We have our first presentation this week. my classmates are very creative, I liked all of their work. Their English also was very good which made me stressed. My English still has a lot to improve. I saw my classmates write some comments on the work I posted on Teams, I was very happy they liked my work. I also like their work very much, but forgive me that I am not confident in my English to leave comments. But now I know that my classmates are very friendly, so I will try to leave comments next time.

I'm very happy to join this pre-sessional course in this week and I hope that after six weeks left that I can be more confident in my English, pass my exams and become friends with everyone in my class.

• The levels of political activism in this country have greatly declined.

• the use of direct and noticeable action to achieve a result, usually a political or social one.

-In my own words:

I think activism is a social activity that people organize themselves so that the government can see it and change the current social phenomenon to achieve justice.

-In ChatGPT:

Activism refers to intentional efforts to promote, impede, direct, or intervene in social, political, economic, or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society.

Activists are individuals or groups who engage in activism to advocate for a particular cause, address issues, or bring about positive change. Activism can take various forms, including:

1 Social Activism

2  Environmental Activism

3  Human Rights Activism

4  Labor Activism

5  Health Activism

6  Consumer Activism

7 Digital Activism

8 Cultural Activism

2 “Do it! What are you waiting on? Do it! Stand up for what you believe in. The world needs your voice. Whoever you are, you have something to say. Say it.”
— Kerry Washington, American actress, director, and activist

3 “I have a little different definition of evil than most people. When you have the opportunity and the ability to do good and you do nothing, that's evil. Evil doesn't always have to be an overt act, it can be merely the absence of good.”
— Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia & climate activist

-For my own opinion:

Art work has strong influence and communication ability. Artists create works to express their views that can make more people to see them.

-In ChatGPT:

Art activism, also known as "activist art" or "art for social change," is a form of activism that utilizes artistic expression to address social, political, environmental, or cultural issues. This type of activism seeks to inspire dialogue, raise awareness, and provoke thought and action through various artistic mediums.

(1)Visual Arts

(2)Performing Arts

(3)Literature

(4)Music

(5)Film and Documentary

(6)Street Art and Graffiti

(7)Digital and New Media Art

(8)Community Engagement

In 2011 he was arrested and imprisoned by the Chinese Government for 81 days. The alleged crime was ‘economic crimes’ but the artist’s family, human rights activists, and other supporters have long said his arrest was politically motivated, because of his criticism of government authoritarianism and censorship. Even after he was released, Chinese authorities retained his passport and forbid him from leaving Beijing, placing him on modified house arrest for 4 years.

Most recently, he has stood up for anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong. He has a team filming a documentary about the Hong Kong protests on university campuses and says these protests will influence an opera he is working on. He has called out worldwide leaders’ silence in the face of these troubling times for Hong Kong.

“I believe the core value of an artist must be to express yourself freely and fight for the freedom of others” – Ai Wei Wei.

He is best known for his ‘Fit for work’ campaign, which appeared at 5 job centres in the UK in 2018. It came about because his friend and mum were struggling through the Universal credit system.

“I see people suffering and their health getting worse, when it’s solvable. It’s a form of eugenics. 43% of disability claimants attempt suicide a year. I want to get that into the national conscience”, he explains.

His art protest consisted of the following: he turned the entrance to 5 job centres into murder scenes, painting the outline of a body surrounded by blood. In bright red paint ‘fit for work’ was scrawled across the job centres’ windows, walls and doors.

He was arrested for hitting the head office of the Department for Work and Pensions – with his protest artworks – at Christmas last year.

“I didn’t set out to make political art but art is a platform where I can vent my frustrations” – Void One.  

Simply stating your stance on an issue isn’t enough. Consumers desire meaningful action from brand activists or they may view your brand as hypocritical. 

My own opinion： Brands use their influence to communicate their core values to consumers. And consumers buy the things in the brand express that they support for the brand's views.

In ChatGPT:

Brand activism, also known as "corporate activism" or "cause marketing," refers to the practice of companies and brands taking a stance on social, environmental, or political issues. Instead of remaining neutral, these brands actively promote and support a particular cause or set of values. Brand activism can manifest in various ways, and companies may engage in activities such as:

(1)Public Statements

(2)Charity

(3)Policy Advocacy

(4)Product Initiatives

(5)Employee engagement

(6)Sustainability Practices

https://www.junglescout.com/blog/brand-activism/

Art activism is the use of art to make social change, and artists have reacted to inequality. The use this way to defiance. It is very important that the artwork has a strong influence and communication ability. Artists create works to express their point of view that more people can see it. Most of the time, images speak louder than words because art can make information accessible and universal.

The goal of brand activism is also to improve society or nature. Brands use their influence to show their core values to consumers. And when consumers buy the brand's goods, means that they support this brand's views. But consumers want brands to take meaningful action, not just say in the mouth, or consumers may think your brand is hypocritical.

I think activism is a kind of social activity where people organize themselves so that the government can see and change the current social phenomenon in order to achieve justice in their hearts. Make society a better place. It has played an important role in the development of society.

Some see the ads as a risk for the company, but experts say Nike has been known to embrace public controversy.

The ads were revealed Monday on the unsigned quarterback's Twitter account -- just days before Thursday’s NFL season opener. Kaepernick tweeted a photo of himself with the caption: "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nikes-colin-kaepernick-campaign-controversial-brand-experts/story?id=57590454

In addition to its diverse line of Barbie dolls, Mattel has also taken on internal initiatives, pledging their commitment to supporting the Black community through product, content, people, and marketing strategies. This includes working with Black vendors and partners, creating Barbie content featuring discussions about race and racism, and donating $250,000 to NAACP youth programs. They also curate special doll collections for events like AAPI Heritage Month and Hispanic Heritage Month while donating to organizations that help communities “prepare for future personal, academic, and professional success”.

For their employees, LEGO’s Global and Local Employee Advocacy Groups consist of volunteers who work on internal initiatives like mentorship programs and more inclusive hiring practices. They also have a strong focus on employee advocacy and gender balance, and regularly partner with organizations like UN Women, the Business Disability Forum, and Workplace Pride to create safe working environments for everyone.

Lastly, LEGO has set multiple environmental goals for reducing plastic waste and carbon emissions. For example, they want to make all LEGO bricks from sustainable materials by 2030, and are currently developing prototypes using recycled materials like plastic bottles and renewable materials like sugarcane. They’re also working towards fully sustainable packaging by 2025, from eliminating the use of blister packs to switching from single-use plastic bags to paper bags. Finally, LEGO’s Replay program helps people donate their used LEGO bricks to schools and non-profit organizations that work with children, contributing towards their goal of zero-waste to landfill by 2025.

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nikes-colin-kaepernick-campaign-controversial-brand-experts/story?id=57590454

We used craap to test the reliability of the information. Craap consist of five letters that stand for Currency, Relevance, Authorty, Accuracy and Purpose. The information will be reliable if it pass these five tests.

Firstly, look at the time of upload of the article, only the information that was uploaded around five years can be selected, because the information from the past is a bit old. Next, look at the title of the article to see if it is relevant to my research. And then look at who wrote the article, to search the author and judge if it is reliable. After doing this, investigate the source of the information. It is has been verified? Finally, find that if the article has bias.

After doing this I will be able to determine that this information is reliable and can be used for my research investigation.

-The performance artwork shows mounted police wearing uniform sitting on horses to control the audience and give people to experience the different stages of power. It's different with people read in the newspapers. It's an immersive experience.

Impaction of artwork to the audience:

-The artist did not inform the audience at first that this is a artwork so that the audience will not to think too much, as if it is daily life. This is just a small piece of experience in life, the experience of power. They will react as what they do in everyday life. The artist thinks that audience do not need to know that it is a performance work, which makes audience more immersive in it.

My reactions to these pieces of art:

-In my opinion, I think Tania's approach is very creative. It lets the audience experience the different stages of power without knowing. It is a novel experience for me, very different from a traditional exhibition. I think the way of presentation is more impactful.

Bibliography:

(2008). YouTube. 6 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7L1s_GWn3o (Accessed: 18 November 2023).

• Why do you think the public response to the Guerrilla Girls’ form of art activism is positive?

  -They gave voice to many women's grievances that have been in their mind for many years, and they resonated with thousands of women who have been in the unfairly treated. They also increased the popularity of this thing.

  
  

• How do you think the art world should respond to the alarming statistics the Guerrilla Girls have exposed?

  -I think the art world should pay more attention to this issue and let more female artist's work exhibit in art galleries.

The second tutor's name is Maughan. He explained many rules about the exam to us that we must follow the rules to pass the exam.

I learned a lot in this lesson. Help me to understand more about exam regulations and some information search skills.

John Lennon wanted us to imagine a world without heaven, hell, religion, countries, possessions. We just need to enjoy today and not need to worry about the future. This must be the dream of many people. I looked up some information and found that over the years, this song has appeared and played a role in many important events.

I think it's still going to be popular after 50 years, and that's the world people still looking for.

I think the song is idealistic and can't be come ture in the short time, but I think it also brings profound message of hope to people.

I was a bit hesitant because I have never studied serious on the problem of environmental pollution. So that, I need to look up a lot of information about it.

I looked up many examples of environmental issues and related artworks. I know now that environmental problems are more serious than I thought, and artists use their work to make us pay more attention to the issue.

The learning style and content are very different with my home country. Study of this topic let me to look up a lot of information on the Internet and find examples to prove the problem. It was a new experience for me and I had not learned it this way.

The first artist I chose was Jenny Kendler(b.1980, New York City). She is an interdisciplinary artist, environmental activist, naturalist & wild forager who lives in Chicago and various forests. Kendler is a 2023 Artadia Awardee. Since 2014, she has been the first artist in Residence of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). She serves on the board of Directors of Artist-in-Residence ACRE and on the fundraising Committee of the Board of Directors of 350.org, an international climate change organization. She is also a founding member of Artists Commit, an artist-led initiative to foster climate awareness in the arts community.

Her work has been exhibited in several museums and biennials, and her work has been included in more than 70 group exhibitions.

The work I chose names birds watching. It is a 40-foot sculpture consisting of a "swarm" of 100 reflective bird's eyes mounted on aluminum. It was originally created for Storm King's exhibition Indicators: Artists of Climate Change. Each eye belongs to a species of bird considered threatened or endangered by climate change. With many others watching, this work requires us to consider our own responsibility for the myriad impacts of climate change on other living things.

In this spirit, birds watching reminds us that true sight is an act of reciprocity. Mass media images and the omnipresence of screens shift our visual consciousness toward one-way consumption, leading us to a sense of distance from the world. When we get caught up in this limited, non-participatory vision, what we see often confirms our biases and stereotypes, flattening other creatures like birds into "things."

When our visual behavior is reciprocated by another creature, this mutual gaze allows us to actively participate in our vibrant biosphere. Relearning our ability to observe nature in depth enables us to engage in inclusive, participatory acts of life, reweaving our entanglements with the rest of nature.

We cannot be mere bystanders in this Anthropocene era, when our compassion, or lack thereof, for other life has become an ecological force in itself. Truly seeing can be the first step in practicing a new spirit of mutualism and caring.

Birds watching reminds us that when we see nature, nature looks back.

In both of these two works, there are streets at night. However, the difference is that there are a lot of people walking in the street in my work, while there are no people in the street in Edward Hopper's work. It's a extreme contrast. On the other hand, the street in my work there are lights everywhere, on the contrary, Edward Hopper's street has only one store with lights on. In both of our works there is a man and a woman holding hands. But I can't judge the relationship of them from his work, they can be strangers, lovers or other relationships. But I can almost confirm that the two people in my work are lovers, because the man carries the woman's bag. His paintings depict the bitterness and loneliness of modern city life, while mine depict the lively night life of the city. I really like the color contrast in Edward's work, can make us pay more attention in the cafe and shows that the artist has great painting skills. Although that I do not really understand the meaning of this work, I still really like it.

Bibliograghy:

Edward Hopper (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper (Accessed: 24 November 2023).

Nighthawks (Hopper) (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks_(Hopper) (Accessed: 24 November 2023).

At first, Jamie showed us a presentation in TED with no sound and let us watch his body language and other techniques. I saw the speaker use rich body language, his speech combined with some slides and data. After that Jamie asked us to guess what was he talking about. I thought that it would teach me something. But when Jamie put the voice out, I realized it was about nothing. But he uses body language, facial expressions and some slide data to make us think he's having a presentation.

It was useful to learn the skills in the presentation he did. One of the important skills is the body language, it can help work off nervousness and convey the massage. In the same way, voice also is a big problem in the presentation task. Focus on tone which is how your voice rises and falls. And do not memorise and read the word because that makes your voice tend to be flat.

I learned a lot from this lesson. So when the next time I do the presentation, I will use these skills to make it show better.

Little sun is the name of first work made by Olafur Eliasson. “ Light is so incredibly important to me”(Eliasson,2020). But some part of the world do not have light, so he crated the work Little sun to increase solar energy for all. Also this work can make people feel each others in the other far away places. Make the feeling spans the globe. When they hold it in the hand, people can feel the personal powor in the hand. “Light is life” (Eliasson,2020) that Is the reason he started Little sun.

The second artwork names Clligraffiti made by El Seed. He foucs on the political issue and help audience to have an understanding of the cultures and nations. He combine street art and traditions of Arabic calligraphy, draw it on the building to draw people’s attention.”art can bring about fruitful debate, especially within the uncertain political climate right now in Tunisia!”(seed, 2016)

We can see the artist attitud in these two the artwork. But in my opinion, Little sun is more effective for me. I need to spend some time to understand what is  El Seed’s work is talking about. Therese, Eliasson’s work is more easily to understand the issue.

JR is a French street artist. He blown up a lot of people’s face to billoard sized prints on the walls, roofs, across buildings and so on. His project won the prize $100000 in TED. "I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project and together we'll turn the world inside out.”(JR,2011)  His project was started by a photo teenagers, he put it on the wall in the city’s chi chi area. After that he use women’s portrait covered roof. And more human face on difference place. This time, he allow everyone can sent the photo to him and post it somewhere it matters. "a chance for evervone to share who they are and what they stand for”.(JR, 2011)

To conclude, JR’s work effective draw attentions to issue. He use his power to let people change the way to see the world.

In today's class, I also saw many students' good speeches, very suitable rhythm, very exquisite illustrations, which are good examples for me. Before the final exam, I will modify my shortcomings, practice more, and make progress.