Twin Tower Remembrance

      When watching the State Farm commercial.  I really enjoyed seeing all these children of different ethnicities coming together to sing a song that is dedicated to the great city of New York.  It seemed like these firemen had no idea these kids were coming to sing to them, like it was a surprise.  The only thing that really takes away the good in this is the fact that some major company had to stamp its label on this beautiful tribute to New York.
       The behind scenes video was much more heart warming and sincere than the actual commercial.  Who ever was in charge of the productions of this commercial should have released something more like the behind the scenes video.  Actually hearing what the children thought and some of the stories of the composer, firemen, children and I think even the director was much more heartfelt.

      After spending some time in the gallery I was moved by all of the art work.  I was interested in the different ways 9/11 was expressed. I particularly liked the etchings of the Twin Towers.  In the etching I chose there is a lot of movement in this piece.  The smoke in this piece is outstanding, I loved how the artist   portrayed the smoke.  The smoke had evil and twisted looking faces on the outside and in the inside of the smoke was blank faces, which I believe represents the many innocent people that lost their lives.  There was so many people who lost their lives that we were not able to put a specific face to each and every person lost in this tragedy, unlike the terrorist face who we all the remember.

Mass Culture. Due Monday 19th

1.      When thinking of the Theory of Homogenized Culture, I researched commercials online and the best example I came up with was a commercial from the 1970s by Coca-Cola.  This commercial describes the theory very well, by showing everyone united, equal and happy as one whole group and of coarse they are all drinking Coca-Cola.  The main problem with this theory is when everyone is the same then there is no diversity or cultural uniqueness.  This commercial implies world peace but it contradicts accepting uniqueness not only with the fact that everyone is only drinking Coca-Cola but everyone can speak clear english.  The song that is playing with this commercial is sung by a group of people that only speak english and the voice that stands out is a very clear speaking and lovely sounding female who can sing fairly well.  This shows the ignorance of Mass Media as well.

2.      When thinking about the Mass Culture Statement I found it to be very true because how can we enjoy the existence of diversity in cultures when everyone is the same?  Without discrimination there would be no uniqueness in sub cultures or in cultures.  On page 40 in our Popular Culture book I found a section that talks about Folk Art the grew from below. It says, " It and was a spontaneous, autochthonous expression of the people, shaped by themselves, pretty much without the benefits of High Culture."  It also explains how Mass Culture is created from above, from businessmen who obviously create their art mainly to make money and only concerned with personal gain.  The Mass Culture will always be a selfish monster but we have to accept that this mass culture and mass media help create jobs and is a large part of our country bringing in money from all over the world.

Elements and principles

Elements:

Batman and Robin to the rescue - Julian Beever

This chalk drawing is representing the element of value.  The value in this piece is so well done that it gives off the illusion that it is real or 3D.  The artist Julian Beever does this 2D chalk work  yet makes the eyes believe it is popping out of the sidewalk.

Escaped Conviction - Alex Pardee

This drawing shows a great example of the appropriate use of the element color.  This drawing would not be as appealing and effective to the viewer without the color.  The element color provides so much to this drawing and with the color produces other elements like line and movement.  Alex Pardee is a contemporary artist who makes graphics characters and uses color to his advantage with his pieces.

Weeping Woman with Handkerchief - Pablo Picasso 

The element I focused on in this painting is shape.  Pablo Picasso is known for cubism and using shapes to create people and objects in his work.  In this painting there are many different shapes that give the painting a abstract view.  The use in shapes to create her nose help flatten the piece but gives it a geometric appeal.

Principles:

Marilyn Monroe - Andy Warhol 

This very famous piece by Andy Warhol shows a great use of the principle emphasis.  It is obvious with the use of repetition what the artist wanted to emphasize.  Each time you look at this piece something new can be emphasized whether it be the hair, lips or even color.

Untitled - Salvador Dali 

This piece by Salvador Dali is a great example of the use of space.  The way a viewer's eyes move around the piece because of the way it was constructed is a fantastic use of space.  The space in the middle of the piece is interesting also, mostly because there is so much going on in the piece, the middle of this painting is the most calm, which usually is the opposite in most pieces.

Starry Night - Vincent Van Gogh

This piece by Vincent Van Gogh is a great example of movement.  The whole painting has so much movement the town, the dark black shadowy figure on the left, the stars and especially the clouds.  the diagonal movement in this piece makes the viewer's eyes move over the whole painting.

A piece of art that I found to be valuable is the loch ness monster made from trash bags and is setup in the streets of New York.  How this artist, Josh Allen Harris, sets his work apart from other artists of today is the fact he uses the elements of New York City such as subway vents to bring his art to life.  Harris' artwork is very valuable because he makeshifts trash bags to become animated creatures.  He lets people view his artwork without charge, and I believe the art is valuable somewhat based on the fact that a buyer of art could not necessarily buy this art piece and make it look magnificent in ones own home, such as it does on the streets of New York City.