Alexandra Bell, Convocation Respone

 

This week, I was able to view the convocation at the chapel by artist Alexandra Bell. I found her talk very interesting as it played with aspects of simulation as we have talked about in the class. Alexandra's work primary focuses on raising awareness and exposing some unethical design seen in media. A common theme that came up are the talks about how white and black people are often times written differently. For example, in an article made on 1990 talking about minority children becoming ready to go to school the title was "Children of Crack: Are the Schools Ready? - A Special Report: Crack Babies Turn 5, and Schools Brace." This contrasts with another article made in by The New York Times called "Children of the Epidemic" where there is a subtitle saying "In the midst of a national opioid crisis, mothers addicted to drugs struggle to get off them - for their babies' sake, and their own. By Jennifer Egan" followed by a large image of a white baby and a white mother in a very victimized and non-hostile pose. Despite both articles supposed to be talking about the same topic, the way it is told is completely segregated. Some other examples are the way a white shooter is arrested for injuring 10 people, he is described as a Clean-shaven white man. Him being clean-shaven has nothing to do with the atrocities he has caused but the title makes it seem like maybe this psycho isn't too bad. On the other hand, another article on the Michael Brown shooting labels Michael Brown the actual victim as a person who had used drugs in the past, as if to somehow justify this murder by a white police officer. Alexander takes these articles and using digital tools such as Adobe InDesign to highlight the counternarratives that disrupts the real story. Her artwork takes media that has become a simulated reality back to reality highlighting its illegitimacy. 

    I believe this is another example of simulation. Unlike examples we have talked about such as Disney Land, where the reality is distorted and the consumers are placed in this fictional world with talking mice, this is one created to manipulate the truth just enough so it wouldn't technically be a lie but lures the readers into a different reality. Unlike the fantastical lies told by talking animals, these lies created in the subconsciouses of the reader can actually manipulate and harm whole communities. Alexandras work brings awareness of the faults that exist in media that we usually trust such as the news and wakes the readers up from the alternative simulation the media are trying to have us listen to. It teaches people to be more critical and not examine things such as titles and images as what they are but what they can represent, and what this representation can then mean to what is being told.