As I sat down and people watched for a bit, I confirmed my belief that the University of Oregon is a place of mass diversity. I apologize in advance if I may so have happened to describe one of my fellow peers.

The first individual that caught my attention was this caucasian male, looked about six foot two inches, wearing a white t-shirt, khaki pants, black shoes, and duo man buns adorned on his head similar to that of what little asian girl would most likely style her hair. He also had a pair of wrestling shoes attached to his backpack. This trend of the “man bun” has growing exponentially in the past couple of months. He was walking with a steady pace across the EMU quad as he seemed to be in a rush of some sort. His decision in wearing the laid-back outfit caused him to appear as having a chill and casual personality who chooses comfort over style. His choice of hair style makes him appear as though he is confident in himself that he does not mind other people giving him strange looks in a comical fashion as his duo man buns draw an eye or two. The appearance of the wrestling shoes hanging from his strap caused me to assume that he wrestles or wants people to think he wrestles. He seems to be making the statement that he can still match his clothes while being laid-back. In conclusion, he seems like a confident individual who shows an interest in sports with a calm personality. I feel these assumptions could say that I am very observant and tend to look for the good in people. I also think or I’d like to think I draw people with the similar personality of being relaxed and chill as I can only deal with hyper and excited people for so long.

Another individual that I observed was a caucasian female who looked like she was around the same age as me, which is 21. She had bright pink hair, a septum piercing, a couple small tattoos that I could barely make out. She was also wearing maroon Dr. Marten boots, bring tie dye leggings and a black top. As she walked across campus, she took huge gaping steps and had a sort of hunched over posture. By her appearance, it appeared to me that they believe in self-expression and making a fashion statement. I don’t think I would ever have the guts to dye my hair pink unless I lost a bet or was attending a crazy music festival. By the way she walked gave me the idea that she is definitely confident in herself with her and knows what she wants. I believe that people that have the ability to wear whatever they feel comfortable in that may come off to passing bystanders as outrageous or give them the thought of “oh my gosh what is she wearing” are probably the most awesome people if you ever get a chance to meet them. We humans have the innate quality of being timid with our actions as we, or some I should say, do not take criticism light heartedly. We are usually afraid of how we appear to others and what people will think and judge us based on our appearance. I think this individual probably has a great personality and potentially radical ideas by the way she asserts her individualism through her eye catching hair and confident step in her stride.

Lastly, I observed an individual wearing heavy makeup, her hair all dolled up, wearing a flowery dress and sandals. She also wore a large necklace adorned with pearls and stones that was very shiny in the sunlight. Being my cynical self, I initially assumed this individual cared way too much about her appearance by taking the time to put prom worthy makeup on her face for school. She seemed to want people look at her with the daunting necklace draped around her neck. The fact that she felt the need to cake her face up with makeup for school shows that she is hiding her true appearance. On the other hand, maybe she just enjoys putting on makeup or had the time to put makeup on before classes. I’ll admit, I do take extra time to get ready during Spring term but only if I have the time. I believe that forcing yourself to wake up early before your classes in order to get ready for school is ridiculous. This individual caused me to think that she cares a lot about what people think and must put up a front so anyone that sees her will think that she has a perfect complexion and never has bags under her eyes from sleep deprivation of procrastinating on homework. I believe this shows that I am a very down to earth individual who cares to an extent of what people think of me. Honestly on school days I dress similar to the same way I crawled into the bed the previous night because I feel I don’t need to impress people while walking down 13th to PLC.

I believe that if my friends, family, teachers, or significant other cannot accept my natural beauty and personality, then that sounds like a personal problem. I am too confident in my values and beliefs that I don’t need to change the way I appear to others in order for them to enjoy my company. I appreciate the way individuals express their individuality through piercings, tattoos and clothing. However, I feel a sort of sadness when I see those robotic individuals who feel they need to dress certain ways to fit in for societal acceptance.

Art Essay

I stumbled upon another piece by Ellen Dissanayake beautifully written about art as human behavior. Ellen breaks down her piece into three different subjects: ethology and art, art viewed ethologically, and the value of art. The first excerpt focuses more on how animals and humans behave in their present habitats, hence ethology (the biology of behavior) (pg. 397). Inevitably we assume art has developed from our early ancestors through stone carvings and cave paintings. She touches up on the idea that art was a way of survival, although mentions the thought of art having no extrinsic value. The idea of art has evolved with no concrete definition as the idea of art if very abstract. Art has the ability to be composed of many different characteristics based on the context it is used and the “behavior” in which the term art is being coined. Ellen makes a point that perspectives on art depend on the culture and societal views. She appoints the idea of art having an “aesthetic regard” causing the observer seeing the deeper meaning behind the presented piece. The whole idea behind thinking a piece of work is special stems from the behavior of making and appreciating the specialness and value of art. She also touches on the idea of art being “socially useful” (pg. 402) as in people use art for therapeutic remedies and gives a sense of order to an individual.

In a recent reading by Elizabeth Telfer, she addresses the issue of whether or not food could be considered art. She touched up on the idea of food having an aesthetic property influencing our judgment determining whether food could be considered a form of art. In Ellen’s piece, she talks about the idea of a piece of work with an “aesthetic regard” should be experienced with a deeper meaning and understanding in which the way the piece was made. The homosapien has evolved in developing the behavior to appreciating art that maintains a higher value. We have developed cognition and perception to help us understand why we see certain pieces that draw our attention. Dissanayake focused this excerpt on the idea of the evolution of our behavior towards art due to the evolution of our cognition. This idea can be tied into Telfer’s with our evolving societal views influencing our outlook on culinary perfection.

On the other hand, Telfer makes an argument as to why food should not be considered a work of art. The way we look at food is looking at the remnants of a masticated animal. This could contradict the idea of Dissanayake’s view on the differences of the essence of a ritual being a form of art or representation of a higher power. She mentions the idea of a ritual for certain cultures as being a form of “language” in order to express some gratitude or feelings. Through the process of evolution, the idea of performing rituals have played a close relationship to presenting itself as art. In Telfer’s case, she does not see that even though we are presented a plate of well-dressed food, it may not be seen as art. However, in certain cultures, sacrificing animals and eating them is seen as both a ritual and art. But here we are again balancing on that fine line between concluding rituals are a form of art or simply a way of expressing gratitude.

In another reading by Lewis, he addresses the undermining definition and meaning behind values. Values develop from many extrinsic and intrinsic experiences and influences in our lives. The essay done by Dissanayake addresses art as having an impact on our everyday life as a useful tool. I feel this may lead to a self-realization and influence on the values we believe in. Art has the ability to shape the way we see ourselves as well as the world around us. If looking at a piece of art has the ability to influence our ideology and potentially our beliefs. Lewis mentions the thought of “drawing upon [our] own accumulated sense experience” (pg. 16). We develop our sense of making conclusions about pieces of art based on our past experiences. As Dissanayake mentions in her work that “ art provides as an ‘escape valve’ through license and heightened or diverted feeling” (pg. 402). Being able to immerse and divert your thinking from everyday life to analyze and interpret what you feel and see while looking at an art piece may have the ability to morph current beliefs and behaviors.

Works Cited

Dissanayake, E. (1980). The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Vol. 38, No. 4. pp. 397-406. Wiley.

Lewis, H. (1990). A Question of Values: Six Ways We Make the Personal Choices That Shape Our Lives. Axios Press.

Telfer, E. (2002). Food as art. In Neill, A. & Ridley, A (Eds.), Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2 ed., pp. 9-27). New York: Routledge.

Depending on the way food is being utilized. Referring back to Unit 3 where we challenged our ideas and opinions on what we interpret art, my current definition of art would be anything that provokes emotion or a feeling. When I look at food, there are times where I feel nostalgic when the food presented to me reminds me of my past or fond memory of some sort. On the contrary there are times where I don’t even care about what my food looks like because I am too hungry to care. I feel when looking at food in real life, a painting, a picture or a video, I would lean towards the aesthetic reaction Elizabeth Tefler opens her piece with as my reasoning to why I think food is a form of art.

In the article by Elizabeth Tefler, she mentions the easily misconception of looking at a piece of work, whether it be in a form of “machinery” or an actual piece of art, and appreciating the aesthetics of the object and interpreting it’s aesthetics as beauty or simply a “species of pleasure” (Tefler, pg. 9). If a chef were to beautifully plate a bowl of cereal, I may feel inclined to make an opinion in the direction of saying that this bowl of cereal is beautiful. However, I feel as though my past experiences with a bowl of cereal or memories that flood my mind when looking at cereal may interfere with a critical examination of the “art work” that has been placed before me. In Dissanayake’s essay, she makes a point about art being somewhat of a supreme value and a “source for heightened personal experience” (Dissanayake, pg. 22). So if I were to experience this “heightened” experience, would it be right for me to make the assumption that this dressed up bowl of flax is art? Dissanayake also mentions that an artist would not design something just to go through the motions but to “deliberately” (Dissanayake, pg. 22) go out to make something special. The chef is the artist in the background conducting the presentation of his masterpiece. People put so much time, energy, and even go to school to perfect “the art” of cooking. If an individual were to “make their food with love” I would agree that food is a form of art. If I were casually presented a bowl of cereal for breakfast, I would not think it’s art. Although I do contradict myself here as I know I would develop a feeling of being hungry. In the end, I do think that food is art as when we do see a piece of steak decoratively dressed in a nicely colored sauced and garnished with rosemary is a pleasing sight to see.

Dissanayake, E. (1991). What is art for? In K. C. Caroll (Ed.). Keynote adresses 1991 (NAEA Convention), (pp.15-26). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.

Tefler, E. (2002). Food as Art. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., Chap. 2). New York, NY: Routledge.

Health

Security

Family

Loyalty

Wisdom

Friendship

Personal Accomplishment

Personal Development

Power

Wealth

Independence

Leadership

Expertness

Prestige

Location

Enjoyment

Community

Service

Integrity

Creativity

This afternoon, I stayed in my apartment and did homework. I guess that would support mainly security and wisdom. I ensured my safety of remaining in doors and gaining knowledge by completing homework assignments and studying for my midterms. The number one important aspect that I value is health, which I was taught from a young age. My family instilled the importance of maintaining good health over anything. Without good health, you would be limited to your daily activities and enjoying life to it’s fullest. I am actually unsure if any of my values that held an authoritative position in me has proven to be invalid. I still take all my values into account as they allow me to govern the choices I make.

The main goal I have for myself at the moment would be to own my own physical therapy business. Other goals would be to graduate, get accepted to grad school, and hopefully attain a steady job in the direction of my goal. One of the main obstacles to achieve my goal would be the fact that I am still in undergraduate studies. Once I am finished, the next obstacle would be finishing graduate school and passing the physical therapy exam in order to receive my physical therapy license.

In the latter part of the reading, the passage discussing the idea of ranking our values based on our personal experiences drew my attention. I think it is safe to assume that most people tend to believe in certain morals and intrinsic values based on their personal experiences and feelings about the source of their beliefs. For instance, I take to heart and follow the beliefs and values of my parents, as they are the number one figures in my life that taught me the first lessons in life. As mentioned in the reading, we are also “drawing upon [our] own accumulated sense experience” (16). Although our parents were probably one of the first elderly figures to show us what their beliefs are, we are also influenced by outside sources daily. Our teachers, friends, and colleagues are few of the most influential people in our lives who constantly have us wondering about our initial beliefs and values either through justification of their own experiences and beliefs. When we grow up and become our own individuals, is it possible that we have completely different views on the world around us or do we innately act in some ways more than others based on our upbringing? This also surprised me while reading that our outside influences may also have an affect on our beliefs and values by simply ” ‘selling’ a particular approach to personal values” (16). Some individuals seek out spiritual meaning and support to better certain views on their beliefs. I feel in this sense we are losing a part of our true selfs based on the experiences of others. What if what they were telling us was completely made up to twist our views on our old beliefs when in fact what we had first believed in were to be true?

I also agreed with the analogy of individuals taking a poll about people’s ideas and beliefs on their personal values. It is unfortunate that nowadays and perhaps even back then people would not tell the truth in its entirety. People never really tell the whole truth, which brings me to question why an individual holds this kind of moral? Perhaps due to an old personal experience where they deemed appropriate that less the people know the better? Although through personal experience the whole truth always comes out regardless how much you attempt to cover it up. From that I have created a new personal value of my own to always completely 100% tell the truth even though it may be rude or inappropriate.

References: Lewis, H. (1990). A Question of Values: Six Ways We Make the Personal Choices That Shape Our Lives. Axios Press.Pg. 6-16.