Modigliani Movie

Picasso and Modigliani seemed to come from opposite sides of the tracks. Modigliani would be the poor one and Picasso would be the rich one. This is the type of lifestyle and personality they portrayed in the movie. Modigliani was very flamboyant and spontaneous, and he acted as if he didn't have anything to loose, and in the movie he didn't because he was poor. Sometimes when people don't have any money or possessions to show off, they use their personality instead. That's why Modigliani comes in and jumps on the table, and dances around, in order to be the center of attention. Most people like these type of people, especially when they are in a group setting. Modigliani becomes the life of the party. He is like entertainment. Some people don't like this because the attention is being taken away from them. I don't think Picasso liked Modigliani stealing his thunder. Picasso felt like he was the best artist, and even though he wasn't very entertaining, he wanted all the reverence of everyone. Picasso was the introvert, who thought in his head, and Modigliani was the extrovert who usually had to speak to make a point. It can be hard for these type of people to get along sometimes because they act differently, and they think that people are supposed to think like they think. Then you add the fact that Modigliani behaves like a bum and Picasso behaves more like a higher class citizen, and you can get a real clash of personalities. Modigliani drank liquor, smoked, and did drugs to an extent that it seemed like he didn't even value his own life. Picasso on the other hand felt like his signature was so valuable that he wouldn't even sign his sketch for the bar owner because it would have made the sketch worth too much. Modigliani dressed like a peasant, while Picasso wore nice clothes and carried himself respectably. They had two different outlooks on life, and I think that this led to a lot of tension.

When you get two people who are opposites together, if they are interested in the same things, many times they can still find that necessary common ground. I think that they both respected each other as artists and this developed some warm feelings amongst them. They even had the same hero, Renoir.

I think that Picasso had an agenda for insulting Modigliani. I don't think that it was just out of spite that he painted Jeanne or that he painted over Modigliani's painting. I don't think he really cared that he was insulting Modigliani but I think the reason behind it was greater. I think that Picasso was trying to provoke him into becoming a more serious painter. I think that he was trying to provide him with some fire in order to give him a reason to really try hard. At the same time it was a little bit of pay back, and trying to flaunt superiority; but that was just added benefit. In the end, I think that Picasso was just using friendly rivalry because he wanted Modigliani to do his best. He didn't want to see Modigliani's talent wasted. So he had his best interest at heart. Or maybe he just wanted Modigliani to do his best so that he could beat him at his best in the competition, and make himself feel that much better. Who knows?

Postmodernism

I would agree somewhat that race is not genetic but social, but only partially. The genetics passed down from a person's ancestry does effect their predispositions. Some groups of people are more analytical and some are more emotional. I do agree however, that the cultural and social environment of a person will influence them. Many times people will accept certain stereotypes upon themselves, because that is what is expected of them. For example, I don't know one black person who does not love chicken. Maybe that is because genetically all black people are predisposed to loving chicken, or maybe it is because society says "you're not really black unless you love chicken." I happen to think it is probably a little bit of both ideas.

I think that the "Human Race Machine" is an awesome idea. I know a lot of self absorbed people who can't see any other viewpoint than that of their own. I think that someone being able to see them self as a person of another race would allow them to see things from the viewpoint of that race. If everyone were able to look at things from other people's point of view, then we would have a better understanding of each other. If we could understand each other better then we could communicate better with each other. Then we would be better able to work through all of the problems we face as a society.

I think that the "Human Race Machine" is using the simulation that we find in our postmodern society as a way to better the real world. With simulation sometimes the can "become more real than the real," and "there is a collapse between counterfeit and real, and the original and the copy." If people could look at this simulation of them self as a person of another race, then they would be able to understand that that could have actually been them if they would have had different parents. This would help to break down a lot of the racial barriers that exist between people. Then a lot of the superficial tactics that some people use to divide and conquer us as a society would no longer work. I think that this is the point of people being able to arrive at this sameness which Nancy Burson is trying to reach. If we don't see ourselves divided just because of the color of our skin, then we become a lot more the same. We won't disciminate based on superficial reasons because we will see that there is no reason for doing so. If we see people of other races as the same we won't discriminate, because we wouldn't discriminate against ourselves. We would be able to "love our neighbor as ourself" (Lev 19:18).

Art Gallery

The first piece is a photograph of a woman leaning up against the wall, and is entitled The "Hiding Places." The reason that I chose this piece is that it's title really matches the picture. It really looks like the girl is trying to find some place where she can be a little more out of the spotlight, and kind of be in the background. Her problem is that there is nowhere to hide. So the only thing she can do is push herself up against the wall. I can relate to these pictures because whenever I'm in a big crowd of people I don't really know, I like to try to find a place that's a little reclusive. But sometimes there is no place to really go. In class for example, I like to sit in the back, or against one of the walls, I just don't like being in the middle, with everyone watching me. I like to be more in the background.

In the photograph there is space on either side of her. On the left it is just open black space and on the right it is the wall. This kind of forces her out into the middle of the picture even though we see that she wants to be up against the wall as much as possible, so we see this struggle going on. There is a balance of space on the left because everything that's not apart of her is just negative space. The value is from indoor ceiling lights that are coming down and from the left. At the bottom right of the pic we can see a darker kind of area. I like the colors because they are in unity. The reddish maroon color of her jacket is very close to the brownish red color of the door. Her blue pants and white blouse are all part of a very simple color scheme and that brings harmony. There are really only about five colors: maroon/red jacket, brownish red door, blue jeans, white blouse, tan hand, and black space. The door and her jacket are very similar, her hand is just the color of skin, and the black is taken for granted because it's just space. So really it only seems like there is about three colors. Each object seems to have it's own color.

This piece is aesthetically pleasing to me. I really like her body position. Her back is against the wall, her leg is kind of out in order to disguise the fact that she is trying to get as close to the wall as possible, and her arm and hand are stuck flat against the wall. I think that the pic shows a good balance of light and shadow. The shadow doesn't make it look dark or dingy. I also like the color scheme.

What the author is trying to get across seems kind of obvious based on the content and title of the piece. Sometimes when people who are more shy or introverted are put in a group setting, we tend to try to find somewhere to hide, even when there really is no place. We might look good, and there is no real reason for us to be uncomfortable or ashamed, but we just like to be a little incognito.

The second piece is an advertisement for a bar of soap. The reaon I chose it was because it looks very old school and classic. The shape of the soap is octagonal is unique. The "Lifebuoy" name that is skethed into the soap looks like writing you would have found about fifty years ago or more. The package for the soap and the tan background color are faded and classic looking.

There is a harmony amoung the color scheme. The tan and greens are faded and soft. There is an emphasis on the soap because it is the darkest color and it takes prominence at the bottom of the page. The top is just a title and the middle describes it, but my eyes immediately go the the soap.

The ad is aesthetically pleasing to me because it looks kind of old school and it is simple and the color scheme is in harmony. I also think that the artist did a very good job in scanning the picture of the soap and the soap package into the piece. It looks more like a photgraph of the soap, but I know there was more to it than that.

I think that the intention of the ad is to say choose the good old soap, it has been getting things clean since the time of your grandparents. You know that you can trust this soap, and all other soaps are just cheap knock offs. They are just normal rectangular shaped soap, they don't have the value of being cool octangular soap. It almost has a similar feel to that of old spice deodorant. This is like the official soap.

"This Bud's for YOU"

This is a Budweiser advertisement that is supposed to represent American life during the 1940's to 1950's. I found it in a beer magazine online. It looks to be an older ad that you wouldn't see now days. It was probably made during the time period that it is supposed to represent. The person in the ad is a middle aged white man who is supposed to be a bartender. I think that this ad is mainly targeting white males because it uses a white male. People can relate to those who are like them. Because he is white, it is saying that he is trustworthy. He is also supposed to be like a friend. He has a smile on his face, and he is happy to be able to help you relieve your thirst. Because he is a man, he is supposed to be like one of the guys. It is like he is saying, "here friend, have a beer." There is also popcorn in the ad. It's kind of like the ad is saying here is some nice cool beer to refresh you after eating some salty popcorn. The setting of the ad is one of a night out with the guys. This ad is about an average middle class, white American man, and that's the main audience that it's targeting. If you're a regular Joe, this is what you do. You are supposed to kick back, relax, and drink a beer. This is just apart of ordinary life. Beer is what makes life sweet.
As a customer I respond to this ad differently than most. It is very aesthetically pleasing because I like how it looks old school and authentic. That imagery appeals to me. However I do not drink alcohol, and I think that alcohol is one of the major causes of so much bad in the world. Way more people are affected by alcohol related problems then cigarettes. Yet because alcohol is so grounded into the American lifestyle it seems okay. We are all supposed to forget how many people's lives are ruined because of it. This ad does a really good job at trying to cover that up as well. It portrays alcohol as something that's cool, ordinary, and harmless. It makes me realize how easy it is for bad things to creep in unnoticed when they are portrayed as a part of normal life. It is supposed to make you happy. You are supposed to desire the beer. You are supposed to accept the beer and be thankful. If you don't, then you're really not very social, or maybe not very American.

What I really wanted to do with this ad was flip it around. I wanted to make it something that nobody wants. And instead of being a trustworthy friend who is doing you a favor by giving you the beer, now he is a sick freak who's playing a disgusting trick on you. Maybe you did something to him in the past. Now he's getting you back. You thought he just wanted to let bygones be bygones, but he wants revenge.
I think that the imagery of the foam and the yellowish color of the beer, really make it hard for anyone to tell whether or not it's beer or pee by just looking at it. Any guy who has woke up in the morning and used the restroom has seen a similarly colored dark and foamy liquid in the toilet. Then with the sly looking grin on the man's face it makes you start to wonder if somethings up.
If it's pee, nobody wants to drink it. You could just imagine the feeling of the warm urine going down your gullet. This beer is no longer desirable.

Budweiser Girls

This advertisement is in a beer magazine that is relevant to today's generation. It was made very recently, for the Olympics. Even thirty years ago, this ad would have been too sexual. This ad is geared towards American men. You can tell that it is American because it has "USA" to go along with the Olympic symbol. It is supposed to be attracting all men. It has three women: it has a blond for white guys, and black girl for black guys, and a brunette who may be Spanish for Latinos. Or if you like most guys you are really just attracted to all three of them, and you are like a kid in a candy store with all the different flavors to choose from. The ad is trying to portray the idea that if you drink Budweiser then beautiful girls are going to climb all over you in the same way that they are rubbing themselves all over the beer glass. Even if you don't buy into this the image of the beautiful women will still attract your eyes to the beer. This will make you correlate beautiful women with beer. Beer is supposed to bring fun. Time with these women would sure be fun to most men. So it goes after two of men's biggest attractions: fun and sex. This ad is going after any man in America who is not gay or really old. The color and font is supposed to be modern. It's not faded or old fashioned. The text of the Budweiser logo is very curvy and smooth like the women's bodies. Then the word COMP is for competition. They are trying to say that women will be competing for you if you have a Budweiser in your hands. This ad is portraying a lifestyle of barely dressed women and beer that is very attractive to young men who go out to the clubs.
As a consumer, I am definitely attracted to the women in the ad. I'm not really attracted to the beer very much. It takes awhile before I really even notice the unrealistically gigantic glass of beer. However, because I'm a christian, I'm not supposed to be looking at the women, and I'm not supposed to be attracted by the beer. The beer part is a lot easier for me. When I see the ad I just think, "Oh, another beer ad using beautiful women with barely any clothes on, what's new, now I need to turn my head and think about something different." For me the ad doesn't get across what Budweiser wants, which is for me to desire to drink alcohol or for me to correlate Budweiser with beautiful women. It has definitely gotten most young men though.


What I wanted to do was turn it around to make the women less attractive
1) by showing that 20% of women have Herpes
2) by making the point that the women you will get won't look like this anyway.
Also I wanted to make someone think twice about the combination of beer around women.

Formerly- Beer + Women = Good time
Now- Beer + Women = 20% chance of getting Herpes

Nobody wants Herpes. This would probably gross a lot of people out. But it is a fact that a lot of people make stupid decisions about sex when they are under the influence, not to mention getting a woman pregnant that you don't even know. Almost always the women never look like the women in the ad, although they might if you have enough beer.

Art Gallery

The reason I chose these pieces is because they were two of my four favorite pieces. The other two pieces that I really liked were ceramic pieces by the same artist. This is a picture and a painting. The other reason I chose these pieces is because I learned more about them. The main elemental qualities I find with the water picture are its shape, color, and value. The shape comes from the waves of the water. These waves are in rhythm on the right of the picture, and to the left of the picture is a rythm of smaller ripples, which are really just small waves. This rhytm of waves can be seen by the lighter and then darker colors of blue water from the light hitting the waves at different angles. In this picture the light really works together with the shape of the wave in order to give us different values of color. The picture shows us how our own eyes work. Light bounces of the surface of different objects, and then our eyes pick it up as different colors, and this allows us to see what shape the object is. I really don't find too much emphasis on any one portion of the picture. I think that because of the rythm of the waves my eyes aren't really drawn to one point in particular. I think the emphasis is on the overall color, value, that is created by the shape of the waves. For the painting I think that the main focuse is on the color, texture, and value. The first thing that really jumped out at me was the red face contrasted with the blue background. The shades of red, white, and black on his face and neck make it look like there is a light which is shining from the right to the left of the painting. Moving from right to left on his face and neck there is the white spots, then the red areas, and on the left there is black, which makes it look like a shadow. I like how these colors are spaced out on his face. Then there is the blue background which is a rythm of blue and white. It looks like a bright blue sky to me. Maybe the white is supposed to be clouds. There is also little strokes of red mixed in at an even spacing. Being that it is an oil painting there is also a lot of texture to it. You can deffinitely tell that the hair is going at a downward angle, and that the background is going at a horizontal angle. I think that the texture helps to create emphasis on his face because the downward texture is different from the horizontal texture of the background.

Both of these pieces are aesthetically pleasing to me. I think that the awkward colors of created by the rythm of the waves in the picture make me feel like I'm in the ocean, or I'm under water or something. What is pleasing to me about the painting is the nice bright colors of red, blue, and white. I don't like a lot of dark colors, or pieces that look depressing.

I don't really know that the artist of the picture had a lot of intention behind it. She told me that she was on vacation, and she had her little sister jump around in the pool and make splashes while she messed around with different lighting. Then the picture just kind of came out. I think that this is what most photography is about. You get the right settings, and then you click away, and sometimes you get a good picture and sometimes you don't. It really makes me question if photography is really art or not. Almost anyone can take a really good picture if they do it enough. I think that the painting had more thought behind it. I know that before he made the oil painting he made two pencil drawings of himself as a way to practice and study. He made a 45 and 30 minute pencil drawing of himself first. The painting definitely took thought to show the light coming from one direction to another. I think maybe he just wanted to paint himself using oil instead of drawing with pencil in order to show a different side of himself, or something different about who he was.

Blog # 3: Ch. 4: Realism and Perspective

Realism is basically the opposite of abstract. Realism is supposed to depict something as it "would be seen by the eye." The artist is trying to put 3D images on a medium which is only 2 dimensional. That is unless it is sculpture such as the life size clay soldiers from China's Chin dynasty. They were "substitutes for real, live soldiers." One thing that I didn't know is that realism is "a style of art that is understood at a given historical moment to accurately represent nature or the real or to convey and interpret accurate or universal meanings about people." You wouldn't think that realism would change over time. I thought people would just draw what they see. Kind of like a picture. This is known as linear perspective, but there are other styles or realism. Different styles of realism show how the culture of a particular time viewed the world, gave value, and distinguished truth.
Alberti used linear perspective mathematical and optical rules that he said came from nature. By doing this artists were able to create depth in a painting. Such as the landscape in The Cestello Annunciation by Sandro Botticelli. "Perspective forms have tried to remain objective instead of subjective." The problem is that human vision is very complex, "our eyes are constantly in motion," so we are taking many pictures and putting them together all the time.
A modern form of perspective is seen in video games. "Video games rely on point-of-view shots to situate the player" as though he is moving in 3D. Video games are virtual images that are both digital and analog. Video games contine to look more 3 dimensional and it's hard to imagine what they will look like 10 years from now. I remember 15 years ago they didn't look nearly as real as they do now. We've gone from super mario bros to real life sports games. I'm sure that they are using more advanced geometry along with better technology.