Month: April 2015

When reading the instructions for this weeks discussion assignment I was very happy. People watching is one of my favorite past times. I have always found myself interested in how others present themselves through clothing, body alterations, and general appearance. In order to get optimal results I decided to pick an area that’s diverse and unique. The location that instantly popped into my mind was a coffee and teashop just blocks from my house. Located on the bustling street of Alberta, Barista was the perfect fit to enjoy an iced vanilla latte and look at strangers through the privacy of my tinted sunglasses.

Soon after I entered the coffee shop a man walked in wearing tight black pants, a white tee, shades, and covered in tattoos. I was impressed with his outfit and admired his shoes: all white leather Jack Purcell’s. His style was familiar to me. Many of my peers can be seen wearing similar outfits. His aesthetics gave off a feeling of similarity; because of this similarity in wardrobe I associated his assumed values and beliefs with mine. He cared about his appearance and took time to get ready for the day. He didn’t just simply roll out of bed. His use of a macbook pro while sipping coffee made me assume he was a college student. His persona gave off the notion that he cared about things. This man was a hard worker. Based on his appearance I would assume he was in his early twenties. His skin tone obviously conveyed the idea that he was from multiple ethnic backgrounds, but I could be wrong. His tone with the barista and others around him gave off the impression that he was happy and healthy.

The next person I decided to dissect was a middle-aged man on the street corner-playing a guitar. His clothes were destroyed; covered in rips, holes, and stains. His odor was hard to ignore and very pungent. It was hard to disregard some of the barista customers making weird faces or grabbing their nose when they walked past. It made me sad in away, but hey some people don’t understand social cues or just how to be nice. His clothes were loose and baggy and he had multiple layers on even though the sun was shinning bright. I don’t think the way he dressed could be correlated to his values or beliefs. It was obvious he didn’t choose these clothes they were given to him. What he had on his back were the few possessions he obtained in life. He was homeless and looking for money for his next meal. His face was so dirty I had trouble uncovering his race, but if I had to guess he was white and most likely came from some sort of European heritage. Through his appearance I am assuming he is unhealthy and sad. I wasn’t able to communicate with him so I can’t say if he is educated or not. His persona in contrast to the first felt gloomy and depressed.

My third and final observation was a female. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties and had the face structure to impress any gender. She was wearing a long loose skirt that flowed to her sandals. The skirt was multiple colors of contrasting blues and whites with sun and moon patterns. She was wearing a tight white tank top. She had many piercings including: her tongue, eyebrow, ears, bellybutton, and what looked to be both nipples (you could see them through the white tank top sorry if that sounds creepy). Her appearance made me instantly think of a bohemian vibe. I assumed she lived an unconventional lifestyle, where music, art, and happiness were the roots of her personality. She seemed to be into counter cultural movements and not conforming into what society says of us. Her outfit and body art gave off the perception of bliss and happiness. She had a very positive vibe.

This assignment taught me more than I thought it would. It helped me dive into my own values by dissecting and assuming others. In reality I have absolutely no idea how these individuals really feel or who they are. I simply stereotyped them from their appearances. In a way it made me feel weird and uncomfortable, but another side of me really enjoyed the task of judging through appearance.

It was hard this week to incorporate the reading into the assignment so below is a few powerful quotes taken from C.R. Sanders, Customizing the Body.

“Like clothing, body painting and hair styling are mechanisms for altering appearance that have in common the relative ease with which one can change the social “vocabulary” as the message becomes outdated, undesirably stigmatizing, or otherwise worthy of reconsideration”(Sanders, 6).

“Body alteration is culture; it is meaningful to the members of the society in which it occurs, and it is produced within complex webs of collective action”(Sanders, 21).

When I was people watching in the coffee shop I continually went back to this weeks course reading. It helped me view the people around me in a different limelight. Although the task asked to judge by appearance the reading made it feel different. When I was viewing individuals I was trying to discover the influences of their appearance not so much the ‘why’ aspect.

After reading, Food Is Art, by Elizabeth Telfer it is fair to claim just as the title has done, that in fact food is art and not just a source of energy needed for human survival. Telfer early on in the article introduces us to aesthetic reactions. Elizabeth describes the emotional process between food and thought as: ‘the notion that food can cause an aesthetic reaction, we can distinguish liking the smell and taste of food from approving of it instrumentally, and lastly the reactions to tastes and smells can be combined with a judgment for which the judger claims objectivity.’ According to the definition of what a work of art is, “a thing intended or used wholly or largely for aesthetic consideration”, some prepared foods or drinks go beyond the typical run-of-the-mill cuisine we see on a daily basis. Food as an art form is not something to serve the simple needs of nourishment. A meal which encompasses the realm of art is too complex and drawn out to just be used as a medium of feeding. Food does not express emotion or convey a certain feeling when you’re simply eating a snickers or frozen fish sticks from the freezer, but when a cook couples ingredients together to create an explosion of taste emotions are expressed. Its true these emotions are different then the awe inspiring feeling you get when looking up at a giant sky scraper or the Mona Lisa, but food treated with respect and love can bring strong feelings that elates us or brings us joy. To over use the word art in conjunction with food would create a problem that turns food into a precious commodity. Food can be an art form and we’ve made that clear, but Telfer also tells us not to overuse this claim. Lastly, happy medium should be found where: “we must not be so heedless as to waste a satisfying kind of aesthetic experience, but not so precious as to expect more of it than it can give.”

In this weeks reading we are formally introduced to what art is in the Western world. Our author, who is giving a speech to members of the NAEA, first introduces the idea of art as an adjective called “paleoanthropsychobilogical”. This adjective can be dissected into three parts:

“First, that the idea of art encompasses all of human history )i.e., as far back as the Paleolithic or even earlier): second, that it include all human societies (i.e., is anthropological or cross-cultural): and third, that it accounts for the fact that art is a psychological or emotional need and has psychological or emotional effects”

This statement backs the notion that art must be viewed as an innate trait of the human species, where art is in the same alignment of language, sex, or aggression. Art is simply a characteristic of human nature. At first glance I was questioning the logic or idea that art is just another characteristic of human nature. As humans were we programmed to be creative or is that simply a step that came to be as we evolved? After continuing my reading I accept the idea that art although ambiguous by nature is a universal trait held by all humans. Looking back through the history of human societies art is always present. It may vary from culture to culture, but regardless its importance within a society equates to arts importance within the scope of the human species. The author even makes the claim that our species deserves to be called aesthetics or artistic just as much as it is deserves to be called sapiens. Sapiens meaning wise fits our species pretty well, but arguing the claim that our species deserves to be called artistic has some real truths. Over the history of the human experience our art has been a notable topic. From cave drawings to the works of street artists like Banksy today; art will continue to be a medium crucial to the human experience.

Friendship, Health, Family, Enjoyment, Loyalty, Leadership, Personal Development, Security, Wisdom, Community, Wealth, Expertness, Service, Personal Accomplishment, Prestige, Power, Independence, Integrity, Creativity, Location.

In my daily life I am making decisions that reflect my own values. Most often I do this subconsciously, but after todays life values assessment I believe there will be more depth in my reasoning behind my actions. My top five values today include friendship, health, family, enjoyment, and loyalty. For instance today I worked out. This shows my value of health. I also spent time today discussing a future with a person I love. This couples my top five values together.

Growing up with a solid family structure I learned many things from my family. My parents taught to be well behaved and respectful to the people around me. The loyalty I saw between my parents taught me to be loyal within each relationship I created. I hope to grow and become more in tune with my values as I grow not only in age but in maturity. My goals for the future are to become a nicer more genuine person to my family, friends and strangers. I believe life is too short to be unhappy so why not make myself happy by making others happy. A simple smile can change someone’s attitude. The only thing stopping me from attaining this goal is my own attitude. At times I am not as friendly as I wish and can let the little things bother me. In the near future I see my attitude shifting to a more open, friendly, and generous attitude so I can impact others around me in only a positive way.

A note to my readers: I would like to apologize for my late response to this weeks blog assignment. I have been away from technology the past week and I failed to look at my assignment until today. If I have inconvenienced any of my peers by my late responses I am truly apologetic. I hope some of you are still able to view and read my blog. Better late than never. 

Personal values can be defined, compared, and contrasted in multiple ways depending on the source of the values. Nearly every individual that walks this planet holds a set of personal values, however the root of these beliefs is different between everyone. Although the term value is new and hard to define by some it is said that the term can be coupled with personal evaluations or related beliefs: “Although the term values is often used loosely, it should be synonymous with personal evaluations and related beliefs, especially personal evaluations and related beliefs about the “good,” the “just,” and the “beautiful,” personal evaluations and beliefs that propel us to action, to a particular kind of behavior and life”(Lewis, 8). A key point from this weeks reading that I agree with comes in chapter 2 of A question of Values: Six Ways We Make the Personal Choices That Shape Our Lives. It defines the steps one might take to, “Come to know something”. These steps include: sense experience, deductive logic, emotion, intuition, authority, and science. These steps, both basic and synthetic mental modes, describe to us as humans how we develop and choose values. This proves the point that value systems are different within each of us and can be shaped and shifted through different life experiences. The chapter uses examples to help explain this logic. For example Christianity and political candidates are used to explain how values are associated with certain bodies of individuals. Christianity is associated with authority, but it also has connections to the modes of emotion, intuitiveness, and logic. Political candidates are often associated with the modes of emotion, because they are seen has family and neighborhood oriented people, where they will only act within the best interest of the community. I strongly agree with the six steps associated with coming to know something. We are not born preprogrammed to feel certain ways. Instead we are shaped by our surroundings, and the six modes listed define accurately the different ways we might pulled into feeling a certain way or holding a certain value.

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

My first blog post introduces a new wave of Atlanta’s hip-hop scene. As producers such as Mike Will Made-It, Metro Boomin, and 808 mafia, couple trap style beats with mainstream electronic dance music an almost new genre is created. ILOVEMAKONNEN has a unique style where home recording style blog songs and off key singing over 16rpm R&B synth pop is his expertise. VICE’s VLOG: “Noisey Atlanta is a 10-part series documenting unprecedented access into the city’s rap scene.” Through this vlog you discover how this new music is being created, why it is being created, and its main influences. Titled, Noisey Atlanta-The Psychedelic and Bizarre World of iLoveMakonnen” we soon find out a main influence of Makonnen’s music is psychedelic drugs, mutating the hard style of trap into a softer more colorful version. This new alternative sound can be found in a few of his hits such as “Club Goin’ Up on a Tuesday”, “Maneuvering”, and “Don’t Sell Molly No More”. Although I don’t condone the use of hard drugs, its use to influence this new style of music has been enjoyable to listen to. Makonnen’s career has skyrocketed after Drake remixed his hit single “Club Goin’ Up on a Tuesday” renaming it “Tuesday”. Tuesday was an instant success and went viral. His early stance on the music industry shifted after his over night success and he signed to Drake’s label OVO Sound, which is distributed by Warner Bros. Only time will tell if this style of Hip-Hop will stay or fade, but for now its fun to enjoy the colorful and psychedelic sounds of ILOVEMAKONNEN.