Spring Break Response

 

When I went tot he Spring Break art show, the most impactful piece for me was the video above “This Ain’t a Eulogy: A Ritual for Re-Memberling”. It was very powerful to me because of the environment that Lindley created where you entered her space which was almost a mound like room made of plastic garbage bags (to echo her video). This made the video much more immersive and its message even more powerful. The feeling of being surrounded by garbage and that you are almost one with the garbage watching this ritualistic dance made me understand the message she was trying to communicate. This message, as I understood it and confirmed when I talked with her, is that in America, black people are treated in a way so that they are seen and see themselves as less. In order to move forward and change this without hiding the past, Lindley transforms the garbage bags (a symbol for blackness and black culture) into something beautiful and new. The video is beautiful and almost reads like an unconventional ballet, and despite appearing to take place in almost an empty void, the video gives ultimate hope that we can transform the racial relations in America and improve the lives of minorities. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Lindley’s video and discussing it with her, she is an artist I will continue to watch as I feel she has potential to be a great American artist who deserves more attention for her work which is so relevant to American society today.

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