VIDEO ART: THE FINAL FRONTIER

Ok, so here we are: the end of semester, and along with it, the final project of the year. The theme this time is video art. And because this project is counting as 2 finals, I made it an interactive piece. The background is one of those old school tv sets. you know, the ones that use knobs instead of a remote control? Yeah that's right I went old school, because lets face it, old school tv was better. Anyways, the piece gives the user control over effects on 4 video clips, and those effects can be manipulated however you want. Here are some screen shots from it; eventually I'd like to post it online, but for now, I hope these will do.

Performance Art

Well, I think this project takes the cake for being the most interesting, and ridiculous thing I've ever done. But here are the results of mine, and littleraid's performance art pieces. Enjoy!!!!

Microsoft vs Google: The Ultimate Showdown

So Santi sent us this article, and I have to say it brings up an interesting point about Microsoft, though I wasn't surprised when I read it. According to the article, Bill Gates always pushed for "fast following" when it came to Google. Microsoft never really had a response for Google's immense growth, they still don't today. However, reading about this "fast following" didn't really surprise me because Microsoft has been copying others since the day they were founded. Bill Gates got his start because he copied Steve Jobs, (though to be fair Jobs copied from Xerox, but the point still stands) and his Apple operating system.

While I certainly believe that learning from your rivals is a good things, simply copying what they do isn't always the answer. To survive in a world like ours, especially when the economy looks like ours currently does, not only do you have to be able to learn form others, but you have to be able to take your opponents' strategy and improve upon it, make it your own, or better yet, come up with your own strategy. Copying a rival company isn't going to get you anywhere, especially when that company hits the tank.

Sucker Punch: Post Modern Crisis at it's Best

So Santi wants us to post some songs that were made in the spirit of the Post Modern Crisis. Naturally, the following songs will display just that. All of these songs are also from the soundtrack to the movie "Sucker Punch." The movie is about a girl whom we know only as, "Baby Doll." Baby Dol is sent to an insane asylum by her evil stepfather so that he can become the sole beneficiary of his late wife's estate. Furthermore, Baby doll is scheduled for a lobotomy 5 days after her admittance so that she'll never be able to leave the asylum. Whilst awaiting her surgery, Baby Doll retreats into her imagination, where she believes she is a dancer being held captive by an evil mobster. She rallies a few other girls try to gather the 5 items they'll need to escape. Baby Doll uses her incredible dancing skills to distract everyone, while the other girls gather the items they'll need to make their escape. However, Baby Doll is only able to dance when she lets her inhibitions go, and while she is dancing we are once again taken into her imagination. On screen her dances are portrayed by intense action scenes accompanied by classic music that has ben recreated. The music in these scenes is used to describe Baby Doll's mood, and thoughts.

The first song I am going to share is called "Sweet Dreams." This song was originally created by the Eurythmics in the 1980s.

Here is the version that was in "Sucker Punch." You'll notice the beat is completely different from the Eurythmics original version. It is much more is grim sounding than the original, but it fits the story completely, because it talks about being abused, which is how Baby Doll feels throughout the film.

The next song is called "Where is My Mind." It was originally created by the Pixies in 1988. The As you'll see, it is an awesome rock song, typical for that era, and lets face it, there were a lot of amazing songs back then. anyways, here's the song:

Like I said, it's a great song. Now here is the Sucker Punch version. Like before, the song sounds much more grim. Again this is because it is being used to represent Baby Doll's subconscious and inner thoughts. She is scheduled to have a Lobotomy very soon, and even though she hasn't had surgery yet, she is already feeling like she's losing her mind.

The third song is my favorite song on the sound track, because it is based off of one of my favorite songs ever. This next song is a mash-up of 2 songs by a very well known group called Queen. The two songs in the mash-up are "I Want it All" and "We Will Rock You." Here are the original songs:

Queen was an amazing group, and nobody will ever replace their talent, but this mash up is a pretty close second best. As with the other music, the beat is entirely different because it is representing Baby Doll's inner strife, She wants to escape, and now. this song displays her sense of urgency, and how she can't take being held captive any longer. Without further ado, I present to you, the mash-up version from the "Sucker Punch" soundtrack.

There you have it. Post Modern Crisis at its best. These songs are all amazing, although "Sucker Punch" in my opinion was a bit overrated. Don't let that take away form the majesty of the music though, the sound track is the one of the best I've ever heard.

Xerox Project

So Santi gave us yet another project. This time however I actually really enjoyed making it. In fact, so far this was my favorite project. Basically, we had to xerox ourselves and then tape the xeroxes onto a 2x3 foot object. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking ;)

Xerox Project

DOFFAY

So we talked about this artist Leigh Bowery in class the other day, and I must say I was taken aback by his work (then again I'm taken aback by this class). The video below is an example of Bowery's performance art. I like Bowery's performance art because he uses himself as the artwork, not just some random inanimate object. His choice of makeup and wardrobe are similar in insanity to that of Lady Gaga, which is another reason I love watching his performances because you never know what he's going to wear, and hence you never know how crazy he's gona look!!!! Bowery's performance also has a bit of creepiness to it because of the makeup he wears, and how it accentuates his facial expression. He also messes with the lighting a bit and the effect is amazing. At any rate, the video is right here for your enjoyment, so by all means, sit back, relax and enjoy!!!!!!

Joseph Beuys - Influential and Craziness all in one Package

You know, I'm starting to understand just how much Santi loves showing off all of these crazy artists. Needless to say the last few classes have been intense. Anyways, we recently learned about this German artist by the name of Joseph Beuys, and let me tell you, Orlan has nothing on this guy when it comes to craziness. Beuys grew up around the time the infamous Third Reich came to power. Upon graduating school in 1941 he joined the German air force and was an airplane radio operator for them until the end of the war in 1945. It wasn't until after the war that he really used his artistic talents. For more biographical info on Beuys, I found this website to be pretty informative.

Now on to Beuys' artwork. Beuys work was known for its shock value, and for its unpredictability. Beuys mainly focused his works on humaism and social philosophy. His most famous work was a performance piece, and believe it or not one of his first pieces altogether, known as How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare, and yes a dead hare was actually used for this piece. Beuys would lock himself inside a glass chamber with a dead hare, which meant that the audience would only be able to view him form the outside. Beuys would then have an animated conversation with the dead hare, none of which the audience could hear. Literally, the audience would watch him talk animatedly to a dead hare, and not even know what he was saying. The reason I know this piece was so influential is because despite its gruesome nature, it is one of my favorite pieces of his, and I can't get the images of it out of my head. Beuys made many more works that had a profound impact on art in the 20th century, and he became one of the most influential artist of his time. Here is a really good website I found that has more of Beuys' works

Orlan - One of the Craziest Artists I've Ever Seen

Mireille Suzanne Francette Porte, or Orlan, as she is most commonly known, is a french artist who lives and works in LA, New York, and Paris. She creates all sorts of works; videos, sculptures, installations, and even performance art. You name it, and Orlan has probably done it. She is best known however, for her work with plastic surgery in the 1990s. The project, known as The Reincarnation of Saint Orlan, began in 1990 and is still ongoing today. Essentially, Orlan is undergoing a series of plastic surgeries that will allow her to acquire the ideal form of female beauty as seen in the paintings of male artsits. One such part for example, si the forehead of DaVinci's Mona Lisa.

Having looked at some of Orlan's other work, which can be found here, I must say that she is by far one of the craziest artists I've ever seen. However, as I am slowly learning from Santi, the crazier you are as an artist the better. I actually really like Orlan's work. I can tell by looking at it that she really knows how to send a message with her pieces. At any rate, here are a few of her pieces, and of course, you can find these and more on her website.

Grid Project

In the midst of studying computer art and the origins of computers, we had to do a Grid Art project for Art 211. Naturally, the idea was to emulate the computers use of pixels by using a grid to create a piece of art. I chose to use perlor beads for my project. Perlor beads, are those beads you put on a little bead plate and then iron together to make all sorts of crazy designs and shapes. For my project I took a picture of myself using the webcam on my macbook and then printed it out and drew a grid on it. I used the printed photo as a map to create the piece pictured below. Unfortunately it didn't really come out to look like me, but it still looks really cool, so I'm happy. Anyways, that's one more project in the books, and only 3 more to go!!!!!

Interactive Art: Breaking the 4th Wall

When we go to an art gallery, say Le Louvre, we mostly imagine ourselves walking through various hallways and roms looking at paintings and sculptures. For hours. With no breaks. Unless you're a huge art fanatic, that might get boring pretty quickly. However, in the early 20th century, a movement began to try to involve the user in the artwork, or in other words, to break the 4th wall. This movement, called Interactive Art, brought forth all sorts of wacky and innovative sculptures and other works of art that, in one way or another, attempted to involve the user, most very successfully.

One of the most famous of these pieces is the Rotary Glass Plates by Marcel Duchamp. The piece was made in 1920, and essentially, it was a bunch of glass plates on a wheel. The user would spin the wheel and then stand one meter away. The effect of this can be seen in the photo provided, but needless to say the user was involved and was rewarded with an amazing sight. Duchamp revolutionized the art world with his piece and the Interactive Art movement grew immensely because of him. This website has more information on Interactive Art as well as Marcel Duchamp.

Flip Book Animation

So the flip book animation project is finally done. I have to say, I actually had fun doing this project. But be warned, making flip book animations requires a lot of tedious work. There were many times while I was working on this project that I wanted to just burn my book and be done. However I kept persevering, and now I have an awesome animation, and a good grade to go with it ;) Anyways, here arre some pics from it, enjoy!!!!

Computers, what would we do without them?

Ahhh finally a topic for one these blog posts that I can actually relate to. As I'm sure is general knowledge by now, computers are awesome. They allow us to do so many things we couldn't do before, and even do something better than we used to. From software like Photoshop, to simple things such as viewing tv shows and movies, computers have a permanent place in our society because they are just so damn useful. The federal government figured that out a long time ago when it used a mechanical counting system to tabulate the US Census. That machine got the job done in a few weeks whereas before it took years to complete. What we need to be aware of however, is that computers were not always as powerful as they are today.

Originally, computers were used for minute taks such as counting and making various other calculations. On top of Census Tabulation, the first real computers were used to generate military firing charts (calculations that allowed the military to know how far their projectiles would go when they launched them). The personal computer didn't come about until the mid 1970s. Now here's the crazy part; today we all know Microsoft and Apple as the big computer moguls. Well the crazy thing is, neither one of those companies developed the first personal computer. In fact, they copied the technology from its original creator. In 1974, Xerox, (no you're not reading that wrong) the company that made you a copy of that business report this morning, created the Xerox PARC Alto, the world's first personal computer. The only problem was, the Xerox execs didn't think the technology would go anywhere; so when Steve Jobs, among other tech junkies, visited the Xerox lab, they sold the technology to them. The Apple1 is a complete ripoff of the Xerox PARC Alto.

Now don't let this post fool you, I'm not hating on apple as I'm sitting here typing on my 15 inch Macbook Pro, but it should be noted that the people we generally give our hard earned money to are selling us the fruits of someone else's labor. From that point on, personal computers would continue to evolve into the computers we know today. This article on TechNewsDaily shows some of the steps the personal computer took along its long and winding journey to its current state.

Watson: Future Skynet? or Man's Greatest Creation?

In mid february, IBM stunned the world, by creating a machine capable of understanding human language, and competing on game shjows alongside humans. I am talking about of Course, IBM's computer system known as Watson, and its appearance on the "Jeopardy!". Watson competed against two "Jeopardy!" greats, Ken Jennings, the man who won 74 consecutive games, and Brad Rutter, who won has won the most money from the show. Watson stunned the world when it not only won, but blew away the competition. Watson showed off its computing brilliance with a gusto, and but us humans to shame. Watson operates on a database that takes up an entire room, and contains 15 terabytes (I only wish my computer had that much memory...) of memory space.

As we move into an era where machines are becoming more and more integrated into our society, we have to wonder, will machines ever overtake humanity? While we probably won't have to worry about Watson becoming Skynet and leading a revolution of machines against humans, we should all be aware that as we build computers that are more and more intelligent, and we integrate them into everything, we risk them figuring out how to take off their proverbial leashes, and becoming self-sufficient. While Watson will allow us to create many extremely useful technologies; I hear IBM is already beginning work on a physician's assistant for medical schools and physicians everywhere; we also need to be aware of our limits and avoid bringing about our own demise.

TV: Then and Now

In today's world, tv is everywhere. Every home in the US has one if not more TVs in it, and we spend countless hours every day watching them. However as we are all well aware, television didn't always exist. The first commercially available televisions were available right after the 1939 World's Fair, where RCA displayed one of the first working televisions. Before television, the only means of broadcasting available was radio. However, radio only broadcasts sound, and while we have seen the power of the radio medium, television has strengths that radio can't even begin to imagine. While radio captivated users by allowing them to generate their own images, television has the ability to bring its users right into any kind of event. Sporting events are by far the most watched television broadcasts because the user can experience the euphoria of attending a game, right from their own home. News programs allow the user to transported right into a battlefield, inside Congress or the White House, or to the forefront of any current event. Television has many uses, but its most important use is as a means of mass communication. Throughout the entire cold war era, a system to warn of a Soviet Nuclear strike was designed where television was used as the menas of communication.

While today, everyone seems to be into HD and 3D displays, television didn't always look like it does today. However, the oldest televisions still around today are the old tube TVs. In order to see early television, and to better understand the profound impact television has on our society, one would have to travel to the Museum of Television. Or, you could go to their website, www.mztv.com, and see all the different types of televisions that were created. The Museum of Television provides many online exhibits, including a timeline of significant events in the creation of television, as well as information on the individuals that created tv. Understanding the things that greatly impact our society is a important if we are to ever truly learn from them.

Early Radio: User Generated Content

Early radio is often compared to television because they were both largely created by the same people, and both markets had largely the same structure. However, what people rarely realize anymore is how vastly different the two are. This is partly because radio is vastly different today than it was in its early days. Radio these days is mostly just music and disc jockeys. In it's Golden Age however, radio was made up of a wide array of shows. Radio had everything from horror stories and comedies, to news and sports broadcasts. President Franklin Roosevelt famously used the radio to communicate with the people through his "fireside chats". Essentially, all the kinds of shows we see on TV nowadays all originated on the radio. Kids would fight to be the closest to the speaker, and adults would even fight over what to listen to. While today we know that just about every home in America has a tv, back then, literally every home in America had a radio. Even after the advent of television, radio still maintained its popularity. In the 60s and 70s, transistor radios were by far the most popular media outlet due to their portability. Even today, with the advent of satellite and internat radio, many people still tune in. The question is, why was radio so popular, even after television was created? What did radio do to captivate people so much? The answer, lies in the fundamental difference between radio and television.

Television became wildly popular because for the first time ever, full high quality images could be broadcasted across the entire nation. However, before TV, all people had to go off of was sound. Early radio shows consisted only of people speaking, combined with sound effects. Therefore, each radio show was actually many different shows all in one. The reason for this, the reason early radio was so captivating, and the reason it remains popular still today, is because we the listeners, generate the images that go with the broadcasts. Whereas tv gives us an image, radio lets us create our own. Which means that each and every listener could imagine a show completely differently, and thus one broadcast, is actually millions of different performances. The fact that radio allows its users to create such an integral part of any kind of show, allows its users to become more captivated and interested in it. Imagine for example, a horror show. On tv, we would see a generic scary creature chasing some dumb ass blond bimbo down a dark and dreary highway or hallway, and ultimately, would be a terrible production. However on radio, the creature would be generated by the listener, and thus would literally be created from our fears, allowing for a much scarier performance. TV, as we all know, can get boring after a while; but radio, combined with the power of imagination, is an extremely powerful medium, and the broadcasters of radio's golden age were well aware of that. Unfortunately, this wasn't always a good thing.

On Halloween night, 1938, Orson Welles broadcasted a radio show that would forever live in infamy. The War of the Worlds was a horror novel written by H.G. Wells, about a martian invasion of Earth, and the events that occurred around it. Orson Welles reproduced this chilling tale on the radio, and upon hearing the broadcasts listeners completely freaked out. It got to the point where people actually started fleeing. The main reason this broadcast was so believable was because of the tremendous use of sound effects by Welles. The life-like sounds actually made the listeners believe martians were actually invading. The other reason the broadcast scared so many people, is because listeners back then, much like we do with tv commercials now, had a tendency to change the dial on their radios between breaks, and because of this, most people missed Welles' introduction. The point is that something like this will never happen because of a tv show because we are given an image, but with a radio broadcast, the user's imagination is let loose, and if the osund is good enough, the klistener might even think it's real.

Experimental Skeleton: Artists, or Crazy People?

Experimental Skeleton is a group of artists residing in Tampa, that, based on what I have sen, makes some truly amazing stuff. When I first saw some of E.S.'s work, I honestly didn't know what to think. And oddly enough, that is what drew me to their work. None of the art that E.S. makes any sense at all, and yet their pieces are so intricately put together they leave you in pure awe and amazement. My favorite work by E.S. is part of a project they call the Refractory, called the Dream Machine. Basically the Dream Machine is a revolving light shade with moth shaped holes cut into it. The best part: you look at it with your eyes closed. The sensation is hard to describe, but when the light crosses the outside of your eyelids, the blackness infront of your eyes lights up. And the period of the rotation makes the light feel like a heart beet.

E.S.' artwork is genius because there is no right way to view it. Their art allows the viewer to determine how to experience it. The refractory is filled with many other large light based sculptures, and just based on where you stand, they appear differently. It's this kind of thinking that makes Experimental Skeleton's artwork enjoyable. Another one of their projects I enjoyed is the Lotus Project. Essentially, the Lotus Project was a series of lotus shaped sculptures that could float. On New Year's Eve 1999, they were released at a port in St. Petersburg. The lotuses were remotely lit and later remotely detonated in a blazing glory. Experimental Skeleton makes artwork that not only forces the viewer to think outside the box, but is also a very beautiful sight.

The Post WWII Era: Blue, White, and that third color...

The post WWII Era was an interesting time in the US. We had just defeated the Axis powers, our economy had finally recovered from its lowest point and history, and people were just generally happier; or at least they were for a little while. After WWII was a period of time known as the Cold War. Relations between the United States and Russia had been deteriorating rapidly over the course of the war, but things got much worse after the war. The Russians were upset over the division of Germany because they felt they did not get what they deserved. And to be fair, the Russians took more casualties than any other country involved in the war. After WWII the United States and Russia hated each other, plain and simple. The only thing keeping the two nations form declaring war on each other was the threat of nuclear destruction. However just because Russia and the United States never fought each other directly, doesn't mean there wasn't any military action at all. One of the results of Japan's surrender at the end of WWII was the liberation of Korea. After the island was liberated, the question became, what kind of government would take over? The people of Korea were divided; the North Koreans wanted to be communist, and they tried to enforce their ways on the people of southern korea, with the help of the Chinese, and of course, the Russians. The US responded to this by sending troops to help the south, and in the end, a ceasefire was signed, and the island was split into to nations, North and South Korea. Both if which still exist today. Then, there was the Vietnam War. The Vietnam war was the longest war in world history, was made immensely larger by the tension between the US and Russia. Ironically, this war had nothing to do with the US or Russia, but because the leader of the Vietcong, the people wanting liberation from France, was a communist, the Russians supported them. The US, afraid of the spread of communism, sent in troops to counter the Russians. As we all know this war was a colossal failure for the US, and many men were lost in the process.

While there was a lot going on overseas, it is also important to note what was going on in our own neck of the woods. At the end of WWII, the US hated the Russians. If you were remotely against democracy, or even liked the color red, you were instantly labeled a communist. Congress even established a committee called the House Committee on un-American Activities to keep track of those who they believed to be communist. Of course, all this committee actually did was falsely accuse hundreds of people of being Communist. Particularly those in the film industry. Walt Disney was even called to testify before the committee. All forms of media were affected by our rivalry with Russia. Cartoons and comic book heroes such as G.I. Joe, and Captain America, were created to depict the evils of communism, and the strength of democracy. The tensions between the 2 nations also began what is known as the space race. The launch of the russian satellite Sputnik, scared the living hell out of every American. The thought of a Soviet nuclear strike form space was not something anyone wanted to imagine. However thanks to the efforts of President Kennedy in the early 1960s, we were able to send the first man to the moon in 1969. The conflict between the US and Russia would last until 1989, when President Ronald Reagan famously demanded that the Russians tear down the Berlin Wall.

As much as we hated the Russians back then, our anti-communist sentiment wasn't the only social issue at work. The 1960s saw the birth of a civil rights movement. Rosa Parks became famous for starting the Montgomery bus boycotts, and even more well known, and a man by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr stepped up and lead many demonstrations in the hopes of gaining equal rights. And sure enough, by 1965, blacks had gained equal rights.

A lot happened in the post WWII Era, and even though ont all of it was good, we can still learn from it all, and hopefully, never make the same mistakes again.

Frame by Frame animation: tedious, but awesome

Frame by frame animations are a double edged sword. On the one hand, the fact that the artist has to animate frame by frame means he has a lot of control over how the animation unfolds. However, the downside is that the artist must animate, EVERY, SINGLE, FRAME. Frame by frame animations are a lot of work, but they can be very rewarding. The following links are for some frame by frame animations that I found to be entertaining.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shOFoZwtbfA


The first is a Budweiser spoof entitled "All Together Now." The reason I really like this animation is because in multiple frames throughout the animation, multiple events occur at the same time. in the first image on the right there is from the animation. The stapler, the piece of paper, and every person inside the picture frame move individually. Having many moving objects in a frame by frame animation often requires more work, but it pays off in the end because the audience becomes much more interested in the animation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CayTtHLbdsI&feature=related

This second animation is just a random one, but I like it for two reasons. The first is the music. Whilst watching this animation, the music played the role of keeping the momentum of the animation. I was really into the fast pace of the animation and the music does a great job of keeping the audience enticed. The second thing I liked about this animation is that the camera was constantly changing perspective. There were front, rear and side shots of the guy in his chair throughout the animation. the nonlinearity of this animation keeps the audience guessing until the vary end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3-OSwVDtug&feature=related

Finally, this third animation is also random, but this animation did something that really caught my attention, and I think it's all the better because of it. In the bottom image on the right we se human fingers interacting with the drawing on the post it note and physically altering its form. The reality altering aspect of this animation isn't something I see very often, and it really opens the door to many other possibilities one could use in a frame by frame animation.

Napoleon: Conquerer, or Hollywood Superstar?

We all know Napoleon as the short French man with an attitude you wouldn't want to cross. While we all recognize Napoleon for his military achievements (and failures), he is seldom recognized for his on screen exploits. Abel Gance's film Napoleon used technology that was ahead of its time and was one of the most highly anticipated films of 1927.

Gance placed three strips of film side by side to create a triptych, a type of multi-panel art. The technique Gance used in Napoleon, is a predecessor of a famous form of cinema display that was popular in the 1950s called cinerama. Cinerama was done by simultaneously projecting images from three different projectors onto a screen that consisted of hundreds of large curved strips. Gance may not have been able to for see the future use of his techniques, but Napoleon was a great success on screen, and Gance will always be remembered for it.

The Stock Market: Then and Now

As we begin to recover form this latest market crash, I think it's important to compare this market crash, to the infamous market crash in 1929, to see both the similarities and the differences in the market then and now.

The roaring twenties, was an unprecedented time of peace and prosperity in the states. The market rose to record highs, as we saw in class Broadway grew immensely and was more popular than ever before, and people were just happy in general. That is why the market crash on that fateful tuesday in October came as such a shock. There were a number of factors that caused the market crash, but the biggest factor was the lack of understanding of how the market worked. People were buying insane amounts of stock and as a result the market grew immensely. The problem back then was, banks were lending people the majority of the value of the stocks they were buying. There wasn't enough money going into the market to sustain the growth and as a result the market crashed. On top of that, many farmers were having trouble paying the mortgages on their farms. Due to their mass production of crops, the amount of money they made per crop decreased, and as a result they couldn't make enough money each month to pay their mortgage. A large drought that occurred around the time of the market crash put the lichee pin in the farmers. Their crops became dried out and destroyed and the farmers went bankrupt. As a result of the farmers' bankruptcy, the banks handling their mortgages lost money and went bankrupt as well. Banks losing money, people losing money, unemployment rates skyrocketing, major drought and dustbowls, and general depression were the best descriptors for the end of the roaring twenties.

The recent market crash however, was caused by a crash in the housing market. The problem we had was that people were trying to take out mortgages they knew they couldn't afford. This wouldn't have been so bad if the banks hadn't been more greedy than usual and ignored credit checks and given out the mortgages. When these people couldn't pay back their mortgages, the banks started losing money and as a result property values dropped and the housing market crashed. The stock market crash was a ripple effect of the banks losing money. Because they had no money left, many investment banks went out of business and as a result the stock market crashed as well. As a result of this crash unemployment rates skyrocketed and many people lost their homes. However, having learned from the efforts of FDR and the previous market crash, we have responded quickly to this crash, and as a result are already on the path to recovery. The world today is still very unstable as a result of this crash though. Markets all over the world have been effected by our market, and unfortunately the conditions are very simlar to those that caused the first 2 world wars.

The Origin of Jazz

Tracing Jazz back to its roots has always been somewhat of a daunting task. The recording technology in the late 1800s wasn't very good and listener accounts can only provide us with so much information. What we do know about the origins of Jazz is that the recently freed slaves, played a large role in bringing Jazz to the forefronts of society. Jazz music began in the south as work song that were sung by slaves, and later prison inmates. After slavery ended, it existed in the black communities in forms such as gospel music, blues, and ragtime. As time wore on, black people became more educated and moved to new parts of the country, their music also changed. Musicians had begun learning how to play new instruments, and combined with their new talent, many began mixing the various elements of gospel, blues and ragtime. The music we know as Jazz, didn't come about until the early 20th century, when Broadway and music were just beginning to blossom.

This website,

http://www.redhotjazz.com/originsarticle.html

I found to be very interesting, because they give a brief, but excellent description of the Afro-Creole cultures that lived in New Orleans who had a big hand in creating Jazz music. A group I never knew existed. As I previously mentioned, Jazz music originated in the south. The Afro-Creoles were a group of French and Spanish speaking blacks who lived in the territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. Their influence form the French and Spanish is what allowed them to become highly educated musicians and they were the ones who began combining new instruments with the blues, gospel, and ragtime of the newly freed, American slaves. The article also tells of New Orleans' red light district, Storyville. I knew New Orleans had a very widely influenced history, being that the city is still divided into four sectors, but I never imagined that such a popular genre of music began there.

Madama Butterfly

Madama Butterfly was, put simply, amazing. The animators did a great job of capturing the different emotions displayed in each scene. I could feel the passion between Aria and the sailor during the love scene, I could feel her happiness when her daughter was born, and I could feel her sorrow and despair when her daughter was taken away. One thing I know about operas is that they are very good at bringing out the emotions of those who listen,

and I feel this animation does a great job in displaying the emotions the music wants to bring out in its audience.

I also liked the symbolism the animators used. I liked how the scenes were able to just flow

together nicely, and the symbols within each scene were able to flow with them. For example,

during the childbirth scene, the fishbowl is used to symbolize the actual birthing of the child,

the fish ultimately becoming the child. When the child is born, she is connected to her mother by an umbilical cord. This cord is kept in the animation and is used as a literal representation of the mother-daughter bond between the two, and when the sailor finally returns, that breaking of that cord is used to represent the breaking of the mother-daughter bond and Aria's entrance into despair. Ultimately, the reason the animation displays the emotions of the music so well is because the symbols used within it are able to tug at the strings of the audience's hearts.

First Post

My name is Patrick Ewing, and this is my blog. I am from Annapolis, Maryland and I am a Senior at the University of Tampa. I am an EMAT or New Media Production major. I chose this major because I love computers, and although I don't know exactly what I want to do yet, the major is broad enough that I can go pretty much any direction with it. After only the first class, Art 211 has blown my mind. I have never seen technology used in so many crazy ways. I have never been much of an artist, but I hope that this class can help me understand the ways in which the various media forms can be combined to make truly great pieces of art. I want to learn to think outside the box and to become more creative. I want to learn to think more like an artist.

Having taken Latin in high school, I knew that the Romans were technologically advanced for their time; I am still amazed to this day that they could have naval battles in the Colosseum. However I never fully understood how much of an impact their technology has impacted our society. It wasn't until class yesterday that the dots were finally connected and I started to truly understand the impact art can have on society. I guess there's a lot more to consider when making a work of art than I originally thought.