Dancing Around the Good Life

The piece I chose from the Good Life tour is the Dancing Ganesh. This sculpture is of Indian origin and depicts the elephant of the Gods Shiva and Uma. This sculpture was created around the 13th century and is made of black stone. As of now the piece calls the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art it's home. The sculpture is completely black from the stone with no added pigments. The elephant is dancing on one foot with multiple arms. The artist was able to capture the movement and a realistic fleshy texture all from stone. There are some typical symbolic attributes in this sculpture. The Ganesh is holding a hatchet which is to symbolize the cutting through the bondage of desire. He is also balancing himself atop a rodent who stands as the path finder. This god form represents problem solving and giving of favors. He is usually referred to as the “all purpose god” who stands for happiness and harmony. The Ganesh is known for blessing those who live a good life and placing obstacles in the way of those who do not. This piece fits into the philosophy of living the good life. The Ganesh rewards those who persevere and troubles those who have lost their way. He symbolizes happiness and harmony because if one lives justly they will be rewarded and reach enlightenment.

The piece I chose to depict the good life was a print named Getting Lindsay Linton. The photographer and artist who created this is Charlie White and it was made in 2000. The photograph has three burly men and a life size puppet holding a woman while they pour milk on her head. I am always attracted to disturbing and taboo things, so of course this piece caught my eye. This is such a thought provoking and striking image that the audience cannot help but questions may aspects of life. The artist used act of pouring milk to bring the viewer into the assault, you are not just simply looking at the aftermath, you are in it. The viewer is no longer a viewer but a passive observer. Ironically, the puppet to me symbolizes a lot of humanistic qualities. We cannot tell if this alien looking puppet is a bystander, an abuser or something else. In this world I believe we sometimes chose ambiguity so we do not have to own up to anything. We are puppet in this world, society and economy. We are shaped by out outside influences and we do not turn around and contribute to the world around us. The three abusive men have that group mentality where when an act is shared no one has to claim responsibility. I think we tend to not challenge this world because we think “what can one person do?”. When in actuality it just takes that one person to stop and stand up for a cause. The women represents the depreciation our society has gained for the humanities and outward thinking. This photograph to me makes me question the things I do that do not attribute to living the good life. This is not a piece with rainbow and unicorns, I picked it because it shocks the viewer.