Pirates of the Smithsonian

A debate has been going on for years about whether or not it is immoral for one country to remove artifacts from another country and place them on display in their own museum without proper consent (from the country that owns the artifacts). Some people do not believe organizations are really committing wrongful acts by doing this, believing the items should be displayed for every one's enjoyment instead of being confined within the borders of one country. There have been many arguments related to whether or not the widely popular Smithsonian museum should include a new exhibition featuring artifacts from ancient China that were retrieved from a ninth century Arab shipwreck. It is believed that the items were obtained by illegal means, and the Smithsonian's ethics statement says that they will not knowingly exhibit artifacts that have been stolen or removed from commercially exploited sites. I personally think the Smithsonian should not exhibit the items. It is true that Americans can gain a lot of useful knowledge from visiting the exhibit, and the museum would earn a significant profit by showing the artifacts. People are able to acquire a lot of information about the world they live in and are often more likely to develop open-minded attitudes when artifacts from other countries are readily available for them to see in their own countries. However, I don't believe the Smithsonian should go against their statement by exhibiting artifacts that were probably obtained illegally. I feel that if they do disregard their ethics statement, they will be sending a message to people all across the world that it's okay for museums to exhibit stolen items, and this could cause a rise in the interest in looting sites containing artifacts. If a well-known museum fails to show respect for artifacts by putting them on display even if they were obtained improperly, they could easily encourage disrespect for these items by the public, who could end up developing the mindset that their country has the right to take whatever it wants. I also don't think the Smithsonian should display the artifacts from the Arab shipwreck site because exhibiting them would strip the area they came from of the human right to self-determination. Many countries are able to gain a sense of power when they take items from other countries, but others experience a loss of this sense when artifacts are taken from them. They lose power when it comes to their decision-making abilities since they aren't given the right to choose for themselves what should be done when artifacts are recovered within their borders, and this sometimes generates anger and protests by people living in the victimized countries. Ownership battles have been raging for more than a century over the Elgin Marbles, half an original 500-foot sculptural frieze that was removed from the Parthenon in Greece in the early 1800s by the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. The ambassador took the piece to England to be exhibited, and the British government offered to pay for the Elgin Marbles after the act was condemned as vandalism in 1816. The artifact is still on display in the British Museum today, and Greece is still demanding its return.

Milton Glaser Documentary

There are uncountable definitions for the word art, some of which are more broad than others. Milton Glaser explains that the core value of art is the act of making things. It isn't limited to activities such as painting or drawing but rather any action that involves creation of some sort. In the documentary, Glaser also says that the purpose of art is to inform and delight. It is created to send out important messages to the viewing public that are capable of helping people become more knowledgeable and gain better insights into the societies in which they live. The messages sent through art are expected to impact us in one way or another, potentially opening our minds up to new beliefs and values. He believes it should help people recognize that everyone and everything in the world shares a connection and is defined by their opposite. At the same time, art must be enjoyable to look at, and it also should be a pleasurable experience to explore the meanings behind it. Another important statement made by Glaser is that we should always operate by interruption. I think this means that we should always work alongside other people when creating our art. He mentions his love of working on projects with other people in the documentary, and we even found out that he never uses a computer himself but instead sits next to others while they are using one and discusses ideas with them. He finds working alone to be quite boring and takes great pleasure in speaking with others, listening to what they have to say about the projects they are creating. Working with a multitude of people can be very disruptive, but this can actually be beneficial. Group projects allow people to share their thoughts and ideas so that there isn't only one mind making decisions during the development of the art. People are able to learn from discussions when they work on projects together. They have the opportunity to see things through the eyes of others, and the final product they create expresses the ideas of numerous different individuals combined, which often attracts a lot of attention from the public. The interruption caused by working in groups forces people to come out of their comfort zones as well, helping them become open to new themes for their projects.

Ambient Advertising

Ambient advertising consists of advertisements that appear in unexpected places, usually causing more people to notice and be affected by them than the normal ads that can be found in magazines and on television. Guerrilla marketing is the most extreme form of ambient advertising, with its elaborate, aggressive, and invasive tactics that are executed with or without permission.  I think ambient advertising is the best way to reach Otterbein students because it seems to encourage curiosity in people better than more traditional types of marketing strategies. Most college students lead very busy lives, and they often don't care to explore the messages they see in magazine ads. Other students don't watch much television due to their busy schedules, so they don't see the commercials that are trying to reach out to them. Of course, ads  can be found in numerous other mediums, but these traditional types are so common and have been around for so long that many people aren't curious about them. However, ambient advertising entices people to come and explore them since they appear in unexpected places and catch us off guard. Ambient ads often are interactive, too, which attracts more people to them and allows for active involvement, unlike traditional ads that are only meant to be read or heard. I think ambient ads will attract a lot more interest from Otterbein students, and ones that are interactive will probably be the most influential because they help us better establish connections with them and experience a sense of empowerment that allows us to see that we do have a say in decisions that are being made. Below are two good examples of ambient advertising:

The first ambient ad is located on a city sidewalk and is in the form of a vending machine. This vending machine contains live chickens that are all trapped in small cubicles with numbers  labeled underneath them. The words "Egg Machine" are printed on the top front area of the ad, and a message located below the chickens explains that "60% of all chickens are treated like egg-laying machines." This ad targets all those who carelessly purchase eggs from large corporations that mistreat their livestock. I chose this ad because I love animals and I hate to see any kind of animal treated as if they are nothing more than an object to be used and abused. I like that the ad encourages people to respect all living creatures instead of believing that humans are the only ones who should be entitled to just treatment. This ambient ad is effective because it is placed on a sidewalk in the middle of a city for everyone to see. It's location doesn't allow it to easily go unnoticed because so many people use this sidewalk and will have to walk past the vending machine to get to where they are headed. It's also effective because it involves the use of real chickens, which are much more likely to attract people's attention than a simple picture posted on the wall. 

The second ambient ad consists of a garage that is filled with a mountain of different items, including boxes, containers, and sporting equipment. The shape of a Volkswagen can be seen in the mass of objects sitting in the garage. This is advertising the new Tiguan model that has a park assist feature. The ad targets all those who are thinking about purchasing another vehicle and who may also prefer one that is capable of helping them park well in tight spaces. I chose this ad because I thought it was a very creative way to show its viewers how precise the Tiguan is able to park itself. I also chose it because quite a few people have garages that are overflowing with items, and they struggle to park their vehicles in these tight spaces without running over an object or scratching their cars. Many end up having to park on the driveway or in the street because they are afraid to park in the garage. This ambient ad is effective because it provides an interesting and attention-grabbing way to encourage people to buy the latest Tiguan model. It gives everyone an idea of just how precisely this vehicle is capable of parking when they are afraid they won't be able to successfully park the car on their own.