Surrealism is a movement that developed out of the dada movement. So you can only imagine what it is about. They played off an element of surprise and that is what made their art work so different. In a lot of the reading I did I found that they actually practiced writing whatever came to their minds and didn’t sensor it at all. So you could imagine every thought going onto a sheet of paper or into the public. That is kind of surprising and shocking. The group aimed to revolutionize the human experience by freeing people from what they saw as false rationality. They were all for socialism and supported communism and anarchism. Sounds like a great bunch to hang out with doesn’t it? I can’t imagine some of the things that have been said in behalf of this movement. I guess we still have supporters today. They practice a different form and are a little less dramatic but there are still some activist today I am sure. i couldn't get a link to work but go to youtube and look up Ben Goossens, Surrealistic Photography.

Today I went to the MOA to check out the art exhibit about America. I went to the Walter Wick one before but that was before we had are talk on art and how to evaluate it. So there was so much that I absolutely loved. There was a lot of realism. Artist trying to depict Americans in their normal setting. The one that kind of through me off guard was the one with the man sitting on the sidewalk by himself. I saw it and had a completely different experience with it since we had talked about it. I felt sad for the man sitting there and wanted to sit in that empty space next to him even though it was just a painting. I understand now why Sister Stokes has been telling us to go see all these paintings in person. They are so much cooler that way! The detail and actual size totally changes the experience. So my favorite piece today involved my favorite animal actually. The painting was of an eagle. The painting was done by N.C. Wyeth. I saw it and loved from the second I saw it just for that fact then I started looking at it more. My favorite part is actually the sky in the background. The red is so deep and rich and then it goes to white and then to blue with stars in it. It represents the flag and those colors that we know and love but I thought it was very appropriate as the sky too. It reminds me of a setting sun with the night coming on. I just loved it and I spent a while just standing there in awe. I can’t really put it into words but it is a great feeling that just made me happy and proud to be in this country.

Class on Music

Class today was amazing! I really enjoyed all the different music we got to listen too. I learned many different things about music history too. I like how she Chopin the first rock star. It is so different today though. I can’t imagine girls going crazy of some romantic style music but I guess it would be the same then as it is today. I can’t understand why some girls do that today either. Well I thought that was pretty funny though. Music is so great! I love music and I love learning about it. The different styles and genres just add so much variety that there is some sort of music for everyone. Like we talked about today we all have some beat or rhythm that’s gets us going inside. I personally love most music, sorry professor Stokes I just can’t say I like opera. It was good to learn about it and I do enjoy some songs within the opera but overall I can’t sit there and listen to a whole opera. I think Greek theater was much more entertaining than we think. I don’t think that the opera does it justice at all. Ok so back to music. I really liked the technical music we listened to today. I think that technical music is easy for everyone to listen to because we can tell there is some sort of order to it. When it is more mantic and emotional it is harder to understand and therefore turns us off. I hope next Monday we have a great talk about music too and I think film will be fun as well.

Singin' in the Rain

Last night I went to the Hail Center Theater in Orem and I can honestly say that was the sweetest play I have been to. It had everything from romance to comedy. The setup at this theater was great. I sat two rows back on the east side of the stage. The stage was surrounded by the audience on three sides and the audience was a part of the play. There was lots of tap dancing and some other styles as well. My favorite seen was called the Voice Coach Office. This is a scene was great because it started with the lead female role taking voice lessons because sound in a movie was just invented. That was great because this character can’t talk very well so she was having a hard time. Then the scene turns over to the male side. He is doing wonderfully and is kind of bored when his best friend walks in. they start making fun of the vocal coach and start to dance with him. By the end of the scene the voice coach has no idea what is going on and the two male leading roles, Don and Cosmos, are laughing their way off stage. Cosmos was by far my favorite actor of the night. He was the funny guy of the show. He knew it too but did a great job. I did get a little wet too being only two rows back from the stage. I give this play a ten. It made you laugh and was just flat out entertaining. There was a great climax but I won’t mess it up for those who are going to see it. I would definitely recommend going and seeing Singing in the Rain. I am not sure how much it cost because a friend took me. Maybe that’s why I gave it a ten but I am sure it is a reasonable price and worth every penny.

The classes this week have been great! I have really enjoyed learning about dance and part of theater. Well for Monday my favorite part was watching Thriller obviously. I really enjoyed learning about all the different aspects of dance and then we got to apply them right then. No wonder people like modern dance better then ballet. No offense to anyone who does love ballet but you can’t beat Michael Jackson. He did such a great job in that music video and caught the eye of the whole nation. I do think ballet will be a little bit more enjoyable now that I have learned about the different moves and how difficult it is to stay that focused and controlled. I was astonished to find out that physically it was harder than hockey but after talking to some dancers they said while they were dancing that was the best physical shape they have been in. I also enjoyed the dances that we saw today. The dance with the balloons was great and I think we gave a lot of really valid descriptions of what the dancers were trying to say to us. Dance has been my favorite topic so far and I am sad that we are already past it and moving to theater. The introduction to theater was great today too. I never really thought about the stage and how it can affect the play and the audience. Some of the ancient theaters completely amazed me as well. Since entertainment was so limited, theater was probably one type that people loved and that’s why the amphitheaters were so huge. I look forward to continuing this conversation Monday and moving into music.

Reading on Dance

The reading for this Monday was long but I really enjoyed it. I remembered some of the names and terms such as Martha Graham’s name and some of the ballet terms. I found it interesting that dance went through little reformations just like the fine arts did. I guess everything if life goes through a change at some point though. It is in are nature to want something better or just to rebel and create something new. Ballet is still a hard dance style for me to watch but this chapter helped me a lot with naming the simple dance moves that are involved in ballet. I do find it interesting because it is so orderly and such a disciplined dance style. I am still amazed when the dancer gets up on their toes for a good five seconds. You can just see all the little muscles in their leg flexing to stay perfectly still to create the long beautiful lines that are represented so well in ballet. I also enjoyed reading about the other styles that soon followed. The way I look at these other styles are that they are just another way to express yourself. Some people may be able to do that with ballet but others can’t and so they decided to create their own style and way of expression. I love the part when Isadora Duncan is with her teacher and he asks her to stand on her toes she asks why and he says, “Because it is beautiful.” Isadora said it was ugly and against nature and decided to leave the class. This is a great example of how someone just disagrees with one form of expression and creates their own. There is so much more in this chapter but these are a few of my favorite parts.

Reading - Dadaism

ok so i picked this topic just based on the fact that it sounds different and would be an interesting read. Dadaism is a post world war one movement. Dadaism began in Zurich and moved west. It was a movement against barbaric warfare and the artist were completely irrational and madde you think with their art. In a way it represented the negative side of war. All the veterans that came home disfigured and crippled were represented in some of their art. To me this kind of art or the movement was a slap in the face to any country and its soldiers. How unpatriotic can you get? To be ungrateful for those men and women who risked their lives for your freedom so you could have your little movement makes me a little mad. i know that everyone has the right to feel the way they feel and I am not saying war is a good thing but it is necessary at times. i also know that there is a downside to war with the bloodshed and horrible things that happen to the soldiers but why not support the heros. maybe dadaism is supposed to make you think about these kinds of things and therfore it is doing a great job making me think right now. i know i have a limited knowledge of the subject but from what i can tell i dont think it was the best movement myself. i can see how it made a lot of people mad. There only rule was dont follow the rules. they were anti art themselves and only when dadism was becoming more "accepted" did it die off. i would like to read more about dadaism and see how it influenced other movements as well.

class

This week we covered so much in class that I can’t remember everything! I actually left both days with head hurting and wondering how I was going to get through this midterm alive. It was very interesting as we talked about art and how it has evolved over time. I cannot believe how well the colors are preserved in frescos and some of the other paintings that have been done. I have decided that I really like Picasso. I like the idea of painting a three dimensional object with a two dimensional view. His art makes a lot more sense when you know that fact. Most people think he was just some crazy guy who painted very weird things but this is an instance when knowing the background information on what he was painting and trying to portray helps a lot with your review of his art. I also liked going through sculpture this week too. That is something that I have always been interested in because my sister is really good at it and I suck at it. A lot of these artists were excellent with more than one medium as well. They could sculpt or paint and it was amazing either way. Even though these classes are completely full of information I still manage to learn something each time. I can’t wait till we get to music.

JAZZ NIGHT!!!

On Tuesday night I decided I would go and give the Muse a second chance. My first experience wasn’t very good but I like jazz and thought I would see what they got. I loved every second of it! They had a four man band there and they were great. They had a bass player, a guitarist, a drummer and a guy who could play the alto and tenor saxophones and the flute. I played the saxophone for eight years and I was very impressed with this guy. I was very impressed with the whole band actually. I will start with the band as a whole. Everything they played was sight read. This means that they just read the music for the first time and just went with the flow. It worked well though. They worked well together and everyone got their fair share of time to jam and play a solo or two. I asked the band how long they have been together and they said six months or so. We should really get a big group to go and support these guys. There was only about four of us in the audience. In between songs they would talk a bit and share some jokes. The atmosphere was fun and upbeat. We were encouraged to dance a bit too but I couldn’t bring myself to ask anyone so I just enjoyed the show. Ok, so the guy who played the saxophone was amazing! He had great tone and a great pair of lungs too. He was hitting the falsetto notes like they were any other note. He even sang to one of the songs. It was more of a joke but it was pretty good too. I give the Muse an eight on this one. The atmosphere was great and the music even better. For three bucks you definitely got your money’s worth and I will be going back soon.

The discussions in class have been great! I was a little surprised at the quiz on Wednesday but maybe we should expect that from now on. So after the stress of the quiz I was excited to continue our discussion on architecture. It all tied together nicely with the individual groups reviewing the book. That helped me so much and I think it helped everyone put the book in perspective and get a grasp on it concept. I really enjoyed watching all the buildings get blown up too. What other class gets to do that? I guess one that is studying how to blow up buildings but the point is not many. I was sad when we transitioned into art but I actually liked it. When we saw the paintings with the solid blocks of color I really felt different with everyone. I didn’t realize that colors could bring out such emotion in us. Artist must be really smart people if they are to know how their audience will react to a certain color or shape. I learned a lot today and a lot of information was thrown at us like always but it’s all valuable and I hope I can remember it all if there is a quiz Monday!

reading #2

The reading assignment for this week was a good one but I was confused through most of From Bauhaus to our House. I kept trying to put it down for a while then pick it back up and start again but it didn’t really help. What gave it some clarification was class on Wednesday. I really liked how we went through the whole book in groups and hit the main highlights. I did find it interesting though. I never thought that architecture was that big of a deal in the United States. I know that people build these huge, magnificent buildings but I think they go under appreciated most of the time. My favorite chapter was chapter five. I really liked how it started with the story of Edward Stone and how he changed his whole style because the woman he married didn’t like what he created now. Unfortunately it wasn’t received very well and his reputation diminished. I think that Ms. Stokes is right too that a better understanding of architecture and it history would help with understanding. I also enjoyed the chapter in our text book. It gave me a lot of new angles that I could use while evaluating art. Learning about the different colors and what they mean and stand for. The different Gods and Goddesses that are in them. All these things help us understand the painting better. So instead of looking at a painting or anything for that matter and saying that’s nice you can say that is so and so and this means that and the painting becomes real and you can relate to it better. The part that stood out the most to me was the part about mythical truth. I love how it talks about how the mythical is what keeps us creative and sane. It reminded me that too much of one thing can be bad even if it is good. While science and logic are good things too much is boring and will drive you crazy one day. Art is what keeps us sane and the use of fantasy and the unknown help that. I really loved the reading yet again and learned much from it.

On Monday night I went to The Muse for the film screening they hold there. When I first walked in I was a little nervous based on Ryan’s explanation of things. It turned out pretty good though with a very warm welcome. I thought the movie would start at ten so I got there about 9:50 but it was still open mic night. I like music and thought I might hear something good so I sat in on the last couple performances. I was very impressed with the last two performers. They both played the guitar and sang as well. I really liked the last guy though. He wrote his own music but used Shakespeare plays for lyrics. It was really good. Then I had to sit around for about thirty minutes. They took their time starting the movie which kind of frustrated me but I was just curious to see what movie they chose. The movie they played was called Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. The star of the move is Forest Whitaker. When I first heard the title I was curious and I had thoughts of The Last Samurai go through my head and got kind of excited. The movie starts with Ghost Dog (Whitaker) reading books about being a samurai. It was very interesting though because he was in the middle of a city and lived on top of a house where he enjoyed spending time with his pigeons. As the movie progressed I became more interested because Ghost Dog actually worked for the mob as one of their top hit men. When the job he is asked to do goes wrong the mob then targets Ghost Dog. To make a long story short, Ghost Dog eventually attacks the mob’s mansion and kills most of the people there. He spares the man who hires him and the daughter of the mob boss. Eventually the daughter ask Louie (the man who hires Ghost Dog) to confront Ghost Dog. This happens at Ghost Dog’s favorite ice cream stand where he allows Louie to kill him in front of his friends. As far as the movie goes I was really disappointed. You quickly realize it is rated R because they use the F word every two seconds in the movie and the violence is pretty graphic. The violence didn’t bother me as much as the foul language did. It was a very unnecessary addition that turned me off. I thought the acting was pretty good but really couldn’t get into it. I would rate this movie a four. It did have a decent story line and a good message but there were just too many unnecessary parts for me to really enjoy myself.

Don't Rain on My Parade!!!

This morning, I celebrated the Fourth of July by attending the Provo City Parade. Although the wait was pretty long, and we did get rained on a little bit – it was worth it. I had heard a lot about how the Provo Parade was pretty good compared to other parades in the state and it didn’t let me down. One of my favorite floats was the American flag float. The float sparkled in the gleaming sunshine, giving the effect that it was gently waving in the breeze. On the float, rode the current Miss Provo and her attendants – like six delicious cherries on top of a luscious strawberry sundae. Following the very attractive ladies, came two equally attractive old sport cars – one a gorgeous gold and the other succulent silver. I also enjoyed seeing several marching bands, the Provo missionaries, and different branches of the military. After the parade, I visited several of the booths and displays along University Avenue. I enjoyed seeing some Riverdancers and the works of various artists. My favorite display contained the work of a talented painter who specialized in portraits of the Salt Lake Temple and other temples as well. One painting in particular that caught my eye was that of the Salt Lake Temple in autumn, with the surrounding trees fully exhibiting the spectacular reds, oranges, and yellows of the season. There was also a community carnival which attracted many people. My favorite part was a six – year – old girl who was jumping from the stunt tower. Many people stopped to watch her jump. Overall, I would rate my experience at the Provo City Parade with 8 out of 10. Despite the nagging interruptions from the Jehovah's Witnesses, the brief rain showers and the contrasting heat of the morning, I enjoyed the community’s display of talent, art, and pride for our country. Not to mention – I was able to spend the holiday appropriately with excellent friends.

Chapters 14 and 17

I really enjoyed the reading of chapter fourteen in our book. I learned a lot of useful information that will help me as I go look at the different art. I really liked the story about the blind men attaching themselves to a different part of an elephant. They each described the part so differently but were all right. I notice this in class when we comment on certain paintings. Everyone tends to see something different but we are all right in the end. The other part of chapter fourteen that I liked was the section on the different lines. I never knew that the lines are there to make you feel or think a certain way. It makes sense though with all the symbolism that comes with a painting. My Favorite chapter for this reading was chapter seventeen though. I think I have found a subject I really like. The chapter is on architecture and I loved it. I liked how the book explained that a people’s class can be seen in the buildings they have made. The wealthier a civilization was the bigger and better their buildings. I also liked how they said that architecture is the art that we all have something to do with because we are always in a building. I never go into a building a look at how it was built though. I would assume most people don’t. The next time I go into a new building I will take a second to look around and appreciate what has been done. It also makes me wonder what new things a wait us in the future.