My preconceived ideas going into this class about the Art of the Americas, Africa and Oceania were that there might be some surprises, expecting that there could be some of what we consider "Western" art. Instead I was surprised by the types of art that we were introduced to in terms of bark paintings and a plethora of masks. This opened up my preconceived notions to understand that the art was not what I anticipated. It also made me begin to comprehend that the art and its functionality makes it have an entire different type of power than what we understand and expect.
In the second half of our semester, we have focused more on art that is architecture. This is almost the epitome of functional art. Architecture is something I don't tend to conceive of as art, so looking at it with fresh eyes has changed things yet again for me.
This is what I think I have benefited most from out of this course, in opening up my way of perceiving things I am able to apply that change in perception, or opening of perception to other things in my life. When I do that, I am able to be a more balanced person, more well rounded in not just an artistic recognition way, but in a wide range of ways that can benefit my family, my person, my education, my work and volunteer world as well.
