Lashanda Boyd

Throughout this semester I have written numerous times how experimental arts defied limitations and boundaries and went against the status quo. Experimental arts dared to step outside the confinements of cultural normalcy. As mentioned in class, it disclosed the fallacies of borders and limitations. That is what I believe I do every time I protest for equality, protest against the slaying of innocent people, all while using the arts as my best ally.

My process in concept and production was a long but specific one. I wanted this project to depict something important to me but not stray away from the concepts learned in class. I chose to focus on activism, which led me to immediately think of the Gay Liberation Front, the Black Arts Movement, and Feminist Art/Women’s Inclusion. Being a black woman and an ally of the Queer community, it comes as no shock that I have chosen histories those in particular. I then located pictures of a recent Juneteenth celebration/car parade and a protest I attended a few months ago. Not having pictures of my protest poster board, I recreated a digital copy and included it on the website where I documented this with the rest of my art. Consisting of pictures and videos, this documentation that I have gotten from these events is art in itself. Putting all this into a website helps to distribute this project easily and keep content organized. Working from home like most during these trying times, I used class notes and did my own research to fill in gaps of information. The one issue I ran into was the inclusion of my short video clips. I have a video or two from the events I mentioned that I wanted to include, but the site would not allow me to post them. So instead, I put the short clips together to form a 28 second video and uploaded it to my YouTube account. I really want whoever views this site to feel as if they were there with me and to truly see how powerful art is in activism. In the first small clip you can see many people are holding posters. In the other clips you can see my use in art as activism, as both the mask and flag were homemade, and the shirt was purchased from a small black business.

Overall, art has the power to keep movements staying strong, influential and going! If there is one thing that I have taken from this class, it is the power of art itself. My vision for the project was to show how I used the arts to make my voice vocal, fight for rights and equality for all, and spread awareness of a serious issue. My arts as/and activism consist of flyers, poster boards, T-shirts that I buy from small black businesses, and even the masks that I wear. I believe that art is in itself, activism.