Power

The bus schedule.

Hunger.

WiFi.

Promises made with friends.

Love.

School.

Money.

What do all of these things have in common? Power. Each item listed above controls some aspect of my life.

The bus schedule determines what time I leave my apartment to go to campus, and it also determines where I will be picked up and dropped off. As a college student without a car, my schedule bows to that of the bus.

Hunger determines when I eat and how much strength I have to complete daily tasks.

WiFi. The dreaded unstable internet connection holds all the power when it comes to assignments online, my ability to communicate with friends and family, and online entertainment such as Netflix or YouTube. After all, no one is going to stick with a video that has to constantly buffer.

Promises keep me accountable. Whether it's an agreement to either stop or start an activity, or a mutual pact to raise us up together, promises are sacred and aren't meant to be broken.

Love is my reason for doing everything that I do . I love teaching, I love art, I love getting enough sleep, and I love being a student-- except when it contradicts with my love of sleep. Why would you do something- anything if it didn't help you be something, do something, or help somebody that you love?

School not only has power over what I am currently doing as a university student, but it will continue to be a large power in my life once I become an art teacher. What is allowed in school? The parents and their desires for their child... Department expectations. Funding. This brings me to the last item on my short list, money.

Money makes the world go 'round. Money lets you afford the bus pass, groceries and food to eat, the internet bill, tuition, housing, clothes, and more. Money rules the world and without enough money you get stuck in survival mode living paycheck to paycheck and everything other than affording the basic necessities becomes an afterthought; a luxury. But at the same time, money has the power to bring people out of poverty and can change lives for the better when it is used in constructive ways. Money can fund community projects and maintenance

What about power in art? Does a work of art have power over its viewer? Examine the following image:

This picture was taken after Hurricane Ike devastated the Texas Gulf Coast. The image depicts the sole surviving house in a neighborhood on Galveston Island. Every time I see this image, chills run down my spine. The ruins of homes are scattered over the waterlogged ground and the ocean is a lurking bully in the corner who can't stop looking at the destruction they wrought upon the land. The image shakes me to my core, and since it is able to contort my emotions, it holds a sort of dominating power over me.

Both the final artwork and the process of making art has power, although it may vary from situation to situation. As I described above, images have the power to make us feel. That feeling could be anything from joy to devastation, but the fact that we as a viewer feel something from that image means that it has a dominating power.

When I make a work of art, I revere my supplies as an equal in the process of making and they in a way set the parameters of how I can depict my idea. I view this as a consensual power agreement between my supplies and myself because in order to make what I want to make, I have to agree to use the material in a way that it can be used.

Art can also be used to bring a community together and change it for the better. This situation demonstrates transformative power because it is transforming the community through the creation of a communal work of art.

The images we see on a daily basis can hold a certain power over us, just like the bus schedule or money. Depending on the situation and the people involved, art can effect us in many different ways and I think that it is important to be aware of how we as artists and art teachers can use those forms of power in the classroom.