Quinn Shapiro

HUM 100

Professor Clark

20 October 2019

Art Reflection 2

Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet exhibit depicted people throughout the United States history

who have made impacts on our society. There are two different paintings, the “right” and “left”, who are

facing off against each other. In the middle of the two paintings, it shows the destruction of many things,

such as the Statue of Liberty and the bank. It depicts the result of the fight between the two sides.

This conflict has been going on for as long as our country has been around, as the art shows. They

depict people from the beginning of our country until now, like Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump. In

the middle painting, they show destruction due to the ongoing fighting. However, I believe that a lot of

progress can come from it. Almost all of our freedoms have come with a fight; independance from Great

Britain, womens’ rights, and civil rights have all come from a conflict.

In fact, people have been battling throughout history for their freedoms and beliefs. The painting

is not wrong, though. After every fight, there are many casualties, whether it is human lives, buildings,

livelihoods, or even cultures. So, is there a better way to solve these problems? Do we know anything but

fighting?

Most of the time, people are too stubborn to look at the other sides’ point of view. We see only

our personal needs. This creates a culture of polar opposites, the “left” and “right.” These groups only

worsen the problem due to group polarization. Once an opinion is established, it becomes increasingly

extreme. When two different groups with polar opposite opinions and no middle ground face off with

each other, there is not much else to do than fight.

If our society does not want fighting and destruction, we must find a way to let go of our egos and

look at others’ points of view. I think that this exhibit warns of a possible future if we are unable to do so.

It shows our history and our present day destruction as a reminder to open our eyes to the bigger picture.