Imagine. Imagine a painting. Think of the colors flowing together and the meaning behind it. Does it have an impact on you? For Dorothy Allison a sweaty painting of Jesus at the Jordan River from her childhood left an impact on her. In This Is Our World, Allison lives her life because of the past. She views art in a different way. She believes that art should “surprise and astonish and hopefully make you think something you had not thought until you saw it" (589). Allison goes on to write that, “art is not meant to be polite, secret, coded or timid" (569). As a society, everyone, is constantly busy doing daily chores. Art causes us to stop for a moment and think. The only way to do this is to be shocked. Allison claims that art shows the truth
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Allison mainly discusses in her essay that art portrays a story that emotionally affects each of us differently, we do not comment or even look at art out of fear of the backlash. Allison writes, "We know if we say anything about what we see in a work of art we will reveal more about us than the artist" (569). Art is a narration of ourselves that society is afraid to admit. If we claim that an art piece is depressing and another claims it to be joyful, we feel terrified of letting the public know a piece of us. Allison describes a similar story of her mother being baptized along with three other boys. The boys were having a difficult time being baptized, but because society deemed the moment to be holy, no one in the congregation dared to laugh. Mankind tries desperately to remain in a group. It begins at an early age and continues throughout life. It is a basic survival strategy of all animals. Our behavior is to be like the rest of the group so that they will not kick you out. Allison states that "We are not the same. We are a nation of nations. Regions, social classes, economic circumstances... all separate us even as we pretend they do not. Art makes that plain"(595). Though we try to fit in we stand out, making us different. Society should embrace that instead of straining to hide
Allison mainly discusses in her essay that art portrays a story that emotionally affects each of us differently, we do not comment or even look at art out of fear of the backlash. Allison writes, "We know if we say anything about what we see in a work of art we will reveal more about us than the artist" (569). Art is a narration of ourselves that society is afraid to admit. If we claim that an art piece is depressing and another claims it to be joyful, we feel terrified of letting the public know a piece of us. Allison describes a similar story of her mother being baptized along with three other boys. The boys were having a difficult time being baptized, but because society deemed the moment to be holy, no one in the congregation dared to laugh. Mankind tries desperately to remain in a group. It begins at an early age and continues throughout life. It is a basic survival strategy of all animals. Our behavior is to be like the rest of the group so that they will not kick you out. Allison states that "We are not the same. We are a nation of nations. Regions, social classes, economic circumstances... all separate us even as we pretend they do not. Art makes that plain"(595). Though we try to fit in we stand out, making us different. Society should embrace that instead of straining to hide