9.11.01 by Jack Whitten (2006)

Strange Fruit by Alison Saar (1995)

Queer Quotidian Bed by Jaimes Mayhew (2016)

I really liked this piece by Jaimes Mayhew. It gave a spin to reality and put me in a sort of fantasy world. It made me dream of having a bed as big as this one and even put me in a better mood just by looking at it. I actually almost believed this was my bed. I don't know if this was the point Mayhew was trying to make, because I got the impression this was more of a "LGBTQ" themed artwork by the description on the wall. Either way, this was definitely my favorite. Nick looks great too!

Visibility by Italio Calvino

 I enjoyed this reading because it reminds me how important the mind is. Calvino starts off with describing the scenes of the 'wrathful' that pop into Dante's mind in Dante's Inferno. He then goes on to elaborate that our mind's imagination takes us to places beyond limits and allows us to create whatever we desire within ourselves, usually images that are similar to a film in a cinema, except occurring in the brain. Opinions we hold of ourselves and other people also alter our imagination, so it is important to maintain a positive outlook so that the mind is free to imagine the 'good' in life.

The Whole Ball of Wax

I really enjoyed this article by Jerry Saltz.  Firsthand, I'm not very experienced with art, but have heard many people I know share powerful stories about how art moved them and changed their perspective of life. I have yet to experience this, which is why I have been trying to keep an open mind when viewing it, in whichever form it may come in. I know that someday art will be able to change my world just like how it is described in the article, but until then I must become more experienced and skilled in how to interpret art and identify some of the many ways in which it can be manifested, and am looking forward to doing so in this class.