Macbeth and the origins of evil

Fear is an internal conflict as seen in
Macbeth, and often produces intense
responses.

Desire is often the source of corruption
for humans. Often people are overwhelmed
by the possibility of power and possession.

I believe that human are inherently good, that everyone is born with the absence of evil. However I have also come to believe that our society is one that festers evil and can bring out the worst in anyone because of how harsh and cruel it can be, but also because of how vast our opportunities are. I think that the two traits that conjure up evil in someone most often are fear and desire. Fear is a powerful emotion both physically and psychologically. Physically, fear can produce an adrenalin rush that can produce extreme fight or flight responses. Emotionally, fear can be all encompassing and cloud someone from logical reasoning. I think desire can have these same effects. With these emotions, anyone is capable of making irrational decisions that may lead them onto the path of evil.


Macbeth experienced both of these emotions in the time leading up to his murder of Duncan.

"First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;"

In this excerpt we see Macbeth showing his fear about killing Duncan and weather it is the right thing to do. His is afraid because his conscience is questioning the decision he has made. This does not seem like a fear that would lead Macbeth down the path of evil, however because he is afraid of what he is going to do, I believe that he is also afraid of what will happen if he does not do it. This is what is causing the internal argument of Macbeth. It is also where desire factors into Macbeth's journey down the path of evil.

"If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,
Without my stir."

The excerpt above is from Macbeth before he decides to take fate into his own hands, and is willing to let the chips fall where they may. In the passage we do not see overwhelming desire for the crown, but there is clearly acceptance of the title if it should fall to him. Once we see the seed of power planted in Macbeth's mind, with the help of the witched and Lady Macbeth, it grows into a deep desire for the power of king to be his and soon. When the desire for power and the fear of the unknown combine within Macbeth, they result in his decision and implementation of the murder of Duncan.

However, when the all encompassing effects of these emotions wear off, and Macbeth realizes what he has done, the consequences of his evils acts start to effect him. The first sign of an internal consequence of murder is when Macbeth walks past the guards praying and is not able to say Amen as he hears their prayer. This sparks a downward spiral of regret in Macbeth's mind about what he just did. He becomes frantic and panicky as he realizes that the decision he made was glorified by his emotions and was not what he really should have or wanted to do. This internal guilt that eats away at Macbeths well being is worsened because it is subdued. When confronted with others finding out about the death of Duncan in the morning, Macbeth must lie and hide the knowledge of the truth. It is this pushing aside of the guilt that can intensify the consequence.

Macbeth is just one example of how distorted perspective or extreme emotion may lead someone who is not evil, down the path of evil. I think many different factors piled on top of each other are what leads someone to commit an act of evil. I also believe that because we are not born good or evil in nature, the internal guilt of doing something evil can be very strong and hard to overcome after the act has been committed. Evil is a sad and scary thing the road to being evil is only one wrong decision away. So there is a lesson to be learned from Macbeth, and that is, don't get caught up in the fear and desire, but instead keep of clear image of who you want to be.

CAM: Limited Visibility

Limited Visibility, the Latin American exhibit at CAM Raleigh, was overall a very eye-opening exhibit that brings together many different perspectives of a variety of situations. The concept of the pieces was to highlight what was unseen or missing from the art. It gave a unique twist to the understanding of the pieces. Usually when looking at art, the viewer is analyzing what the artist had created for you to see. In this case it was about what the artist has left out or hidden for you to notice. I really enjoyed this because of the way it forces the viewer to interact with the piece and get a deeper understanding of the art. 

 

Some of the pieces that stood out to me were, Shape Shifter, which brought together sandpaper from construction sites across the world, and Temple of One Thousand Bells, which was a beautiful display of glass bells with the centers missing. The first of these two pieces caught my attention because I had never before thought about all of the materials that disappear after construction is finished, but still hold a part of that building. The second was more simply just a very beautiful piece that was uniquely displayed and pleasing to the eye.

 

97 House Maids by Daniela Ortiz displayed in the CAM Raleigh Art Museum. This photo shows the display of the piece with the photos lined up one by one on the blank wall.

These are two of the photos from the long line of pictures in the same piece as above. In the photo on the left, two house maids can be seen working in white clothing in the background. In the photo on the right, the arm of a house maid wrapped around the child can only just be made out as it is mostly cropped away.



This is my sketch of the art piece,
97 House Maids. I tried to show
the display of the photos rather
than the content of the pictures.

The piece from the CAM exhibit seen above is called 97 House Maids and was done by a Peruvian woman named Daniela Ortiz in 2006. For this piece, Ortiz selected 97 pictures off of Facebook pages of upper class Peruvian families. In all of the pictures you can see a cropped out house maid, or the house maid standing in the background of the main photograph. These photos are arranged along a wall, standing out from the wall, in a long row. The display of this piece allows the viewer to walk down the hall viewing the pictures, almost as if they were flipping through a photo book or scrolling through an online album. Ortiz has not manipulated the photos in any way, simply displayed them on little plaques. The wall on which the photos have been placed is completely blank. As a viewer this helped me form my own opinion of the photos without any persuasion or distractions. The blank wall helps eliminate bias from the message that the artist is trying to send.

This piece addresses the overall theme of the exhibit by showing what would not normally be noticed within these photographs, the house maids. What struck me most however, was the constant appearance of these maids in the lives of the Peruvian children, with no recognition of their role by the families. The display of these images show the contrast between what the families what to portray to society, and reality. In reality the house maids are playing a large role in raising and caring for the children while the parents are most likely working. However, the Peruvian parents do not want to portray the image that their children are being raised by someone else. So instead, they simply post pictures of their happy, healthy children, without acknowledging the house maids presence.

These pictures are a window into the lifestyle of these upper class families. At first I was outraged that the house maids were constantly pushed to the background. However the more I thought about it, the less oppressive and unfair it began to seem. The upper class parents are not able to care for their children because they are out working to be able to sustain their lifestyle. By employing house maids, they are able to work and know that their children are safe. Also, it opens up a lot of employment opportunity in the region for the lower class. Furthermore, these people, while definitely playing a significant role in the families lives, are still employees. It is the kid's activities and accomplishments that the parents are proud of and want to share, not the housemaid's. It seems quite reasonable for them not to be featured.

After, coming to terms with the reasoning behind the house maids not being present in the Facebook photos, I was able to think more about what this exhibit was implying. It is not so much to show the oppression of the house maids as I first thought, but more so to highlight the culture and intertwining of cultures within the community of Peru. It brings forward the fact that the upper class families must sacrifice the constant involvement in the upbringing of their children to fulfil their working responsibilities. On the other hand it shows how the lower class house maids must live in the shadows of the families' successes with little recognition for their line of work. The aspect of limited visibility in the piece  transformed from the lack of representation of the house maids, to the sacrifices, the pieces of their lives that each person, both upper and lower class, have given up.

An additional component of this piece that is very unique is that is does not require an art exhibit to be viewed. When searching about the piece, I came across Ortiz's web page. Part of the description of the piece was, "97 house maids is a project that can be accessed without needing to see the web page where just 97 images were selected, the project can be seen also in any Peruvian high class family photo album and in the section of social events of diverse magazines," (Ortiz). This made me more confident in the piece as before, I wasn't sure if Ortiz had searched for all of these pictures with difficulty, or if it was actually representative of the family photo albums. It is fascinating that the piece is constantly living on the web and in magazines, and Ortiz simply gave it structure.

Limited Visibility is an interactive exhibit without the viewer even realizing it. I couldn't help to find myself engaged and pondering about the "missing piece" of each art display. This is modern art that has effectively destroyed the past idea of looking at a piece, seeing what is there, and moving on.

[House maids not to be mistake with handmaids from The Handmaid's Tale :P]