathroom is certainly a communal space, albeit not one where I’m looking for a meaningful art experience. However, I do believe that the communal scratches, doodles and writings should at least be considered in the “What Is Art?” debate. It certainly does reveal the cultural temperature of the campus. That being said, I’m not surprised to see the kind of juvenile scratchings that Meg alludes to. I think the answer to her final question is…the people who are writing those kinds of things have no interest in the visual community or any community. Absolute egocentric behavior.
ReplyDeleteI love the turtle saying, "You don't need a straw." Haha! Your blog post really speaks to the unique natures of public art and how it can truly exist anywhere. I attended Art all Night in Pittsburgh last April, and they had an interactive public art piece where people were invited to write and draw all over a couple of toilet stalls! See image here- https://imgur.com/a/HCskD1V
ReplyDelete