As I performed maintenance art around the USU, I felt odd because no one really goes to school to clean an artwork. It was interesting however because it also felt alleviating to take off the dust and leave the metal shiny. It was like if I had taken pressure off of myself. Mierle Laderman Ukeles cleaning the steps of an art museum and Richard Serra flinging molten lead against the walls of an art museum are different because Ukeles has more emotions of peace and tranquility to discover beauty under the dirt. Serra however produces emotions of rage and anger as if he wanted to destroy something. They are also the same because both are doing something to alleviate themselves because Ukeles perhaps found peace to find relief meanwhile Serra found alleviated himself by expressing his own emotions of anger. I believe both are art because there’s an intense display of emotions that can have an individual in awe to watch them perform these acts of art. Ukeles art was art not because she performed it at an art museum, but because it was an expression of emotions that can intrigue an individual as to what the purpose is behind her art. I believe art is supposed to be creative and it is up to the artist as to what “medium” they will use. All paintings on a canvas can be art not because art is typically displayed on a canvas in a museum, however, a canvas is simply an option for an artist to show they’re art. House painting can also be art because of the way that the art pieces are able to interact with the environment of a home, to produce feelings of comfort. The pieces themselves can also have their own beauty and emotions that intrigue the viewer. A painting on a canvas will always be art because even if paint accidentally fell on a canvas, a viewer can see a meaning on the accidents of life that we have to face. Painting a house can be art because there is a process by which it gets painted and the labor of the painted house can be appreciated. Both Jennifer Lopez and Ukeles have made me think more about “Women’s Work” and see how it is under appreciated and actually art as well. I believe “Women’s Work” is also art because it is a physical art that can be performed and when it is done an individual experiences tiredness or satisfaction and thus we can see the beauty behind it therefore it is also art. I would clean Adam Sandlers star because I love his movies and I know that whenever I’m going to watch a movie with him in it, I am going to laugh so much and be entertained.
Ernesto Alonso Mendoza Pelayo 