After researching articles, I came across two written by Noel Carroll.
The first article is a response to another writer’s piece, Berry Gaut. Gaut discusses the idea of horror movies posing as a paradox, in a sense how it is seemingly possible that some individuals take pleasure in watching something that is supposed to instill fear. Carroll challenges Gaut’s claim denying the fact that there is no “intrinsic relationship between being horrified and feeling any unpleasantness and by maintaining that nature of the conceptual relation between being horrified and displeasure” and that in response to this perturbation people will “experience the objects of their emotion and the emotions themselves are unpleasant” (pg. 1). I disagree with this statement made by Gaut. Although I personally dislike horror movies, I feel that some people enjoy watching horror movies to experience the thrill and feed their imagination. The ability of a horror movie to instill a sort of fascination is one of the reasons why some people enjoy watching these types of movies. Carroll makes an argument Carroll makes the claim that viewers find horror films fascinating.Gaut also brings up the fact that it is difficult to maintain the fascination with the horror movie. Carroll comes back with the idea that some people have greater thresholds in their attention span governing whether or not the individual stays in-tune with what they are watching. I agree with this as I have experienced this while watching a movie with my friends. As we discussed in the lectures and the reading, the diegetic and non-diegetic essence of the film have the ability to enhance our experience while viewing scenes. The addition of special effects may also be a contributing factor drawing our attention and attraction for scary movies.
The second article, Noel Carroll is also the author of the breakdown of the humor in horror. He brings up the valid point addressing the idea that certain horror movies aim at attempting to be humorous while simultaneously frightening us. An example of this would be the movie Beetlejuice. Carroll explains that this movie was made to show the audience that there are scenes that are seen as a satire that should be interpreted as scary. I feel this is the optimal way for an individual to enjoy horror movies is to view it lightheartedly. The integration of real life situations and events such as characters exemplifying mental illnesses has more of a psychological impact on viewers. In his article, Carroll talks about the heightened emotional response the producer is attempting to evoke from the audience playing on the idea of a real life situation. The way the movie is shown is aimed to stimulate and heighten your emotional response whether it be relating the show to your own personal experiences. In relation to art, and my definition of art, the art of cinema directly targets the way you feel during and after you watch the piece. This type of art is enhanced with special effects to enhance the visual experience.
When watching scary movies, they sometimes involve and monstrous or beastly figure. Carroll addresses this as a way for the movie to guide the audience to “control and guide our emotional responses in such a way” (pg. 149) that the audience should be perceiving the monster in the same fashion as the actors in the movie. There is a difference, however, between the ways the monster is being portrayed and how it should be perceived. One example Carroll brings up is Chewbaca in the Star Wars movies. He is seen as a hairy beast although not interpreted as frightening. We would not consider Star Wars a horror film even though there is a beastly figure. The intention of that beast is not made for horrifying viewers. This type of art is more on the aesthetic side for a pleasant enjoyment. This relates to the slides talking about the Aesthetics of Horror Presentation in our lecture slides. The Mise-en-Scene encompasses the ideas of the overall aesthetics of the costumes and makeup of the characters. If the creature was portrayed as a killer, there may be some fear instilled in viewers as they may imagine themselves being in the path of a blood thirsty animal. The ability to see a comical side of these creatures can influence the way we perceive them. Carroll recalls upon a stand-up comedy Bill Cosby performed in which he talked about the way he interprets scary figures as comical. Cosby “[erasing] one of their essential characteristics” (pg. 156), which would be extracting the one characteristic that makes creatures so frightening.
The art of cinema is continuously pushes the limit on horror films. With enhancing technology on special effects the possibilities are endless in creating new worlds and creatures that will send chills up your spine. Although not a fan or horror films, I would try to perceive the scary movies with a more comical view to better my enjoyment of scary movies.
Objectives:
- Evaluate personal values and paradigms around body decoration and physical beauty
- Investigate how physical appearance affects definitions of identity and belonging
- Analyze values and belief systems of physical appearance across cultures, sub-cultures and generations
Original Post:
Personal Adornment
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.
Reflection:
These opinions, as mentioned previously, stem from my parental guidance and upbringing as these are where the core of my values originate from. As I have explained in my Artifact 2, I heavily look towards the teachings of my parents when making life decisions and forming opinions. What I have learned from my parents is my base of all my formulation of judgements. I have also learned through my schooling, friends, and experiences that there is more to than just what my parents have taught me. I tend to people watch frequently as it is just part of my nature and, if I may say so, quite entertaining. I usually try not to stare but everyone knows if there is just something out of the ordinary occurring, it is hard not to look away. One of my fellow classmates had mentioned in his blog the idea of formulating opinions based on what people are wearing, such as the first suspect: the stereotypical Greek life. I too am guilty of associating the idea of typical fraternity boy with wearing bright colored polos, bright colored shorts, and Sperry’s. It is due to their adamant and repetitive attire that these types of people seem to wear. I believe that the way these people act in society will cause other individuals and by-passers to link these types of attire to those in Greek life.
Tattoos and piercings have slowly but surely become a social norm. Society has started to accept these types of body adornments as an expression of individualism and style. In reference to Artifact 3, I believe that body adornment, or body art, is another way of individuals to express their past and present ideology of what they think is beautiful. One of my favorite social media icons is Jennah Yamamoto, also known as Gypsyone. She has a multitude of tattoos that she shows beautiful through her artistic and talented photography skills. As more and more people see the way she makes her tattoos look like it is a part of her as if she was born with it and other patrons with tattoos, I feel it will show the public that tattoos should not be frowned or looked down upon. Most people decide to get tattoos for memorabilia as well as making a fashion statement. Tattoos have such a deeper meaning than seen through societies eyes. Piercings in unusual places, such as the septum piercing which often looks like a bull ring, has become more of a fashion statement as well. I have noticed individuals have the inclination of getting the piercing because they think it looks good on them.
Often times in certain cultures getting tattoos and piercings represent authority, familial status, and other underlying meanings. In Hawai’i, it is part of the Polynesian culture to get tattoos of your ‘aumakua, or the animal god that protects your family. My friends have adorned themselves with beautiful tattoos, also known as a tribal tattoo, that represent their family crest or integrated their ‘aumakuas. They have chosen to represent their family with something that will be forever embedded on them for the world to see. I think that is is very loyal and makes a statement that you proud of your family and where you come from.
Future Goals:
With the better understanding of analyzing the way people dress themselves, I will continue to people watch but with a more educational view. I plan on integrating my newly found knowledge when trying to figure out why people decided to adorn themselves with their ensemble. After completing this assignment, it has been brought to my attention that we as human beings have the tendency to judge people based off of looks as an innate quality as well as an influence from society. I will try not to judge people from what they look like and attempt to see everyone has a story that may just be interesting and life changing. I still need to dive deeper into understanding why certain cultures adorn themselves with lots of tattoos and odd piercings. I think it would be interesting to learn about how these types of rituals and traditions came about.
Bibliography:
Blackiston, B. (2015, April 25). The Life of a Sports Fan. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/blackiston16/2015/04/29/adornment/
Devens, A. (2015, April 8). Assignment 1-Unit 2 | AAD 250. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/baconlover1/2015/04/08/assignment-1-unit-2/
Devens, A. (2015, May 4). Artifact 2: Life Values | AAD 250. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/baconlover1/2015/05/04/artifact-2-life-values/
Devens, A. (2015, May 4). Artifact 3: What is Art? | AAD 250. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/baconlover1/2015/05/04/artifact-3-what-is-art/
Hawaiian Tattoos. (2014). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.tattoostime.com/tattoos/hawaiian/page/18/
Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. (2002). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?e=q-11000-00—off-0hdict–00-1—-0-10-0—0—0direct-10-ED–4——-0-1lpm–11-haw-Zz-1—Zz-1-home-aumakua–00-3-1-00-0–4—-0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&d=D1614
Yamamoto, J. (2011, January). GYPSY ONE. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://gypsyone.tumblr.com/
Table of Contents:
Student Portfolio
Artifact 1: First Blog
Artifact 2: Life Values
Artifact 3: What is Art?
Artifact 4: Food as Art?
Artifact 5: Personal Adornment
Artifact 6: Creative Spirituality
Artifact 7: Remixing Culture
Artifact 8: Public Art
Objectives:
- Examine methods for evaluating qualities of art, such as product versus process, the difference between craft and fine art, must art be archival, and what is an aesthetic reaction
- Explore the notion of food as an art form
- Consider cultural differences in the production and consumption
Original Post:
Food as Art
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.
Reflection:
I had asked my boyfriend earlier today if how he felt about the standpoint whether or not food could be or is considered a form of art. He had a similar opinion to that of mine in a sense where there are some cases that food could be thought of as an art and not in under other circumstances. One of my colleagues who is enrolled in this course at the moment had brought a provoking idea to my mind when reading over their blog. The idea of cake decorating and baking is majority of the time seen as an art. The way the baker must precisely make cuts and use steady hands to lace intricate designs according to what the customer is asking for. I think we must think food as an art as we design other objects such as wedding dresses, adorn t-shirts, and even have contests for the most aesthetically pleasing as well as tasting food items.
On the other hand, the food that is not considered art, in my opinion, would be the fast food places such as Burger King, Taco Bell, and McDonalds to name a few. The food that is being sold from places like these should not be considered art. It may seem aesthetically pleasing on the commercials, in real life they should not be perceived as art. They are massed produced and are preserved in chemicals that slowly infect and ruin your digestive system.In Elizabeth Tefler’s article titled “Food as Art,” she brings up valid points about why we sometimes consider food as art. She talks about the foods that should be considered art that are “intended by their cooks to be considered…to be savoured, appraised, thought about, discussed” (pg. 19). The products that the fast food restaurants sell, in my opinion, do not carry these qualities. Yes I do see the argument in which one could make that the McDouble is savory and deserves appraisal for being one of the tastiest fast food burgers on the block. However, I do not agree. An individual could rebuttal against my claim as everyone has a different opinion of what art is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o6Hh6tQj2w
Above is a skeptical accusation about McDonald’s chicken McNuggets made with real chicken. Previously there were rumors around the internet that the chicken McNuggets were made from pink slime. However, this video proves it is not but also still shows the fact that chickens are killed in massive numbers and grounded through huge machinery to produce those yummy little nuggets. Seeing the line of masticated chickens nearly breaks your heart to see that large amount of animals that have been slaughtered. If you think this is art, I would be very curious to know what part of this seems like an art form to you.
This little lady right here is Sylvia Weinstock. She is one of the most infamous wedding cake architects of all time. She creates these magnificent wedding cakes that people pay ridiculous money for. I was watching an episode of Outrageous Wedding Cakes on the Food Network channel some time ago when I stumbled across a cake done by Ms. Weinstock. She creates her cakes because of her love for baking. I believe her work is truly a work of art. As mentioned in Telfer’s article, she mentions food feeding our “aesthetic reactions” (pg. 17) and how we have a tendency to be drawn to the beauty of the food presentation which could easily be mistaken for admiring the work that was put into the product. Seeing the work of Ms. Weinstock proves to me that food could definitely be considered as art.
There are also contradictions of food being art between different cultural backgrounds. In some religions, certain animals are seen as gods and higher powers such of that in the Hindu religion. Some of the deities are represented in animal forms. Individuals who practice certain religions may not see food as an art and more as a higher power. One of my peers wrote their blog about how food in her country was once scarce and is now heavily appreciated. They expressed the idea of how every dish is cooked in a creative way due to their history and famine. I believe that having a history where not being able to have food readily available would give me a different perspective on food.
Future goals:
I will take this learning experience with me in the future and take the time to appreciate that I am so lucky to have food whenever I feel like. After this concept being brought my attention, I have never though about food being considered an art form. Now seeing the opinions and perspective of my peers, I come to realize that yes food is considered an art depending on the context and the way food is being used and processed. With my better understanding of one theory of our origin for our feelings towards art in Dutton’s Ted Talk and the idea of using art as an early outlet for survival (pg. 16) from Dissanayake’s article, I have a better recognition of how to appreciate the idea of food as art. I still need to explore other reasons why people do or do not see food as art. It would be interesting to me on the reasons why people do not view food as art and under what circumstances besides the one I have posed for my own reasoning.
Bibiolography:
Bee. (2009, April 4). New York Bridal Shows | Weddingbee. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/04/04/new-york-bridal-shows/
Long, J. (2015, April 22). Jingyi Long’s site. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/aad250jingyi/2015/04/22/food-as-art-discussion/
Our food. Your questions. What are McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets made of? (2014, December 4). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o6Hh6tQj2w
Wellman, V. (2012, March 2). The incredible confections of cake-maker to the stars, Sylvia Weinstock (and at 82, she’s not hanging up her apron anytime soon). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2109286/Sylvia-Weinstock-The-incredible-confections-cake-maker-stars.html
Wedding Cake Queen Sylvia Weinstock. (2010, January 14). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V22cMo3mLUQ
Table of Contents:
Student Portfolio
Artifact 1: First Blog
Artifact 2: Life Values
Artifact 3: What is Art?
Artifact 4: Food as Art?
Artifact 5: Personal Adornment
Artifact 6: Creative Spirituality
Artifact 7: Remixing Culture
Artifact 8: Public Art
Objectives:
- Consider the origins of art
- Explore a brief history of Western Art
- Examine multiple perspectives for evaluating art
Original Post:
What is Art?
The Ted Talk led by Dennis Dutton encompassed only a fraction of the reasons behind the existence of art and, furthermore, the survival of art. Dennis starts out by addressing the Darwinian principle and the different types of ways we interpret the idea of beauty. At the end of his excerpt he made a statement regarding that what we perceive as beauty relies heavily on that of our ancestors, which I do not agree with. Yes I do see the connection between the early homosapiens first generating the feeling and emotions towards seeing something they felt had a gravitational pull on their soul. However, I do not agree with the idea of myself looking at an object that I perceive as beautiful stemming from my early ancestors. Understanding the brief overview of neurophysiology, it is essentially the firing of neurons when activating visual stimulus by looking at an object, or in this case an art piece, which then relays electrical activity onto the emotional areas of your brain causing you to feel happy, sad, or unfavorable to the work. Yes I do see the argument where there could potentially be the case of evolution that our minds are wired in a fashion where we have learned to feel a speck of emotion when visualizing a piece of art from either an innate feature or from societal influences.
In the piece by Ellen Dissanayake, she makes it a point to address the idea that our early ancestors viewed art was an early outlet for survival (p.16). As mentioned before, I can see and understand the correlation of interpreting and formulating emotions when seeing art from our ancestors. Ellen also makes a point in which I semi-agree with on page 19 of her excerpt that “there is no appreciation of art without interpretation.” I disagree with this as feel as though people may be inclined to appreciate the idea of art on the surface. If they posses the ability to be thoughtful and realize the amount of work and effort the artist put in to express their ideology and emotions through a medium. On the other hand, I agree with this statement because I do feel that in order to really appreciate someone’s masterpiece you should take the time to fully engage yourself in their work and formulate your own opinions and ideas or guess what the artist was trying to portray. There really is no real concrete definition for art, and through evolution of ideology, there are infinite forms of art that seem to be continuously evolving and altering our thoughts in the process.
Reflection:
Dance has been an immaculate part of my life ever since I was a little girl, and probably one of the most interactive forms of art in my opinion. Through dance you are able to express your feelings and tell a story with your movements to make people feel what you are feeling. In Dissanayake’s essay, she made me realize where the origins of art stem from in her opinion and based on her intricate research and data digging. She makes a valid point addressing the idea of the ever constant evolution in the art world as there is never a stagnate definition for art.
As I walked through the Jordan Schnitzer Museum or Art, I realized in different countries and different eras have vastly different outlooks on their representation of art. As the time progressed, I noticed a more abstract take on the artists perception of beautiful or eye pleasing art. I also see this pattern in dance as well. The idea of non-uniform or traditional forms of dancing has become increasingly popular. Although could you really define what traditional dancing is? In the Russian culture, ballet is one of their most traditional forms of dancing. Here in America there has been an evolution of dance taking in different influences from different cultures and combining them into a whole new genre of dance. From the Ted Talk lead by Dennis Dutton, he talks about the evolution of art originating back from our early ancestors the homosapiens and the idea of beauty being different for every individual. We have definitely evolved our understanding and opinions on what we think is beautiful. For example some people may see the ballet as the most beautiful and elegant form of dance as the performers show off their countless hours of practice and finess. This is a segway into addressing Dissanayake’s essay. She mentions the idea of “disinterest” (pg.18). She discusses the idea of people having appreciation for the art even with little knowledge of what has been presented before them giving the artwork a sense of being “universal” (pg. 18). I feel individuals should posses the ability to appreciate works of art whether they find it appealing or not. This is how I feel when I view dancing in different cultural settings. I may not find it appealing or entertaining, however I appreciate the time and effort it took for the performers to coordinate and conduct a mass movement of cooperation.
Pictured below are only two of the many art forms of dance I am educated in. The first picture is my Spring Dance Showcase for my high school. I was selected as one of 12 soloist for the production “12 Dancing Princesses.” This production called for us to dance and tell the old fairytale spin off of the 12 Princesses. In the picture below the first picture is the Hawai’i Club Lu’au which was performed here at the EMU Ballroom of two years ago. Hula is the ancient Hawaiian ways of story telling through hand gestures and movements of the body. Most people find hula a beautiful and unique art form. You do not have to understand what the dancers are trying to portray to think hula is a beautiful art form.
Future Goals:
I look forward to applying this new knowledge to educate others to appreciate all forms of artwork even though it may not come across as eye pleasing. I want to integrate Dissanayake’s and Dennis Dutton’s views and ideas into my daily life when encountering new forms of art. I like to keep an open mind to people’s creativity and expression of their thoughts through a medium. I still need to have a better understanding and exploring different types of art form, which I hope to experience first hand in different countries with different cultures.
Bibliography:
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.
Dutton, D. (2010, November 16). Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty. Retrieved May 5, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PktUzdnBqWI
Table of Contents:
Student Portfolio
Artifact 1: First Blog
Artifact 2: Life Values
Artifact 3: What is Art?
Artifact 4: Food as Art?
Artifact 5: Personal Adornment
Artifact 6: Creative Spirituality
Artifact 7: Remixing Culture
Artifact 8: Public Art
Objectives:
- Become familiar with basic relationships of human values to psychological and philosophical endeavors
- Understand that values are formed from external and internal drives of an individual
- Explore one’s own value system
Original Post:
Life Values
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.
Reflection:
It was a little hard for me to truly explain the stemming of my beliefs and values when linking it to the article we had to read. I feel I have a hard time expressing my true meaning behind my values with the incorporation of the article as I felt it was limiting the way I could respond and allow my peers to fully understand why I am the way I am.
I truly believe in parental guidance as our bases for majority of our values, and to this day I still follow the values and beliefs my parents instilled in me. I understand that some people may have different upbringings or have been educated and realized an outlet and contradiction of what they now believe and what their parents had originally taught them. Yes I have learned from my educational system, which I am very thankful for my parents allowing me and paying for superb education, that some of the things my parents have taught me are not fully correct.Pictured above is the love of my life, my family. Without them, I would not be the person I am today. After completing this assignment, I have come to realize how influential my family has been molding me into the person I am today. I guess you could say I am caught between what my parents have instilled in me and what my education has taught me although fully believing in both ways. Throughout my college career I have come to the realization that everyone has their own beliefs and if it works for them, it works for them. There really is no wrong or right way as there are endless reasons to backup people’s standpoints.
What makes me the person I am today is mostly due to my intrinsic drive and motivation. I am the kind of gal to pursue my own personal goals not because other people tell me to or want me to but purely for self satisfaction. My parents have always taught me to work hard and pursue my goals as an optimal pathway for success. I am partially immune to external drives influencing my decisions in life. Although here I may contradict myself as if I were to be offered a promising job from working hard, I would most likely be inclined to be able to achieve that. However, it is mostly due to my intrinsic values and beliefs stemming form both my parents and experience that will motivate me to work hard. I have come to conclude that my family means everything to me and what they say has the most impact on my decisions.
Completing the assignment of ranking what aspects of life mean the most to us. Health and security where my top two which mostly I believe in this due to my parental education. My parents have always forced the idea of having health is the most important aspect of life. Without health, nothing really matters. You could be the most successful person but if you are sickly, what value does money even hold anymore? I also felt that security was an important trait to hold. If you do not feel secure about monetary needs, physically, or intrinsically with yourself, you spend your life worrying and stressing unnecessarily. This may be more of an extrinsic drive for me as I pummel through my school work to ensure I will be secure financially so I can give me future family a good life. This is also an intrinsic drive as my goal is to be successful enough to enjoy life and not worrying about paying the bills every month.
Future Goals:
I believe in the future I will still uphold these values and beliefs to drive my motivation to be a successful happy individual. My parents will continue to play a major role in my life. I hope to widen my horizons with life lessons of my own experience or the people I choose to surround myself with or random encounters. I hope to one day instill the values I carry with my future family and friends I meet along the way.
Bibliography:
Lewis, H. (1990). A Question of Values: Six Ways We Make the Personal Choices That Shape Our Lives. Axios Press.Pg. 6-16.
Table of Contents:
Student Portfolio
Artifact 1: First Blog
Artifact 2: Life Values
Artifact 3: What is Art?
Artifact 4: Food as Art?
Artifact 5: Personal Adornment
Artifact 6: Creative Spirituality
Artifact 7: Remixing Culture
Artifact 8: Public Art
Original Post:
Poop Power
Searching for an interesting blog for this first assignment, I stumbled across this intriguing yet eye catching article. This post was about a new founded system that turns sewage waste into purified drinking water, electricity, and clean ash. Bill Gates was the one of the first people to try the engineered drinking water. After you get past the idea that he has just drank water derived from sewage waste, it doesn’t seem so bad after all. This machine is self sustaining as it runs on steam creating electricity that is derived from the dried sewage “sludge.” The prototype for this machine is located a little north of Seattle. This project is still well under construction as they aim to almost completely reinvent the toilet. Although this seems like a great idea to input into developing countries, I feel the cost to create and upkeep the machine may be probable issues. On the up side, we would be saving energy and our environment by recycling human waste.
I chose this blog post because it immediately caught my eye with the title and it’s uniqueness. At first I could not believe that there was an actual machine that could do the impossible. Knowing that there are endless possibilities to reuse natural materials to create sustainable energy is quite mind blowing. Those who are unable to have easy access to clean and safe water are at risk of many health diseases and illnesses. We take advantage of having purified drinking water at the tips of our fingers. I think this is the beginning of a bright future for our environment but for those countries who are limited to resources. I hope that one day the world will be able to run on less expensive and environmentally friendly resources to save our earth from depletion of natural resources. We are already on our way of saving the earth with the electric cars, increasing the awareness of recycling, and now using poo to create drinking water.
Reflection:
I chose this particular article because I was truly fascinated by the technological advances that are being made to better our world. It is vital to our future that we find ways to use our available resources to harvest sustainable energy that will reduce our carbon foot print. I think it is so awesome that Bill Gates is using his success to fund projects such as these to better our environment. The fact that he and his and his research team could construct a working machine using fecal matter to produce several different resources that we take for granted has the potential to reduce other confounding issues by re-using our external waste. I thoroughly enjoy reading about these kinds of articles as it fuels my interest in finding alternative ways to make our world a “greener” place.
This article fulfills the requirements for the first blog post assignment. We were instructed to post an article that was interesting to us. I think this post also envelops my passion for saving the environment and wanting to reduce the amount of natural resources that we are quickly depleting from the earth. I think this could educate my classmates and peers about the work and effort our society is putting in to reduce the trash we are collecting on this earth as we damage our ozone layer and wrecking the beauty of the earth. This also shows my classmates who felt like reading the article on the type of person I am. Given this class never meets outside of the blogs and internet discussion, I wanted to show my peers one of my interests that I hope will motivate them to help save our earth.
I also learned how to work this new blogging system. Before this class I had no idea that the UO blogs existed nor did I know how to set one up. I find this internet blogging engine very useful and easy to use. I think more classes should incorporate blogging into their course. I feel being able to blog interesting posts that they find intriguing or a good representation of their personality is a good way to enlighten other people about different issues that we may not be aware of.
Future Goals:
In retrospect of this article, I hope to further my interest in participating in the research and study of finding alternative ways to use our resources into sustainable fuel. Although my major limits my ability to further my research, I hope to find different movements or organizations that will allow me to help them brainstorm more ideas or add input to their ongoing research. I hope to further educate my peers and other people about these types of studies and research that is going on in hopes of peaking interest in saving the environment.
Bibliography:
Price, R. (2015, January 6). Watch Bill Gates Test A New Machine That Turns Poop Into Clean Water. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-sewage-water-electricity-2015-1
Table of Contents:
Student Portfolio
Artifact 1: First Blog
Artifact 2: Life Values
Artifact 3: What is Art?
Artifact 4: Food as Art?
Artifact 5: Personal Adornment
Artifact 6: Creative Spirituality
Artifact 7: Remixing Culture
Artifact 8: Public Art
I believe in dressing in what you feel most comfortable in physically and mentally. I am pretty lazy on school days and do not take the time and effort to get ready in the morning. I see it as I am going to school not caring about how people perceive my appearance. However, I dress in a way that will not make people think I don’t care about up-keeping my hygiene, but comfortably. Also, since I am from Hawaii, I dress mainly for warmth. Even though I may not have the most fashionable warm clothes, I do not care. I care about being comfortable and warm first and foremost. On somedays, I do take the time to get myself ready with makeup but under two conditions: I have a lot of time before my class or I am really tired so putting on foundation and powder will hide the enormous bags under my eyes.
I also have my ears pierced. I feel this makes me feel girly when I am able to adorn myself with dangly earrings for special occasions. Wearing earrings makes me feel like I am completing my outfit with a pair of jewelry matching my outfit. I pierced my ears because I wanted to wear earrings to express my love for adorning my ears with jewelry to look and feel pretty.
I have a deep and forever love for my parents. They gave me the bases of all my core values and beliefs in life, which helped mold me into the woman I am today. Even though I have learned through my own experiences and college schooling, I still hold the same core values as I did when I was a little girl. I used to go to church every Wednesday night in high school with my family. I have a gold chain that adorned my neck which represented my religious beliefs. I still wear it from time to time, however not as much as I used to. I was never good remembering to wear jewelry.
In my upbringing, my family taught me humility, humbleness, and the idea that family comes first. My mother always emphasized the way I present myself whether it be at school, a function, or going out with my friends, should be a reflection of my parents. I am the kind of person to represent my parents in the best way possible. I make it a point to make sure the way I dress I would be able for my grandparents to approve. I also dress and present myself in a way that if a friend or family member saw me walking on the street, they would think I am a respectable young woman. My family is a well-respected family by high authority back home, Even when I go out with my friends, I make sure that I dress tastefully yet appropriately that if one of my dad’s business associates were to see out in public, they would not think I was trashy and that I represent one of the best lawyers in Hawai’i. I do not have any tattoos and only ear piercings. I was brought up being taught that tattoos were hazardous to your health as the ink is semi-toxic and the process of getting a tattoo is unsanitary. I always think about when I get older, I prefer to not have any tattoos even though are becoming more socially acceptable.
As I made new friends and created my own life for myself in college, I have changed some of my views but kept majority of my original beliefs with me. I am more accepting of people’s individualism. If they prefer to dress very flashy or revealing, that is up to their own discretion. Through my schooling and classes, I have learned from my professors and my peers that the only person you should worry about caring about yourself is you. Your parents may have a certain opinion as well as your friends, teachers and colleagues. However, you don’t have to listen to what they believe is the correct way. Sure they may have their input but honestly I believe that we have the right to make our own decisions and go about our lives the way we feel is most beneficial to our happiness. If getting a crazy piercing or tattoo makes you happy, then go for it! The people you surround yourself with, they are the good people you believe them to be, should be supporting and accepting of your individualism.
I believe at this day and age, people are starting to care too much about what the social media and society thinks about them. I have noticed an increasingly amount in people getting plastic surgery to create this image of perfection or what they think is perfection. By getting yourself modified is just not something I believe in. I believe in natural beauty and to be happy in your own skin. If you feel you feel the need to modify the way you look because you are trying to be perceived as perfect or an ideal body, that is totally up to you and your judgement. I think people who feel they need to dress and act a certain way to impress other people tend to be slightly insecure. For those individuals who adorn themselves with tattoos, I believe they are doing so because of a fond memory of someone or a specific moment in time that they want to envision and think about every time they look at their body art. Society is starting to become more accepting of tattoos seeing them rather as meaningful art rather than looked down upon.
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.
