Art in Public Spaces

"The Magic of Creating Art in Public Spaces"

Alice Pasquini

"I have an academic background in art, and that's part of the reason I decided to get out into the streets. 'Art died with Duchamp, forget about drawing' -- that's what my professors taught me and that's why I wanted to get out of the studio and the academy. I wanted to find a stronger artistic potential: on the streets, I'm able to provoke a reaction in people and in the environment." Street Artist Alice Pasquini has provided her input on the magic of creating art in public spaces.She is interested in representing emotions, in a narrative style of art. She likes to create works of art that are universal and timeless. She paint moments of everyday life: moments that represent life's magic. I am sure that the real key to life is the way we choose to live every single moment."As an artist who works outside, you always have one problem: you work someplace which isn't your own, where you don't live and to which you may not even return. What you do should be artistically or politically important. But it is not a given that it will be a positive for the people who have to live with it every day. This is a risk I take with my form of art" (Pasquini,1). These words are inspirational to readers and other artists. Seeing passionate artists prosper and succeed in what they love, is a beautiful aspect of life. 

Gender Roles and its Impact on Society

Since the beginning of time, gender roles have had a major impact on society. About a century ago, women were suffering for rights to vote and for equal rights as men. Women are still struggling for equal rights as men. I do not define myself as a hardcore feminist, but I am a supporter of fighting for women's rights. I do not see why there should be a difference between men and women. Why is gender a classification? When someone is applying for a job, on the resume it asks if you are a female or a male. I do not understand why there is that classification. A female is just as capable of completing and succeeding at a job, just as much as a man is. The classification of a female and a male should be abolished because gender should not be playing a role in society, even though it already does. Today, in the world of work, women are still treated and being payed less than men, because of their gender. This is a proven fact. However, it should not be. Gender plays a role in society, which leads to long arguments from opposing sides and contributes to protests. I am not saying that women are superior to men. I am saying that women should be seen as equal to men. Men and women are both capable of being intelligent, outgoing and hardworking. Their personality and intelligence has nothing to do with their gender. Gender should not be a classification and should not have the impact it has on society as it has.

March Across Selma Bridge

"'Bloody Sunday' Anniversary Commemorated with March Across Selma Bridge"

  NY Times

Tens of thousands of people paraded across a Selma, Alabama bridge on Sunday to commemorate the 1965 "Bloody Sunday" march, not waiting for dignitaries who had planned to lead them in marking the 50th anniversary of a turning point in the U.S. civil rights movement. In contrast to the police violence that marked the original march half a century ago, the mood was often celebratory, at times festive, as an estimated 70,000 demonstrators cheered, sang "We Shall Overcome" and carried signs as they walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, took its name from the beating that roughly 600 peaceful civil rights activists sustained at the hands of white state troopers and police who attacked them with batons and sprayed them with tear gas."It's very crowded but at the same time it's fun and really great to see everybody coming together all races, all people," one woman told CNN as marchers began moving across the bridge. A large group of people started walking across the bridge at the appointed time, before dignitaries could be brought to the front to lead them. Among the group were demonstrators who took part in the 1965 march, as well as others calling for immigration and gay rights. President Barack Obama visited Selma on Saturday and declared the work of the U.S. civil rights movement advanced but unfinished in the face of ongoing racial tensions.