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Theme of Complexity for 2/6

Alison Love's picture

In the article "'Sometimes We Need to Get Uncomfortable:' On Working with Artists in the Disabilities Community," Lisa Sonneborn and Matthhew Higgs discuss the complexities that arise when outside art joins a broader conversation on contemporary art. Both Sonneborn and Higgs emphazise the need to avoid generalizations in this confluence: "Successfully addressing these issues depends on our willingness to let our process be complicated. As practitioners, we avoid complications because they slow things down and often feel a lot like barriers" (Sonneborn). This theme of complexitiy over efficiency comes up in many of the other readings this week, such as Jay Dolmage's article "Universal Design: Places to Start." Dolmage encourages teachers and teaching institutions to avoid simply using a checklist to "satisfy" the learning needs of students. In class, I am interested in discussing how this theme spans other readings we have done so far and applying this idea to our first visit to CCW.