After reading these two articles, the first thing that came to mind was that art should never be confined to specific categories or terminology. As Quaranta mentioned at the end of the chapter, “They want to be understood as art, not as New Media Art.” People often focus more on the mediums and materials used in media art rather than on the messages or stories behind the artworks. The fame of the label “media art” can overshadow the art itself. Diaz shared a similar perspective in her article “A Lexicon of the Indigenous Body: Images of Autonomy and Desire.” Regardless of how Western academics label their art—whether as folk art, primitive art, street art, outsider art, political art, or incendiary art—it does not alter its intrinsic value and beauty. However, these definitions can create biases. 

I actually admire Diaz’s confidence in her culture and the art that has been a part of it for hundreds of years. My passion for art also began with a rather minor culture. I remember when I was in elementary school, my family had many Chinese picture books, which were quite different from comics; they were more like murals, with one image following another. I was particularly fascinated by the stories composed of these exquisite little images, which led me to fall in love with Japanese manga. What started as individual images evolved into something more continuous and narrative. This eventually led me to develop a love for anime. However, my enthusiasm was gradually dampened because many people did not consider these forms as true art, viewing them instead as commercial products with commercial value, and thus as vulgar art compared to traditional oil paintings and sculptures. As a child, I didn’t know how to counter this perspective and could only continue forward with disappointment and a sense of being misunderstood. 

However, as I grew older, I realized that the medium does not determine the quality or value of art. In my understanding, as Diaz says, “lexicon does not mean the static system of symbols elicited and studied by Western-educated linguists and ethnographers for centuries.” This lexicon encompasses what people wish to express, transcending media, text, and written form. It can be embodied in physical movements, parts of the body, digital formats, or any medium you can imagine. Just like that urinal we talked about in the last class, as long as someone thinks he has meaning, no matter what anyone else thinks, know that for that person, that is art.