The art piece "Leading the People to Liberty" by Eugene Delacroix, represents a powerful protest art in the sence that the art depicts a woman holding the flag of France while in the middle of what appears to be a very intense battle. There are numerous implied motion in the piece, all of which emphasize the immediate urgency of the scene. The painting heavily appeals to emotion and natiionalism, and serves as a means to unify and rally the people of France. The piece is definately propaganda in character.
Todays class as we seen the first art work with th e lady holding the French flag leading the people to victory or to the battle was an excellent way to begin the class.
The first thing that came to my mind was "Why a woman?"(Not to knock women). But why not a man just because this is what we as a societty are use to. But it is a great way of how he did it of her clothes coming off symbolizing her focus, determination, and effort she put into this fight was as great as all the other men that was there following behind her.
As we see the sense of urgency or time to move forward its as if she hesitates looking over her shoulder. Which seems like she may be nervous that the men might leave her perhaps even this is her first time in charge and making sure everything goes as plan.
All the movement is very good from the flag and the people. Her holding both the flag and the gun shows a strong woman and a strong force.
When i first saw the painting, "Leading the People to Liberty" i was a little confused because there was so many different things going on at a single time. The way i saw it was that one side of the painting represents life and one side represents death; However, there is a young boy on the side of death and despite him walking on the shadow of the valley of death he marches on knowing that his fate could very well be his death. It shows patriotism and a sense of being fearless for whats to come because nothing is more important then freedom. Also the girls clothes being ripped and her still marching gave me a sense of urgency to complete the task at hand. A sense of never giving up until the fight is over.
Today's lecture had me on the fence. The statue of the falling woman or memorial or whatever you want to call it stirred up some good and sad emotions.I say good because this incident helped bring us together as a nation and i could picture this being a memorial in peoples eyes. I say sad because this was a very tragic event. It took many innocent american lives. Thats why a statue of a women falling to her death is hard to consider a memorial because we usually make memorials glorified so it stirs mostly positive emotions and focus on the good part of the peoples lives and not the bad. I think this creation is definetly considered art in my mind and i think if someone is willing to dare to put this in there museum or gallery i think they can. The soldiers that are fighting for us are trying to protect our freedoms so i definetly think no one should be cencored because it might affect a certain group.
The thing that really stuck with me today was the painting " Leading the People to Leberty". This being because it does has so much going on within it. On one hand theres Liberty but on the other theres death in the front lying on the floor in front of you literately. So one can see how the painting throws one off. Also I recognized that the author in which included himself is dressed very sharp and put together, but the womens cloths are falling off. It makes one begin to ask the question why isnt his cloths falling off so something he believes in so strongly. Believes in so strong as to paint it. Could it be that he simply just thought it might gain more attention?
The two presentations that we had in class today were very interesting. The first presentation was the Charlie Chaplin video of Hitler. I thought it was very interesting because to was making fun of all the things he was trying to do. As we discussed in class at the time Hitler was made as this god like figure to the people. But in that short file it should him as a regular person. As in the part when he sits on the chair and breaks it. It shows him just like how everyone else it. Also when he was walking up to the microphone so he can talk he looked a little bit scared to talk in front of all of the people showing that he has some fear in him and not this great god. Also in the second presentation about the picture of the women getting raped and the cartoon from Japan of the rape club was very odd to me. In my view of this and I’m sure I have the same as many, rap is nothing to be joked around with, just the thought of someone getting raped is nothing something that I would want to see in a cartoon. If a young child sees this they are going to think that this is fine. Also one of the girls was saying that there really is this kind of a thing. About a group of guys going around and raping girls. I don’t know how the government would ever let a person get away with something like this. I guess that’s just how some places work. Really liked the presentations.
The photo by Lewis Hine, 12.10 in the book, is a perfect example of social protest. The photo has to do with child labor, a big problem during the industrialization period. These children were forced to do harsh, horrible labor. THe work was long, dangerous and of low pay. Children were, in a sense, being sacrificed in order to produce a certain good or product. Hine, like many, were against this labor and with good reason. He fought long and hard to make sure that the public knew adn were aware of the horrors of child labor. After much effort, child labor in the United States was outlawed in the 1930's. Today there are strick laws that exist in order to keep child labor at a minimum.
well im really behind with these blogs... but today in class i thought the 2nd presentation with the painting of women and children in the middle of a battle was pretty interesting; but i have to agree with David, rape club is definitely not appropriate for people to watch as entertainment. It sends such a wrong message to the viewer. Raping girls and even sometimes boys as punishment is a crime, immoral and disgusting. I am amazed that people will actually watch this anime. Its really strange to think that people enjoy watching this show when in America many people would be appalled. Japan definitely has different views on what is acceptable media.
social protest will never end. We as a people need to stand in what we believe in and fight for it. Protest helps us with our debate and our argurment of our felings. i enjoyed the video that we had in class this week, i thought it was very interesting. The presatation of chalie chaplin video of hitler. I thought it was interesting because because it was making fun of him. Nd it also should that hitler was human just like the rest of us, like when he feel out of his chair, and how he was scared to go up to the microphone to speak.
The presentation of the Charlie Chaplin film was very interesting to me. He makes fun of Hitler and gives him a child like personality. When the guy told him he was like a god he ordered him out so he wouldnt see how excited he was. When he was playing with the globe it made him seem like a child and to me it represents that he wanted to rule the whole world. Also the framing of the scenes make hime seem so small which also make his character of Hitler so child like. The two x's were shown in the seen a lot also. It's like real Nazi's and HIlter. They had this symbol everywhere. Even though this fil was a comedy I think it showed the rest of the world what was going on well. This selection also went well with the social protest and affirmation theme as well.
I thought the picture of the "Sun Mad Raisins" was pretty clever and dramatic. And it creates a great protest against pesticides. The message was quite clear in that the maiden was drawn as a skeleton to represent how harmful pesticides are. I also loved the picture of the man placing carnations into the barrel of the officers gun. Its a very powerful picture and is a perfect anti-war protest piece of artwork. Its message and meaning is very easy to read and obvious to the viewer
I find it interesting that the idea of art's primary purpose no more that 200 years ago was to glorify rulers and display the power and dominance of the kingdom. Which is very different compared to the primary purpose of art in today's day and age. Additionally some modern art does not seem to even have a specific purpose, it's considered art because it says it's art or it is on display in a gallery. I would also like to comment on the portion of Triumpth of the Will which we watched in class today. I intended to watch the movie when I had a chance so it was nice that we had the opportunity to see it in class. Some of the ideas generated by the opening cinematics seemed to remind me of Norman Rockwell's "Freedom from Want." The flythrough which showed off the beautiful German architecture was inended to remind the people that this was the reason they needed to unite. If they were not all on the same page it would mean that they could posibly loose everything that they have built up to this point. Which I think is the same idea conveyed by Rockwell's dinner painting.
After watching "Triumph of the Will" I was reminded of the relativly short time period since the unification of Germany. Coming out of a humilating defeat in WWI and the economic hardships the people had to bear, it was an artful piece of propaganda to include a rolecall of from where the individual soldiers came. All the separate areas of Germany, not so long before separate entities, were names as to reinforce their solidity and force together. 'We are one.' Brilliant.
This week's discussion on social protest was very interesting. I find the photograph of the man putting flowers into the rifle barrels of the MPs very inspirational. No matter who's side you are on in that era, many can agree that one can stand alone and stand strong to prove a point. The camera angle of that shot is very interesting and tells a lot about the crowd. It is a little hard to see the reflection in one of the MPs helmets, but one can make out that there is a tall building there, and the only way one can take that picture is if they are in the second floor of that building and zoomed in. Another thing I find interesting about that camera angle is that it is zoomed-in, which sort of dramatizes the moment; and you look at one of the MPs legs, there is no one behind him and it is as if the only MPs there are the ones in the picture, which were like five or six of them. So the picture is a little dramatized in that there might actaully not be that many people there. You have this man, not taking into consideration that the MPs can pull the trigger and have his brains everywhere, who is bravely standing up for what he believes is right.
The topic this week of Social Protest and Affirmation has been very interesting. I find that I leave class every day with my emotions stirred over what I've seen in class. I've also noticed there are many similarities between the different works and even media that was presented this week on the topic. Most of the works were black and white and the one's that were not were dark colors with emphasis on light. Even the Goya painting the white shirt of the "Martyr" was a focal point while the rest of the painting seem shrouded in darkness. There's not much negative space (except in the Charlie Chaplin film which was satyrical in nature) and the images are often chaotic. Very few of the images draw us in as part of the event (like Rockwell's Thanksgiving) but, rather in most cases, we are made to be the spectator. Even though some of the images we've seen this week have been disturbing, the conversations have been enlightening.
The movie that we watched in class yesterday about Hitler was pretty interesting. The way they made Hitler look was as if he was some sort of a God. As he was a caring person. If I was a person at the time and I didn't know what was going on I would think that he was a very good person. When I was watching this I kind of thought of Obama. Not saying the Obama have similarities but the way the people were cheering for Hitler was the same sort of the way people were cheering for Obama. He is a very well liked person among the people. Just like in the movie Hitler is very liked among those people. The farm people were coming up to him giving him food and things like that. I’m just very surprised but this. Not knowing any background information about Hitler and seeing this movie it would be hard to take in that this nice, caring man killed so many people. But from the Hitler point of view, this movie is how he was.
The film watched yesterday was very interesting and sort of boring because i couldnt get the point. On the way home it hit me, it wasn't about killing jews at all. it was some wort of propaganda or advertisement showing that Germany is the place to be, I saw them as advanced ordered and as if they were progressing in the world. But they did mention some things about purifying there race and keeping it that way. They also focused a lot on young kids and blondes with blue eyes. as a significance of the primary race. Also it showed a lot of the german culture from dancing to music. Hitler was portraid as the main character, if you watch closely he is not shown as much and your mind is like when is he coming up... so the films purpose is to make the viewrs admire him more. - Fernando BUENROSTRO
The Execution of May Third 1808 by Francisco Goya took hold of my interest this week because the use of his techniques was the easiest to understand. The implied lines were very clear, with the stigmata to imply the matyrdom, and the narration of painting. Emotions of the victims are clearly expressed along with the inhuman feeling you get being the agressor. I loved the lighting of the painting the most about this painting because it separates the good and the bad and also illuminates the focus figure well. Art plays an important role throughout history to publicly disply an opinion with the play of emotions, logic, etc. It is interesting to see all these paintings throughout history moved people to revolt, cause riots, or become pacifists, or anything sway a movement in society.
I already did the blog for this chapter so I guess this can just be an aside. The group that presented the Metallica video today was an awesome change of pace and a great choice relating to what we are discussing in class. I think I have seen the video once or twice before but I have probably heard the song over a thousand times. I had a general idea of what they were talking about; being trapped in your body and what not. But I did not know about the refference to the specific novel/movie. The video is perfect in so many ways. The music really supports and helps drive the narrative. The whole experience is just powerfull and evokes some emotion, regardless of how you feel about patriotism and your ideology about war. I also enjoyed the totally 80s/90s syncronized head banging that we don't see as often as we should anymore. Maybe this was a refference to the soldier's attempt at communicating through morse code nodded into his pillow.
While reading chapter 12 the image that caught my eye the most was the sate hospital picture. its so interesting how the artist created these figures. especially the idea of the fishbowl. every detail of the body has suffering written in it. almost as if you can see what they have gone through. but overall i think its an amazing peace. kind of give you a second view of how some people might have lived their lives in a mental hospital.
On Thursday the video that we watched "Triumph of the Will" was an amazing video showing the propaganda of Germany (Deutschland). The most obvious thing that I've noticed of the video was that the army was equipped with shovels rather than firearms. In my opinion, although he had immoral beliefs, Hitler was an amazing spokesperson. To be able to have such a way with words, Hitler is easily able to make an the army feel sufficient to serve their country even though they aren't equipped with guns or weapons but shovels. I believe it was due to that the Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany can only have a very small armed military force. Also throughout the video, many things shown German pride. Such as the Mercedes-Benz car, the statues, buildings and food all shown that it originated from German. This video shows the 'brighter' side of Hitler and how he effects the country.
Lewis Hine's "Leo, 48 inches high, 8 years old, picks up bobbins at 15 cents a day" struck a cord of my interest. The photo shows the grim history of one of the products of the industrial revolution. Prior to laborer's rights, it was common for children to be working at factories and alike at that young of an age. To me, I find it disgusting because it totally strips away any innocence these kids have. Understanding that the money was need and it was the custom of the time, it still was exploitation. Sadly, there are instances of this still happening as of now; however, industries like to have you look the other way and what not, but I digress. The photo really emphasized on Leo and his 48 inches of height because I could tell that he was about four feet or something like that.
I was fascinated by Lewis Hine's photo "Leo, 48 inches high, 8 years old, picks up bobbins at 15 cents a day." Since this was photographed in 1910, people today don't understand the complexity people had it in the past, when we seem to think our days now are horrible. So by analyzing this photo, it really opened by eyes to appreciate what they had to go through in the past, and what more we have today. So the main focus of this photo is obviously the boy, known from the title itself and from the atmospheric perspective it offers. By the way the boy is clearly the centered by of interest and how the blur surrounding him adding a sort of depth to focus on him, makes us face the fact that this boy is suffering and probably pinching pennies to make a living. The reverse hierarchical scaling puts the boy in an adult atmosphere. It's confrontational sense makes us feel for this boy and realize that he has had to grow up faster than he looks. The reverse hierarchical scaling puts the boy in an adult atmosphere.
The photograph of the young man putting flowers in the rifles of the military, titled flower power. That photograph screamed out social protest! Which went really well with the them of the week Social Protest/Affirmation. The incident occurred because of the war that was going on at the time, which was Vietnam. That was the first American war that we had a huge social protest against. Several reasons for the protest was no one really knew what we where fighting for, and the large draft which where taking a lot of are young men off to war. My father avoided the draft by joining. The war gave my father the opportunity to travel the world and to get out of Detroit. He ended of fighting in Vietnam for several years. Then went to El Camino. Which is why junior colleges where built to help the people that went off to war when they came back the military paid for there school and it gave them a chance to catch up in school. I went off on a tangent but the war was the main focus of this photograph. The picture shows a lot of what was going on during that time. It shows the hippy movement, the huge protest, and the war. Which that time is a big part of are history.
I enjoyed the painting of the "Sun Mad" raisins. It was a clever play on the Sun Maid, and effectively gets the author's point across to the viewer. The portrayal of poison is clearly evident, and includes the different chemicals found in the pesticides used on agricultural goods such as raisins. It seems to be poking fun at the Sun Maid logo, and shows the viewer that the actual person who picked the raisins one may be enjoying is not the fictitious character of a healthy smiling maiden but that of an agricultural worker who is most likely toiling under the beating sun.
After seeing the picture of the 3 children walking down the streets of Hiroshima crying i felt very un easy because it was a very powerful and sad picture. Almost all of the struggles of the bomb could be seen just threw one photo, with no parents to guide them they walk aimlessly to find something that's just not there anymore. Also there faces seem to cry more as you go down the line. Seeing the girl in the middle was also very uneasy for most likely she had massive burns all over her body and no one was helping her so she was screaming in pain. Overall a very sad but powerful photo.
The image that we look at in class that really explain this week topic was the picture that was by david. the reason why this image should social protest because you can see that the guy they were about to kill had did something againstthem are is goin in against them this image also should how they would kill people for goin agaist something they had goin this image also reminds me of a picture that me and my group did with the civil rigths it is simalar to that but just has a diffrent meaning to it.....
this photo flower power was really interesting. it shows a sign of peace to the people i think. the young boy putting flowers in the gun whole is a priceless and yet so effective shot taken. this picture seem like it would have a given so many people hope in that time of war . The photo creates a sense of happiness to me by seeing the daisies being place in a deadly weapon like a shot gun
This doesn't involve the theme of the week but i'd just like to say thank you to you Thomas. Before taking this class i had barely any appreciation for art. I would go to museums like the Getty and look at different pieces of art and go "aww thats pretty" or "oohhh how cool!" but i would just have this superficial view of the artwork and had no interest in looking deeper into the artists message or where to start when making my own observations and interpretations. I have learned so much from this class and i really enjoyed every minute of it well except for the essays, exams and presentations but overall the class was very interesting and useful. Now when i go to museums i will probably be more observant and look for those implied lines, the formal elements, composition and most importantly my own interpretation. So thank you so much for these past 6 weeks! :)
The art piece "Leading the People to Liberty" by Eugene Delacroix, represents a powerful protest art in the sence that the art depicts a woman holding the flag of France while in the middle of what appears to be a very intense battle. There are numerous implied motion in the piece, all of which emphasize the immediate urgency of the scene. The painting heavily appeals to emotion and natiionalism, and serves as a means to unify and rally the people of France. The piece is definately propaganda in character.
ReplyDeleteTodays class as we seen the first art work with th e lady holding the French flag leading the people to victory or to the battle was an excellent way to begin the class.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that came to my mind was "Why a woman?"(Not to knock women). But why not a man just because this is what we as a societty are use to. But it is a great way of how he did it of her clothes coming off symbolizing her focus, determination, and effort she put into this fight was as great as all the other men that was there following behind her.
As we see the sense of urgency or time to move forward its as if she hesitates looking over her shoulder. Which seems like she may be nervous that the men might leave her perhaps even this is her first time in charge and making sure everything goes as plan.
All the movement is very good from the flag and the people. Her holding both the flag and the gun shows a strong woman and a strong force.
When i first saw the painting, "Leading the People to Liberty" i was a little confused because there was so many different things going on at a single time. The way i saw it was that one side of the painting represents life and one side represents death; However, there is a young boy on the side of death and despite him walking on the shadow of the valley of death he marches on knowing that his fate could very well be his death. It shows patriotism and a sense of being fearless for whats to come because nothing is more important then freedom.
ReplyDeleteAlso the girls clothes being ripped and her still marching gave me a sense of urgency to complete the task at hand. A sense of never giving up until the fight is over.
Arash Paziresh
Today's lecture had me on the fence. The statue of the falling woman or memorial or whatever you want to call it stirred up some good and sad emotions.I say good because this incident helped bring us together as a nation and i could picture this being a memorial in peoples eyes. I say sad because this was a very tragic event. It took many innocent american lives. Thats why a statue of a women falling to her death is hard to consider a memorial because we usually make memorials glorified so it stirs mostly positive emotions and focus on the good part of the peoples lives and not the bad. I think this creation is definetly considered art in my mind and i think if someone is willing to dare to put this in there museum or gallery i think they can. The soldiers that are fighting for us are trying to protect our freedoms so i definetly think no one should be cencored because it might affect a certain group.
ReplyDeleteStephen Pliaconis
The thing that really stuck with me today was the painting " Leading the People to Leberty". This being because it does has so much going on within it. On one hand theres Liberty but on the other theres death in the front lying on the floor in front of you literately. So one can see how the painting throws one off. Also I recognized that the author in which included himself is dressed very sharp and put together, but the womens cloths are falling off. It makes one begin to ask the question why isnt his cloths falling off so something he believes in so strongly. Believes in so strong as to paint it. Could it be that he simply just thought it might gain more attention?
ReplyDeleteThe two presentations that we had in class today were very interesting. The first presentation was the Charlie Chaplin video of Hitler. I thought it was very interesting because to was making fun of all the things he was trying to do. As we discussed in class at the time Hitler was made as this god like figure to the people. But in that short file it should him as a regular person. As in the part when he sits on the chair and breaks it. It shows him just like how everyone else it. Also when he was walking up to the microphone so he can talk he looked a little bit scared to talk in front of all of the people showing that he has some fear in him and not this great god. Also in the second presentation about the picture of the women getting raped and the cartoon from Japan of the rape club was very odd to me. In my view of this and I’m sure I have the same as many, rap is nothing to be joked around with, just the thought of someone getting raped is nothing something that I would want to see in a cartoon. If a young child sees this they are going to think that this is fine. Also one of the girls was saying that there really is this kind of a thing. About a group of guys going around and raping girls. I don’t know how the government would ever let a person get away with something like this. I guess that’s just how some places work. Really liked the presentations.
ReplyDeleteDavid Moussa
The photo by Lewis Hine, 12.10 in the book, is a perfect example of social protest. The photo has to do with child labor, a big problem during the industrialization period. These children were forced to do harsh, horrible labor. THe work was long, dangerous and of low pay. Children were, in a sense, being sacrificed in order to produce a certain good or product. Hine, like many, were against this labor and with good reason. He fought long and hard to make sure that the public knew adn were aware of the horrors of child labor. After much effort, child labor in the United States was outlawed in the 1930's. Today there are strick laws that exist in order to keep child labor at a minimum.
ReplyDeletewell im really behind with these blogs... but today in class i thought the 2nd presentation with the painting of women and children in the middle of a battle was pretty interesting; but i have to agree with David, rape club is definitely not appropriate for people to watch as entertainment. It sends such a wrong message to the viewer. Raping girls and even sometimes boys as punishment is a crime, immoral and disgusting. I am amazed that people will actually watch this anime. Its really strange to think that people enjoy watching this show when in America many people would be appalled. Japan definitely has different views on what is acceptable media.
ReplyDeleteJulie Bower
social protest will never end. We as a people need to stand in what we believe in and fight for it. Protest helps us with our debate and our argurment of our felings. i enjoyed the video that we had in class this week, i thought it was very interesting. The presatation of chalie chaplin video of hitler. I thought it was interesting because because it was making fun of him. Nd it also should that hitler was human just like the rest of us, like when he feel out of his chair, and how he was scared to go up to the microphone to speak.
ReplyDeleteThe presentation of the Charlie Chaplin film was very interesting to me. He makes fun of Hitler and gives him a child like personality. When the guy told him he was like a god he ordered him out so he wouldnt see how excited he was. When he was playing with the globe it made him seem like a child and to me it represents that he wanted to rule the whole world. Also the framing of the scenes make hime seem so small which also make his character of Hitler so child like. The two x's were shown in the seen a lot also. It's like real Nazi's and HIlter. They had this symbol everywhere. Even though this fil was a comedy I think it showed the rest of the world what was going on well. This selection also went well with the social protest and affirmation theme as well.
ReplyDeleteShavette W
I thought the picture of the "Sun Mad Raisins" was pretty clever and dramatic. And it creates a great protest against pesticides. The message was quite clear in that the maiden was drawn as a skeleton to represent how harmful pesticides are. I also loved the picture of the man placing carnations into the barrel of the officers gun. Its a very powerful picture and is a perfect anti-war protest piece of artwork. Its message and meaning is very easy to read and obvious to the viewer
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the idea of art's primary purpose no more that 200 years ago was to glorify rulers and display the power and dominance of the kingdom. Which is very different compared to the primary purpose of art in today's day and age. Additionally some modern art does not seem to even have a specific purpose, it's considered art because it says it's art or it is on display in a gallery. I would also like to comment on the portion of Triumpth of the Will which we watched in class today. I intended to watch the movie when I had a chance so it was nice that we had the opportunity to see it in class. Some of the ideas generated by the opening cinematics seemed to remind me of Norman Rockwell's "Freedom from Want." The flythrough which showed off the beautiful German architecture was inended to remind the people that this was the reason they needed to unite. If they were not all on the same page it would mean that they could posibly loose everything that they have built up to this point. Which I think is the same idea conveyed by Rockwell's dinner painting.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching "Triumph of the Will" I was reminded of the relativly short time period since the unification of Germany. Coming out of a humilating defeat in WWI and the economic hardships the people had to bear, it was an artful piece of propaganda to include a rolecall of from where the individual soldiers came. All the separate areas of Germany, not so long before separate entities, were names as to reinforce their solidity and force together. 'We are one.' Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThis week's discussion on social protest was very interesting. I find the photograph of the man putting flowers into the rifle barrels of the MPs very inspirational. No matter who's side you are on in that era, many can agree that one can stand alone and stand strong to prove a point. The camera angle of that shot is very interesting and tells a lot about the crowd. It is a little hard to see the reflection in one of the MPs helmets, but one can make out that there is a tall building there, and the only way one can take that picture is if they are in the second floor of that building and zoomed in. Another thing I find interesting about that camera angle is that it is zoomed-in, which sort of dramatizes the moment; and you look at one of the MPs legs, there is no one behind him and it is as if the only MPs there are the ones in the picture, which were like five or six of them. So the picture is a little dramatized in that there might actaully not be that many people there. You have this man, not taking into consideration that the MPs can pull the trigger and have his brains everywhere, who is bravely standing up for what he believes is right.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Velasco
The topic this week of Social Protest and Affirmation has been very interesting. I find that I leave class every day with my emotions stirred over what I've seen in class. I've also noticed there are many similarities between the different works and even media that was presented this week on the topic. Most of the works were black and white and the one's that were not were dark colors with emphasis on light. Even the Goya painting the white shirt of the "Martyr" was a focal point while the rest of the painting seem shrouded in darkness. There's not much negative space (except in the Charlie Chaplin film which was satyrical in nature) and the images are often chaotic. Very few of the images draw us in as part of the event (like Rockwell's Thanksgiving) but, rather in most cases, we are made to be the spectator. Even though some of the images we've seen this week have been disturbing, the conversations have been enlightening.
ReplyDeleteThe movie that we watched in class yesterday about Hitler was pretty interesting. The way they made Hitler look was as if he was some sort of a God. As he was a caring person. If I was a person at the time and I didn't know what was going on I would think that he was a very good person. When I was watching this I kind of thought of Obama. Not saying the Obama have similarities but the way the people were cheering for Hitler was the same sort of the way people were cheering for Obama. He is a very well liked person among the people. Just like in the movie Hitler is very liked among those people. The farm people were coming up to him giving him food and things like that. I’m just very surprised but this. Not knowing any background information about Hitler and seeing this movie it would be hard to take in that this nice, caring man killed so many people. But from the Hitler point of view, this movie is how he was.
ReplyDeleteThe film watched yesterday was very interesting and sort of boring because i couldnt get the point. On the way home it hit me, it wasn't about killing jews at all. it was some wort of propaganda or advertisement showing that Germany is the place to be, I saw them as advanced ordered and as if they were progressing in the world. But they did mention some things about purifying there race and keeping it that way. They also focused a lot on young kids and blondes with blue eyes. as a significance of the primary race. Also it showed a lot of the german culture from dancing to music. Hitler was portraid as the main character, if you watch closely he is not shown as much and your mind is like when is he coming up... so the films purpose is to make the viewrs admire him more.
ReplyDelete- Fernando BUENROSTRO
The Execution of May Third 1808 by Francisco Goya took hold of my interest this week because the use of his techniques was the easiest to understand. The implied lines were very clear, with the stigmata to imply the matyrdom, and the narration of painting. Emotions of the victims are clearly expressed along with the inhuman feeling you get being the agressor. I loved the lighting of the painting the most about this painting because it separates the good and the bad and also illuminates the focus figure well. Art plays an important role throughout history to publicly disply an opinion with the play of emotions, logic, etc. It is interesting to see all these paintings throughout history moved people to revolt, cause riots, or become pacifists, or anything sway a movement in society.
ReplyDeleteMotohiro Yamada
I already did the blog for this chapter so I guess this can just be an aside. The group that presented the Metallica video today was an awesome change of pace and a great choice relating to what we are discussing in class. I think I have seen the video once or twice before but I have probably heard the song over a thousand times. I had a general idea of what they were talking about; being trapped in your body and what not. But I did not know about the refference to the specific novel/movie. The video is perfect in so many ways. The music really supports and helps drive the narrative. The whole experience is just powerfull and evokes some emotion, regardless of how you feel about patriotism and your ideology about war. I also enjoyed the totally 80s/90s syncronized head banging that we don't see as often as we should anymore. Maybe this was a refference to the soldier's attempt at communicating through morse code nodded into his pillow.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading chapter 12 the image that caught my eye the most was the sate hospital picture. its so interesting how the artist created these figures. especially the idea of the fishbowl. every detail of the body has suffering written in it. almost as if you can see what they have gone through. but overall i think its an amazing peace. kind of give you a second view of how some people might have lived their lives in a mental hospital.
ReplyDeleteOn Thursday the video that we watched "Triumph of the Will" was an amazing video showing the propaganda of Germany (Deutschland). The most obvious thing that I've noticed of the video was that the army was equipped with shovels rather than firearms. In my opinion, although he had immoral beliefs, Hitler was an amazing spokesperson. To be able to have such a way with words, Hitler is easily able to make an the army feel sufficient to serve their country even though they aren't equipped with guns or weapons but shovels. I believe it was due to that the Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany can only have a very small armed military force. Also throughout the video, many things shown German pride. Such as the Mercedes-Benz car, the statues, buildings and food all shown that it originated from German. This video shows the 'brighter' side of Hitler and how he effects the country.
ReplyDeleteLewis Hine's "Leo, 48 inches high, 8 years old, picks up bobbins at 15 cents a day" struck a cord of my interest. The photo shows the grim history of one of the products of the industrial revolution. Prior to laborer's rights, it was common for children to be working at factories and alike at that young of an age. To me, I find it disgusting because it totally strips away any innocence these kids have. Understanding that the money was need and it was the custom of the time, it still was exploitation. Sadly, there are instances of this still happening as of now; however, industries like to have you look the other way and what not, but I digress. The photo really emphasized on Leo and his 48 inches of height because I could tell that he was about four feet or something like that.
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated by Lewis Hine's photo "Leo, 48 inches high, 8 years old, picks up bobbins at 15 cents a day." Since this was photographed in 1910, people today don't understand the complexity people had it in the past, when we seem to think our days now are horrible. So by analyzing this photo, it really opened by eyes to appreciate what they had to go through in the past, and what more we have today. So the main focus of this photo is obviously the boy, known from the title itself and from the atmospheric perspective it offers. By the way the boy is clearly the centered by of interest and how the blur surrounding him adding a sort of depth to focus on him, makes us face the fact that this boy is suffering and probably pinching pennies to make a living. The reverse hierarchical scaling puts the boy in an adult atmosphere. It's confrontational sense makes us feel for this boy and realize that he has had to grow up faster than he looks. The reverse hierarchical scaling puts the boy in an adult atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteThe photograph of the young man putting flowers in the rifles of the military, titled flower power. That photograph screamed out social protest! Which went really well with the them of the week Social Protest/Affirmation. The incident occurred because of the war that was going on at the time, which was Vietnam. That was the first American war that we had a huge social protest against. Several reasons for the protest was no one really knew what we where fighting for, and the large draft which where taking a lot of are young men off to war. My father avoided the draft by joining. The war gave my father the opportunity to travel the world and to get out of Detroit. He ended of fighting in Vietnam for several years. Then went to El Camino. Which is why junior colleges where built to help the people that went off to war when they came back the military paid for there school and it gave them a chance to catch up in school. I went off on a tangent but the war was the main focus of this photograph. The picture shows a lot of what was going on during that time. It shows the hippy movement, the huge protest, and the war. Which that time is a big part of are history.
ReplyDeleteMichael Gavola
I enjoyed the painting of the "Sun Mad" raisins. It was a clever play on the Sun Maid, and effectively gets the author's point across to the viewer. The portrayal of poison is clearly evident, and includes the different chemicals found in the pesticides used on agricultural goods such as raisins. It seems to be poking fun at the Sun Maid logo, and shows the viewer that the actual person who picked the raisins one may be enjoying is not the fictitious character of a healthy smiling maiden but that of an agricultural worker who is most likely toiling under the beating sun.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Park
After seeing the picture of the 3 children walking down the streets of Hiroshima crying i felt very un easy because it was a very powerful and sad picture. Almost all of the struggles of the bomb could be seen just threw one photo, with no parents to guide them they walk aimlessly to find something that's just not there anymore. Also there faces seem to cry more as you go down the line. Seeing the girl in the middle was also very uneasy for most likely she had massive burns all over her body and no one was helping her so she was screaming in pain. Overall a very sad but powerful photo.
ReplyDeleteArash Paziresh
The image that we look at in class that really explain this week topic was the picture that was by david. the reason why this image should social protest because you can see that the guy they were about to kill had did something againstthem are is goin in against them this image also should how they would kill people for goin agaist something they had goin this image also reminds me of a picture that me and my group did with the civil rigths it is simalar to that but just has a diffrent meaning to it.....
ReplyDeleteraynard westbrook
this photo flower power was really interesting. it shows a sign of peace to the people i think. the young boy putting flowers in the gun whole is a priceless and yet so effective shot taken. this picture seem like it would have a given so many people hope in that time of war . The photo creates a sense of happiness to me by seeing the daisies being place in a deadly weapon like a shot gun
ReplyDeletesebastian spencer
This doesn't involve the theme of the week but i'd just like to say thank you to you Thomas. Before taking this class i had barely any appreciation for art. I would go to museums like the Getty and look at different pieces of art and go "aww thats pretty" or "oohhh how cool!" but i would just have this superficial view of the artwork and had no interest in looking deeper into the artists message or where to start when making my own observations and interpretations. I have learned so much from this class and i really enjoyed every minute of it well except for the essays, exams and presentations but overall the class was very interesting and useful. Now when i go to museums i will probably be more observant and look for those implied lines, the formal elements, composition and most importantly my own interpretation. So thank you so much for these past 6 weeks! :)
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