The Dancing Class, Edgar Degas 1873

(photo credit: http://www.ibiblio.org)

Apparently, ballet dancers in the 19th century were considered the lowly women (aka sluts) of society. But, I could be wrong. Nevertheless, the reputation of these performers was much different than it is today. Edgar Degas' art suddenly became way more interesting, to me as least.

Presenting Edgar Degas, the Impressionist artist famous for his behind-the-scene depictions of ballet dancers. The intimacy he was able to convey and the unique subject he chose to paint allures us, while the warm tones and soft brush strokes creates a mellow aura. Degas backstage access gave him some notability, since his position in this risque world was both looked down upon and envied. My History of Art professor cracked a joke about how nowadays most of Degas work are on coasters or doormats. Funny how such scandalous work, back in the day, has submerged itself into so many American homes.

Oh whatever, it's a pretty picture.

Horizon by Zhang O, 2004

photo credit: http://web.mac.com/zhang_o

Here in America, we don't really think about single-child policies or how westernization is affecting our future. Heck, we are the west. We rule the world! So what happens to those people out there somewhere? Those children who aren't us?

With the raw use of photography, Zhang O is forcing us to think about these questions. Zhang draws attention to the still-looming issue of abandoned young girls in the countryside, where parents cannot afford to have a girl as their only child. Zhang took individual shots of the girls, to represent their own single-ness, and then arranged all 21 photographs into a large montage creating an entirely new art piece.

Each girl interlocks her gaze with the viewer, almost challenging him or her to continue to stare. With each row, we see the horizon has changed. The changing horizon most likely represents the changing demography of China as the metropolis areas become more westernized and the changing fates of these girls as the single-policy law becomes more lenient. But their looks of bewilderment still give us an irked feeling. Is there a place in the world for these girls?

Perhaps a new day will arise.