Nicolas Pol - Student Reflection 4

 The cave art that we saw in the Hetch-Hetchy slideshow was beautiful. What was even more beautiful was the meaning behind those images. As Dr. Redick explained in class, these images were drawings made by the Piwoke and Paiute people were symbolic reminders that they exist. It is bone-chilling to think that we can see the signs of a person from centuries ago, and they still appear crystal clear in the rock. Their mark on nature is forever preserved. 

The concept of art as a whole seems to follow this same logic as the Hetch-Hetchy carving. I think that art is made so that we can prove to ourselves that we exist. 

Art has definitely evolved in the past two centuries. Anyone with access to internet can watch films that were made in the 1920's, which is now a hundred years ago. Even further back, we can listen to the memories of freed slaves, as their voices are forever preserved on wax discs. While this differs greatly from the carvings, all are under the umbrella of art. 

The more distant into the future our society becomes, the more accessible, and meaningful, our art will become. People living twenty generations from now will be able to see our faces, hear our voices, and understand our thoughts as our own likeness is forever preserved in videos, literature, and visual art. 

And even though our art will be a bridge that links people to each other across time, the true importance of this art is that will always be physically on Earth, meaning that nature itself will be able to appreciate our works ad infinitum. 

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