transfered art reflection

(I posted this in the wrong blog by accident I have replaced it here)

Over the winter break I attended the San Francisco’s ballet rendition of the Nutcracker.  As in every year my mom dresses up my brothers and me in our best suits and we attend.  Between the crude jokes my brothers make at the expense of the title of the show, and the abstract storytelling through the medium of ballet it is not my favorite night of the year.  But interestingly enough I have grown to like it and appreciate it more as I have gotten older.  The dancers move with great skill and over the years the focus of the ballet has changed from the dancer too the story which is a positive thing in my opinion.  The most interesting time I have attended was last year when I attended with a person who at the time was my girlfriend and also a ballet dancer.  She explained to me more of the dancing side of the show highlighting some of the particularly hard moves to pull off as well as the great skill of the dancers.  Because of this I have more of an appreciation for the great skill it takes to produce and execute a show such as the Nutcracker.  Another interesting thing about the Nutcracker is how simple the story is that it could probably be told in just a few sentences and yet it plays out over the course of several hours. 

Some things I did not like about the show were how long it was and some of the abstract dancing that took place.  Some of the dancing sections revolved around one or two dancers striking poses which to me had no relevance with the story and confused me more than it entertained me.  The other trouble spot is the length running well over 3 hours the show seems to become repetitive as it progresses.  Similar costumes are used as well as similar dance numbers.  I feel like this show might appeal to more persons if its length was cut down and just the basic story telling scenes were included.  In one scene two major characters the ice prince and princess are introduced and after they ride in on their chariot to take the little girl off with them.  Their minions some sort of fairy like creature dance around on the icy landscape for more than 15 minutes.  I feel like parts like these can and should be cut out of the show. 

                My favorite part of the show is the battle between the rats and the soldiers.  It has been my favorite part of the show since I was 6 and I saw it for the first time.  It is the climax of the show and is always very entertaining.  When the hero is stabbed by the king rat my parents told me I cried the first time I saw it.  I don’t know why I like this scene the most maybe its boys predisposition to enjoy violence but it has always stuck in my head and I always look forward to that moment during the show.

final evaluation

I learned in this English 15 class that while I excel at organizing my papers sometimes my grammatical skills and sentence structure skills are weak.  I have improved on this by identifying where I make run on sentences and have worked on fixing my grammatical errors through editing. In my memoirs paper when I was editing it for the revision paper I had a much easier time identifying run on sentences and correcting them.   I have learned that while I do not necessarily appreciate all forms of art I can at least respect others opinions when it comes to different types of art.  In my opinion art is constantly evolving and that which becomes popular is usually the best form of art.  I think this from the premise that art is supposed to entertain people and the most popular form will be the form that best entertains people.  I understand that others have different ideas of what constitutes art or “good” art.  Some think that the best form of art is what form they like best or what famous people like best.  This is completely a valid opinion but not one that I share.  I have learned that respecting and trying to understand other people’s opinions is a healthy and productive thing to do.  About myself, I have found that my opinions sometimes differ from that of the rest of the class, which is fine but maybe I should try to be more accommodating of other ideas.  For example on the topic of drinking at Penn State my opinion differed from that of my classmates.  I felt like it detracted from the reputation of the school as a whole while many of my classmates thought it was part of the culture and a positive thing for the university.  I feel that this discrepancy has lots of different factors accounting for it.  While I might be upset because I feel like others actions reflect negatively upon me others have the rights to their own opinion and because we live in a free country they should be allowed to act in this way.  In terms of progress I have made in this class I think that my understanding of writing has developed by a huge factor and I will be a better student because of it.  I also think that my knowledge of different forms of art has grown and I will be more culturally knowledgeable because of it. 

I have completed the SRTE’s.

http://luketry.blogspot.com/2012/03/art-what-is-it.html?showComment=1335731468502#c2447780182833887314

http://voiceoflaurenrhoden.blogspot.com/2012/03/so-what-we-like-to-party.html#comment-form

http://colebeauchat.blogspot.com/2012/02/beginning.html?showComment=1335731579195#c1958552025364280498

Ayn Rand's: Atlas Shrugged

At 1168 pages this might be the longest book you will ever read but it sure won’t be the dullest.  Ayn Rand a defector from the former Soviet Union writes a masterpiece about the ills of big government and the slippery slope from a social safety net to an Orwellian society.  Set during the waning years of the industrial revolution the story follows several industrialists as they combat the ever increasing hand of a government set on doing “what is best for the people,” some give up and hand over their businesses to the government while others fight tooth and nail for economic freedom.  Ayn Rand highlights the press’s role in supporting all the new government regulations and actions and the media’s self-censorship on issues of economic freedom. 

Ayn Rand highlights the relationship between people and government and the sort of self-satisfying people who believe they can solve all the world’s problems if they were just given control of the world.  The tone Ayn Rand sets is very dark and not for the faint of heart some sections of the book had me bursting with anger and I couldn’t help but draw parallels to the government today.  I have been told that whole political lobby groups have formed with the expressed purpose of stopping the scenarios that Ayn Rand describes from coming to pass.

It is said that presidential candidate Mitt Romney made every member of his staff when he was in business read this book.  I would do the same.   I believe that if you only read one book during your life it should be this one it is truth it is objective it just tells a story.  There is no “lovey dovey” nonsense only precise statements of truth and through this medium we are told a sad story. 

I believe the emotions I have for this country are compounded by this book.  I would argue that it might be the most patriotic book ever written but it is also a critique against the welfare state mentality that threatens us even today and has already consumed Europe.  This book invokes fear it shows us what things will be like if we continue down the path we are on.  It shows how business and government are two beings constantly at odds no matter what the government says to the contrary.  It alerts us that our political freedom is even more so, now dependent on our economic freedom and that when the welfare state walls come crashing down around us like they have in Greece the solution is more economic freedom not less.  For if we don’t follow her warnings and advice we will face the Orwellian state that George Orwell imagined and the Soviet Union realized.

3 ways to fix whats broken at this university

            “This American Life” broadcast takes a weekend at Penn State and follows the some of the events that were happening during the night at various frat houses and parties.  The piece seems like it is pretty objective in presenting the picture of the Penn State party scene.  While I am no expert in this matter their coverage of what goes on during weekends and even weeknights did not surprise me in the slightest.  One thing that I was slightly appalled by was the police officers accommodation of minors breaking the law.  I would hope that the police would take a more aggressive stance on defending the law in this small town.  Another thing was the excuses that were made by the production crew.  We probably were the same at that age.  They are just kids.  

            Well I have a different view point on the matter of underage drinking.  It is my opinion that you attend a university to prepare you for the rest of your life while it is easy and they give lots of free time this should not be taken advantage of to break the laws of the country.  It is almost expected that kids who go to college will get drunk and go to parties nowadays.  I was asked about the party scene by lots of my friends and family when I returned home for breaks.  The questions were regarding how the parties were rather than whether I attended them.  This, at first, made me feel like I was missing out on a college experience.  But the more I thought about it I realized that I was in fact getting more of the college experience than the students who had weekends disappear from their memory, missed class because of a hangover, or experienced uncomfortable situations because of the over consumption of alcohol. 

            I feel the reputation of this university as a learning institution is severely tarnished by the actions of the students who think that the college experience is about getting drunk as often as possible.  The excuses that are made are that the partying is part of the culture.  Is it a good part of the culture is it something the school should take pride in?  Or that it is a way for students to blow of steam and too relax.  Is this a good way to do it shouldn’t they find better more productive and safe ways to relax.  

            And the university makes excuses too like there is nothing they can do about it.  But I sat down and thought a little bit about what they could do about it and I came up with 3 things that the university could do to almost completely squelch the partying that this great university is associated with.  1^st eliminate all traces of fraternities and sororities on the Penn state campus and discourage membership and revoke any subsidies that are granted to them by the university.  This will cut off the main distributers of alcohol on and off campus.  2^nd adopt a no tolerance policy towards underage drinking including the immediate expulsion of students caught violating the law.  This will greatly discourage the incentive to drink and push the culture back into the hole it crawled out of making it less socially acceptable to consume alcohol as a student.  Finally encourage the police to increase the arrest rate for public intoxication and bust  and to press charges against the students who are caught violating the law.

            I believe that if the university implements these three policies there will defiantly be loads of outrage from the students who participate in this behavior.  But in my opinion it will be supported by the State College community as it helps create a more safe university.  And this will discourage students from attending Penn State because they want a good party.  These policies would restore to the university some of the respect it loses every time it makes a top party school list.  I have no illusions that these policies are highly unlikely to be implemented in the near future but I wonder how many more deaths it will take till these policies are implemented or how much more embarrassment the alumni and students can take at the hands of the party culture at this university.  

Palmer Art Museum

Francis Luis Mora, "Evening News," 1914, oil on canvas. Collection of Lee and Barbara Maimon.

It is a painting of four men and one women reading the newspaper on a subway train.  One of the women is not reading the paper she is also more vibrantly dressed than the other members on the train.  She is staring back straight at the viewer like she is sharing a secret with us.

The rhetorical situation is that all these people are reading the newspaper except her maybe to say that she is the news.  It might have been made by a supporter of woman's suffrage which would be consistent with the time period in which it was made.

The artist himself is originally from Ecuador.  He moved to the USA 1880 and became the first Hispanic member of the Nation Academy of Design.  He was a widely respected artist and has paintings hanging in many major art collections he seems like he is ethical.

I think the claim that the painting is making are that women are the news now.  Which seems like a logical claim it being the time period in the middle of the american woman's suffrage movement.

I would have never gone to the Palmer art museum on my own and I will never go back art through the medium of painting to me is something that does not interest me at all.  I believe that the amount of time and money that is spent on the arts is outrageous and something that as a tradition makes no more sense in our world of powerful technological media.  Back in the days where they didn't have I-Phone's they had nothing better to do than go stare at someones drawing or painting.  But now we have engaging media and film story telling devices that stimulate the senses just as much as any painting but are also capable of telling a narrative much easier than a single frame in a painting.  The last generation is dying off that had not been born with the visual stimulation of TV and the generation after that is getting old.  One day I believe that single frame painting will too pass into the oblivion of history because while the wheel of progress might be slowed by tradition it cannot be stopped.

Journal One

            I choose the template that I did because it was simple to look at and did not distract from the content.  The font and colors are all generic simple brands that only serve as a background for the writing in the blog.  I have not included any links at this time but when I do they will be links that are relevant to the journals that I enter into the blog.  I did not include anything about myself on my about me page because I think that the less you share about yourself on the internet the better.  I think my blog is a generic form of sharing information I think that if I share things that interest people then they will like it, and if not no one will care.  This blog is something I would never do on my own so in that way it is a good thing for me.  I guess I will try to learn about a new thing on the internet and get a new life experience.