Summary/Artist Statement for Teach Out Project

One of the best ways we can make the world a better place is to stay committed to seeing the humanity of every person we encounter. There is always some kind of connection point, a way that we can see how their life and experience connects with our own. Every person hungers and thirsts, every person wants a "good life" (even if our definitions of that are different), every person wants connection and sympathy. Knowing this, we can always see something of our own humanity in every person we meet. Armstrong and Wildman write about this and call it "seeing the Me" in someone - that point of connection that reminds you both that you are beautifully human, no matter what differences you may have. They wrote about this in an article called Colorblindess is the new Racism to encourage people to look differently to see the experiences of others better instead of ignoring it and only looking at their own experience.

 This connects to the idea of empathy, of entering in to someone else's experience by imagining what it would be like if you were them. How would you handle their situation? What kinds of feelings would run through your body? How would you make it through their challenges and celebrate their wins? Linda Christensen writes about this in an article called Other People's Lives where she describes students writing poetry about other people's experiences as a way to experience empathy.

 As you look at this painting, what do you think it has to say about these ideas? How does it show you "seeing the me" in another person? How does it connect to empathy and the ability to understand someone else's experience? If you made an artwork about this topic, what symbols and/or images would you use to help someone understand you?