Saul Ruiz TA: Thuy Tran Discussion Time: T-R 12:00 12:50 PM April 16, 2012 Think Piece

e #1: What Happens When The Context Is Different For A Work Of Art? To take something out of context means to interpret something in a manner in which it was not intended to be understood, sometimes done deliberately. In art, the concept is exactly the same. It is the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular piece and define it. This could include things such as when the work of art was made, wher e, how, and for what purpose, as well as historical information relating to the artist or issues pertaining to the time period during which it was made. An example of taking pieces of art out of context would be the piece we saw in our Art History section. It was passed around and everyone took their best guess as to where the piece might have possibly originated, though most of the class believed the piece to deviate a bit from the focus of the class. Then, the discussion began and it was noted that when a piece is taken out of context, it may not lose its importance, necessarily, but it would lose its purpose or its meaning. The piece that was passed around may be used for a type of tradition or a ritual of some sort, so placing it in a store and selling it to commoners would most likely defy the purpose of the piece. Rather than it being in a temple somewhere being worshipped, it would probably be in someones home gathering dust, which would most likely be disrespectful toward the respective culture. Thus, when a piece is taken out of context, it does not necessarily lose its meaning; but rather, it gains a new meaning and inherits a different purpose. Another example of a piece being taken out of context is the statue of a Buddha. Though, one may revere the Buddha in a museum and respect it for its eloquence and such, the same may not be said when taken out of context. If we compare a Buddha stored in a museum to a Buddha housed in a home or at a restaurant, the Buddha takes a completely different meaning. It is no longer to be revered or worshipped; it is merely to be displayed to attract customers or guests and serves as just another luxury or attribute for the setting. Therefore, it has just lost its spiritual meaning and gained a materialistic one. Similarly, Buddha figurines are sold in gift shops, through which the Buddha would have most likely lost its purpose. The reason for this is that, when looking at it in the museum, one refuses to touch it due to its sacredness, but when observing it in a different setting, such as a gift shop, it fits right in with every other object in the room and people do not hesitate to grab it and flip it in just about every way possible. Taking items out of context is okay, up to a certain extent. For example, take the Buddha out of the temple to display in a museum, though not favored, is still acceptable, as opposed to taking the Buddha out of the temple, auctioning it off, and then placing it in someones home, which ultimately completely changes the intention of the Buddha statue, from something to be revered to something now having a price tag on it. As such, to take a piece of art out of context is to change not only its setting, but its purpose of which it was designed for. It loses a possible important or sacred meaning that it once maintained and gains a new, less important meaning in a completely different environment.