Art Exhibit on Brown Versus Board of Educaiton Essay -- African Americ

Like A Fish out of Water I’ll be the first to admit it: I cannot understand art for the life of me. That being said, I’m somehow always tricked into thinking I do. I’ve tried my hand at being one of those intellectuals who goes to art museums for recreation, and enjoys analyzing pictures, paintings and monochromic blobs. But every time I drag myself to a museum, I end up discovering the same three truths about myself: 1. I’m horrible at grasping the artist’s message. 2. I get frustrated with things I don’t understand. 3. When I get frustrated, I get mad. That being said, it was only natural that I go to the Krannert Art Museum to see the Brown v. Board of Education exhibit. I’ve never been to the Krannert Art Museum, and honestly did not expect very much. I mean, how much worthwhile art can a college museum in the middle of a cornfield house? I cautiously entered the building, trying to pretend like I had been there before. The golden rule of playing such a part is simple: never make eye contact. Once that happens, the jig is up. Somebody will realize I belong in the computer labs north of Green St. and immediately deport me back to the banks of boneyard. So I began calmly racing through the museum, never stopping to look at signs, (regular visitors don’t need to look at signs) hoping to find a giant Brown v. Board of Education sign somewhere. And after a couple of laps around the building, I found where I needed to be. I was actually impressed with the number of people who were checking out the exhibit. I expected to be the only one in the room, but instead saw a good number of people, mostly African-American, slowly inspecting every piece. I guess there are peopl... ...ny thing is, my parents came to America to raise a family in a better standard of living than India. They wanted all of their children to obtain a quality education and receive opportunities unavailable to them as youth. But without Brown v. Board, I would have been better off growing up in India. The message of Arundhati Roy’s portrait was simple: the civil rights movement affected more than Black America – it opened doors for all minorities. I took a step back from the portrait, and started walking out of the art museum. An as I left the museum, I did so with a little more gratefulness. While I may not understand the giant pile of bricks in the foyer, or why a man inside an imac keeps shouting â€Å"do you understand?†, I realized it doesn’t matter. Not everybody is cut out to be the art-connoisseur. But hey, at least I have the opportunity to give it a shot.