Art Experience Review

I went to an art gallery while at home and viewed a variety of paintings until one caught my eye. The one that stood out to me was Portrait of my Father by Stephen Kaltenbach because it draws all your attention to it right when you enter the room. It hangs on a wall all to itself because the artwork is so big. The painting is of an older gentleman with a face that is struggling to find life. He looks sad and weak. The painting is in black and white when you first look at it; however, as you stand very close to the panting, you don’t see the image of a face, you see various patterns in light colors and white stripes that look like strings. I thought that the white stripes were actual pieces of string that come out of the painting, but it was just white paint used to bring out the face to show the aging. When you first look at this enormous painting, you just see black and white and an old man that looks like he is barely staying alive. As you look away from the painting, then look back you begin to see a little color come out. The more you look away and then look back at this painting, you begin to see more and more color where you didn’t see it before. The color was in places where you would expect to see it on any other person, in the cheeks, the eyes and around their forehead.
When learning about information about the artist of this painting, I began to understand more about the painting and what it represents and why the artist painted it. This painting shows the struggle with life that his father had to face with trying to stay alive. I can relate to this painting because I had to go through seeing my grandfather fight cancer to stay alive. The emotion in the artwork reminded me of my emotions that I had seeing my grandfather slowly lose life. “Through light, color and pattern, the gestural energy of the Abstract Expressionists is combined with the minute detail and hyper-realism of the Photo Realists. Overlaying the entire composition is a radiant psychedelic tracery that acts as metaphor for God’s presence at death.” This quote from the Museum’s information, located next to the painting. It really describes the image and I feel that it helped me look more in dept at the image. I think that the color, light and pattern that is shown gives the image energy when you think it can’t have any. It gives viewers hope that though the father of Kaltenbach is dying, his spirit and everything he had is still with us.
When I first saw this painting, I was intrigued by the artwork and color behind it. After learning more about the artist and why he felt he painted it, I could relate to it and feel the same feelings that the artist was feeling. I felt a connection with the painting and it made me appreciate the piece that much more.

My ten words that I used to describe what I see as myself being an artist are:
1. Color
2. Lines
3. Emotions
4. Lifestyle
5. Creative
6. Free
7. Encouraged
8. Open
9. Heart
10. Passion

Spirituality

How do you define “spirituality”?
I define spirituality by believing in the spirits. I think that those who are spiritual are the ones that turn to God for answers and look to him for help when they need it. I think spirituality can be something shared and cherished by everyone and anyone. You can be spiritual or you cannot be spiritual. I think that I am a spiritual person because I think sometimes that people who have passed away are always present with you in some way and help you make decisions even when you don’t think they are helping. I think that they are looking out for you and want what’s best.

Does spirituality differ from religion?
I think that they do differ but they relate to each other too. Religion is the set of beliefs relating to the cause, nature and purpose of the universe. Regarding that term, I think that spirituality can be a set of beliefs relating to the purpose of nature. There are so many different religions but they all adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices. I think that religion can bring out the spirituality in a person by helping them with turning to the spirits and believing in things. People can be spiritual without having a religion. It depends how the person is raised and their personal beliefs. For example, witchcraft is not a religion but pertains to spirituality.

How do you define “creativity”?
I define creativity when someone comes up with something original. I think that there are so many different ways to be creative in this world that it amazes me to see what people can make up. Creativity can also come from combining idea’s to simplify a variety of them into one. For example, the new iPhone combines Internet, media and everything else a regular cell phone does into 1 piece of device with a touch screen. I would have never thought of doing making something like that. You can be creative through art by including objects or colors that are normally not used. Musicians are all creative because they write and create songs with different ballads.

What is the source of creativity?
The source of creativity can come from anything. You can get ideas from: art, movies, music, fashion, books, classes, people, colors, pictures, anything. By being surrounded with the world and what it offers can allow you to be creative in a different way. If you use one idea and combine it with another idea you might come up with a brand new product. I am not as creative as others, but I still feel that I can be creative when I need to, whether its by doing a project differently or designing a different outfit.

Horror Article Part 2

This article talks about how many people enjoy being scared. The author states how there are 3 types of names that relate to fear of something related to horror: Necrophobia, the fear of the dead, Autophobia, the fear of being along, and Xenophobia, and the fear of strangers, aliens and foreigners. Each relate to the future and not knowing what is going to happen, which related to horror movies. You never know what is going to happen. It is sudden, which makes viewers jump and keep engaged. L. Vincent Poupard states in the article, “horror writing is based on the exploitation of fear. No matter what type of horror genre that someone writes in, exploitation of fear has to be present to be considered as horror.” I associate horror movies with having two qualities that make it a horror movie, blood and fear. When I was watching the Buff video, they mentioned that they try to create characters that provide fear that people sense when they see them, associating them with someone who is evil. You get a sense of an evil character based on how they act and the actions they take. In the PowerPoint about what qualities are related to horror films, one is that the plot contains frightening and unexpected incidents, which causes the audience to be surprised by what suddenly happened. It also states that a horror film includes violence, sometime graphic violence.
Between reading all the articles online and blackboard, it seems the authors all had the same understanding of what horror films featured. They all mention that those types of movies are for fun and create a different feeling and emotions for viewers who chose to watch them.

Poupard V., ‘What is the Essence of Horror?’ The People’s Media Company. Retrieved November 4, 2007, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/244671/what_is_the_essence_of_horror_an_analysis.html

Horror Article Part 1

This article discusses why people, specifically teenagers, like horror films. It says that younger people are more likely to play the video games that express violence because the age between becoming an adult and being a child is when most teenagers explore horror and what it feels like to be scared. The author, Leon Rappopor, states that the human characteristic is to explore the boundaries where they can tolerate fear and anxiety and then master those by working them out. Watching scary movies is an easy and safe way to learn how to tolerate fear because you will either be at a movie theater or in your living room with friends or family. He also states that as people grow up, they need to test their limits to discover what they like and can tolerate. If you never experience sitting through a scary movie, you will never know your limits or how much you can tolerate, because it varies from person to person.
In the reading Paradox of Horror, it states, “the majority of horror works are pure entertainment they aim simply at providing their audience with enjoyable experiences. Take these points together, the simplest, most straightforward explanations of the phenomenon of horror is that sometimes people enjoy being scared.” (Pg. 298) Just as Rappopor states in his article, both authors conclude that horror is a source of entertainment for people and are considered a fun activity for people to gather and take part of.

Rappopor, J., (1997). ‘WHY WE LIKE TO WATCH SCARY MOVIES’, K-State Media Relations and Marketing. Retrieved November 4, 2007, from
http://www.k-state.edu/media/WEB/News/NewsReleases/listscarymovies.html

Personal Beliefs and Values

Every day, I dress the same. I usually wear workout shorts or sweats, a t-shirt and a comfy sweatshirt. I always put my hair up into a messy bun because I don’t like to straighten it since it takes a long time. I do dress up for work and for special occasions, but it rarely happens, to people always tease me. I love to dress up and do may make-up and hair. When I do dress up, it shows that I care more about what I’m going to, it has that much more of an affect. Since being in college, my style has become more “in” with the latest style. I began buying designer clothes, and noticing fashion a lot more than I used to. I think being surround by so many individuals helped me see so many different styles people have. I think I enjoy wearing athletic clothing because I love sports. I am constantly playing tennis and working out, plus I am a huge sports fan so I’m sporting clothing gear for my teams. I grew up in an athletic family so wearing sporty clothes is what I am used to. My grandma has always expressed how she didn’t want any of her grandchildren to get tattoos. Since I was younger, I have always had that in the back of my mind. Even though I can hide it from her if I did get one, I just don’t like lying to her. Recently though, my cousin did get one and she talked to him about it, but she knows that he is the rebel out of her 11 grandkids. Regardless of her rule, she still loves him and I think that is the most important part. She still supports him unconditionally, which shows our family that we can still break a few rules and still have as much support as we did before.
The choices I make reflect my life in every which way. I make educated decisions based on what is right and what is wrong. I have learned to be smart and make the right choices because I have seen what happens when I don’t. I am a person who learns from her mistakes. Sometimes I have to make the mistake more than once, but I eventually learn. I work hard at everything I do, putting in all the effort I have. Sometimes it doesn’t show through, such as in grades, but if I know that I worked hard and did everything I could, then I am happy. I also make choices in what I want I think best benefits me. If I am educated enough on the topic, then I will choose the choice that affects me most.
My family has many different values and beliefs that I have grown up following. My family has always supported me in life, from sports to school to all my other activities. They help me solve problems when I was struggling to find answers, but not giving too much inform which made me still try to solve it. To this day, my parents and the rest of my family help me with my life problems. I think having them to guide me also makes me learn and know that if something fails, I have my parents to go to for more support.
Based on my beliefs and values and my style, I have not let that stop me from being friends with people that I have a connection with. I also have friends who aren’t that into sports, but we find a connection through something else. I love meeting new people with different fashion tastes, because then I learn a new style and it gives me something to experience with for myself. My friends vary from how they express themselves. Some of them dress that same way I do, while others are more trendy. I like being surround by different various because then I see so much more.

Food and Art Together

Silberman, V. (2002, May). Art Business News. [On-line Article]
Retrieved October 19, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HMU/is_5_29/ai_85916888/pg_1


I enjoyed reading this article because it described many different artists who use food, such as chocolate syrup, honey, jams, beans and tomato sauce in their art pieces. This article opened with a story about how Alisoun Meehan held a truck show event called Dining Haul: Sweets, with the theme of pastries, sugar and chocolate. She paired five award winning New York pastry chefs with five emerging New York artists to create projects, which were then featured in trucks. Artists are beginning to get more creative by using different types of food in their projects. Many galleries are beginning to feature food art and making it the main focus of some exhibits they put on.
Tanja Maka explains that “food is a major part of our everyday lives, and when it is used by an artist to communicate a message, it is transformed into a new medium that departs from its everyday associations." I thought this quote explains how people are beginning to step out of their shell and take chances by using food in their pieces, which is something that not many artists are experiencing. People are becoming more creative with how they express themselves. Maka also states that food art attracts her attention by how artists “use food to communicate very different issues. It can be about waste, abundance, consumption, eating disorders, gender roles and the aging process and sensuality.” (Pg. 1) This quote made me realize that you can use food in artwork to express all these emotions and problems. You can use food in artwork to help get your point across, and it might have a bigger effect on the viewer as well.
This article was more focused on they way artists could incorporate food into their art pieces. Compared to the other readings, movies and radio segment that we had this week, I couldn’t think that this article relates to fast food or slow food, since when artists are creating this art food pieces, they are taking their time to make it perfect, since it is not being served to anyone, only being displayed to viewers.

Article 1

Food As Art
Smillie, S. (2007, May). The Observer Food Monthly. [On-line Blog]
Retrieved October 19, 2007 at http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/food/2007/05/theatre_of_food.html

In this article, it describes a situation where some people do not consider food as art, while others do consider it as food. At a yearly art show held in Germany, Ferran Adria went and expressed her art through food. She is considered a culinary genius throughout the world. The viewers at this art show were upset that Adria was asked to participate in the show and arouse the popular question, what is art?
Jonathon Jones states “food can never be art, because chefs are cooking to please the customer and until people go to a restaurant to think about death, cooking won’t be art.” I do not agree with this saying, because chefs can create the food that they are serving as art. They can decorate it to make it look more appealing to the eye, which could encourage more people to want to eat it. If something were sloppily made, then I would refuse to eat it, regardless of what it actually is.
The article relates to the video on slow food making. In that video, the narrator talks about how people take their time in making home cooked meals, and using more erotic ingredients to add spice and flavor to the food creation. Home cooked meals can be art because you are making it appealing to your guests for whom you are cooking. When food is being featured in an art show, the chef is going to make it look appetizing, as well as chefs in restaurants also make their food look appetizing so the customers will come back for me.

my personal values

1. Family
2. Health
3. Friendship
4. Loyalty
5. Wisdom
6. Integrity
7. Independence
8. Wealth
9. Power
10. Leadership
11. Creativity
12. Personal Accomplishment
13. Enjoyment
14. Prestige
15. Service
16. Personal Development
17. Community
18. Expertness
19. Security
20. Location

My top 5 are very important to me because I think they reflect my life. I put family as my #1 because they mean the world to me. Without them, I wouldn't be were I am today. They push me to work harder, support me in everything and are always there is I need them. The respect me and love me for me. Health is important to me because if you are not healthy, you will not live long. I want to have a long life and enjoy every minute. Friendships are almost just as important. They support me and have been with my through the worst of times as well as the best. Being at college, my friends are my family and I turn to them for help when I need it. Loyalty is personal to me because I think that having loyal people are good to have around. Wisdom is important to me because everyone should be informed on everything that is gonig on. Everyday I try to learn something new because knowledge is good to have, especially whrn you are making very important descisions in life.

Gossip

http://popsugar.com/594851

I choose to view blogs about celebrity gossip because I love reading about what celebrities are doing in their everyday lives. I read two different blogs, one being about Marcia Cross and her babies and the other about NYC Fashion week and which celebrities showed up. I am amazed at how good they always look, especially on the red carpet. Famous celebrities never have a bad moment. They dress great and get to attend anything they choose to. The fashion week is filled with different fashion shows where celebrities go to check out what is in according to the top designers. I am not into fashion as much as some people, however, I do like knowing what is considered in and what is not and if I could, I would wear some of the top outfits that the big designers make, such as Chanel or Dolce and Gabana.
I picked to read the blog about Marica Cross because it had desperate housewife in the title and I am a big fan of that show. The season premiere is on tonight and I thought it would have had something about the show and what to expect, but it had information about her babies and nanny. I still enjoyed reading the blog though.

Art &Gender

When I first began this class, I wasn't sure how art and gender could be related. I didn't think that gender played any part in art because I only though about their being 2 kinds of gender in the world. I thought of art being something that anyone created that was produced from a feeling or inspirired by something. From the first day when I took the Gender Apititude test, that test alone changed my thought to gender. It opened my eyes to see that their are many types of gender. After learning that, I was more curious at how men and women interacted in artwork. I enjoyed reading the artciles to help further my learning on the subject. I remember reading about the "Dinner Table" by Chicago. I thought that was very interesting and really disgusting. It definately stnads clear in my mind. I saw many pictures of art from the articles as well, and seeing how men and women relate to eachother is very interesting. The week 4 articles about the 3 different couples that met through art and ended up beeing married. However, the men took advantage of the women's art because in that time period, women were not noticed as much for their pieces. Now, when I see art pieces, I think more about the smaller details and how each person who is pictured in the artwork is related to other and how they are interacting. My definition of art and gender has changed because when I see art, I don't walk away and ignore it. I enjoy sitting there and trying to figure out what is gonig on and what the artist is trying to say. That alone, is a huge change for me. I think that art and gender are related because your gender is the way you express yourself. you can be whatever you want, and chose to be what you feel you should be. Art is same way, you chose what you want to paint and what you want to express. They both are about being yourself and expressing to everyone who you are. Plus, gender is used in artwork when artists chose to draw men, women and all the other kinds of gender.
This class was very interesting and I know that I learned a lot. I am more open to art and more interested in it than I was 4 weeks ago.

Art Editor

I read the artcile about Bruce Wolmer passing away at 59. He was a big editor among the art magazines. He was a longtime editor and publisher of the Art&Auction magazine and an expert on dealing with the international art world. He passed aaway in New York City, and lived in Manhattan. He was born in Manahattan and attended the Wesleyan Univeristy, were he graduated and then continued on to do his graduate work at Johns Hopkins University. He was very popular in the art world and this loos is very painful to those who knew him. He seemed like a very accomplished man in the art world.

Little Miss San Fran

Gonig to the Crocker Art Museum was the coolest thing that I had done in a long time. I loved seeing all the various types of artwork and seeing so many different paintings. It's amazing how artists can creat anything from using any type of color and design. I walked around the various sections of the museum and my favorite out of all of them was the California Gallery, which was filled with artwork from artists that created paintings that were named or had a relation to California. My favorite piece out of the all of them was one called, Little Miss San Fran, by Charles Christian Nahl. It was a painting of a little girl that was sitting on a chair in a beautiful white dress. She was holding some grapes and wearing bracelets on each wrist and a necklace. The carpet that was below her was floral and she had the cutest rosiet cheecks. I tried to figure out what made the artists draw the little girl and why he named it little miss san fran. I understood the little miss part of the title, but nothing in the painting related to san francisco. The dress that she was wearing could signify that she was gonig to one day be a bride or that she was gonig to a christianing. Her facial expression was very determined and looked as if she could conquer anything though she was only about 2-3 years old. The colors that Nalh used to paint the piece were very vibrant and caught my eye right away. A lot of his pieces surround the room and were all noticeable. It was so much fun to return to this museum and I was suprised at how much I enjoyed being there. The time that I spent there was rather short, but it went by really fast and discussing art with my mom was something that I had never done before. I enjoyed talking about what I saw at pieces and to hear what she saw too, because she sometimes noticed something that I had missed. When I return back to U of O, I plan on gonig to the museum that is on campus to look at the art that is featured there and see how it compares to the museum here.

Disney

After looking through the NY articles in the art section, I saw two articles that caught my attention. After seeing them, one being about a popular movie coming out and the other being about a television show that is about to begin, I realized that most of the articles are about movies or television and rarely about pieces of artwork. In the first article I read, "In-Demand Surprise for Disney" it states how a cable company, Cablevision, let viewers or potential buyers access the new anticipated movie, High School Musical. Those who have been waiting patiently to see it on Friday August 17, they don't need to wait anymore, however, you need to subscribe to Cablevision first. I think that this is not fare and that Disney should do something because they can't show something before its allowed. It's like a bookstore giving out copies of the 7th Harry Potter book, when it isn't suppose to be realsed until July 21. Yes it would be nice to see the movie earlier than everyone else, but is that really fair.
The other article I read is about a television show that I am excited for, "Newport Beach" which is the show formerly known as Laugna Beach. I love seeing shows like this because it gives me stupid drama that is fun to laugh at and make fun of. Plus it gives me something to talk about with my friends. We sometimes all get together and watch as a group and then talk about it after. The show follows a group of kids through their school year and partially through their summer. I love it cause it gives viewers, mostly young girls from the age of 13 to about 22 the chance to see how other people act, though its scripted, and how people live their lives. Having the main girl, Chrissy, not able to do everything because her parents are so strct, shows me that my parents are not as bad as I thought. I'm excited for both, the movie and the show. It gives me my entertainment that I like to have every once in a while.

Child's Art

As I was working today, I walked by the children's day care where parents take their kids to be watched while they work out. On the wall was a ton of art that had done by kids that spent some time in the care. I saw so many different things that I wondered what the instructions were; was it to paint something specific? or paint whatever you wanted to? I saw so many different colors and different object, no recognizing anything in particular as to what the "theme" was, if there was one. After seeing this, I got to thinking about how we draw and express art as children, to when we are adults and expressing art. I know that when I was younger, any color could go anywhere and I would draw whatever I felt like, usually flowers or rainbows because they were the easiest. Many children draw stick figures as people because its the easiest way to draw someone, I was one of these kids, and to this day I still draw stick figures because I am not the best artist. However, some people grow up to draw really well. Some even go on to college for art and continue it as a career. I think that art is something that can start at such a young age, yet we only look at art that is drawn by professionals, who are usually over the age of 8, unless you look at your childs art work that they did. I didn't realize that over time, my drawings got better as well as many, many others do.

Art Exhibit

I just wanted to write about how I am excited to go visit the art exhibit in town! I know for the short paper we have to go visit and art exhibit and write about a painting that we can see in person. I took a field trip to the Crocker Art Museum, when I wa in elementary school. I remember gonig on the tour with the guide and seeing for many different are pieces, but being extremely board because I was around the age of 9 years old. However, I have not been back since, and I am actually really excited to go! I think I'm gonig to take my mom too. The museum is pretty popular, here in sacramento. I was just thinking today about how when I went to Europe a few years ago, we wold go to some museums and see different pieces, of coarse the famous Mona Lisa and Statue if David, but even though I was 16 years at the time, I was still pretty board. I think its because I knew the famous pieces and seeing them was cool, but to me it wasnt a big deal. But after taking this class, and another one, I really want to go back and see all the different pieces of art that I once didn't care for. I think I would be more interested, plus I have matured over the years. I'm wondering if when I return to the Museum in a few days, if I will recognize any pieces of artwork that I might have seen somewhere else in my life. !!! We will soon find out!

Friendships

As I was scrolling through the NY times art section of the online articles, I found one that made me really excited. One of my favorite shows to watch, The HIlls, is starting its 3rd season Mon, Aug. 13. There was an article about the season premiere for it, "It's Lauren vs. Heidi in battle of the of the Ex-BFFs." This season is gonig to be drama filled because Lauren and her best friend have a huge falling out because Heidi(her best friend) choses to live and be with her boyfriend instead of listening to Lauren abd being a friend. I passionately hate it when girls chose to stay with their boyfriends, when something happens and the friend tells them about it, yet nothing happens. Chosing your boyfriend over your friends is the worst because friends will ALWAYS be in your life and only wants what is best for you, and losing your friend for a guy who may not be in your life in a few weeks isnt worth it. I think its dis-respectful to your friend, especially if you have been friends with the person for many many years. It's not worth it. Heidi choses to live and continue dating her boyfriend who flirts and gets around town with other girls. She will eventually learn(i hope) that he is a sleezbag and not worth giving up her friendship with Lauren. Lauren has been honest to Heidi and supported her with everything, and Heidi pays her back with this. What a great friend! ha. I am really excited about this season of the Hills because I'm interested what happends between the 2 friends. Based on what MTV shows of Lauren on the show, I think she is a great friend to have and that you can always turn to her for support and she will be honest with you, which is what a friend should be like.

Real World

When I read week's 1 reading material, I was very surprised by what I learned. I read in Horowitz's article, that children are attracted to things they see and hear, whereas adults notice everything and look deeper into what is gonig on. I have noticed this in my everyday life when I'm working. I am surrounded by kids everyday at the pool, and notice how something catches there eye so fast, and how they move from one object tot he next, without even realizing what the first object can do. For example, they notice other kids when they arrive; toys that may have floated away, kickboards to play with and ect. As an adult, I notice things just as often as the kids do, but I stop to ask quetions about it, such as, Why is this happening? or What is it doing? or Why is this child attracted to that? Kids don't care for detaills unless the object isn't working to how they think it should. He mentions how "adults need to be more open-minded and willing to reflect on what we see" so we can learn from what we are experiencing and viewing. We need to pay more attention to what our kids notice, and ask ourselves whythe object attracted there attention. Since Horowitz claims that "what fascinatied us as children now seems naive and uninteresting". As being an adult, I am still drawn to the same objects as children are, but I am not fascinated by it, however, I don't find those objects uninteresting. Everything is intersting to me.

Performing

I just finished reading the article about Michael Buble, the new crooner singer that is becoming very popular through all generations. He gave a performance and was dressed very classy in a suit and tie, the article stated. It was summing up the songs that he sang, which ranged from the 30s to his newest material. Michael has shown that he can sing and keep an audience entertained by just getting personal, instead of dancing around like other artists. I wasnt a fan of Michael Buble's songs at first, but as I hear them more I begin noticing how they are catchy and very smooth. His voice is very soft and comforting, just like Harry Conick Jr, which the article compared the two. Overall, I would love to go see Michael Buble' in person, jsut to see him express his musical talent, that is art.

Expressing Art

While looking over what I needed to do for this assignment, I thought about the various places that I see art but don't think its art. I look at a specific website every sunday, called post secret. For those who don't know about it, every week a guy posts up post cards that people from all over the world send to him about a secret they have. People design a post card that fits to what they are expressing or trying to get out. Since its easier sometimes to draw to get out what your feeling instead of talking about it. I look at the post cards and think how creative people are. They come up with ideas that relate to clearly to their secret, yet I would have never would haev come up with the idea.

About Me

This is my first time posting and I'm not sure what to write or even where to begin. I was born in Eugene, Oregon and moved to Sacramento, California when I was 5. I have continued to go back to Eugene every fall when the football season begins. All of my fmaly, except for a minor few have attended the University of Oregon, so it was in my blood to carry on the tradition. I am the 4th generation to attend Oregon on my father's side. I love playing sports, tennis and basketball are my favorite. I am currently working at California Family Fitness as a pool supervisor. I work at the Athletic Department as a receptionist. I love working because it keeps in the know about what is gonig on in the Athletics at Oregon. I am apart of a sorority at Oregon, Alpha Chi Omega. I love it and have made many memories and met lots of new girls.