Art Experience Assignment

Last weekend, I came down with a really bad case of strep throat. When I called my mom and told her, she insisted on bringing me home. I have been at my home in West Linn, sick, all week, so I decided to do this assignment on a piece of art work that I have never noticed in my house before until this week. I was sitting in our living room, half way zoning out and half way talking to my mom, when I noticed this beautiful painting in our entry way.

The painting looks like it takes place in the winter sometime, probably at night because the house looks pretty lit up inside. There are three horses standing around outside, and if horses could talk, that’s what they would be doing in this picture because they are all standing in a semi-circle with their heads all very close together. There’s an old car outside, with the headlights on, possibly waiting for someone inside the well-lit house. The house is absolutely darling; it looks like it’s from the Victorian era. It’s Christmas time in this photo because there are Christmas lights on the house, on the trees outside and there is also a wreath on the front door of the little blue house.

            The sky is an array of pinks and purples; it looks like the sun just set a little bit ago on this beautiful little town. Although it is Christmas time, there is no sign of snow anywhere in this photo. Maybe the artist is from Oregon, so he is like the rest of us who don’t know that it actually does snow on Christmas! (Joking.) This looks like the most peaceful, care free place to be in the world and actually, the more I examine this photo, the more I wish I was inside of that house right now, sitting by the fire place with a cup of hot chocolate reading a good book…

 

Now, I take a look at the painting’s name and the artist. The painting is called “Christmas Memories”, and has been painted by Thomas Kinkade.

 

After researching Thomas Kinkade, I learned that he is America’s most collected artist who is still living today. At the top of his website it says, “Thomas Kinkade. Painter of Life.” He grew up in a small town in California, and tries to speak about his Christian faith through his paintings. After reading more and more about him, I realize that this picture is probably exactly what his “Christmas Memories” are. He seems like a very simple, Christian man who appreciates the small things in life, like a great cup of coffee or an early morning walk. Growing up in California would explain why his memory of Christmas lacks snow. There are probably no people shown outside the house because everyone is inside, reading the story of Christmas from the Bible on Christmas Eve. Maybe the horse’s heads being bowed is a symbol of prayer, and the white sky at the top of the sunset may be a symbol of God’s love.

I just got to looking at some of his other creations on his website and he is an absolutely gorgeous artist! All of his paintings appear so simple, yet when you really take a look they are so complex. The colors he uses are so soft, yet so vivid at the same time. He is an incredible artist.

If I was ever able to own a Thomas Kinkade painting, I would like it to be his interpretation of "Footprints in the Sand", because that has been my favorite poem ever since I was little.

Video Games

Article #1: "New Use for Video Games"

 

This article that I found is about a teacher and the University of Missouri and how he is now using video games as an assignment for students and their homework. "Cho wants skeptical parents to understand that games can teach concepts, while books teach terms. "Games you can really manipulate the world, you can really interact, you can really solve problems you can think about how to solve or use your resources," Cho said. Games like Portal might not look educational but it's all about strategy and problem solving, such as if the player shoots through a particular spot the player is safe, but if the player shoots a little higher, it's game over. Games that have very complex goals require that kids learn a lot of skills to proceed up through the levels.”

           

            It is interesting how many parents write off the use of strategy in life, and therefore forget that it is a skill that needs to be learned, and taught for that matter. Video games are an excellent way for children and teens to learn strategy. Video games have always been looked at as a negative thing, which I think is now a thing of the past. They are an excellent way for children to learn and to communicate with one another through all of the technological advances that the games have made in the past years. If even University level professors are using video games to teach their students, there has to be something good about them, am I right? It is interesting how on the radio program we listened to titled “Studio360 Video Games Radio Program”, there was a little boy who was talking about how he learns so much from video games, and adults don’t really understand the benefits of them like children do. Maybe more adults should start thinking like this professor!

 

“CEO of Games2Train Marc Prensky predicts the switch from books to games is just around the corner. "Learning and having fun don't have to be separate activities," Prensky said. "They can actually be combined into one activity and since they know that we find that kids are actually asking for this kind of thing to happen." Games are so much more modern, and allow the students to be much more engaged than they can be with books. Not saying that books should be written off completely, because every child needs to learn how to read and enjoy a good book. However, we as a society are advancing so much, so why shouldn’t the way we teach our students advance right along with everything else?

Source: Bellis, Charlotte (2008, May 21st). New Use for Video Games. Retrieved May 22, 2008, from KOMU 8 News Web site: http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/ba8a4513-c0a8-2f11-0063-9bd94c70b769/0e04ddd8-80ce-0971-003e-d964b2bc332e

 

Article #2: “PDAs, Video Games, etc. Some Girls Like Their Toys Too”

            This article was an interesting one to me when I searched “video games” under the news section of google. This is an article that a woman, Judy Ramsook, wrote about how it used to be that girls would receive quiet toys and boys would receive noisy ones, and how this is changing. “When I was a little girl, one observation I did make was that the toys boys got were more interesting than the ones we had. They had the high tech and or battery powered toy cars, trucks, toy guns, and a range of other playthings that actually made some noise. Those toys the boys had made our tea sets, dolls, doll houses and illustrated books seem boring in comparison. So when some of us girls became bored with the tea set, dolls, or doll houses, we usually placed them in a far corner of the closet and never took a glance at them again. And even though there are many girls out there who may still want the dolls, tea sets and doll houses, there are many of us who may have preferred the high tech, noisy toys too.”

 

            In the “old days”, or so they are called, boys played with “boy toys” such as trucks, trains and planes, and girls played with quiet toys that didn’t make any pretend noises such as dolls and tea sets. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see a girl with her PlayStation or Game Boy Advance that matches her brother’s. I think the fact that girls are playing video games now too shows the advancement of this art and how crucial and common it is in society today.

 

I remember being about eight years old, which would make my little brother three at the time, and how my mom bought us both Game Boys for the plane rides to Grandma’s house. Granted, he played Mario Kart and I played Mary-Kate and Ashley games, but still. I wanted one of those toys just as much as he did. Now, being a freshman in college, I have an Xbox in my dorm room because I love playing Guitar Hero. And how did I start playing Guitar Hero, you ask? I learned about the game from one of my girlfriends about a year ago. I think the advancement of video games in that girls want to play them just as much as boys do proves that they are an excellent part of our society, and that they can only grow and become better from here.  In the article “Trigger Happy”, the author, Steven Poole says “But one useful lesson is that the video game ecology is one rife with inter-species breeding: the lines between genres are gradually being erased.” (In this article he discussed the origin of video games and the different types of genres throughout the years.) However, although this might seem far-fetched, the idea that the different genres of video games are being pushed together might also prove this point, that video games are an advancing thing of the future as well. Much like everyone starting to play them, all of the topics are starting to be so able to teach people things that they should become more accepted and valued.

 

Source: Ramsook, Judy (2008, May 22nd). PDAs, Video Games, etc. Some Girls Like Their Toys Too. Retrieved May 23, 2008, from American Chronicle Web site: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/62672

Spirituality + Creativity

1. How do you define spirituality?

When I think of spirituality, I automatically think of religion. I have been raised in a Christian household ever since I was little, so I have never known what it means to not be spiritual. However, I don’t think that spirituality has to mean you are religious. Spirituality is something tugging from inside your heartstrings that make you wonder what more is out there. Spiritually is something that makes you wonder what you are living for.  It’s something that drives your every move, something that makes things really matter. Spirituality is what makes us who we are, and since each person’s is different, our spirituality is what makes us unique.

 

2. Does spirituality differ from religion?

No, I don’t think that spirituality differs from religion. If you are a Christian, you are going to be driven by Christ in your every move, for example. And if spirituality is what drives your every move, then it does not really differ from religion. No matter what god you serve, or even if you do not serve one, you are still spiritual. Being spiritual is finding that thing inside of you that makes you strive to be better, and that is the same purpose that religion serves in religious people’s lives.

 

3. How do you define “creativity”?

Creativity is the way one chooses to express themselves. Since no person is the same, the way that everyone’s creativity is expressed will be differently. You can observe how creative someone is by looking at their wardrobe, the books they’re reading, down to what’s in their wallet. Creativity is a way of expressing your inner self. I feel that most of the time, the word creativity is only associated with art-related things, and I think that should change. Creativity shines through in everything a person does.

 

4. What is the source of creativity?

The source of one’s creativity is their mind. One can be as creative as they can think to be. There is no telling where the creativity will stop, because only you can be the judge of that. Another source of creativity might be one’s personality. Depending on your personality, you may or may not choose to be creative in everything you do. For example, I consider myself to be a pretty creative person. People who know me can attest to that. Something that stands out about my creativity is that I decorate the c.d.’s that I burn. I don’t do it because I think “okay, now I’m going to decorate this c.d.” Instead, I just take out a Sharpie and start drawing. That’s just my personality, to decorate everything, which relates back to my creativity.

The Aesthetics of Horror

Article #1:

            “Why Do People Love Horror Movies? They Love Being Scared.”

            There are two different theories that experts have come up with to why people love horror movies. The first theory is that “the person is not actually afraid, but excited by the movie.” The second theory is that “they are willing to endure the terror in order to enjoy a euphoric sense of relief at the end.” These theories have been around for quite some time, and are now being challenged by new research. Eduardo Andrade and Joel Cohen, two researchers from universities, argue that neither of these theories is in fact correct. They say, “We believe that a reevaluation of the two dominant explanations for people’s willingness to consume “negative” experiences (both of which assume that people can not experience negative and positive emotions simultaneously) is in order. The assumption of people’s inability to experience positive and negative affect at the same time is incorrect.”

            In easier words, the two argue that the viewers of horror movies are happy with making themselves unhappy. The thrill of the horror in the movie is satisfying to the viewers. They are both unhappy and happy at the same time. In the article “Why Horror” by Noel Carroll, the author says “…the horror story is driven explicitly by curiosity. It engages its audience by being involved in processes of disclosure, discovery, proof, explanation, hypothesis and confirmation.” It’s the thrill of all of these combined that make the views happy while viewing the film. Curiosity is a feeling that never goes away until you find the answer to the question you were curious about in the first place. With horror films, the director gives you something to be curious about right at the beginning, and thus leaves you wondering up until the last couple of minutes. He gives you hints along the way, which makes your curiosity grow stronger throughout the movie. This keeps you happy and interested until the very end!

            Carroll also touches on this new theory of having the ability to be happy and unhappy at the same time in the article. She says, “It is not that we crave disgust, but that disgust is a predictable concomitant of disclosing the unknown, whose disclosure is a desire the narrative instills in the audience and then goes on to gladden.” I’m not sure when this article was written, but by the looks of it, it seems like it was published before the so -called “new theory” of Andrade and Cohen. So, it appears as if most people now agree that people love horror movies because they love being scared.

Source: University of Chicago Press Journals (2007, July 31). Why Do People Love Horror Movies? They Enjoy Being Scared. ScienceDaily. 

Article #2:

            “Why People Love Horror”

            “People love to be afraid…it’s human nature to look forward to being scared…from the comfort of your sofa…” This article discusses different types of horror. “Horror takes many shapes, it can be psychological horror where you have nightmares or start to question those noises that you hear outside your bedroom window, or in your basement – and even the world around you. Then there is physical horror, the kind that makes you ill, your hand clamped firmly over your mouth and eyes shut, but then opened again, unable to tear yourself away. But the one that tends to get people the most is thrilling horror, which may or may not coincide with psychological horror. Is she going to make it out of the house? Wait! Why is she running down the basement stairs? It’s dark down there! Hey guy, why didn’t you pick up that axe as you walked by it? Are you really going to go outside with nothing to protect yourself after finding three of your friends…dead?”

            It is interesting to read about the different types of horror, because I am pretty much scared of anything. I get scared very easily, and so I would have never thought about the different levels of horror that are working while watching a horror film. Some people are only affected by one type of horror, depending on how much you can tolerate. The powerpoint on The History of Horror discusses a few different types of horror as well, including psychological horror. However, it talks about psychological horror in the sense of a horror film topic, rather than how the viewer is feeling. 

Source: Van Scoyoc, Andrea D. (2006, November 14). AuthorsDen.com. Retrieved May 10, 2008, from Why People Love Horror Web site: http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=47163&id=25283

Personal Adornment Reflection

            When I graduate college, I hope to be doing something in the fashion industry, so obviously clothes are something that is very important to me. I have always liked fashion, and I have always had an appreciation for high-end fashion. This love and appreciation is reflected in what I wear. For the most part, I believe myself to be a very put together person. I always get ready in the morning, no matter how tired I am. I get ready in the mornings not for other people, but for myself. If I am already super tired, and then I don’t wash my hair and put on my make-up, I feel even more tired and groggy throughout the day. Many people would judge, or argue and say that the reason people where designer clothing is to show off how much money they have, or how cute they are, or that sort of thing. However, what those people who are judging don’t realize is that the main reason most people dress the way they do or act the way they act is for the same reason that the people who are doing the judging do… because that’s their style and they are reflecting their personalities through the clothing that they wear.

My personal style has not changed much over the course of the years. I have always been interested in fashion, so it’s more that my style matured with my age over anything else. Another thing that has had influence on my style and the way I dress are the people I meet in the fashion industry. If you are from Portland or Seattle you might know the store Mario’s, and the store Mario’s 3.10 in Bridgeport- this is where I do all of my shopping, and all of my learning as well. The people I have met and shopped with here have taught me a lot. They have taught me about fits, different styles, new and upcoming designers, and everything in between. They are very knowledgeable people that I have a lot of respect for. In fact, someday in the future I would like to open my own high-end clothing boutique much like Mario’s 3.10.

            It’s funny that we are asked to write about our family’s values in this blog as well because I’m sure there are a few people reading mine right now that are thinking, “This girl must have been raised with snobby parents”. However, mine are just the opposite.  Neither of my parents have any idea where my fashion gene came from, because both of them could almost care less about fashion. My mom dresses cute but my dad just dresses like a typical dad… jeans and t-shirts. My dad goes on annual mission trips to Guatemala every year, and my mom does community service every Saturday morning for five hours- not exactly what some people might expect from my parents when they read my first paragraph. I was raised with the values that you put others before yourself, and that it is always better to give than to receive. The values that my family has taught me haven’t really influenced the way I dress so much as the way I act and treat others.

            It is interesting to bring into play the thoughts of my peer community, because there are many different ways you can go with that. You can talk about the campus as a whole, because they are technically our peers, or you could talk about your friends specifically, because they are a community as well. The values of my specific friend group are pretty similar, especially in my sorority sisters because we were all chosen based on our beliefs. Our  values are one thing that we all have in common. I do not believe that my friends have influenced the way I dress in any way, because I am a very independent, blunt and outspoken person, and I don’t really let anyone change my mind once I have made it up. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is debatable, but none the less, it allows me to make decisions for myself about the way I chose to present myself. I chose to look cute and fashionable because I appreciate it, and it makes me feel good about myself. If I know that my outfit is cute, I feel more confident and put together for the day. The way you dress is a reflection of you and your personality, and that is exactly what my clothes are for me.

Food as Art

Article #1: Fast Food

Since the readings have been talking about the art of food, I decided to research the topic of fast food, since I think that most of us have agreed that fast food cannot be put into the category of art. The idea of fast food was first started in 1872, when a small kitchen was put into a horse drawn carriage to bring hot food to workers. It continued to develop and in 1940, the first McDonalds was founded. McDonalds is the chain that is most commonly associated with the term fast food. Back then a hamburger cost 15 cents! This walk up McDonalds stand kept quickly becoming more and more popular and finally in 1961 McDonalds was made into a national business. The concept became more and more popular and more and more fast food chains were created. The concept of “take-out” food was also introduced, which is food that takes a little bit longer to prepare than fast food (which isn’t saying much).

            Many people have begun to lobby against fast food because of recent health studies and the growing problem of obesity in our country. I believe that fast food isn’t good for you, but I know that it’s not food for me and therefore do not eat it. I believe that the whole “Fast Food Nation” controversy is unnecessary because there is not one person in this country that isn’t aware that fast food is bad for you.

            Now, onto the real issue here… the issue of food as art. Fast food does not fall into the category of art because there is no way that it takes any actual time, effort and energy to create. When food is to be looked at as art, you have to take into consideration the time and effort that went into making the food.. and of course the appearance which is less than satisfactory in fast food. 

Citation: Fast Food. (2007). In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food

Article #2: Iron Chef America

 One of my favorite things to do since 8^th grade has been to watch Food Network in my spare time, while I’m working on homework (it’s on right now!) and while I’m getting ready to go somewhere. I really, really enjoy watching food be created, despite my lack of cooking skills in the kitchen. It’s funny how much I have learned about cooking and little tips and things since I began watching this channel. I love all of the shows on Food Network, but one of my very favorites has always been Iron Chef. My favorite Iron Chef is Bobby Flay, because I think that he makes the most normal looking, best tasting food of anyone. (Plus he is cute!) Every Sunday night my family and I used to watch this show together.

            The idea of the Iron Chef first originated in Japan, and soon was brought to America by “the chairman”, who’s name is Mark Dacascos, who is the nephew of the original chairman of the Japanese version. There are also two floor reporters, Alton Brown and Kevin Brauch. There are five Iron Chefs: Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Cat Cora, Masaharu Morimoto, and Michael Symon. (Symon is a new chef on this past season, founded on the show “The Next Iron Chef”, which was a mini series that had competitors compete to win the title of an Iron Chef.) On the show, which takes place in “Kitchen Stadium”, the Iron Chef and their challenger have sixty minutes to prepare and plate a minimum of five dishes which all must revolve around a “secret ingredient”. There are always three judges, which are found in different places in the food world. Some are magazine editors or restaurant owners. The judges judge based taste, plating and originality.

            I absolutely love this show because it is different than any other show that is on the network, because it really gives the Food Network audience insight on the topic of fine cuisine. This show is the epitome of “food as art”. It makes you forget that what you’re watching is food, and instead convinces your mind that you are watching creative art in action right before your eyes…

Citation: Iron Chef America. (2007). In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Chef_America

Jay-Z and Beyonce's Wedding

I am writing a response for the blog found on Beyonce and Jay-Z's wedding. (Found at: bumpshack.com/2008/04/05/beyonce-and-jay-z-get-married-in-new-york)

When I was in high school, I was really into celebrity gossip. I checked people.com at least once a day to make sure I was up on everything that was going on, and had seen all of the latest pictures of everyone. When senior year came, I became too busy to keep myself updated everyday. Therefore, I kind of stopped keeping up on the celebrity gossip. One of my best friends from college checks perezhilton.com multiple times a day, so she has kind of gotten me back into it. When I was checking the site the other day, I came across the story of Jay-Z and Beyonce's wedding. 

I think it's so cute that they have finally gotten married! According to the blog site I read, they have been dating since 2001. In the celebrity world, that seems like a very long time! It also seems like a long time to wait for marriage, so maybe they have a chance of it lasting for a long time. I respect the fact that they have been so low-key and undercover about their relationship for seven years. They have done an excellent job of keeping their personal lives out of the spot light, which proves that there is a way it can be done! They have always been two of my favorite celebrities for the fact that they are always so low key and keep a low profile while still being extremely successful. Congratulations to them on their marriage!