Class this week has been a great improvement over last week. I loved listening to music and watching video clips as opposed to straight lecture.
The end of the semester is so close I can almost taste it... I'll have to work extra hard to maintain focus in class. You have no idea how hard I'm working right now to keep typing. It's depressing, what once would have excited me, a Dada rant, now serves only to bore me as I continue on.
Wow. I'm actually sad about it! Maybe I'll get to rant in my final paper...
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Reading for Week 6
We were asked this week to write a blog on some kind of theater. I chose Dada theater.
Pretty standard Dada... the whole point was to get a rise out of people. In the early nineteen hundreds they acutally succeeded in getting the audience to rise up out of their seats, storm the stage, and hunt down the actors. They were delighted at what they had done to the public.
In all truth, the reading was rather dull. Usually it would excite me, but I guess the end of the semester is just too close.
Pretty standard Dada... the whole point was to get a rise out of people. In the early nineteen hundreds they acutally succeeded in getting the audience to rise up out of their seats, storm the stage, and hunt down the actors. They were delighted at what they had done to the public.
In all truth, the reading was rather dull. Usually it would excite me, but I guess the end of the semester is just too close.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Cultural Event #5
This weekend, I find myself in scenic Idaho! My wife has been tormented by dental pain to the point of contemplating a life without teeth, so we came up here to visit our good dentist friend Dr. Bond- licenced to drill. We explained the we had to get back by Saturday morning so that we could attend the farmers market in Provo for this week's cultural event. "Nonsense!," said he, "Why, this very evening there is a Pioneer Day festival on yonder plain! 'Shall be music, dancing, and all varieties of merriment!" Upon further questioning I learned that there would be a specific concert of the western/country variety. Using the vast intellect God gave me, I determined that this was very much a cultural event of MUSIC! We determined to go with him and traveled with him many dreary miles across the Idahoian wilderness until...
KER-THUD! We were there. I looked around for the source of the odd sound-effect, but none was to be found. We walked from the parking lot across the grass field and into the square where many were to be found merriment-ing. I was eager to find this rumored Country Concert, and looked with much eagerness and angst until at last! I found it!
T'was a make-shift stage on the back of a diesel truck; Quite fitting of the caliber of the music which was soon to grace my ears. T'were two guitar player, two singers, and one with a strange bass instrument made from a washtub, broomhandle, and a very long rubber band. T'with great anticipation I awaited the start of what promised to be the closest thing to a heavenly choir I had heard in all my short life. I could feel the impatience eminating from the 1500 Idahans gathered around in a huge semi-circle eating thier ham and beans from the buffet tables behind them. Then, oh what rapture!, the five men clad in blue jeans and cowboy hats began to sing!
They sang first the sad ballad of John Denver, "Country Road." Tears has already begun their steady and salty work in my eyes by the time they had finished. I was simply overcome as they sang for the next hour all variety of country classics. Truly, this was I night that I shall never forget. I shall never forget the sight of those five mighty men, surrounded by the crowd of Idahan hicks, and the smell of beans and cornbread the filled the evening air. Yea, this shall be a night that I shall one day tell my children in an eventide tale. As they drift off to sleep, I shall spin the stories of the Cowboy Band of Idaho, and that evening I will never forget. As their eyes close, my children will drift into sleep with such thoughts as, "For a truth, none had it quite so good as our dad."
The atmosphere gets a 10. The music was great. You can never go wrong with a collection of classics. 10. The perfomance itself was wonderful. They sang and played great. I'll give them a 9 however because they all had dark blue jeans except for one of the singers who wore very pale blue. No mosquito bites. The bugs get a 10 as well. All in all, t'was a great night.
KER-THUD! We were there. I looked around for the source of the odd sound-effect, but none was to be found. We walked from the parking lot across the grass field and into the square where many were to be found merriment-ing. I was eager to find this rumored Country Concert, and looked with much eagerness and angst until at last! I found it!
T'was a make-shift stage on the back of a diesel truck; Quite fitting of the caliber of the music which was soon to grace my ears. T'were two guitar player, two singers, and one with a strange bass instrument made from a washtub, broomhandle, and a very long rubber band. T'with great anticipation I awaited the start of what promised to be the closest thing to a heavenly choir I had heard in all my short life. I could feel the impatience eminating from the 1500 Idahans gathered around in a huge semi-circle eating thier ham and beans from the buffet tables behind them. Then, oh what rapture!, the five men clad in blue jeans and cowboy hats began to sing!
They sang first the sad ballad of John Denver, "Country Road." Tears has already begun their steady and salty work in my eyes by the time they had finished. I was simply overcome as they sang for the next hour all variety of country classics. Truly, this was I night that I shall never forget. I shall never forget the sight of those five mighty men, surrounded by the crowd of Idahan hicks, and the smell of beans and cornbread the filled the evening air. Yea, this shall be a night that I shall one day tell my children in an eventide tale. As they drift off to sleep, I shall spin the stories of the Cowboy Band of Idaho, and that evening I will never forget. As their eyes close, my children will drift into sleep with such thoughts as, "For a truth, none had it quite so good as our dad."
The atmosphere gets a 10. The music was great. You can never go wrong with a collection of classics. 10. The perfomance itself was wonderful. They sang and played great. I'll give them a 9 however because they all had dark blue jeans except for one of the singers who wore very pale blue. No mosquito bites. The bugs get a 10 as well. All in all, t'was a great night.
Class for Week 5
Watching the videos in class has been a nice break from lecture. I understand that the lectures are unavoidable due to the utter lack of time that Summer Semester brings, but it's still nice to get away from it. I would like to take this opportunity to officially apologize to Sister Stokes for dozing off again on Wednesday. I have a very busy schedule and I don't get anywhere near the sleep I need to cope with it all due to homework, insomnia, etc. I bring energy shots, water, and food to keep me focused but sometimes I still slip. Sorry!
Oh, and I LOVED that we got a handout for the dance unit! THANK YOU! It was great to just hear the term, know that I needed to remember it, and put the definition on the paper! GENIUS! Please do this from now 0n!
Oh, and I LOVED that we got a handout for the dance unit! THANK YOU! It was great to just hear the term, know that I needed to remember it, and put the definition on the paper! GENIUS! Please do this from now 0n!
Readings for Week 5
The chapters we read this week were ok... I'm actually starting to find reading from the text very boring. I'd much rather have the discussion on the topic in class and then go out and look at the thing again with new eyes.
That has been the really interesting thing for me in class so far. I mean, I love reading and I love the classics- but I hated 90% of what I read in High School English. I felt like I was forced to read and forced to understand the way the teachers wanted me to. Then came The Old Man and the Sea. What an absolute treasure! It was so short that the teacher hardly had us do anything with it at all- and I loved it! I must have read it 3 times in that week! I found all sorts of insights and personal application because no one was forcing me to see it a certain way.
This is how I tie my personal expiriences into my rant on art elitism last week... I need "professionals" to stop telling me what art is and how to look at it! Let me grow! Let me find my own meaning in life! Thank you.
That has been the really interesting thing for me in class so far. I mean, I love reading and I love the classics- but I hated 90% of what I read in High School English. I felt like I was forced to read and forced to understand the way the teachers wanted me to. Then came The Old Man and the Sea. What an absolute treasure! It was so short that the teacher hardly had us do anything with it at all- and I loved it! I must have read it 3 times in that week! I found all sorts of insights and personal application because no one was forcing me to see it a certain way.
This is how I tie my personal expiriences into my rant on art elitism last week... I need "professionals" to stop telling me what art is and how to look at it! Let me grow! Let me find my own meaning in life! Thank you.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Cultural Event #4
I was a little short on time this week, so I opted for one of my "optional" options for a cultural event.
While in Salt Lake running certain errands, I found myself with some extra time on Temple Square. Deciding to visit the conference center, I discovered that they had a huge gallery of religious art displayed in the West wing! Above are some of my favorite pieces. I tried to think about everything that we're learning in class about how to read art. So with these pieces, the ones I really liked, and tried to think about their context, intended audience, and the author's thoughts.
The first painting was titled "Solitude" and shows a woman outside of a castle in nature praying. Immediately the topic of secret prayer came to mind. That in and of itself gives the painting important meaning- especially to its intended audience of LDS folk. But then I wondered, why would the artist choose a castle in the background? The girl is wearing a dress which can be considered modern or archaic, so it's difficult to tell the time period. What I ended up deciding is that it can be both. In times present and ancient we build walls around our lives that are so thick and high to protect ourselves, that sometimes the only way to get to God is to stray outside of them.
I forgot the title to the next painting.... But it portrays Christ appearing before Pilate beaten and bloody. The painting itself is very symmetrical; and yet very weighted. While the eye tends to give equal weight to each side of the painting, the reality is that the King on the left is of far more importance than the king on the right. Although despised and tortured, He stands in majesty while Pilate seems to cower. Even though the artist is portraying blood, which is usually shied away from in LDS culture, I feel that his work will become a classic among those who actually strive to understand the price Christ actually payed.
The final painting was entitled "Agape" which is Greek for "God's Love." It is rich with symbolism. Bordered in red with three corners, 10 stones above three trees centered above a mountain. These references to holy numbers, the atonement, and the temple are rich. One can't help thinking that the city on the right is paved with streets of gold, the only substance rich enough for God's faithful to walk upon in Zion. This was by far the one I spent the most time looking at, it really got me thinking.
I really loved this exhibit and would urge you all to go. I loved it, and there's a whole bunch of new classics there.
Class for Week 4
Class this week was ok. It seemed a little rushed because we're preparing for a test, but by the same token it's understandable. I'm still waiting to get the study guide because I have no idea what I need to know for the test. It seems like the past 4 weeks have flown by and I'm realizing that much of what I thought was only presented in passing will actually be important for me to retain. This is the source of my confusion and upset stomach.
It seems like what I still enjoy most about the class is learning about the symbolism in art. I love learning about the mythology and its tokens in art, and of the early Christian works even more. I love learning about anchors as early crosses and laurel trees pertaining to Apollo. Discussing them in class and being trained in skill more than content is what I am truly liking about this class.
It seems like what I still enjoy most about the class is learning about the symbolism in art. I love learning about the mythology and its tokens in art, and of the early Christian works even more. I love learning about anchors as early crosses and laurel trees pertaining to Apollo. Discussing them in class and being trained in skill more than content is what I am truly liking about this class.
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