I'm in a great mood today!
[Interesting cause yesterday I was really grumpy]
But anyway, here's why.
First of all, yesterday I did a really good job on my Spanish test. It's "Civilization and Culture of Spain," so I'm not just learning grammar anymore. I have to use it to learn all about Spain since before the U.S. even existed. Considering that I'm not even very good at American history (and that's in English), this is not my easiest class. It's actually my shortest class (50 minutes compared to 75 for every other one) and it takes the lonnnngest. It takes me forever to get through a chapter if I actually make the effort to understand it, but I forced myself to do a good job for this test, and I'm pretty sure I aced it! I wont get my grade for a few more days, but I only skipped one 2-point question, and I felt really good about all the others. Yay. :) Now I just need to buckle down for the next section...
Second, as of last night I gave up on winning anything for the Victorian art essay contest that I entered, because I was told that we would be informed about that sometime before the award ceremony, which is tomorrow. Since I hadn't gotten any email as of last night, and new the ceremony was soon, I was a little bummed to know that out of only 23 entries, I wasn't even in the top ten! :( I finally stopped hoping that there would be any good news, and when I checked my email this morning, here's what I found:
Congratulations,
You finished in the top ten of the MOA’s Victorian art essay contest. We will be awarding prizes for the top entries on Thursday at 7 p.m. In the Museum of Art Auditorium on the museum’s lower level. We would love to have you there to accept your prize – a certificate that you can redeem for an unframed 21 inch Giclee print from the Museum Store. Thank you so much for your participation in this contest. More than anything, we hope you had a meaningful experience with the Royal Holloway exhibition and the painting you wrote about in particular.
YAY! I've never "placed" in any sort of writing competition before, so I'm happy, and super excited for my free print! 21 inches is pretty dang good, and an $89 value to boot! Definitely couldn't get a print out of pocket for that much, that's for sure. Tomorrow I get to find out where I placed, and I'm going to be very impatient until then. [I'm pretty sure it wont be the iPod-winning first place, but that's ok]
THEN, today after class I got to talk to my mom who had great news- She got a job! If you've kept up with my past posts you know that my parents have both been out of work for a while, so this is very exciting! She will be team teaching a 3rd or 4th grade class of "speakers of English as a second language" or however you say it "politically-correctly" now. I'm happy for her, because she is a fantastic teacher and those kids are super lucky!
Also, I'm feelin' good because I finally figured out a thesis for a paper I have to write for my Northern Renaissance class. ahhh, sigh of relief! I wanted to do something interesting because for my actual thesis (to be written and presented in front of way too many people next semester) we have to expand on a previously written paper and I don't like any of my old ones. It's been frustrating because it seems like every idea I come up with has already been done. Since the first version is due in 2 weeks and I still didn't even have a topic, I was beginning to despair!
But then I came across the painting Death and the Maiden by Hans Baldung Grien and I had it! [Get ready for some Art historian-ness] In the early Renaissance (and kind of always), people were way into images of Christ, Mary, etc. Christ is often shown with all his wounds, from the nail marks in his hands and feet to the gash in his side [and often they are even spouting blood in a lovely, unrealistic arcing stream]. Something else typical of Christ is that his right hand is often shown in a sign of blessing with two fingers held up like this. So what I want to know, is why does Death sport these same symbols in this painting??
Observe. Death is making the blessing symbol with his right hand (same as Christ), there's a gash on his right side (also the same for Christ) where his icky skin decays, and (its hard to see in this pic but I promise its there) he has a hole in his other palm! How weird is that? So, now my job, in about 8-10 pages, is to talk about why the artist did this, because there is no way it was coincidental... And the more I think about it all, the more it seems so obvious! But I will resist going on an art history rampage on my blog, because I know that might not be very interesting to everyone. Let me know if you want to read my paper when its done. ;)
Well, there's a quick glimpse into my life at the moment, hopefully all these good things last and I can actually get my paper done!
Now if only that blasted fly that's been buzzing around here would just GET OUT! yargh!
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
10.07.2009
9.17.2009
Poverty: Yesterday and Today
The Museum of Art here at BYU is holding an essay contest, and since there's a chance to win an iPod touch AND my teacher counted it for his class, I decided to do it. Now I think I will share.
Here is the prompt:
"The Museum of Art is hosting a writing contest that requires students to compare the issues presented on canvas by Victorian artists to the contemporary issues that they read about in the newspaper, see on television, or study in their classes. After viewing the collection, students will pick one artwork from a group of preselected works that they feel best explains how the issue presented is also reflected in contemporary society. The student will then write a brief essay (400-800 words) that describes how the Victorian artwork helped them understand a contemporary issue and how that issue affects them."
Here is the painting:
And here's what I said:
Most of the social issues that we hear about today on the news or in the newspaper are things that have existed for many years. By simply watching the news for five minutes one will undoubtedly come across such issues as immigration, healthcare, poverty, and war. These and others were just as prevalent in years past as they are today, though they may have been portrayed in different ways, such as through art.
In 1874 when Sir Luke Fildes painted his Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward, newspapers were a common form of discussing social issues. Whether to express peoples’ discontent with various items of interest or just to create awareness, they were the way of sharing opinions and bringing others to an understanding of what was happening in the world. This is why Fildes was met with some resistance and disdain when he used his talent of painting to depict a scene of poverty, which was a major problem at the time. People were not used to seeing such blatantly realistic and “undesirable” images, especially in paint. Painting was an art reserved for things of beauty to be displayed in galleries and the homes of the wealthy. Fildes knew that using a refined medium to depict this subject would certainly catch peoples’ attention and convey a clear message.
That message was not just that poverty existed. It did, and this was a powerful reminder of that fact, but Fildes was really saying something much more poignant. A quick glance over the painting and anyone can see a crowd of people huddled together against the winter cold, waiting in line in a dark alley. From the title we can understand that they wait with the hope of one night’s warm sleep in a bed at a public ward. However it is only when looking more closely at the details of the painting that Fildes’s deeper meaning is revealed. While many of the figures blend into the cold dark background, certain ones stand out. A small, decently dressed family on the right draws the eye of the viewer because these particular figures have been painted in more luminous colors. To the left, a widow with two small children stands in the foreground, and immediately to their left an older, distinguished-looking fellow seeks advice from a police officer. The reason Fildes highlights these specific characters is to remind everyone that poverty is not something that only affects the lower working class. Once-happy families with children are not necessarily immune. Widows are not immune. Even distinguished gentlemen who once dressed in expensive clothes and mingled with aristocrats are not immune. Neither are the young nor the elderly.
Even today we tend to think that we are exempt from the problems of society that we hear about on a daily basis, but Fildes wanted everyone to be aware of the fickleness and uncertainty of life. We may be in high standing at one point or living happily with our young family, but problems that lead to poverty can and usually are unexpected.
This painting affects me in a variety of ways. First, it reminds me that poverty is very real. At the grocery store where I work, I daily see people scrounging for dimes and nickels to buy any tiny bit of food they can get, and sometimes there still is not enough. Even here in Happy Valley, people beg for money or food. People sleep on the streets. Children starve. We generally think of ourselves as safe from these possibilities, but even my own parents recently lost their jobs with the decline of the economy. To me this reinforces what Fildes was trying to say. We never think these things will have a direct affect on us, but they can.
Second, I am reminded of how blessed I really am. Yes, things are a little stressful at times, but our family still has all the basic things we need. I am still able to go to school and receive an education. I have food, clothes, and a place to live. Here at school we tend to call ourselves “starving students,” but none of us has to wait in line every night in order to sleep with a roof over our heads. The reality that Fildes successfully portrayed in his painting remains true today: while many of us might be on a tight budget, there are always other people who have less. Poverty is a very real creature, and we need to be aware and ready for those moments that we do not foresee.
Here is the prompt:
"The Museum of Art is hosting a writing contest that requires students to compare the issues presented on canvas by Victorian artists to the contemporary issues that they read about in the newspaper, see on television, or study in their classes. After viewing the collection, students will pick one artwork from a group of preselected works that they feel best explains how the issue presented is also reflected in contemporary society. The student will then write a brief essay (400-800 words) that describes how the Victorian artwork helped them understand a contemporary issue and how that issue affects them."
Here is the painting:
And here's what I said:
Most of the social issues that we hear about today on the news or in the newspaper are things that have existed for many years. By simply watching the news for five minutes one will undoubtedly come across such issues as immigration, healthcare, poverty, and war. These and others were just as prevalent in years past as they are today, though they may have been portrayed in different ways, such as through art.
In 1874 when Sir Luke Fildes painted his Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward, newspapers were a common form of discussing social issues. Whether to express peoples’ discontent with various items of interest or just to create awareness, they were the way of sharing opinions and bringing others to an understanding of what was happening in the world. This is why Fildes was met with some resistance and disdain when he used his talent of painting to depict a scene of poverty, which was a major problem at the time. People were not used to seeing such blatantly realistic and “undesirable” images, especially in paint. Painting was an art reserved for things of beauty to be displayed in galleries and the homes of the wealthy. Fildes knew that using a refined medium to depict this subject would certainly catch peoples’ attention and convey a clear message.
That message was not just that poverty existed. It did, and this was a powerful reminder of that fact, but Fildes was really saying something much more poignant. A quick glance over the painting and anyone can see a crowd of people huddled together against the winter cold, waiting in line in a dark alley. From the title we can understand that they wait with the hope of one night’s warm sleep in a bed at a public ward. However it is only when looking more closely at the details of the painting that Fildes’s deeper meaning is revealed. While many of the figures blend into the cold dark background, certain ones stand out. A small, decently dressed family on the right draws the eye of the viewer because these particular figures have been painted in more luminous colors. To the left, a widow with two small children stands in the foreground, and immediately to their left an older, distinguished-looking fellow seeks advice from a police officer. The reason Fildes highlights these specific characters is to remind everyone that poverty is not something that only affects the lower working class. Once-happy families with children are not necessarily immune. Widows are not immune. Even distinguished gentlemen who once dressed in expensive clothes and mingled with aristocrats are not immune. Neither are the young nor the elderly.
Even today we tend to think that we are exempt from the problems of society that we hear about on a daily basis, but Fildes wanted everyone to be aware of the fickleness and uncertainty of life. We may be in high standing at one point or living happily with our young family, but problems that lead to poverty can and usually are unexpected.
This painting affects me in a variety of ways. First, it reminds me that poverty is very real. At the grocery store where I work, I daily see people scrounging for dimes and nickels to buy any tiny bit of food they can get, and sometimes there still is not enough. Even here in Happy Valley, people beg for money or food. People sleep on the streets. Children starve. We generally think of ourselves as safe from these possibilities, but even my own parents recently lost their jobs with the decline of the economy. To me this reinforces what Fildes was trying to say. We never think these things will have a direct affect on us, but they can.
Second, I am reminded of how blessed I really am. Yes, things are a little stressful at times, but our family still has all the basic things we need. I am still able to go to school and receive an education. I have food, clothes, and a place to live. Here at school we tend to call ourselves “starving students,” but none of us has to wait in line every night in order to sleep with a roof over our heads. The reality that Fildes successfully portrayed in his painting remains true today: while many of us might be on a tight budget, there are always other people who have less. Poverty is a very real creature, and we need to be aware and ready for those moments that we do not foresee.
5.20.2009
Venting Spree
Yes, one more pet peeve, and then maybe I'll actually talk about our life.
Have you ever been in a class where there's like... a mom? Now, don't get me wrong: there are many wonderful, smart, fabulous women old enough to be my mom, my own mother included of course. But the ones in class sometimes just don't seem to get it.
The class that I get to share with not one, but two moms, is Modern Art.
Modern Art is weird. It's random, and all about being experimental, and there are a whole bunch of different movements... There are manifestos written about why artists did things in certain ways, and some of them are completely off the wall. Modern Art is hard to understand.
Which is kinda the point.
Anyway, we just learn about "Vorticism" today. It's from the early 1900's and is based on a written work called "Our Vortex." It's really confusing and makes no sense whatsoever. But the whole point of this movement is something about how life is a vortex, things are all crazy and random and chaotic except for at the center of the vortex, where everything is calm and still, and somehow this all has to do with art. (Though I don't think that explanation would pass a test.)
But this mom could not get over the fact that to these artists, things were calm in the center of the vortex. "But the dictionary says that a vortex is a vacuum, and the center is where everything gets sucked in! It can't be calm and still at the center."
Artist's make up their own meanings for things. Especially in Modern Art.
Seriously, she mentioned it a few different times and kept saying, "it's so funny to me that it's not really what that word means!" GAH!! That's not the point!
I'm sorry if this is totally pointless to you, but this woman is driving me crazy! Everyday she gets stuck on something silly and unimportant!
....
I don't know any witty cute ways to end this, so for your enjoyment (or disgust, confusion, whatever) is a Vorticist painting by Umberto Boccioni.
States of Mind: The Farewells
(Do you see the train?)
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