Lying in Art

I tend to really dislike lying and any type of deception, but in a way, a lot of art is about creating things that don’t otherwise exist, and inducing people to believe certain imaginary things. I think the important distinction is that ling outside of art is usually about a type of manipulation of reality that can hurt others in some way, or where the person lying can hide behind and not take responsibility for his or her actions. Lying in art is about bringing to life things that wouldn’t exist before but for the sake of joy, or causing thought, or controversy. In that sense, it is impersonal, while actual lies usually have one person or more who will or could be negatively affected by it. To me, it goes back to intention. On the project we’re creating for class, the intention is to learn, so it is a white lie. In the “Two Amerindians” it is great that they pretended to be Amerindians, because it really gave the audience a flush of emotions as they looked at the cage, and inside that, a gut reaction to realities that we don’t always allow ourselves to be aware of…