Art from within

A nice point you make Niki about artists having protection from bullying, I'm sure it's not always the case but their does seem to be a certain pattern of 'where there is art the walls of meanness are broken down'. Perhaps not so in political art, although boundaries are extended for what you can and can't say. After all, it's just art! In the case of the unselfconscious girl, this is the privilege of the performer, once in performance mode there is no fear as you are not you, you are performing. I noticed on my PE2 what an amazing place art can be for the bully himself. A year 7 student who was uncontrollable in every class, throwing furniture, mouthing off and picking on both peers and teachers. The general theme was that he had given up learning in grade 2 and we weren't to bother with him (most of his time would be spent outside the year superviser's office). Except in Art. In art he would sit most quietly, pay attention, have the odd laugh and get stuck into his work. He was a really nice person to be around. Art is a place where barriers are broken down, preconceived ideas can be thrown out the window and there is a platform from where we can healthily express our feelings, in fact, it is encouraged.