Pirates of the Smithsonian

I believe that these artifacts are not in the possession of their rightful owner(s).  Neither the Indonesian government, nor the Singaporean government is the correct owner of the artifacts.  The looters or anyone who bought looted artifacts clearly have no claim on the items.  I believe that the rightful possessors of the discovered pieces are either the Chinese government or the Arab governments.  From what I understood of the video, the Arab vessel that the artifacts were found on was not a pirate ship.  That makes me think that the Arab traders were in lawful possession of the Tang items.  Therefore, the pieces should be split among the current Arab nations’ governments.  The governments should not have to purchase the items either.

In the case of ancient artifacts that are discovered, I do not believe that the philosophy “finders, keepers” is applicable.  The artifacts do not belong to the person that finds them, much as the lost wallet someone finds does not belong to them.  This looting of the shipwreck is somewhat comparable to the piece of the Parthenon that the British Ambassador took back to England to display.  The Parthenon belongs to Greece, and therefore, the piece of the building that was removed still belongs to Greece.  Taking the piece of the building back to England was basically stealing.  The Tang artifacts (almost) clearly were in the possession of Arabs at the time of the ship’s wreck.  Therefore, those artifacts still belong to the Arabs. Since there is not a nation known as “Arabia”, all Arab nations should receive a split of the artifacts—unless it can be determined what area of the Arab lands the sailors were from.  Once the Arab nations receive the artifacts, it would be their option as to whether to sell the items or keep them for themselves.  This addresses the idea of the sovereignty of the artifacts.

By allowing Singapore to purchase the artifacts and giving Indonesia whatever was left, salvage company we promoting free global transmission.  There is a very likely chance that China may have taken the artifacts and not have let anyone see them.  Instead, many people have the chance to see this exhibit because Singapore is displaying it and offering to let museums around the world view the items.  There is also debate about the intentions the salvage company had for excavating the artifacts (profit versus knowledge).  On the other hand, some people claim that the artifacts being exhibited at the Smithsonian were looted items that were stolen from the site and sold.  All I can say is that I think the rightful owners (Arab governments) of the artifacts should be given the items, and they can decide whether or not they would like them to be displayed in museums.

Milton Glaser

Glaser distinguished the difference between the two types of art: commercial art, which is art made to sell, and fine art which is given value by the people who purchase or view it.  He does not like to define art in that way, but rather, he prefers to call art a process.  Glaser’s definition of art is that art is the core value of making things and turning ideas into physical objects.

Glaser’s statement “we should always operate by interruption,” is a little harder to explain.  I think that he meant that we should not operate on a fixed schedule.  We should be prepared to multi-task, rearrange things, and go with the flow.  The more “adjustable” we are, the more successful we will be.  Whether it is stopping to ask a question or taking the time to answer a question, accepting interruptions will make us better. 

But also, Glaser wanted his artwork to cause an interruption in the lives of the people who saw it.  He wanted his work to catch people’s eyes and make them to pause for a second.  Glaser also operated on his idea of interruption when he stopped to enjoy his lunch every day.  Even if we are really busy, we should always take a moment to pause and relax.  

Ambient Advertising

Ambient advertising is advertising that is found in unexpected places.  Basically, ambient advertising can be found just about anywhere people will see it.  I think that ambient advertising will be an effective way to reach the students at Otterbein because they will not be expecting it.  The more unexpected and creative the advertising is, the more likely the idea is to stick in peoples’ minds.

The first ambient ad that I chose was the Cup Noodle Diet: Skirt ad.  I chose this ad because it was really funny and creative.  A picture of the ad shows people looking at the ad really closely, and even taking pictures of it.  The ad was a girl painted onto a telegraph pole, and she is eating Cup Noodle.  Her skirt has fallen off because the Cup Noodle Diet is making her skinnier.  A real skirt was placed around the bottom of the telegraph pole.  The Cup Noodle Diet ad is targeted for women who want to lose weight and people who want to be fit in general.  This ad was really effective because women see this skinny female eating the noodles, and the women get the idea that following the Cup Noodle Diet will help them lose weight too.  Men also would be attracted to this ad because the girl is not wearing any clothing on her lower half (she is wearing underwear, just not her skirt). 

The second ambient ad that I chose was the Lonely Planet Bookmarks.  I chose this ad because the “ads” were very large and would definitely be eye-catching.  The ads were giant blue “bookmarks” that the company Lonely Planet Magazine placed around in several Indian cities.  The bookmarks were to mark special destinations that people should visit on their trip to India.  This ad was probably aimed for tourists.  The ads were effective because they were large, very visible, and might help make international vacationing less stressful.  Tourists probably appreciate the “hints” that the bookmarks give them.