I was never a coloring book kid. Drawing inside the lines felt like a chore, drawing outside the lines felt like a waste. Instead, I drew my own lines, and never had any boundaries to box me in.
As a teenager, I have been constantly testing the boundaries. If you are or have ever been a teenager, you know what I'm talking about.
As a college applicant, I am trying to figure out what binds me and what I am bound to do. It's a lot of figuring out where I currently am: physically, emotionally, mentally.
My name is Anna. You can call me Anna. I'm currently somewhere between a rock and a hard place. I believe there is a special place in heaven for coffee and bad puns.
In 2010, one of my favorite artists, Dan Perjovschi, premiered an exhibition called "Where Are We Now?" In typical Perjovschi style, this featured a series of doodle-like images drawn on walls, similar to political art of the '60s, offering commentary on the current political and social climate. Perjovschi questions and pushes the boundaries set by our surroundings.
In this blog, I'm going to be analyzing how people are pushing boundaries: in the arts, in society, in politics, to ultimately try to answer "Where Are We Now?" I'll be focusing on how the world around us is changing, what we see to be contemporary, and how we got here.
So, are you here?
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ReplyDeleteNote: I deleted the earlier comment as I wanted to use my pseudonym. The comment in itself is the same. Sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteHi Anna!
When I was young, I actually liked the boundaries of coloring books. They gave me a goal to work for. In fact, when I accidentally colored outside of the lines, I got really angry for breaking a "law of nature" as if I committed a big sin. It is really interesting how our views on coloring books translate into our life perspectives today. Your blog reminded me of Mr. Allen's classic quote of "Form is content". By choosing how we formulate our lives, our "content" definitely changes. For example, I formulated my life in America to be a life of challenges, hurdles, and problems. I realized at an early age of 10 that if I were to survive in America, I needed to constantly evolve and better myself. Therefore, I always studied and read more. I tried out for accelerated classes. Failed plenty of times but in the end, I got into the higher classes and eventually ended up in Academy and Honors classes at a high school level. From the moment I immigrated here, I never stopped pushing myself. When I was an incoming 9th grader, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and accomplish before I graduate. So far, I am achieving my goals one by one. I was never the type to go out of the comfort zone or the "lines" and take big steps of liberties. I will continue staying within the coloring lines and conquer the world from within. I look forward to reading your blog as your topic really helped me reflect my experiences.
Take care,
Pahn
Anna,
ReplyDeleteI love the concept of being different and a "sophisticated misfit" in a society that continually wants to tell people not to draw their own lines. According to my art teacher, I wasn't an artist: my hands too shaky and my works not "conventional enough" - but I am an artist, I can think in more creative ways than my teacher could possibly imagine, I can write poetry, etc. This reminds me of the current school system, I feel as if we've been condemned as being dumb and stupid by letters and numbers which are considered to be fully represented of us as people. But really, the grades will never know my true effort in a class or about my thinking. IT's interesting to explore what standards people hold, and how those boundaries could be redrawn.
Keep it up!
Ruhi B.