Truman Show & Rear Window

Watch the Truman Show and Rear Window.

1. Describe some of the commonalities of the directors.
When watching the films, the cinematography shows that the directors, Hitchcock and Weir, had some things in common. It seems as if Hitchcock was admired by Weir. In class, we talked about the shower scenes in Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and Weir's Homesdale (1970) and how similar they are.

2. Describe some of the commonalities of the films.

• Fake Skies - Cristof and Jeffries seen as "the creator", similar to Kinkade's paintings
• Lisa Fremont (Rear Window) and Meryl Burbank (Truman Show) each do a bit of "advertising" in their respective films. Lisa models for Jeffries and Meryl does commercials. 
• Cristof and Jeffries are each directors - Cristof directs the Truman show and all of the actors and cameras, while Jeffries's cameras are the windows of his neighbors.

3. Discuss voyeurism.

In voyeurism the audience watches the film, the characters sometimes watch each other, and the camera records everything.

Assignment 9 - Printmaking

1. Describe the 4 kinds of printmaking processes

• relief - the raised areas will print
• intaglio - the lowered areas will print
• lithography - the greasy areas will print
• stencil - the open areas will print

2. Describe the process of lithography

First, the artist will draw an image with a greasy crayon directly onto a flat stone slab. The small parts of the greasy crayon will stick to the texture of the stone. The artist then rolls ink on the wet stone and the ink will only stick to  the greasy marks. The print is then made.

3. How can you tell the difference between the process of an etching and a silkscreen?

For etching the screen is soaked in a bath of acid. A silkscreen is created by squeezing inks one-by-one.

Assignment 8 - Opera and Musical Theater

• Light Opera is a less demanding form of operatic theater. Light opera incorporates spoken words and appeals to a broader audience. It still requires operatic voices and a live orchestra.

• Musical Theater is the broadway musical, music intersperse with dialogue, less demanding vocally, can be performed by singing actors, sometime equipped with microphones.

• Opera is an elevated style of musical theater as defined by the age of Mozart from about 1775-1910.

Assignment 7 - Music

Michael Bolton singing "Nessum Dorma"

In your own words describe what you think "Nessum Dorma" is about.

•  "Nessum Dorma" sounds like a love song. The gradual inflection in the tempo and pitch demonstrate strong emotion and passion. The tempo makes it clear that the subject of the song is someone that the writer cares about deeply - it's obviously not someone that they hated.It almost sounds as if he is trying to romance the subject of the song with the song and his singing.

Who is most known for singing this song? It is his signature work.

Luciano Pavarotti is most known for singing "Nessum Dorma" from Turandot. He was one of "The Three Tenors" in their famed first concert held on the eve of the final. I listened to Pavarotti's performance and it is effortless!

Assignment 3 - Aesthetics

"I would like for you to think about something that you do everyday. Something that you do without thinking about it too much. Now, take that practical experience and turn it into an aesthetic experience. Use similes, metaphors and any other descriptive information from your English classes. Post a picture..."

Each morning I eat a cup of Yoplait yogurt. I stroll to the refrigerator, slowly open the door and pull the cup off of the white shelf. Next, I open the creaky cabinet and pull out a white plastic spoon. Then I wildly shake the cold up in my hand. I pull back the stiff lid and slowly lick the yogurt off of the cool cap, making my mouth water and excited about consuming the entire cup. I watch the lumps of strawberries and smooth pink yogurt blend together as I slowly stir with my spoon. I pile a lump of the sweet, smooth goodness onto my spoon and slide it in my mouth. The strawberries and yogurt slowly travel down my throat into my stomach and I anxiously eat the next bite.

Assignment 6 - Theater

Label the parts of this proscenium theater

A. Apron
B. Off Stage
C. Proscenium
D. Border
E. Backcloth

Assignment 5 - Dance

Liturgical Dance

This is a great book about the ministry of Liturgical Dance!

1. Discuss why people dance

•  There are many reasons why people dance - fitness, fun, expression, spiritual connection, to socialize, celebrate, or perform.

2. Discuss the difference between modern dance and modern ballet.

• Modern ballet - variation on classical ballet, ballet shoes are worn instead of pointe shoes, based on the teachings of George Balanchine
• Modern dance - theatrical form of dance, not based on classical technique 

3. Describe the particular period that dance began in the western world.

• The Baroque period began dance in the western world. The Baroque period is characterized by dynamic movement, overt emotion, and self-confident rhetoric. There was also grandeur, drama, vitality, and emotional exuberance.

Assignment 4 - Kandinsky

Arabs I (Cemetry), 1909

1. What was the subject of his work?

• Kandinsky had several themes present in his works - horse and rider, angel blowing trumpet,  saints, city on a hill, Troika, and St. George slaying the dragon.

2. Describe the kind of painting he did?

• Kandinsky was an abstract painter. Abstraction is the reducing or simplification of scenes or figures by omitting realistic detail. This can be seen when comparing two of Kandinsky's works side-by-side and seeing the changes in detail between the two pieces.

3. Discuss synesthesia.

• Synesthesia is the mixing of the senses. We discussed how Kandinsky heard music through art and how he thought that yellow was a "loud color".We also talked about how people associate words with different colors or tastes with different shapes.

Columbia Museum of Art Visit

Boats on the Seine by Albert Andre

• Describe - This painting, Boats on the Seine, was done by the artist Albert Andre. It is an oil painting on canvas. The exact dimensions were not listed next to the painting, but I would estimate that it was about 24" x 24". 

• Analyze -The lines of the painting are visible, but not heavy. The shapes in the painting are the houses, boats, people, rocks, and flags. The texture appears to be smooth from a distance and bumpy up close because of the different amounts of paint that the artist used. The artist used varity to create constrast with the different shades of browns, blues, and grays. All of the objects are evenly proportioned. There is harmony in the painting - the different objects (houses, water, bank, boats, rocks, people) are distinct, but are painted similarly and create a sense of unity. 

• Interpret - I think the meaning of the piece is to emphasize the unity of the people in this town with the water as their livelihood through fishing. The unity that the artist created pulls the people, water, and boats together as one unit.

• Judge or Evaluate - I really like this piece! I think that the detail and the colors of it are very beautiful. The colors make it very relaxing to look at.

Assignment 2 - Art Criticism

Describe the 4 domains of creativity:

1. Fluency - creation of many ideas
2. Flexibility - looking at ideas from different perspectives
3. Originality - ideas that are new to society or an individual (like our students)
4. Elaboration - adding to ideas 

Describe the Feldman Method of Art Criticism:

• Describe - name the artist, medium, dimensions, characteristics
• Analyze - use the elements of design to describe the work
• Interpret - meaning of the piece
• Judge or Evaluate - Do you like the piece or not? 

Assignment 1 - Bio Statement

• Have you ever made art? What kind of art do you like? 
• I've made many different types of art - singing on the church choir (or horribly in my car), dancing, paintings (see below), instrumental music (I used to play the violin), and creative writing pieces.  I've never been in a play.
• I have an appreciation for all types of art, but my favorite form is dancing.

• Have made a drawing, painting, sculpture?

This is a replica of a painting that I did in the fourth grade at Devon Forest Elementary School. The original hung in our district's office for a school year and is now retired and permanently hangs in DFE's front office

Me with Ms. Anderson, my Art Teacher at DFE.

• Have you ever been to a museum, gallery, or artist studio?
• I have visited the Gibbes Museum of Art in Downtown Charleston. 
• Growing up in the Charleston area, I was able to visit many art galleries, but my favorite is Gallery Chuma. The Nwokike's and my family attend the same church.  

• Have you ever been to a play, opera, art film?

• I've been to several plays, but never an opera or an art film. 
• The first play I remember attending was seeing A Christmas Carol in the fourth grade at the Dockstreet Theater. My senior year of high school I viewed Syringa Tree in Dockstreet and Beauty in the Beast at the Sottile Theater. The show of Beauty and the Beast is one of the best plays I have ever seen!

• I was the choreographer for the stageplay, Crowns, for the 2008 Moja Arts Festival.

• Do you dance?

We are all known as the "original" Mt. Moriah Praise Dancers - we all had a love for dance through formal training, but were eager to dance in church. It took a few years, but our church eventually became open to adding a Liturgical (Praise) Dance Ministry to the Youth Worship Arts Ministry. (I'm third from the left - the girl in front of me is still one of my best friends.)

This was at our instructor's wedding reception. 

 This is a video from the National Baptist Convention Youth Rally. Dancers audition to be part of the production and minister. This is one of two dances that some of us ministered in that week - we learned two dances in about four days! This is from 2009 when the convention was in Detroit, Michigan.

• Under what conditions do you learn the most?
•  I learn the most when I am in a relaxed setting.

• Why are you taking this class?
• This class fulfills my fine arts requirement for my major - Elementary Education.  

• Have you ever looked at art or anything really and been moved by what your eyes see?
• The first thing that comes to my mind is dance - I love to see a passionate dancer. It makes me feel like I'm on stage with them and I can almost anticipate their next move. A passionate dancer makes me then have a greater appreciation for whatever song or genre of music they're dancing to.

• What inspires you?
•  I'm not entirely sure what inspires me. What lights a fire under me? What makes me excited - other than shopping? What inspires me? This is something that I've been thinking about that a lot when answering these questions; I have a strange urge to start a blog, but I have no idea what I want to blog about.

• Do you consider that movies are a form of art? How about video games, Comics, Television?
• Movies are culminations of many types of art forms - theater, visual arts, music, dance, and writing. 
• Video games, comics, and television are also art. Comics are probably more obvious art forms than video games or T.V., but they are similar to movies in how they're constructed. 

• Who decides what is good art?
• Deeming art as "good" is very individualized. It varies from person to person and maybe even day to day. I may think that a painting is horrible today, but next week, I may think that it's beautiful because of a change in the way I view it.

• When you debate music with your friends what are your critical elements or standards to which you hold the music to?
•  I usually don't debate music with my friends - I'm usually the last person to know about new music that comes out!

• What was the best movie you saw last year?
• I loved Black Swan, The Blind Side, and Inception! 

• What is an Art Film?
•  An art film is a film that is not going to be viewed by a mainstream audience. I've never viewed an art film, so I'm excited about seeing one this month.

• What music is in your ipod or mp3 player, car, albumns? 
• My iPhone4 is how I listen to music the most and it's usually via Pandora. The stations that I listen to the most are Toni Braxton, Glee Cast Radio, Beyonce, and Whitney Houston.