@mc5punk 15 December 2024 more from that month

Short story: The Kind of Art That Never Was

It was a sunny day at the University of Art and Culture, and Professor Valentina Martínez, a middle-aged woman with an infectious energy, was in her classroom ready to give one of her most anticipated classes: "The Great masters of the Renaissance". Valentina had curly and unruly hair that fell over her shoulders, framing a face full of expressiveness. His eyes, big and bright, reflected his passion for art. She was wearing a navy blue silk blouse that accentuated her slender figure, and a vibrantly colored scarf that seemed to have a life of its own, moving with every gesture she made. Looking around, Valentina noticed something disturbing. In the front row, a group of three students was completely engrossed in their mobile phones. One of them, Lucas, was a skinny guy with messy hair and a T-shirt from a rock band that seemed to have seen better days. Her laughter echoed around the classroom as she shared cat memes with her friends. Next to her, Carla, a young woman with braids and big glasses that gave her an intellectual air, could barely contain her laughter when she saw the images. In the second row, two more were trying to juggle pens. One of them, a sturdy boy named Javier, had a focused but amused expression as the pens fell to the floor one after the other. In the last row, a student named Martin was sleeping peacefully with his head resting on his backpack. He was a tall, thin boy, with straight hair that fell over his forehead. Her soft breathing contrasted with the bustle of the classroom. "Welcome to the class!"Exclaimed Valentina enthusiastically, her voice echoing as if she were giving a speech to a crowd. "Today we are going to explore how art can reflect our society..." But his voice faded into thin air like an echo in an empty tunnel. Lucas raised his hand interrupting the calm. "Can we talk about the art of making memes?"he asked with a mischievous smile and a mischievous spark in his eyes. Valentina took a deep breath and decided it was time to change her strategy. "Of course! Let's talk about how memes are a Moderna art form. How about we make a comparison between a famous meme and a masterpiece?" The students' eyes lit up as if they had received an electric shock. Valentina felt as if she had found the magic formula to capture his attention. So he started projecting images on the screen: on one side, Da Vinci's *The Last Supper*; on the other, a classic "Distracted Boyfriend" meme. "Here we have Jesus as the distracted groom," Valentina said as she pointed to the images with unbridled enthusiasm. "And the apostles are... the jealous brides!" The students burst into laughter; some even applauded at the occurrence. "That's great!"Carla shouted with laughter. "I've never thought of *The Last Supper* like this." Valentina smiled to see how her words resonated with them. "And the best thing is that they both represent complex human relationships," he continued. "Although Jesus is there to save the day, we all know that there is drama behind it." Lucas leaned forward and asked, "What if we make memes about other works? Could we make one about *La Gioconda*?" "Of course!" Valentina replied enthusiastically. "How about we say it's the first selfie? Look at that mysterious smile; it's like he's thinking, 'I don't know if I like this light.'" The students started whispering ideas to each other. "We could put a vintage filter on it," Javier suggested while gesturing as if he were editing a photo on his phone. "Or add a text to it that says, 'When you take 500 selfies and you only like one,'" Carla added with a laugh. English: Valentina couldn't help but laugh too. "Exactly! Art has always been about capturing moments; only now we do it with filters." As I scrolled through the slides, each comparison was more absurd than the previous one: Munch's *Scream* representing the moment you realize you forgot your homework. "This painting," Valentina said pointing to *The Scream*, "is like that terrifying instant when you look at your schedule and see that there is an exam today." Martin woke up just in time to hear this and quickly got up. "What exam? Don't tell me there's an exam!"he exclaimed with his eyes wide open. The others started laughing out loud while Valentina tried to calm down. "There is no exam today," she assured between laughs. "But there is art to be discovered." The class turned into a comedy show. Students began to create their own memes inspired by the masterpieces. One showed Velazquez's *Las Meninas* with the characters saying: "When your friend won't stop talking during the movie." Valentina watched with delight as her students became more and more involved. "Guys," she said as she pointed to the projected image, "this is exactly what I want to say: art is present everywhere, even when we are trying to enjoy something simple like watching a movie.” At the end of the class, Valentina felt satisfied. He had managed to capture the attention of his students and had made them learn about art without them realizing it. While she was packing up her things, she heard Lucas say: “Can we have more classes like this? I love Moderna art!”His voice was full of genuine enthusiasm. Valentina couldn't help but laugh again. “Of course! But only if they promise to leave the phones outside the classroom.” Javier raised his hand dramatically and said“ "We promise not to use our phones... unless it's to make memes about what we learn.” Everyone burst into laughter again. Valentina looked at her group and felt a special connection with them; they were no longer just distracted students but accomplices in this new way of learning. And so, what started as a boring class turned into a hilarious lesson about art and contemporary culture. Since that day, Valentina decided that every class would have a comic touch because after all, art is not only about appreciating the beautiful; it's also about laughing together while we do it. Source of the images. Image created with Starryai.