Artistic Critique of Harriet Smith

Harriet's piece was my favorite overall. It was a very simple act of just standing in various places around the powell dining center. She stood holding a tray of food and staring into space. She wore a brown chunky sweater and grey pants with a few red checkered patches and brown doc martin-like boots. On her back she wore an orange and teal designed school back pack. Her food looked untouched and quite cold by the time that we got there. All the colors in the room and on her plate of food really worked together with her clothing and hair which is what really made an impact on me. She did not talk to anyone and she kept a very straight face. Here eyes looked pretty blank but she seemed to be looking at either tables with people at them or empty tables. Her curly brown hair and piercing brown eyes really made if feel somewhat eery and people eating probably didn't feel too comfortable.

Harriet's piece had a lot of meaning to it and I think it was something that a lot of people could relate to. Theres always those times that you feel pretty alone during a meal because no one is around to eat with you. You ask the question, where do I sit? Should I sit with people I'm somewhat acquainted with? Should I sit alone? As I watched Harriet walk from one place to another, holding that blank stare, I tried to imagine a kind of dialogue going on in her head. I imagined her picturing a table full of her closest friends or a table full of her loving relatives. I kept expecting her to finally make a decision but she just held her pose. The viewer begins to almost sympathize with her and wish she would just sit somewhere. She made me think about how many other people actually do something like this on a daily basis? Kids with no friends, getting made fun of, getting shooed away or pointed at and whispered about. Someone from our class tried to invite her to sit down but she refused because her performance piece did not allow her to. Although, if she was not performing and actually had nowhere to sit, a small gesture like that would have been appreciated.

Harriet's piece just really made me curious because of the awkwardness of it and the emotion in it. I had been read her proposal before viewing her piece and I believe that really helped me get attached and think about what she was doing and why. It was a very daring thing to do and I bet she was ridiculed by a few people but it was affective. A very memorable piece to me, well done!