The Dialectic of Freedom and Being Seen

The Dialectic of Freedom and Being Seen In The Dialectic of Freedom Maxine Greene writes “Reading such a work, we cannot but find our own world somehow defamiliarized. Defamiliarized, it discloses aspects of experience ordinarily never seen. Critical awareness may be somehow enhanced, as new possibilities open for reflection.”. This passage refers to the power of poetry to present a new plane for critical awareness and conscious reflection. My understanding of this passage is focused on the message that art can present us with a connection that is more familiar than the world we usually occupy.

About a week ago I saw a short clip posted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Instagram. The clip was about a moment of feeling seen by artwork. In a few minutes, the short documentary style clip shared how a member of the museum administration from the IT department typically felt invisible in society. She shared how coming across the Prologue Series by Glen Ligon allowed her to feel understood. How seeing her own experience of feeling invisible reflected in the artwork of another person sparked a feeling of connection to the museum and to society. While artwork is usually considered something to be consumed, here was a moment where the gaze was reversed.

I associate Greene’s passage on defamiliarization of our world and enhanced critical awareness created by art with the experience shared by the met museum clip as related by example because both involve an idea of seeing, familiarization and shift in critical awareness. Greene sets the stage for our understanding of the power of art in its ability to incite connection through creative expression and this seems to be exemplified by the interaction between the met administration staff member and her interaction with the work of Glen Ligon. As though the Prologue Series quietly disclosed “aspects of experience ordinarily never seen” to a woman who felt seen by the artwork.

A critic may point out that Greene is using this passage and even chapter on art to further a greater agenda around the idea of freedom. That my very specific association has more to do with the meaningful consumption of art than it does the critical awareness that Greene may aim to inspire.

Here, I will question how this critic would expect an individual such as the met museum employee to develop or use critical awareness towards freedom from within the confines of feelings of invisibility? I will propose that the example of the power of art to create space for connection beyond the day to day is the first step towards the freedom that Greene aims to promote.