Short Essay 2

 Brian Vargas

Short Essay 2

Walking around the art gallery was interesting because there were many different pieces of art. Each piece of art had an interesting story to tell. The artists each had a story about what they created and what inspired them to create it. One of the most interesting pieces of arts for me was The Itchies because it described the artist’s health problems and how she chose to express it by having a book and having some illustrations. She had illustration’s that showcased how she felt and looked she also had a description. She drew herself and a sort of black thing covering her body symbolizing the rash she would always get. The message I got from this art was that your health issues should not be something you should be embarrassed about. This is a message that everyone in the world if they have a health problem that they are embarrassed about that they shouldn’t be embarrassed about. Health issues are something that should be addressed no matter how big or small. This can help save your life and the lives of others. 

The project reminded of a quote I read in the book, Understanding Patriarchy by Bell Hooks it states, “Instead of wondering why men resist for a freer and healthier life, I began to wonder why men refrain from engaging in their own struggle.” This reminds of most people in life resist living a better life by not going to the doctors and having their health problems addressed. Us men are known for this because will believe we need to “tough” it out and things will magically get better over time. Also, it not just men there are also women who do not like to address their health issues and they also believe that should “tough” it out and not go to a medical professional. Many may feel embarrassed of their health problems and do not feel comfortable about sharing their health problems. I read an article titled Doctor’s Don’t Like Fat People it stated “Sadly, anti-fat attitudes do not disappear upon medical school graduation. Research has shown that physicians exhibit both strong implicit and explicit anti-fat bias on Weight Implicit Association tests; that physicians are less likely to build emotional rapport with overweight and obese patients; that physicians’ level of respect for patients actually goes down as patient weight goes up; that patient size negatively impacts the amount of time a physician spends with a patient; and that even health professionals who specialize in obesity exhibit high levels of anti-fat bias, including endorsement of stereotypes that fat people are “lazy,” “stupid” and “worthless.” The numbers are disturbing, but not surprising.” This can be a reason as to why some people don’t want to visit doctors and talk about their health problems. 

People who are obese can refuse to visit the doctors because there are some doctors who judge them because of their weight and instead of trying to help them and guide them to make healthy decisions. Another piece of art that stood out to me and found interesting was the clay pieces made by Kristy Lopez. What I found interesting was how each of the clay pieces represented a different person in her life that was a major influence on her. People and the experiences are a big part of a one’s life as they can help influences decisions people make in life. In the story This is What I Know About Art by Kimberely Drew it states “On top of my heartbreak, my grandfather passed away my first my first year of college, and while we were never close, his death had a tremendous impact on my financial aid package. My immediate family did not inherit any money, but the federal government thought otherwise.” Even if you don’t know someone or know them, they can still make an impact on you regardless. People can still be impacted by people. Like in the reading Kimberely Drew was impacted by her grandfather passing away even though she was not very close to him, him passing away affected her ability to pay for school. 

Another quote that connects to Kristy Lopez’s work by Kimberley Drew is “My father’s two sisters instilled a love of fine art in me, and during family gatherings, visiting a museum would usually be on the itinerary. My mother’s brother Dj’d in 1970’s and 1980’s, and my godmother went to the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Art and self-expression were essential pillars in my childhood.” This was also an influence in Drew’s life and how she was always in artistic family. 

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