Art vandalism has been committed on our campus! It was just recently that I paid a visit to my favourite hallway connecting A to D building, through B, and as usual I was admiring the art. There’s a lot of photography of UFV students and culture including a woman who appears to be an Aboriginal elder speaking to a blurred person holding a drum. That photo in particular has always stood out to me, and I’m not going to sugar coat the reason why; frankly, you can clearly see snot up her nose.
Now, normally that’s what I’d see, but this time an unknown third party had used Sharpie to cover her nostrils up, and I’m divided on how to feel. Has this woman’s pride been saved, or has a snapshot of gritty realism been compromised? Should people have the right to make changes to art work when it comes to minor “embarrassing” details? Could this be considered art censorship? Does anyone at all care about this but me? Personally, I say let the boogers boogey! If art makes us feel uncomfortable enough to want to make permanent changes to it, maybe we should reflect further on that before acting.
Image: Amara Gelaude/The Cascade
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.
