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Alice Huang
Anthropology 102F
Art and the Aesthetic Experience
The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
October 9, 2014
10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
What makes art so appealing and elating to our senses and emotions, and arousing our
imaginativenesss? The reply lies within the aesthetic qualities, which are “qualities that make
objects, actions, or linguistic communication more beautiful or enjoyable, harmonizing to culturally comparative and
variable standards” ( Peoples 345 ) of art “any human action that modifies the useful nature of
something for the primary intent of heightening its aesthetic qualities ; or actions, objects, or
words valued mostly for their aesthetic pleasance of symbolic communication” ( Peoples 345 ) . Art
is an built-in portion of our day-to-day lives and it comes in many signifiers. Peoples from all parts of the
universe pattern organic structure art “the impermanent or lasting sweetenings or beautification of the
human organic structure by painting, tattooing, scarification, or other means” ( Peoples 347 ) . Furthermore,
we frequently engage ourselves in watching or listening to public presentation humanistic disciplines, which is a type of art that “encompasses music, vocals, and dance, and uses voice, instruments, and motions to please the senses and communicate” ( Peoples 354 ) . The type of art we are most familiar with is ocular humanistic disciplines, “arts produced in a stuff or touchable signifier, so that they are portion of the material civilization of a people” ( Peoples 351 ) . In add-on to the different types of art, art can besides be farther divided into nonsecular and sacred art. Sacred art has a spiritual significance, whereas nonsecular art is nonreglious. Among the assorted types of art, nonsecular ocular humanistic disciplines fascinated my imaginativeness, and I chose to indulge deeper into its universe and spread out my cognition.
With a heavy bosom and an eager head, I began my journey of researching ocular humanistic disciplines at the
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. Before I chose to see this museum, I did some research
and found that the reappraisals were by and large positive on Yelp. One reappraisal that stood out is by
Caitlin F. , a critic from Los Angeles, California, who said “It is just to state that I am an avid
museum lover, and my informal mission in life is to see every bit many as I can. That being said, after
museum figure a million and numeration, it is difficult to happen a museum that is as memorable and
traveling as the Holocaust Museum” ( Yelp ) . As a consequence of the positive reappraisals and my drawn-out
involvement in the history of the Holocaust, I chose to put my clip to see this museum. From the
minute I walked in, I was transported in clip to one of the most tragic predicaments in history. As I
walked through each of the synergistic suites, the Holocaust and Jewish history unfolded itself to
me like a book and I was struck with strong emotions. There were a sum of nine exhibits, each
holding its ain topic and typifying a portion of the timeline taking to the Holocaust. Along
with the exhibits, the museum offered an audio narrative that guided me through each exhibit.
The concluding exhibit was the tree of testimony, in which I had the opportunity to hear the narratives of
subsisters every bit good as liberators. At the terminal of my visit, I had the award to hear a unrecorded testimony of
a Holocaust subsister. During the class of my visit, I observed that there were a assortment of ocular
humanistic disciplines, which included memorabilia, propaganda, exposure, and artefacts.
Without uncertainty, the exhibit that affected me the most psychologically was the show of
assorted facets of a concentration cantonment, which gave me a opportunity to see the hopelessness,
horror, and conflict for an unforeseeable hereafter of a Jew residing in a concentration cantonment. After
seeing the in writing images and pictures of malnourished Jews in concentration cantonments, organic structures burnt
in ovens and gas Chamberss, and hearing testimonies from subsisters, I could experience myself in the
topographic point of a Jew in the fortiess for a brief yet powerful minute. Likewise, in one of the exhibits
titled “The Rise of the Nazis, ” I was intrigued by the important sum of propaganda
displayed. The art of propaganda and its power to act upon mass audiences astounded me. After
listening to the audio narrative, I learned that following the Nazi rise to power, Hitler installed
the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. The intent of this section was to
distribute the messages of the Nazi party though art, the media, and even educational stuffs. The
chief mark of Nazi propaganda was the Judaic people, whom the Nazi party believed to be
inferior. After looking at the propaganda, I was emotionally struck by this powerful yet
kill offing piece of art. Fred Barnard one time said, “A image is worth a 1000 words.” As I
was looking at a children’s textbook that promotes anti-Semitism by picturing caricatured
images of Jews, a idea went through me. How much of an influence did Nazi propaganda
hold? Could it be a prima cause of the Holocaust in which the Nazi rallied the German people
against the Jews by brainwashing them? However, I enjoyed sing the assorted artefacts,
paperss, and pictures on show that preserve the Judaic history and civilization. Overall, I
found this experience to be exciting because I experienced first manus the atrociousnesss through the
synergistic activities and cognition of the Holocaust.
- Paragraph 3: Travel more in deepness about the artistic and aesthetic experience. Why did you happen this merriment, beautiful, interesting? What sort of impact did it hold upon you—emotional, psychological, physical? It is here that you will analyze and analyse the aesthetic and emotional value of the public presentation or exhibit.
Through this visit to the museum, I gained more penetration of the Holocaust and the
atrociousnesss committed that led to this awful portion of history. In add-on, this made me reflect
on my life and made me more determined to do the right picks and be a better and more
responsible individual. At the terminal of this experience, I have come to a different decision on the
definition of art and the aesthetics. In contrast to the text edition, I believe that art non merely can has
aesthetic qualities, but can besides arouse unhappiness and upseting ideas. Art, like history, tells us
the errors of the yesteryear and the wrongs of the current society. I would urge this
experience to everyone because by looking at the atrociousnesss committed in the past, we can work together to do our universe a better topographic point for coevalss to come.
Paragraph 4: Overall Patterns and Conclusion — Connect the artistic and aesthetic experience you had to the text edition here. Do you still agree with the text edition definitions, or have you come to your ain apprehension of what art and the aesthetic may be? How did you link to the art that you experienced, in either a positive or a negative manner? Would you urge this experience to others?
Plants Cited
F. , Caitlin. “Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.” Web reappraisal station. Yelp. 18 Mar. 2012.
Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
Peopless, James. “Chapter 15: Art and the Aesthetic.” Humanity: An Introduction to Cultural
Anthropology. ( 10ThursdayEdition ) . Cengage ; 10Thursdayedition ( January 2014 ) .
