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July, 2014

  1. Unit 6 HORROR!!!

    July 30, 2014 by meunier@uoregon.edu

    During the clip of “Buffy” there are many examples of mise-en-scene, diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound. The first part that I want to talk about is mise-en-scene, something that is found in practically every video yet is very powerful if used correctly. I would like to use the classroom example in the clip as a good use of mise-en-scene. The girl is in the room and the lights go dark, creating a sort of scary aura. The girl’s expressions show fright and then the lights come back on and there is another character in the clip. The use of lighting and facial expressions really emphasizes the theme of horror.

    Diegetic refers to any type of sound coming from the source. Be it someone talking, or someone playing the piano. There are diegetic sounds literally throughout any movie (aside from the silent variety) and I find a lot of examples throughout “Buffy”.  One really good example of the use of sound to increase the feeling of horror is at the beginning when the girl is singing in a dark hallway. The voice fits perfectly with her image, skinny yet haunting. The voice is shrill and quiet, leaving the listener somewhat spooked out about what will happen next.

    Non-Diegetic sound is sound that comes from outside the scenes of the movie. This type of music can include background music, narrator voice, or extravagant sound effects (loony-tunes style). In the clip for this unit, there are many uses of non-diegetic sound but the most prominent, in my opinion, is the kissing scene. The music is used to set an uneasy tone, making a relatively light moment uneasy for the viewer. The music almost implies that something bad will happen. This scene transitions between diegetic and non-diegetic quite a bit and is done very well with the purpose of creating a horror situation. This assignment was one of my favorites so far because it taught me to look at all aspects of a movie. There is so much detail that is used that the director most likely knows will go unnoticed but is required to make it a success.

    Christian M

    Category Assignments, Unit 06 | Tags: | 3 Comments

  2. Assignment 5

    July 28, 2014 by meunier@uoregon.edu

    Yesterday, I spent an hour at a coffee shop in Portland doing this activity (seems like Portland is the perfect place to do this). I wrote notes on three individuals who stood out to me as good test subjects so to speak

    The first man that I wanted to write about walked past me pretty quickly but I still got a good image. He was probably around 21 and was wearing black jean shorts and a white V-neck shirt. His shorts were pretty short and he had a gigantic Oregon tattoo on his thigh, so big that I could only see about half. He had curly black hair and small ring piercings in his ear. The assumptions that I want to make is that he is from the Northwest because he has a very casual look to him. He may be unemployed because he was not wearing nice clothes and his image gave off the look of someone who does not work very hard. As for his emotional condition, I feel that he is in a very good state. Portland is a great place for young people who give off a hipster vibe and he fits into that category well

    The next person that I noted was an older female who was rummaging through trash. She had very curly and sporadic hair that was greasy and black. She was not very tall and walked with a noticeable limp. She war what looked to be an extremely warm flannel jacket, even though the temperature was hovering in the 80’s. I feel that her values are extremely different than mine. With my values, I don’t believe that I could ever end up in a position like this. I value security and wealth much more than she does, and I assume she values freedom and individualism the most. By her appearance I assume that her background and childhood must have been somewhat rough because it’s not typical for a lifestyle change that severe without a big incident.

    The last person that I want to write about was a man sitting to my right. He was definitely way different, dressed up in a suit and tie with a briefcase under his chair. He was either talking on his cell phone or using the internet on it for over 30 minutes. I also noticed that he did not have a wedding ring and that he was around 40 years old so I made some assumptions about his values. I think that he is very driven and is influenced by wealth and prestige. Like many in the business community, his appearance and his power are highly valued. One other assumption that I am making is that he enjoys being busy. I am also making the assumption that during his childhood he tried very hard to please those around him and impress them. His conversations on the phone were very animated, even when they seemed personal and not business related.

    Category Assignments, Unit 05 | Tags: | 2 Comments

  3. Is Food Art?

    July 28, 2014 by meunier@uoregon.edu

    I originally began this post thinking that I would consider food and cooking to be art. It pleases the senses and one can obviously tell whether the cook did a good job or bad. However as the author began to lay out both sides of the argument, I began to lean the other way. I would not consider food to be art for several reasons. The first reason that I don’t consider food to be an art is that I now consider it to be a craft. The author brings up the point that in cooking, “the products are useful” (16). While art can be useful, my opinion on this matter is that the better the cook, the more he has mastered his craft. While “gourmands” will judge food on its flavors and texture, the end purpose of the dish is leaving the eater feeling satisfied. You would never classify an accountant who lowered your taxes as an artist. Sure he left you satisfied and feeling good afterwards, you just saved a lot of money, but instead you would label him as a master of his craft and better than the other accountants. In my opinion, this is the same for cooks and chefs. If they prepare better and prettier food, they are just better at cooking and making recipes, nothing else.

    Looking at the other side of the argument, we can use Dissanayake’s essay and her idea of “making special” to argue that food is an art. On page 23, she mentions that art was for “performance base” and it can easily be argued that a lot of chefs are into the performance of their food so to speak. Many of the top restaurants put in an amazing amount of detail and preparation into the appearance of their food. Not only do they care about the taste, the care about the first impression that the customer has, which is the look of the food. While some would use this data to argue that food can be considered art, I disagree. I love food and would love to try as much unique and cultural food as possible but at the end of the day I don’t think you can consider a chef an artist.

    Category Assignments, Unit 04 | Tags: | 5 Comments

  4. What is Art Essay

    July 26, 2014 by meunier@uoregon.edu

    1)   The term paleoanthropsychobiological was coined by Dissanayake to describe not the history of art but the Western “idea of art” (1).  The first thing that the author wants to encompass with this term is that art goes all the way back in history, thus the “paleo”. As far back as we know, humans were doing some form of art. The next part of the term is there to show that art is all-inclusive and everyone can do it, thus the “anthro”. The “psycho” part of the term is there to show that art is a basic emotional need that everyone has. To view art, you must look at it as a biological need that every human has.

    2)   Dissanayake first brings up the phrase “making special” on page 22. Making special is one of the big things that we learn as kids here in the United States. We are all taught to be individuals and stand out, starting at a young age. It’s a great point that Dissanayake brings up when its mentioned that the idea of making special may have been what started art. Someone wanted to do something that stood out and was unique.  The author brings up examples of “tooth decoration” way back in time to show how people have always strived for uniqueness. Ceremonies and traditions are good examples of different cultures trying to make special, and you find different ones all across the world. If there was not a drive to be special, then many cultures, customs, and arts would be mundane

    Dissanayake brings up multiple styles of art in the article. One of the first ones talked about is on page 16 when Renaissance artists begin being discussed. This period moved away from religious and spiritual focused art pieces and focused more on the real and recognizable world. Another style of art that is mentioned is modern art, also known as the art of “isms” (18). These pieces became more and more distant from actual reality. For the first time, people required the use of a critic to better understand artwork. Art moved towards “outrageous” (18) and regular people could no longer understand the meaning behind many pieces of art. The last style of art that I will talk about is postmodernism. Postmodernism is often looked at as the most modern of artwork, and Dissanayake argues that this may not necessarily be a fair way of looking at it. Artists came back down to earth in sorts, and started pointing out that art can be perceived in many different ways. The art painted in this era is a big reflection on the society and issues facing the artist who painted it. It varies from culture to culture.

    Category Unit 03 | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Life Values Assessment

    July 23, 2014 by meunier@uoregon.edu

    The five most important values to me according to the survey were

    • Family
    • Friendship
    • Health
    • Enjoyment
    • Loyalty

     

    It is really easy to say that you live your life around the values you value the most, but looking at your actions on a day-to-day basis makes it easy to see what values you actually utilize. Yesterday I woke up and went to work for 9 hours. This action took care of a lot of values in the middle of my list, such as personal development, prestige, and wealth. After work, I went to workout, which I do both for my health and enjoyment, two values high up on my list. After that I called my Dad and emailed my mom, showing my strong belief that family is the most important thing of all. To end the day, I had frozen yogurt with some friends, showing how I dedicate time to nurture friendships. Loyalty is something that I try to show by not lying and letting the people close to me that I have their backs no matter what

    I think practically all of my values come from my family. They are the ones who taught me everything when I was young and I think that through them I became who I am. I differ from my parents in some aspects, but in general, they engraved the values that they found important into me. One value that I used to value much more than I do now is prestige. I used to worry so much about what others think of me, but now as long as I am happy with myself, I don’t worry. One goal that I have yet to pursue is travel the world. The main thing that has stopped me from this is school and work. Next year I have a slot of time where I plan on going to Asia in Europe for a couple months. Hopefully it happens.

    Category Assignments, Unit 02 | Tags: | No Comments

  6. Values

    July 22, 2014 by meunier@uoregon.edu

    The reading on values was very eye opening and brought a lot of new ideas and theories to the table that I never considered when trying to decide how values change between individuals. One of the best points that I believe this article brings up is that people come up with values differently, and it’s very unlikely to be hereditary. Some people are more emotionally sensitive than others, allowing them to base their values on stuff that they “feel”. Others are more in tune spiritually, likely basing their values on a religious ideal that they inherited through the teachings of a book or manuscript. Another group of people base their values off of “know” and not “feel”. These people mold their values around facts and knowledge, carefully analyzing which option has the most support to back it up. I agree strongly that there is no definitive answer to how values are generated. If that were true we would pretty much all be the same. The reading uses a Star Wars example, mentioning Obi Wan teaching Luke to follow his feelings, to show the reader that some individuals have no issue using their gut to come up with a decision or value, while others struggle more with this premise. Another interesting topic that the author brings up is how certain individuals develop their values through “authority: (10). This is a good explanation to why the values of people from different cultures and countries are different than ours. Groups of people who grew up in a country that is more authority based are more likely to develop the values of their leader. On the contrary, individuals who grew up in a country like the United States where government authority is very limited are much more likely to go off of emotional or scientific values. One is not more correct than the other, only different! Overall I found this an extremely interesting read.

    Cheers,

    Christian M

    Category Assignments, Unit 02 | Tags: | 1 Comment

  7. Assignment #1

    July 21, 2014 by meunier@uoregon.edu

    One of the arguments made by Dissanayake, if I understood the article correctly, was that art interpretation was made popular by the rich and cultivated into a high-class hobby for those with the advanced, thus expensive, education. In the article, Dissanayake stated that art had become an “ideology whose principles were articulated by and for the few who had leisure and education enough to acquire them” (18).  While this is undoubtedly true, and those living in high society hold private collections of art, it is important to bring up the point that practically every famous and renowned artist lived lives of great pain and agony. The point that I am trying to bring up is that these artists and the work they produced, may have been better interpreted by those in the same social conditions as them, and not those with college diplomas. Practically every artist that I have studied, including Monet, Cezanne and Picasso all lived very troubling lives. On top of that, many of their most famous pieces were painted during some of their roughest years, years when they were dealing with multiple mental maladies. In my opinion, those who have felt the same pain, as the artists would better interpret this artwork. I do not feel that those living in high society, specifically during the time period mentioned in the article, would be able to understand the pain that many of these pieces of art conveyed. This was the “then let them eat cake” era after all. Art hast always been a wealthy fascination, which is why galleries hold viewings with champagne and cheese. However the greatest pieces of art were painted by the troubled, understood by the troubled, and then later came to the forefront by the wealthy. While this is just my opinion, and I am taking a giant leap here, I believe everyone understands that great artwork, not just those with education and class.

    Category Assignments, Unit 01 | Tags: | 2 Comments

  8. Hello world!

    July 21, 2014 by meunier@uoregon.edu

    Welcome to your brand new blog at University of Oregon Sites.\n \n To get started, simply log in, edit or delete this post and check out all the other options available to you.\n \n For assistance, visit Edublogs comprehensive support site, check out Edublogs User Guide guide or stop by The Edublogs Forums to chat with other edubloggers.\n \n You can also subscribe to our brilliant free publication, The Edublogger, which is jammed with helpful tips, ideas and more.\n

    Category Assignments, Uncategorized | Tags: | 1 Comment

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