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.