Riva Lehrer: Art Analysis

Have you ever seen or met someone with a physical handicap disability? Do you know what it’s like for a person who has a physical form of disability? You may or may not. Randolph Bourne, in “The Handicapped” will be the first to tell you that it is quite the challenge. He has a form of disability that makes him look very different compared to other people. His face is deformed, he is oddly short, he’s forced to walk funny, and is laughed at for being handicapped. Randolph Bourne physical handicaps have been a hindrance on his life because he must work harder to overcome adversity, he is faced with discriminatory behavior from other people, and he had a rough childhood due to his handicaps.

In Nancy Mairs’ article for The New York Times, “Disability”, published in 1987, she expresses her distaste with the media's representation of handicapped people. Mairs, who struggled with multiple sclerosis herself, clearly and sharply conveys this disgust by stating, “I’m not, for instance, Ms. MS, a walking, talking embodiment of a chronic incurable degenerative disease.” (Mairs 13), and that she is actually, “the advertisers’ dream: Ms. Great American Consumer. And yet the advertisers, who determine nowadays who will get represented publicly and who will not, deny the existence of me and my kind absolutely”(Mairs 14). Mairs is greatly upset that disabled people are defined by their disabilities and, therefore, are underrepresented in public media. This might lead to one asking themselves, but why are they? And the answer, according to Mairs, is quite simple, “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anybody’s life”(Mairs 14). Mairs concludes by pointing out how this effacement could have dangerous consequences for both disabled people and, as she called everyone else, TAPs (Temporarily Abled Persons) alike. Treating disabilities as an abnormal characteristic (as opposed to viewing them “as a normal characteristic, one that complicates but does not ruin human existence” (Mairs 15)) can cause one of these repercussions, as it makes the

The amount of people who live with disabilities is a controversial number. Depending on what law and diagnostic tools used, a person may have a visible disability, or one that may lie beneath the surface of his or her appearance. Some people believe that the term “disability” is merely a label use to hold back, or prescribe helplessness. Meanwhile, individuals who have been properly diagnosed with disabilities struggle to maintain respect and acceptance every day. In plain language, there is a lot of misunderstanding between people with disabilities and those without. It is firstly important to get everyone on the same page regarding the definition of disability.

In her essay “On Being a Cripple”, Nancy Mairs presents her audience with an honest inside view of her life and perspective as a cripple, a word she openly uses to define herself. She brings her world to us by discussing a wide variety of things including language, family, and humor, and how these all relate to her life. Through various stories and insights, she allows her readers to gain an understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities. She examines the public’s view of the disabled, as well as the views they have of themselves, and compares them to her own. She makes it clear that she is not to be defined solely by her disability. In discussing honestly her views, as well as

Author of disability Nancy Mairs who’s a feminist and a cripple, has accomplished a lot in writing and teaching. Her remarkable personality shows in many of her essays especially in Disability which was first published in 1987 in the New York Times. In this essay, Nancy Mairs shows how disabled people are constantly excluded, especially from the media. By giving out facts and including her personal experiences, Mairs aims for making some changes regarding the relationship between the media and people with disabilities. Mairs thesis is shown implicitly in the first

Author of disability Nancy Mairs who’s a feminist and a cripple, has accomplished a lot in writing and teaching. Her remarkable personality shows in many of her essays especially in Disability which was first published in 1987 in the New York Times. In this essay, Nancy Mairs shows how disabled people are constantly excluded, especially from the media. By giving out facts and including her personal experiences, Mairs aims for making some changes regarding the relationship between the media and people with disabilities. Mairs thesis is shown implicitly in the first and last

If you saw a person in the mall in a wheelchair, would you judge them? Or would you look at them like they are a normal human-being? People who have a disability whether they are physically disabled, mentally disabled, or learning disabled, are still themselves. Nancy Mairs was forty-three year old woman with multiple sclerosis. She wrote an essay, “Disability”, that explained her views of her physical disability.

“On Being a Cripple” is placed under the genre of autobiography because it focuses on a significant personal experience in Mairs’ past and draws out the meaning as she tells her story and reflects on her experiences. The key factors of an autobiographical essay include dramatic events or episodes, vivid details and narration, and an interweaving of narration with reflection on and interpretation of the essayist’s experiences (Norton xxvii). This essay focuses on Mairs’ experiences and personal struggles with multiple sclerosis.

In the essay, Nancy Mairs presents her unorthodox way of viewing herself and others that live with a disability. She discusses the reasons for referring to herself, a girl born with Multiple Sclerosis, as a cripple, even though the rest of society may not. Throughout the essay, Mairs uses rhetorical devices such as diction and tone to clearly get her beliefs across. Nancy Mairs’, frank and vehement tone, shows her welcoming of the word cripple and its accuracy in defining her in the essay, “I Am A Cripple.” Nancy Mairs, throughout the essay, uses diction in the form of euphemisms and the straightforwardness of her vocabulary.

In the excerpt “Disable (1992)”, Nancy Mairs claims that she prefers to be described as a “cripple” as opposed to the more accepted terms “disabled or handicapped.” Mairs states, “I am a cripple. I choose this word to name me. I choose from among several possibilities, the most common of which are ‘handicapped’ and ‘disabled’.” In order to allow the audience to understand her viewpoint, Mairs utilizes repetition by consistently using the term “cripple”, denotation using the words “handicapped” and “disabled,” and has a blunt tone.

A few years ago, my sister introduced me to the film ‘Benny and Joon,’ a story about a woman in her twenties with a disability that is more or less undefined throughout the film. She lives with her brother who works full-time but hires several “housekeepers” that he has watch over her at home. She comes off quite content, mainly painting all day and going about her everyday routines. At first, she may just come off as a “stereotypical temperamental artist”(Tibbets) but her painting at a rapid rate, extreme pickiness of food (eating mainly captain crunch and peanut butter smoothies), unique mannerisms, and outbursts suggest that she may be on the spectrum. There are scenes where she puts on a scuba mask and attempts to direct traffic in the middle of the street with a Ping-Pong paddle; an episode that the article ‘The Patronizing “adorable” side of Schizophrenia in Benny and Joon’ addressed could be an indication of schizophrenia or bipolar disorders. The most recent “housekeeper” quits after one of Joon’s “outbursts.” After reading critiques by people with disabilities themselves and other sources, I have begun seeing this movie a new light, introducing a sadly patronizing and demeaning representation of disability and her family/societies inappropriate response to her condition.

The two works of art that I have chosen to analyze are 1) Jordan Casteel. Miles and JoJo. 2014. Oil on canvas, 54” x 72” and 2) Aaron Fowler. He Was. 2015. Mixed media, 134” x 165” x 108”. The themes that these works of art represent in regards to the exhibit are love, family, and pain. However, they also fall into other thematic categories. The main theme that seems to apply to both “Miles and JoJo” and “He Was” is Human Experience. Additionally, these arts differ in some ways.

Prior to the course, Perspectives on disability, my understanding of disability was a fundamental, concept of disability, in which I knew it existed, and also have seen and interacted with people considered to have a disability. I never took a deep look at all the social and political factors that exist within the spectrum of disability. This course has allowed me to examine all aspects of disability, which has changed my view and approach of what a disability is and how it is viewed. "Historically, disability has been viewed fundamentally as a persoal tragedy, which has resulted in diasbled people being seen as objects of pity or in need of charity. They have been subject to descriminatory policies and practices in which the predominant images of passivity and helplesness reinforced their inferior status"(Barton 4). Uncovering the framework of disability, by studying the historical, soicial political and educational standpoint, I see the intricacies in which gives me a greater understanding and awareness of the topic.

The little girl’s dress gives the texture of lightness and seems like airy fabric that would be thin and translucent. The time in this piece is very accurate of the late 1700’s and when viewing it, the time seems classic. The emphasis of this piece is mainly the mother and the daughter, however when looking at them you are drawn into looking at their realistic eyes. The eyes seem like the focal point which draws the viewer in to the picture.

THREE DIMENSIONAL DESIGN VOCABULARY LIST Prof. Leisek CATEGORIES OF ART • Fine art – aesthetically pleasing and intellectually brilliant work. • Commercial art – graphic art created specifically for ads, illustrations, books, etc. • Applied art – the adornment of everyday objects. • Functional art/