How did you feel performing Maintenance Art in the area around the USU?
A: Cleaning an art-piece was a good way to look at the details and appreciate the piece of art. It was good to get some exercise outside the lecture halls. It was a lengthy cleaning session.

How are Mierle Laderman Ukeles cleaning the steps of an art museum and Richard Serra flinging molten lead against the walls of an art museum different? How are they the same? Are one or both “art”? Are one or both “not art”?
A: Both artworks differ with the action. Mierle work felt more valuable to me than Richards’ flinging molten lead against walls. They both show art in different expressions. I think if you were to ask someone which one is considered art people would pick Serra’s work. But after some discussion in class, I have concluded women’s work more valuable than most of “art”.

Was Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Maintenance Art performance at the Wadsworth Atheneum “art”? Did the fact that her performance was at an Art Museum make it art? What if instead, she had simply gotten hired as a janitor at a factory somewhere and performed that job for 6 months? Would that have been art? What makes an act “art” or “not art”?
A: I think the fact that she was doing it for free to express how women’s work should be appreciated and not taken for granted makes it art. I don’t think hiring a janitor and watching him work daily would be considered “art”. Now, I’m not saying janitors should not be appreciated for their hard work.

Is an object or an action Art or Not Art because of some intrinsic property of the medium? Or because of the intention of the person performing it? Are all paintings on canvas art because paintings on canvas are exhibited in art museums? Is all house painting not art because we don’t exhibit painted houses in art museums? Can a painting on canvas ever be not art? Can painting a house ever be art?
A: I feel after the discussion in lecture I could say that the intention of the person performing makes it art. Artworks that I wouldn’t consider art is still sold for thousands of dollars because some other people consider it art. A painted house is still art if the painter believes his work is of art even if the viewers think its just a painted house.

Has Mierle Laderman Ukeles, or Jennifer Lopez, made you think differently about “Women’s Work”? Is “Women’s Work” ever art? If yes, when? If no, why not?
A: I felt that her music video and Mierle Landermans work both made me feel the struggle’s of women in the working industry. I did not connect art with women’s work however, it is now opened my eyes to it.

In class we discussed the woman who cleaned Donald Trump’s Star on Hollywood Blvd. Whose Star would you get down on your hands and knees to clean?
A: I wouldn’t mind cleaning an artists’ star that I respect. I feel when we clean something theirs a value to that something. I value the work of pioneers like Bruce Lee in martial arts, film and even Asian’s in media.