Baby Boomers Vs Millennials

Reaching adulthood from 1983-1999, Generation X would stereotypically be classified as a generation that lacked direction and for their cynicism. They were also a generation that adapted to their surroundings with various technological advancements and set out to educate and bring awareness to the social and political issues in the country during their generation. With an overall feeling of alienation, Generation X feels like the middle child, stuck between the large generations of the Baby Boomers and the Millennials. The origin of Generation X came from a Photographer in 1953, describing people growing up after World War II. A writer in Britain, a decade later would then use the phrase as the title of her book after she “came across a group
Generation Xers “possess a natural self-sufficiency and are resourceful enough to work their way out of any problem” (Ashley Ellis). Generation Xers were not worried about how much money they made like the Baby Boomers before them, instead, looking for a balance between their work and family life, they are also not scared to change up their working environment if something better comes along.
They adjusted to the technological advancements, they were the generation that grew up with cassette players and VCR’s to the advancement of the personal computer, where they would be introduced to the World Wide Web.
There is a common overall feeling within the generation to judge fairly, with not a very high respect for authority, they prefer and want the world to look at both the good and the bad and judge equally. Following in the footsteps of the Baby Boomer Generation, a generation that stood up for equality for all, there is a strong sense of social responsibility in Generation X. This could be seen in many ways through this generation; movies, music, theatre and advocate groups like Greenpeace, but one common way many social and political topics have been discussed through all of the generations is through
Using art as a tool to discuss issues such as race, consumer culture and poverty. An artist that perfectly represents these feelings is Jamaican-born, New York sculptor Nari Ward. The art movement would be called, Relational Aesthetics, “in which artists created multimedia pieces that aimed to foster interactions among their viewers” (Kiger). Ward would build large installations, rather than traditional paintings on canvas, from his Harlem neighborhood to bring attention to the social and political issues of the time. Installations allowed the viewer to really immerse themselves into his artwork.
His work Amazing Grace, was created out of strollers, fire hoses and a soundtrack of Mahalia Jackson singing the song Amazing Grace. Ward comments that the “song was written by a white slave owner, it’s basically a song about his transformation and repentance. He was on a slave ship, in a furious storm… he got on his knees and prayed to God to spare him, and promised that he would stop being a slave owner and slave trader” (Jaffe, pg 36-38). The installation of Amazing Grace is to symbolize the slave trade, the shape of the installation is a pointed oval bow-like shape of a slave ship. Ward describes his