The Importance of Artifacts
Living in the twenty-first century marks the time of great innovations in history while also the notable fact that this modern day and age simply remarkets the same handful of ideas into the remakes, sequels and revivals that we all know to somewhat love. Now these revisions aren’t always bad things, but by squeezing the very last bit of originality from the same overused plots may cause the lack of new ideas to be produced. This then contradicts the fact that the twenty-first century holds major innovations in technology than there has ever seen before but it is not that the modern-day society lacks production, it is that society fails to realize the importance of the history that they are making. It is that very statement that defines the value of this artifact project because it forces the Syracuse University English students to understand that we too have our own history even in these mass-produced times.
The artifact that struck me was the statue of the little blonde boy in a tuxedo holding sheet music because I too have a passion for music. Being in such a fundamental class to every students academic journey it is well known that courses like English and other necessary classes don’t always hold the passions and hobbies of every student. That being said it’s not everyday that I find myself in a musical situation- ready to hit a C sharp on cue,or any other musical exercise, in the middle of my English classroom so it brings me pleasure to find a smidge of my interests among the artifacts. From the detailing and cartoon design I assumed this artifact was also on the older side, considering that my own mother owns statues very similar to this one. Although after hearing the vivid story behind the little musical boy depicted by the statue i realized the subtle relation it had to the boy it belonged to. This artifact not only impacted this student’s life but also mirrored his life as well,in not only the shared passions of music but by the physicalities as well.
As I scan the artifacts my eyes fall on the seemingly modern, brown, used jewelry box that sits on a gray desk in the crowded English room. All the artifacts are known to have a rich story behind them, earning the title of artifacts in the very history of my classmate’s lives but as I review the jewelry box I believe that it feels out of place and too modern to be significant yet. Much like the example of a fresh new pencil, it seems to have no story to tell from the blank canvas of opportunities it has yet to capture, opposing a rather shorter, used pencil that has pages of stories and hard work edged into it. Except it is then that I learned that the present can have just as much of an impact on a our lives as the past can, and that the everyday objects we use are in limbo between having crafted us over the years, to their slow, bittersweet endings. This jewelry box was handed down from this student’s late great grandmother to herself which demonstrates the long journey that the little jewelry box has trudged through to now be the beloved and still useful item it is in the student’s life today.
Finally I am forced to chose the third artifact that pulled at my heartstrings but being that I didn’t have the opportunity to hear the presentations following the other artifacts in class I believe that it is unfair to announce my speculations without the real truth following it. It is with that knowledge that I present you my artifact, a mirror compact. On the surface this artifact glorifies the very surfaces of the van tendises that the self-centered girl stereotypes thrive off of. Except I proudly stand against those social norms and stereotypes to argue that this artifact has not only stripped me down to the overexposed insecurities I bare on the daily to the confidence I also gain every morning. It is the concept of self-worth and the image society depicts of the person I should be versus the women that I actually am that alters my own value. By getting ready in this handheld mirror every mirror I fight to make the Through the Looking Glass philosophy a reality by creating the confidence and person I dream to be a reality through the mirror and my mind as well.
