I chose this picture because i believe that it shows and tells a lot about not only JMU but about the town of Harrisonburg. A lot of time this semester has been devoted to expansion, mainly the expansion of Americans through the land of Native Americans. As well as manifest destiny we have also talked about the take over of harrisonburg by JMU and its students. This picture shows a tree and behind the tree is a power line pole. I chose this picture for several reasons. As JMU grows it takes up a lot of the space that nature once held down in Harrisonburg. The angle of my shot shows the tree being smaller than the pole, this is because i wanted to portray that JMU is belittling Harrisonburg and taking over what used to be a quaint town. I also chose this picture because it represents the art of the contact zone. The tree in the picture is trying to fit into its surroundings. As Native Americans tried to assimilate into mainstream culture this tree is being assimilated to fit into peoples everyday lives; its sole purpose is to be aesthetically pleasing to all who view it. Instead of being able to flourish in the woods trees in Harrisonburg serve to make our lives more "easy going" and to make Harrisonburg a more desirable place by someone's standards.
Chris Page, Dr. H
ReplyDeleteI think this picture does a good job capturing the blending of the old town of Harrisonburg and the up and coming invasion of JMU. My cousin graduated from JMU four years ago, and I remember back when I came down to visit and tour the campus. The school has expanded so much in just this last decade, not to mention how far it has come sense it started as an strictly female university. It is interesting to think about both the positive and the negative effects of such expansion. JMU does provide many jobs and probably is the only reason many local businesses can afford to stay open. With that said, it does not give it the right to destroy traditions of a small, tightly knit community.
I agree with you that in your picture the tree can represent the art of the contact zone. It is portraying a standard form and structure when just looking at it by itself. Its purpose however, is to cover the expansion of JMU. The tree is an attempt to keep one from thinking about the negative consequences this expansion could bring, and just focus on the outer beauty. I definitely agree with everything you said in your caption; however I do think there are other ways to look at the photograph. I think that the sun in the background adds an interesting twist. It almost adds a calming feeling, and symbolizes prosperity. I think if one focus more on the sun rather than the telephone poll and tree, one might interpret the photograph as showing the positives of JMU expansion.