Five Ways of Viewing Art Jacob Voelker

Jacob Voelker

I. As a Monolith

The way you generally like art but wonder when your art history major girlfriend will get her fill. Really, how much time can you spend in a museum before all the pieces start to look the same?

II. As a Means to an End

Art is seldom praised for its functionality and pragmatism. Quite the opposite, in fact—critics of art (not to be confused with art critics, who unnecessarily dislike art for different reasons) are quick to ridicule creative expression for its reputation as a leading cause of moving back in with your parents at twenty-six. The lack of social mobility experienced by artists is cited in an attempt to emphasize the insignificance of their work.

Of all the flawed rhetoric to be sifted through in the comments section of an Instagram post, perhaps the most alarming is the unilateral definition of function—for something to serve a function, it must in some way promote financial prosperity and allow the individual to ascend the social ladder. This inseparable association between what we make and what we make (physically and fiscally, respectively) is the foundation of several arguments made by critics of art and is why said critics are doomed to lives of emotional turmoil and an unrealized ability to self-analyze.

I’m kidding about that last part, but art serves as means to ends that don’t involve an influx of wealth. A defining characteristic of art is its ambiguity, its openness to interpretation. This is often used at the individual level when discussing the thematic intricacies of a particular piece, but the broader concept of art is a very personal thing, as personal as experience itself. What might this

look like? A young girl cartooning a sunset because she remembered that her mother once called one beautiful. Or a seventeen-year-old scribbling song lyrics into a spiral notebook to get out his frustrations with his dad and the world. Or an older couple slow dancing to the same song that played first at their senior prom night and then their wedding night. Or the woman who paints portraits of her late husband and hangs them around their four-bedroom house to make it feel less empty and more like the home it once was.

Art is functional. Art serves purpose. To discover what it will serve for you, you must let it.

III. As What Dictators Fear

R. Alan Brooks always loved comic books. As a young black kid from the South, he was taught to blend in to avoid catching the attention of the wrong neighbor on the wrong day. Even so, Brooks had a difficult time suppressing his passion for comics. It was a part of who he was. A friend’s father, who cared very deeply for Brooks, sat him down one day in his living room and “set him straight,” Brooks recounts in his Ted Talk. His friend’s father told Brooks that, while it’s great he loves comic books, he needs to start thinking about a serious career that will take care of him and his family. Brooks, who grew up to own a real estate agency, hated it and closed the agency to pursue his dream of being a graphic novelist.

Around the time of the 2016 election, as hate crime numbers spiked and overt racism became increasingly apparent, activists responded. While many of his friends took to the streets on Capitol Hill to protest for their lives, Brooks stayed back and started writing a comic book, during which he asks himself, Is this silly? Vain?

On a trip to Europe to clear his head, Brooks sat down for coffee with the owner of a comic-book store owner in Berlin. The owner reflects on his favorite childhood superhero, Captain America, and

how he missed out on certain issues that were banned in Germany. These were the issues in which Captain America was fighting Nazis. Brooks makes a connection to Nazi Germany where Hitler burned books and paintings he labeled “degenerative art” and realized that art has power, despite his insecurities about the impact and importance of his work. He realized that art creates social and political change across the world, inspires the members of a group to address the inequities and injustices within. Art, he realized, is what dictators fear.

Brooks returned home and finished a graphic novel that addresses the sociopolitical issues he was passionate about, specifically police brutality. The Burning Metronome, a supernatural fantasy that analogizes the issues he faces in reality, was widely received by the world and landed him a position teaching in an MFA program. Most notably, Brooks reflects, was the conversation he had with a man who told Brooks that his graphic novel made him rethink the way he does his job. That man was a police officer.

What place does art have in democracy? In maintaining its integrity.

IV. As an End Itself

On the subject of means and ends, who determines which is which? Who is to decide that one thing is a means to reach some end, and decide another is an end you must reach by some means? What stops something from being both? Aristotle, apropos of means and ends, poses the question: Are there any means that are purely means and nothing else? Inversely, is there an end that does not serve as a means to anything else, or in other words, an ultimate end?

Art is functional, and art serves purpose. But must it? Must we pull out the paints in hopes of creating a masterpiece? Must we wield the pen to write something others will read? Sing a song that will bring an audience to their feet, perhaps even tears? Read a poem to learn something about ourselves, or write one to make something of ourselves?

Art that does any of those things is wonderful. Equally wonderful is art created with no intention, or more accurately, art created with the sole intention of creation—art for the sake of itself. Of course, there will often be a purpose served. You may feel something, satisfaction with your work or maybe anger with its inspiration. You may receive validation from those around you that comment on the precision of your strokes or the beauty of your language. But one can make art without those goals, or any others, in mind.

Part of identifying the ultimate, Aristotelian end for yourself is rejecting its inverse. To view art, and all other things, as ends themselves is to appreciate fully each moment for what it is. Understanding this fundament lets you see art in the final way,

V. As Everything

On your walk, watch that bee circle the same marigold seven times before flying off, only to return moments later.

When at work, take note of the feint squeak from the bathroom door that echoes the walls surrounding your desk with each opening. Recognize the monotony and take comfort in consistency.

In the waiting room at the doctor’s office, revel in your discomfort. Become acutely aware of your physiological response to your environment. Feel every contraction of every contractable muscle, forcefully swallow the last drops of saliva in your arid mouth.

Wait to eat your homemade oatmeal. Let it consume you first.

Treat the scars on your body the way you do streaks on a canvas, as part of the picture, part of the story.

Each time you throw change into the Rainy-Day Jar, smile quietly because you know there are too many rainy days to ever save up enough nickels for anything more than a coffee from the cafe across the street.

When a rainy day comes, appreciate the trip to the cafe and its short but frantic nature because you still don’t own an umbrella.

Let yourself be awestruck by the intricacies of chemistry.

Experiment with different artists and genres, but always return to your favorite song, just as the bee did the marigold.

Take note of the world around you. Accept the art it has to give.

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Zoe Aldrich is a freshman majoring in Creative Writing at Truman State University. When not studying, she can be found haunting diners and inventing complex lives for campus squirrels. This is her first publication, and she is thrilled to be featured alongside these talented creators.

Megan Bisco is a senior at Lebanon Valley College and is going to attend Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Fall 2022.

Deborah Brown is an undergraduate student at Berea College, where she is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology and Creative Writing. She has been passionate about writing for as long as she can remember and is always excited to experiment with new forms and ideas. In addition to her love for creating prose, poetry, and song lyrics, she also enjoys her job as a writing consultant for her college. Her work has also been published by The Blue Route.

Luke Burrows is a senior Actuarial Science and Analytical Finance double major at LVC.

Isabel Campbell is a third-year Creative Arts Major and Social Justice Civic Engagement Minor at Lebanon Valley College. She enjoys creating art primarily through photography, sculpture, and mixed media. She uses these mediums to create works of art that are thought-provoking as well as visually appealing for her audiences. After college, she hopes to combine her Major and Minor by creating artwork that engages with community and social justice issues.

Gabrielle Capone is a Junior at New York University. She is studying English and Creative Writing, and plans to pursue a career in teaching. As a child, Gabrielle could either be found watching the film Muppets Take Manhattan, or surrounded by a stack of books– her favorite being The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. The young poet says, “Hi mom!”

Isaac Fox is a student at Lebanon Valley College, where he majors in English and creative writing. He spends his free time reading and writing things that aren’t assigned, shooting pictures, and playing the clarinet. His fiction has appeared in Rune Bear and Heart of Flesh magazines, and he writes book reviews for Green Blotter’s blog. You can find him on Twitter at @IsaacFo80415188

Sadie Giddis is a sophomore at the University of Florida double-majoring in English and Psychology with a minor in Spanish. She enjoys reading, writing, thrift-shopping, and yoga. Currently, Sadie plans to pursue a career in law or counseling psychology. This is her first poem ever published.

Emma Gottfried is a senior at Truman State University where she is pursuing degrees in both Biology and Justice Systems along with a minor in Forensic Science. She enjoys writing and painting in her free time. This is her first published piece.

Cameron Heisey is a senior Creative Writing student at LVC. He doesn’t like autobiography. He really only cares about film, filmmaking, and Taylor Swift, and he’ll be sure to tell you so. Godwilling, they’ll continue to play a very prominent role in his future.

Joshua (Josh) Hildebrand is a senior English & Creative Writing double major at Lebanon Valley College. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring the cosmos with a dysfunctional cast of lovable characters. He is currently taking a break from interstellar travel to pen his debut novel.

Marah Hoffman is a senior double major in English and creative writing at Lebanon Valley College. Within her campus’s lively literary community, she is a writing tutor, mentor for prospective and new students, co-poetry editor for Green Blotter, and president of her college’s International English Honors Society chapter. Marah enjoys reading classic and contemporary

literature. She has written poetry since she was twelve but has lately found herself wandering the realm of creative nonfiction, particularly personal essays. Besides being a bookworm, Marah is an avid runner. She is a member of LVC’s cross country and track teams. When Marah graduates, she hopes to find a position that allows her to continue pursuing her passion for books.

Isabelle Hutchinson is a senior at Ohio Northern University where she studies Creative Writing and Professional Writing. Her work has appeared in Polaris and is forthcoming in The Oakland Arts Review. When she isn’t writing or contemplating life’s many mysteries, she is probably spending time with her two cats. She is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Sarah Inouye is a sophomore at the University of Iowa studying English and Creative writing, but she is a local to the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently a poetry editor for New Moon Magazine and earthwords: the undergraduate literary review.

Sophia Ivey is a recent graduate of Florida State University. She received a major in English Literature, Media, and Culture and a minor in Religion Studies. She plans to go on to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing in August at one of her dream schools. In the meanwhile, she is enjoying her time working as a Social Media Manager for a local Marketing Firm, and spending time with her cat Frankie.

Gabriel King is a writer and senior undergraduate student at Northwest Missouri State University studying History and Literature. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri.

Caitlyn V. Kline is a sophomore Creative Arts major at LVC who has won multiple awards for her art, from district art shows in her home town to getting her art in the Washington D.C. capitol. Kline has experience with all mediums, and enjoys admiring both weather and art as a student and a hobbyist.

Elliot O’Rourke (he/they) is an art history and religion undergraduate at Coe College, Iowa. His work explores themes of haunting and what we do with the past. He is inspired by Anne Carson and Hafiz.

Madeline Ragsdale is a senior English major with a focus in Creative Writing at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Emma Richmond is a seeker of life’s adventures and a student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her passions include writing fantasy and sci-fi stories, creating poetry, painting, building computers, and following her dreams in every form they take. She is interested in discovering all that she can learn in the glorious quest of life.

Jocelyn Saunders is a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh where he is double majoring in Classics and English Writing. A bright-eyed transplant to the humanities from an intended course of becoming a pharmacist, if he is not translating Latin poetry or steadfastly memorizing Greek verb forms, you can find him daydreaming.

Saya Shamdasani is a freshman at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. She is passionate about the written word, social justice, and education policy.

Tula Jiménez Singer is a Cuban-American writer currently studying at Northeastern University after spending her high school years in Havana. You can read her work on The Teen Magazine, Reedsy, Write the World, The Weight Journal, Indigo Literary Journal, and her blog “El Cuarto de Tula,” among others. She wants her pieces to be a slice of her life—filled with jazz, oceans, identity crises, and chocolate. She writes because she cannot let it go.

Christopher Tai is an undergraduate freshman at Rutgers University in New Brunswick studying Creative Writing as well as Computer Science. He was born in Montgomery, New Jersey, and has lived there for his entire life. Growing up, he has always been fascinated by stories and the power they hold to bring excitement and meaning into even the most mundane periods of life. He writes in order to capture the emotions that cannot be described by a single word or sentence, and he wrote “A Glimpse of Autumn” as a reflection on growing up and leaving childhood behind.

Jacob Voelker is a second year student at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in Neuroscience and History and Philosophy of Science. He appreciates the intersection of science, medicine, and the humanities. He’s also a big fan of hiking, and more generally being in nature no matter the context.

Jan Alexander Wozniak (he/him) is a Canadian poet, short story writer, and scholar residing in Toronto, whose practice focuses on challenging traditional narrative and poetic structures, as well as our conception of mental health and social and political action. As a neurodivergent thinker, Jan is particularly interested in capturing the experiences of living with ASD and ADHD. He is currently a third-year undergraduate student in psychology at Ryerson University and plans on pursuing clinical and counseling psychology upon graduating. Jan has been published by The Rush, Intersect, Aletheia, and ADDitude Magazine, and has forthcoming works in The Chimes, Intersect, Spectrum, and JIRIRI.