My Magellan project is aimed at
discovering how art and politics influence each other in the Czech Republic and Hungary. I will take two weeks in Prague, Czech Republic, and two weeks in Budapest,
Hungary, to explore museums, churches, and modern art exhibits in both cities
to search for the answer. I am focusing my project on these two cities because
they have concentrated offerings of art and culture. Just by experiencing the
art of both countries I will be studying the nations’ politics, but I will go
further to learn about the history and context of what I see. I want to learn
how old Czech and Hungarian politics shaped the art of the countries’ history,
dive into its modern art to see how politics still inspire the art there, and
discover how the nations’ art might inspire politics there in the future.
I will experience, react to, and
write about the places I go in the Czech Republic and Hungary. I will go to both
countries’ artistic sites, experience what they have to offer, react to them by
myself and with others, and write about them in a blog that I will keep while
traveling. I love writing and want to continue to pursue it as a career, so
writing frequently will help me build skills and keep on track with my study of
museums, churches, and modern art exhibits.
While art can be viewed through the
lens of the quality of the work, such as how meticulously placed the
brushstrokes are, I plan to study art to understand its give-and-take relationship
with politics, as a force that lives and breathes with the nation. Art
represents an overflow of passion and creation that I want to learn about, and Prague
and Budapest are perfect places to do so.
