Placebo

I am writing about the Radiolab episode called placebo. Sometimes what happens is that people will end up experiencing the effect of something when actually what happens is a trick of the mind. An example of this is that people who have Parkinson's disease are told that they will turn the stimulator on, when actually they do not turn the stimulator on and all the quivering stops. Another fact that was mentioned in the show is that even before the pain of getting shot starts to appear their thoughts decide what they think will happen. An example of this is a shopkeeper who gets shot will think that he will be known as a hero.

The next section of the show was about the role that the doctor has in the placebo effect. There was a patient who had a disease and the doctor hypnotized him and the disease which was congenital icthyosis went away on one arm. The doctor showed the person to a surgeon who was in a surgery. So they called a conference and the president of the royal society of medicine said that the condition was incurable that led him to not be so sure and not be able to cure any of the others that came to him who had the condition.

Another part of this radiolab episode was the fact that someone named Anton Mesmer believed that fluid flows through all things, which he named animal magnetism. His theory said that the fluid that was within all of all of us would get stuck or bunched up and that would cause disease. The person mention above would dress in a lilac suit and the person would have what he called a healing episode. The doctors lost business becuase of this animal magnetism so they protested to the king. Because of this protest they devised what is known as the first placebo test. In this test they said that one of the trees was magnetized and by the time he got to the third or fourth tree he was having a healing episode.

The final part was about faith healing and the christian religion.

Laughter

I didn't realize that someone had already done this one but I had already listened to the whole thing!

This was about laughter and how humans laugh and why they do it.  One person described laughter as a clumsy way of expressing yourself.  Aristotle had a theory that every person laughed on their 40th day.  One woman tested this idea to see if it was true and her baby  did not laugh until her 97th day.

A neuroscientist tested the emotions of rats and tried to make them laugh.  He used a special machine that allowed him to hear their sounds, because without the machine they could not be heard by a human.  He tickled one, which made a laughing noise that was rythmic.  He did not believe that it was a real laugh and tried it on a second rat and the same thing happened. 

Humans laugh because it is a social behavior and not so much about humor.  In a study, 85% of the people said nothing funny before they laughed.  During the 1990's sit- com The Nanny, people were casted to be in the audience based on how good they could laugh and were paid to do it.

In Tanzania, during 1965 there was a strange laughing epidemic.  It started with one girl and spread around the entire village.  People could not stop laughing and crying.  People did not know what to do so they went to the witch doctor.  There are theories, but no exact reason as to why this occured.

Mortality - Fountains of Youth

I listened to a really interesting topic; it was on extending life. I believe all of us would be interested in this; maybe there are people who are tired of life and just want to rest but most of the people would be trilled to live longer and stay young. I learned that rats live up to 3 years and squirrels up to 25. They still don’t know why different animals and things have a longer life expectancy. Human’s average life is about 70 years. The scientists have been performing experiments on worms to try and extend their life, and it has worked. There are 20 thousand genes in a worm. The Def 2 gene they call the Grim Reaper because it is the one who is shortening the worm’s life. Yeah, there is death gene. Scientists have extended the worms life from 14 to 28 days by damaging this gene, kind of like cutting it shorter. This might not seem a lot but it doubled the worm’s life span and it is a huge change. There is also a Def 16 gene that is the youth gene, keeping worms young.  By damaging the Grim Reaper gene it liberates the Def 16 gene and now it springs into action; the Grim Reaper gene kind of squashes the activity of the Def 16 gene.  So now the Def 16 gene has been like extended which extends the worms life span. This is some great stuff. The scientists are working to see if this could work on humans. They haven’t found things like it but the possibility is still there. I mean how great would this be, to live longer by science?

Sleep Deprivation

When people don’t sleep they don’t get proteins properly folded. They can form clumps. Therefore, clumpiness equals tiredness. Sleep is like a filter. When we sleep a bunch of clutter is removed from our mind. When people sleep, that is what allows them to make very important connections in their lives. Also, they said that if you are working on a project, but no real progress is being made, you should go to sleep. Then, the next day when you do that project it will be easier to move forward. I have tried this myself, and it is true. I was able to do the same task that I was trying to do the night before, much better the next day. During sleep, waves of electrical activity pass through your head and make all the connections you experienced during the day weaker. Sleep is like the process of erosion. At the beginning of the morning, the things left standing is the things you need to know. I never knew there were so many connections between sleep and things that happen during the day. Now I know why when I don’t get enough sleep I feel cranky the next day. My mind is still full of so much clutter; there is no room to think. I still wonder if it matters how deep of a sleep people have to be in for these connections to take place. Now, I will never think of sleep as the same thing anymore. Overall, human beings need sleep to survive.

LMAO

Since I love to laugh, I decided to pick the Radio Lab story titled "Laughter." In this episode, Radio Lab tries to figure out the meaning behind laughter.
As Radio Lab attempts to explain laughter's purpose, they refer to Aristotle's thoughts on the subject-it is what separates humans from beasts and a baby is without a soul until it laughs. A baby's first laugh, in Aristotle's mind, takes place when the baby is 40 days old. Since Radio Lab leaves no questions left unanswered, they go to psychobiologist Dr. Jaak Panksepp to test Aristotle’s hypothesis. For this experiment, Dr. Panksepp tickles rats. The rats laugh and even follow the ‘tickler’s’ hand after it is removed. They seem to find pleasure in laughing. For the baby experiment, Radio Lab works with their producer Amanda Aronczyk who just had a baby. The baby did not laugh until the 97^th day. Both of these dispelling the thoughts of ancient philosopher, Aristotle.
Laughing is a social thing that is neurologically programmed by evolution. Without an outside source, there is no laughter. For example, if you are sitting at home all alone-with no media-you will not laugh. Even thinking about something funny, is an outside source, so that doesn’t count either. Because chimps laugh, we can conclude that it was programmed by evolution. The only difference between a chimp’s and a human being’s laugh is the “H” sound made in “haha.” A chimp only uses the “a” sound, making it sound like it is panting.
Radio Lab concludes the episode with a story about a small town in Tanzania in the year 1962, when a laughing epidemic struck. A girl in a boarding school was taking a math test and just began laughing. The laughing spread from girl to girl, and eventually throughout the entire school. The laughing lasted anywhere from a day, to a few days. The laughing was intermixed with crying too. Radio Lab went to Tanzania to find the meaning behind this event. While their reporter was there, she heard different reasons including an ‘adolescent girl laughing syndrome’ in which the young girl laughs to ensure safety, and there was also the thought that it was a curse brought upon the town by caterpillars. Radio Lab finally found a man that was actually apart of the sickness. The man claimed that nearly a couple weeks before the event, the village received independence from Britain. A new political system was introduced along with Christianity. The villagers lost their former freedoms. This is the reason that the man thinks the laughter started. The dramatic change caused silence and grief. Once the girl laughed, everyone couldn’t help but to laugh with her. They hadn’t done it in so long. It was a form of release, of independence.

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2008/02/22

Blog Post #11: Radio Lab

For this post I want you to listen to an episode of Radio Lab and discuss what you learned in 250 words or more. There are five seasons and many episodes to choose from so explore the site and find one you might be interested in. Try not to repeat an episode that someone else has already written about. You can also download their free podcast off of itunes, but make sure you write about a full hour long episode.

Remember to post a comment on a classmates blog. If you have not done this in the past please go back to previous posts and comment! Last week hardly anyone did it and you will be marked down! These are due next Wednesday.

Public Education Needs a Change.

If I were elected as America's next president tomorrow, I'm not sure what I would change.  I think I would make everything more fair.  I think the socio-economics of a country as big as America naturally unevens the playing field.  Few other countries deal with the diversity America does.  Money should be distributed more evenly and education should be better.  Its sad to know that Chicago public schools are some of the worst public schools in the country. It boils down to money essentially, these inner city schools get the short end of the stick because their parents can't afford private schools.  It makes me feel guilty when I think about how good of a high school I came from and that I go to a private school and to think how a percentage of high schoolers in Chicago may graduate without knowing how to read.  I think if money was better used in this country our schools wouldn't be in the condition they are in.  College wouldn't be as intangible for some if more money was devoted to education.  I would put money towards more arts and literature in American high schools today.  More after school programs and continuing education for adults.  Another big thing I'd change about American Education is Sex Education.  After taking a course on AIDS here at Columbia, its alarming how poorly teenagers are educated on sex before they leave high school. There are a lot of flaws in our public education system and as president, I'd try to fix them. 

if i was the pesident

If I were to, for some strange reason, be the president, I would push for many of the same things as Barak Obama, and a few things that he is not completely pushing for. I would be pushing to change our heath care system to be attainable by all, probably a plan very similar to Obama’s. I would avoid war at almost all costs and I would try to pay attention to our country more than other countries being like us. I would make sure that abortions legal and I would be sure to have gay marriage legal. I would try to separate the church and state as much as possible and I would keep up efforts to destroy discrimination. I would have a way to regulate the money in the country and I would try to get the country and its people out of serious debt. I would try to get some prison sentences shortened, such as minor drug offences and children’s murder charges. I would push for harsher penalties for other things like drunk driving and adult murders. Even though I know plenty of smokers, I would try to make the smoking ban a national thing and the same goes for the Chicago law about driving while on the phone/texting. I would be sure to keep all of the arts in schools and better funding of schools in general. I would work to lessen obesity (if that is anyway possible) I would also make a point of looking bad ass at all times.

If I were president...

I would have a three part plan in hopes of aiding our country and our fellow countries. I would miraculously relieve the country by filling the federal reserve full of gold and absolve all of the countries debt. With this action I hope to alleviate the country's worries over it's economy and over their own personal economic troubles. Also raising our position in the world while making the country less dependent on other nations to stay afloat. Secondly, I think that I would, also miraculously, try and replace our need for fuel with a need for water due to replacing all cars with hydrogen cars. I believe that if the some of the country's environmental problems are solved then it would also solve alot of issues politically. Lastly, I would like to try and solve our international problems by pulling our soldiers out of countries that are not safer with them there, disarm all atomic bombs, and disable all instruments, and factories and such pertaining to weapons of mass destruction. All of this I hope will solve alot of issues that are not only in our own country, but in the whole world. 

Kosovo

If I was the president of United States I wouldn’t just have power in America, but also in some other parts of the world. Since US is a superpower it has a lot of influence on the rest of the world. Not just that, but this problem many other countries would also agree to solve, like Russia. Anyway, I know it is not in the US but it is in the part of the world where I come from, Europe and specifically Serbia. It is the Kosovo problem. For people that don’t know about this issue, Kosovo is a province in Serbia and is trying to get independence and become a new nation. So far it has been working for them, despite some countries refusal to recognize it. Kosovo has declared it’s independence illegally and breaking the UN Resolution 1244 that protects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, present day Serbia. The majority of Kosovo’s population is Albanian and therefore it was easy to sick for independence. However I believe that majority can’t take away someone’s land if it’s unlawful. Kosovo is still a de-facto state and it is in the process of legal dispute. However, United States recognized the newly formed government and if I was the president I would change Americas opinion on this. It would have a great effect since the EU is partly divided on this ruling and Russia is against it. Kosovo is Serbia and considering history it is the cradle of our culture. I know if Albanians wouldn’t have American support it would all be different. 

Universal Healthcare

If I were the president of the United States of America and I could have one law passed I would make the case for that law to be Universal Healthcare.
I believe that we should give everyone equal and universal health care. why is this the case. Because then everyone would be able to have some level of health care coverage. Then if people were interested they could purchase an upgraded health care plan that would cover more of their medical costs. This would be the case so that the rich could have a plan that suits them.

This is the case for other countries so why should it be the case for our country.

Barack Obama, believes in affordable accessible health care so, I am aiming to provide the lower and middle class a standard health care package that they can keep as it is or upgrade it so that they have a higher price package and they will not have to pay so much out of their pocket.

But this will allow the lower class to have a decent healthcare package, because in our current state of affairs, some or the majority of the lower class do not have access to decent healthcare, or they have no healthcare at all.

I believe in this very strongly because their is a necessity for people in this country to be able to get the care that they very much want and need in order to survive once they reach middle age and beyond then.

President David

If I were president of the United States the first thing I would do is end the war in Iraq. I would bring our troops home in a timely fashion. I am a man of peace. I only believe in war as a very last resort. Problems can be solved by many other ways besides war. Instead of spending a ton of money on war I would give it back to our own country. For example, I would make it a priority to give many grants to college students. I really mean grants, and not loans. Loans don’t help much because many students are still paying a crap load of money back to the banks ten years after they graduate. Also, these grants would be given to middle class students and down. Many people are always stressing the importance of education. I will make it possible by actually walking the walk and provide students with a good amount of money. If I were president I would also do everything in my power to make sure social security stays around for future generations. I believe that if you are an American citizen, have paid your taxes, and have worked hard in the United States for many years; when you retire social security is your reward from the government for being a good citizen. Finally, I would take great concern in protecting our environment. I would pass a law that would make it mandatory that by such a year our country would have to have such a percentage of energy coming from solar, hydro, wind, nuclear, and geothermal.

Jade N Amey: Prez Elect . . .

Now, there are many things that I would do as president. One would be to legalize gay marriage and medical marijuana. Another would be to have stem cell research allowed and to go through with tax benefits that would be more beneficial for the working man as opposed to the rich man. (As you can see, I agree with Obama a lot).

But first and foremost, the first thing I would do is to LEGALLY separate church and state. Only because it is a huge pet peeve of mine, and I had a couple of problems with it when I was in high school.

For example, I was the chief photographer on the yearbook staff my senior year. The yearbook staff was in charge of the hallway displays, including the one in the lobby. During the holidays, our principal wanted us to put up a holiday display that exhibited all holidays for different religions; not just Christmas as we all had been familiar with in the past.

When our principal proposed this, not only most of the year book staff, but the whole school had a fit because "no one in our community is Jewish or Islamic". The fact is, the school had a couple of students from each religion, even some who practiced Wicca. My high school was so closed-minded about this, and it made me so mad.

Not only does church and state appear both in our school systems, it also is a basis of why a lot of laws are not passed, such as gay marriage. If it isn't approved or stated in the Bible, then it can't be done at all. It's not about religion; it's about two HUMANS, no matter what sex, gender, or sexual orientation he or she are, that are in love. Shouldn't everyone have that right if they are in love? The current laws on this make absolutely no sense, and it's mind boggling.

There are many other reasons as to why I would make the separation of church and state indefinite, but I don't want to bore anyone by composing a mad novel.

Jade N. Amey

President

As some people have already mentioned, I also am not that much of a political person.  Two years ago I would've told you that I was a Democrat but I really couldn't answer too much more.  Because of my government class my senior year of high school and the election, I have been informed on a lot of issues.  Now I am aware of what goes on and I understand more about our country.

If for some crazy reason that I was elected president, there is one thing that I would really like to change.  I have always felt strong about this controversial issue.  I would legalize gay marriage in all of the states.  I believe that every person should be entitled to marry who ever they choose; man or woman.  I feel bad for gay people that want to get married but are not allowed to because of their sexual preference.  I also think that religion should not play a factor with the  law, because clearly not everyone follows the same religion.

  Another thing that I would change is that all adoption agencies would allow gay couples to adopt.  I know that some people argue that a child needs a mother and a father, but really the focus should be that the child has a home and loving parents.  Gay couples are just as capable as raising a child as a man and woman couple.

If I Were President...

I never really considered myself a political person until this recent election. Everyone is quick to put in his or her two-cent plan on how to fix the economy. As of right now, I have no magic plan to get America out of this “economic crisis” however, if I had one free pass to change anything in the US, I would make college affordable for everyone. In society today, a college degree is essential. For example, majority of the jobs offered today require a bachelors degree. In some cases, a college degree might not be enough. There are many college graduates in society today that cannot find decent paying jobs, because the job market sucks. The cost of attending four-year a university has sharply increased over the years. More and more families are realizing that they cannot afford to send their children to school. Some of my friends got accepted into their dream schools, but had to turn them down because of outrageous costs of attendance. I believe anyone who wants to go to college and has the grades to succeed in college should not be denied the right to attend because of financial reasons. Other countries have found ways to put their students through secondary education, and I believe America should follow. American constantly prides itself on how superior it is over other countries. Therefore a better education plan needs to be enforced. If I was President I would also make sure loans were easily available to anyone who needs them for education reasons.

President

When i walk down the street and see homeless people it makes me so sad. If i could do one thing as president i would try and help the people who are less fortunate, not only homeless but the people who are less financially secure. Especially seeing family members and friends who dont have money and how they suffer because of it really makes me want to help poorer people. I mean we have programs now to help the people who need it but we need to do more things that prevent people from becoming that poor to where they are homeless, or dependant on the government, but it is not enough. I would want to create more jobs for people to have, that would make them feel secure and less dependant like they are getting money for doing nothing. Plus you cannot have people to far apart economically, it will create a lot of tension, we need to do something now before it is to late.

If I Were President...

If I were president, I would probably suck at it. It is the most important job in the entire world and I know for a fact that I would not be able to take on the responsibilities that come along with the title. For the sake of this essay however, I’ll talk about something that I would attempt to enforce; strictly American citizens having the right to vote in this country. I do not believe that non-citizens should be given the right to vote in any election in this country. It’s not like an American citizen can go to another country and vote. I believe that if you would like to vote in America then you should take the necessary steps to become a citizen. I do not have a problem with any immigrants who legally become American citizens. My ancestors did it in the early 1900s and many people still continue to do it every single day. I understand that ‘times have changed,’ but many of my friends and their parents have legally immigrated to America from many places across the globe including Palestine, Greece, Mexico, Ireland, and Guatemala. Each of them have earned their way here and have made something from the nothing that they came with. Even though America is nowhere near flawless, I believe that it's still the greatest country in the world and we should all treasure the rights that are so easily overlooked by many of us, including voting and especially freedom of speech that allows us to all write these essays without fear.

This music video that i posted below has doesn't have anything to do with immigration (it's mostly about war), but it does have to do with what Wyclef Jean would do if he were to be president.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POTARsZ00AQ

prezzzzZzZzZZzzzZZzzz

I don't really know what to say on this blog honestly. I'm not political. Politics annoy the crap out of me, actually if i'm going to be frank, which i will. I may be viewed as ignorant by people my age or older who immerse themselves in politics. But it doesn't particularly butter my bread. So if i were president, i think i would probably end up doing something that wouldn't benefit the country as a whole (but it might) as much as something else would. I would probably do something along the lines of eliminating every person that annoys me. Selfish? i know. that is the only selfish bone in my body. If you annoy me, it's done, and i don't like you. So i would build my own rocket ship company, and i would ship all of my annoyances off to another planet. Or a space station. Considering that i will never be president, this doesn't have to be realistic does it? Oh another minor thing i would do, is change the name of p*dding. i hate that word so much it makes me want to vomit when i hear it. Because of that word, i can't look at, touch, eat, or even thing or talk about that jell-o product. I think we could change the name to something less bone crawling, like custard. It's the same thing isn't it? same consistency and such if i'm correct in my thinking. I definitely think the world would be a better place without the P word.

So, technically that's two things i would do. 

But neither of them are real important.

Blog Post #10: What Would You Change?

For this post I want you to imagine yourself as the next President of the United States. In this imaginary scenario you have one free pass to change anything you want in the US and it will miraculously happen. In 250 words or more tell us what you would change and why.

Due next Wednesday 11/19. Remember to comment on at least one of your classmates posts.

Black and White

I choose to analyze David Anderson’s photograph Black and White for my essay. David Anderson was born and raised in East Lansing, Michigan. In college he studied history and film. For the past three years Anderson has been a full- time fine art and commercial photographer. In 2003 Anderson’s attention was brought to the small poverty-stricken town of Vidor, Texas. Located in southeastern Texas, Vidor is know as a “Klan Town” with 97.33% of their residents being from European decent. Members of the Ku Klux Klan organized marches and staged protest to keep the city of Vidor “white”. Anderson made countless trips to the town to document the aura of the town and the residents. In 2005, Rough Beauty was the winner of the Santa Fe Center for Photography Project Competition. Now in his mid 30’s, Anderson lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with his wife.

David Anderson presents the photograph in black and white, which correlates with the title of the piece. The photograph is of two cats in a field: one black cat and one white cat. In the foreground, the pure-white cat is in a deep sleep. Directly in the middle of the composition is a white rope. The white rope divides the picture and divides the cats. In the background, the black cat stands at attention. The black cat does not seem as relaxed as the white cat is. He stands very close to the rope but does not cross it. He is blurrier than the white cat. One cannot make out the features of the black cat. On the other hand, every detail of the white cat is seen.


http://www.dbanderson.com/portfolio.php?name=rough%20beauty

Black and White

There are these two cats in the grass, one is white, and one is black. There is this line in between separating them. White cat is in focus and black isn’t. White cat is sleeping and the black one is up. The author of this photograph is Dave Anderson. This is a photograph from his art shoot, Rough Beauty, of life and people in a small town of Texas, called Vigor. All photographs kind of linked and preceded each other. They were all as he was explaining it, a small conservative town with isolated and naïve people. It seemed like they weren’t in the 21^st century. This photograph of a white and a black cat can mean so much in different ways. It could be racial point of view as a white cat is a white man and a black one is a black man. It could also represent the people of Vigor and how they are on the other line of civilization, undeveloped and not moving in the developing direction either, but falling behind. Dave Anderson is a former New Yorker, now residing in Little Rock, Arkansas. He studied history and film in college before entering the photography world. “He worked for President Bill Clinton’s communications and media affairs office, MTV’s nation-touring Choose or Lose bus recruiting young voters, and later for Madstone, a maverick independent movie studio in New York”. Dave is now in his mid-30s.

Citation:

http://www.roughbeauty.com/biographies.htm

Spain by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was born on August 22, 1908 in France. He satarted photography at a young age. He failed at learnig music but excelled in oil painting. He went to a private art school at age 19. he became inspired into photography by a 1930 photpgraph by a Hungarian Photojournalist. It was a photograph of black kids running in a wave. from then on he photographed everything in the street. It is said that he began the age of the 35mm camara, and the art of "street photography" He captured so much in his pictures, whether posed or unposed.

The collection spain came about in 1932-33. They were pictures of the likfe in Spain duing the war, and a civil war that was brewing in the country. The pictures varied form happy pictures of children, so sad pictures of dead bodies in the street, and poor people in the ghettos. Thats where my picture came in on the three old women. There were heart-wrenching pictures of kid playing in dangerous, derelict alley ways, that some how sitll looked happy unitl one looked at the atomsphaere of the happiness. He is by far my favorite photographer.

Leashed

I decided that I was going to talk about the photo called leashed. The exhibit is named Rough Beauty and the artist is Dave Anderson. The Artist was drawn to the town of Vidor, Texas. The reason that he was drawn to this town is because of it reputation as a clan town. Some background history about the town is that the place had local resistance to federal attempts to integrate a public housing development into the town. The KKK would stage marches in the town. Something else that Dave Anderson found in the town was a form of poverty.
The photo called leashed is of a dog that is sitting on top of a wrecked car with plants growing out of the hood of the car. There is a line attached to a tree, on that line is a chain which connects with the dog that is standing on top of the car.
I believe that this photo is saying that animals are not always taken care of properly becuase there is abuse of animals. Also you will find cases of neglect of animals because they will be left outside of a store becuase animals are not let into the store. Animals need to be loved and cared for because they look up the person who takes care of them in the same way that a child looks up to their father or mother. Animals are loving, and caring creatures who will never think badly of you no matter what you do, and they will always look up to you for care and respect.




http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6442777
http://www.dbanderson.com/viewer.php?pid=2&id=433&orderid=27

Cindy Sherman

Untitled Film Still, #14 is taken from a series of photos done by Cindy Sherman called Complete Untitled Film Stills; the project took three years, from '77 to '80. All of the women in this photographic series are portrayed by Cindy herself, in either a "B-Movie, foreign film, or film noir actress".

In fact, she only photographs herself in all of her projects.

She doesn't see her work as self-portraits. She proclaims herself to be "anonymous" in them. It may be because she takes on many different roles in her photos.

Cindy Sherman was born in 1954 in New Jersey; but she didn't grow up there. Shortly after he birth, she and her family moved to Long Island. She attended Buffalo State College, where she first got into doing art. Sherman first started out with painting, but soon became frustrated with the medium and decided to take up photography.

Cindy Sherman has done a lot more than photography. She is also a film director and has been commissioned to do advertising work for Marc Jacobs and designed two album covers for the band Babes in Toyland in the early '90s.

Citation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sherman

Jade N. Amey

Russell Lee?

I'm doing my paper on a fella named Russell Lee. He was born in Ottawa, Illinois in 1903, and died in Austin, Texas i 1986. He trained as a chemical engineer, and in the fall of 1936 he became a member of the team of photographers  put together under Roy Stryker for the federally sponsored Farm Security Administration (originally named the Resettlement Administration) documentation project. Lee is responsible for some of the iconic images produced by the FSA, including photographic studies of San Augustine, Texas in 1939, and Pie Town, New Mexico in 1940. After the FSA was cut off from funding in 1943, and after his own service in World War II, Lee continued to work under Stryker, producing public relations photographs for Standard Oil of New Jersey. Some 80,000 of those pictures have been donated by Exxon Corporation to theUniversity of Louisville in Kentucky. Lee moved to Austin, Texas in 1947 and became the first instructor of photography at the University of Texas in 1965. This guy Russell Lee is responsible for the series of photographs I'm doing my report on. Sadly, this is all the information i could dig up on him.

Sharon Lockhart (Maja and Elodie)

The artist responsible for the piece of art I wrote about for my paper is named Sharon Lockhart. She was born in 1964 in Norwood, Massachusetts and attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and the San Francisco Art Institute. Lockhart is a photographer and avant-garde filmmaker. Over the past fifteen years, her work has been displayed all over the world, in places such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Wako Gallery in Tokyo, the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, along with many others. Her work frames the moments of everyday life while exploring the relationship between photography and film. A lot of her work in photography involves staging scenes similar to the methods used in filmmaking and her films tend to focus on the photographic caliber of a moving image. Sharon Lockhart has earned several fellowships and awards, like the Creative Capitol Grant, the Art Matters Grant, and a fellowship in the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Today, Lockhart continues to work and live in Los Angeles, California.

Fascinating Photos

The first pair photos I looked at were the diptych Maja and Elodie (2003). The photographer, Sharon Lockhart, emphasizes the role of the observer by presenting two nearly identical photographs side by side, inviting viewers to consider not only the imagery at hand but also the pleasure and profundity of the act of looking at it. Drawing upon structural and documentary filmmaking traditions, Lockhart's art strikes a balance between intimacy and objectivity, addressing the nature of self-representation and anthropologic inquiry. The two photographs are of a young woman interacting with Duane Hanson’s sculpture Child with Puzzle (1978). The sculpture depicts Hanson’s daughter Maja sitting on a rug and making a jigsaw puzzle. Lockhart photographed the woman sitting on the rug across from Maja, as if she is solving the puzzle with her. There is an almost imperceptible difference between the two photographs where the woman has moved her hand placing a piece from the puzzle. The title of the second series of photos I examined is On Kawara: Whole and Parts (1964 - 95). These consists of four photographs documenting the rotations of museum security guards during an exhibition of the work of Japanese artist On Kawara in Tokyo. Lockhart records the details of the scenes while subtly alluding to Kawara's similar interest in representing the flow of time in everyday situations. Here is a quote from Sharon Lockhart that I read on the wall right next to her photos at the Museum of Contemporary art. "I have always been influenced by structuralism film in both my film and photographic work. I use the formal durational framework quite a bit. I often set up a structure in which things happen that are uncontrolled by me."



sources
www.mcachicago.org
www.publicartfund.org
www.tate.org

Dave Anderson-'Ray Wilson'

'Ray Wilson' was photographed by Dave Anderson and is a part of his exhibit titled 'Rough Beauty.' This photograph was taken in a poor, rural, Ku Klux Klan town located in Southeast Texas known as Vidor. Many people consider this town appauling and incredibly racist, but Anderson somehow found beauty in it. Anderson was raised as a Quaker and taught that God is to be found everywhere and in every person. Through his photographs, he is able to communicate this very thought to others across the entire world.
The black and white image of this man titled ‘Ray Wilson,’ was taken in a small, narrow, and somewhat crowded room. Ray Wilson is an older looking Caucasian man, maybe in his 50’s or 60’s, who is sitting at a desk. He is drinking Miller High Life and smoking Marlboro Reds. The cigarette smoke rising and floating throughout the air creates a type of movement in the photograph. Ray is a little left of the center; to the left of him, a poster of Marilyn Monroe, and to the right, a window, balance him out. The beer, the cigarettes, and the poster of a sex symbol, all form a type of unity. It seems as if Ray Wilson is resisting change, as if he were still a teenager who has just discovered the thrills of drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and having sex.








http://www.dbanderson.com/portfolio.php?name=rough%20beauty

Janine

I chose the piece "Janine", by Dave Anderson.  This photograph is part of his exhibit called "Rough Beauty".  "Rough Beauty" is a selection of photographs that Anderson took during his time spent in a small town called Vidor, Texas.  The town was mostly racist and had an active Klan.  All of the photographs are black and white.  

"Janine" is a photo of a woman holding her pet bunny.  The bunny is all white except for the ears, which are black.  The pet looks very relaxed and comfortable in its owner's arms.  The woman looks sweet and gentle towards the bunny.  The woman looks older and has wrinkles on her face.  The background of the photo is blurry, but a house is visible.

This photo gives off a happy feeling or emotion.  I chose this photo because it was one of the few photographs of the exhibit that showed an animal that looked like it was treated properly.  Some of the pets looked sad and neglected.  "Rough Beauty" really does describe the exhibit well because even though the town gave off a rough image, Anderson found beauty within.

Nighthawks

The piece I chose, Nighthawks drawn by Edward Hopper, is one of the most famous pieces of art created in the 20th century. The piece is an image of a diner in Greenwich Village in New York City which has since been knocked down. It is well know that Hopper began to draw his piece after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. There is a consensus among art historians that the emotional effects of that disaster on our country’s soil created a movement of art surrounding painting urban landscapes and pictures of Americana in general. Hopper’s work mainly focused on these themes in his matured career, yet he also focused many of his pieces on aspects of the human figure. As an American contemporary artist, Hopper shared similar themes with the work of John Solan and George Bellows; however he did not place as much detail on the enormity and glamour of the urban landscape, but more on the shape and light-quality of the city to represent his vision of a desolate and dangerous environment. The influence of Nighthawks can be seen in many painters’ pieces of art in usually a straightforward way as homage to Hopper’s image of the bar.

Sources:
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/111628
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper

Claude Monet

I am doing my report on two paintings by claude monet. He is one of my favortie artists, my aunt would always take me to see his paintings. Claude monet was a french artist in the 1800's. His style of painting was called impressionism. He grew up in fance and went to an arts school as a child, he started off drawing caracturses and selling them on the street. He also traveled throughout europe, when he went to england and saw landscapes he decided that that was what he was going to do. Most of his paintings are of gardens and water lillies, Others are of water and beaches. His later works are his most famous, like water lillies. When he got older he got married and had two kids. Unfortunatlly his wife died. Before she died he painted a beautiful painting of her.

Blog Post #9: Research

Please write 250 words detailing some background on the piece of art you chose. Do some research on the artist, the work or works, similar artists, similar themes in the work, the same art form, etc...

Your post is due by next Monday and be sure to comment on someone elses blog!

Remember, if you use this information or any information from an outside source you must cite it in your essay. Also, if you use researched information it must be relevant to the work you are discussing. In your essays you should not give a long biographical background of the artist if you do not use that information to help analyze the particular work you have chosen.

Banksy's Underground Tunnel Exhibition

I picked the article called "Banksy is going underground with tunnel art exhibition" under the Times Online link. The exhibition, named the Cans Festival, hosts the work of Banksy, a nearly anonymous British graffitti artist. The author describes the particular tunnel chosen to host the exhibition as one of the most dirty, dark, and dank tunnels in London. The graffitti inside the tunnel is supposed to attract a couple thousand people to come see the works of art. The tunnel was rented out for the occasion, so none of the works nor the tunnel, is on sale.The author discusses some of the pieces briefly, saying that there are pictures of "a self-harming hoody, the Buddha wearing a neck-brace, a council worker spraying over some ancient cave paintings, and a sculpture of a tree sprouting CCTV cameras." The audience seems to be assumed to be younger and more open-minded due to the fact that the exhibit is underground and it comprimises of works of graffitti. 

The Cans Festival hosted artists from all over the world. The Dutch artist Hugo Kaagman, the Norweigian Folk, the Argentinian artist Fredrico, and the American artist Leon. Banksy comments on the exhibit saying "I've always felt anyone with a paint can should have as much say in how our cities look as architects and ad men. So getting to cover an entire street with graffitti is a dream come true, or as some people might call it - a complete and utter nightmare.", which i think was the essence of the whole exhibit and life work of Banksy because it comments on the struggle to be considered art.

"Graffitti doesn't always spoil buildings. In fact, it's the only way to improve a lot of them. In the space of a few hours, with a couple hundred cans of paint, I'm hoping we can transform a dark, forgotten filth pit into an oasis of beautiful art - in a dark, forgotten filth pit." -Banksy

Whistlers Velvet Revolution

I have only seeon one of Whistlers paintings, and that was "Whistlers Mother". I thought it was beautiful beccaues his style was soft. I hadnt seen any until i read this article and didnt not realize that in his painting, Whistler was starting a revolution. A rebel in his own soft way. You heard through his painting that paint shouldnt be put on a canvas thick. It spoke so softly but powerfully to the audiance, almost saying that, "This is how its supposed to be done." Along with Georgia O' keefe his art was abstract before abstract was thought to be abstract. He almost

created absract paintig. He refused to be realistic, "Damn realism" he once said. In my opinion he painted how it made people feel in the scenes. If I had been in the scene of the Home of the Heron painting, i wouldnt have felt the actual scenery, i would have felt tranquil and soft like his painting. I believe thats what Whistler wanted his audience to feel and hear.

The author of my article often said that Whistlers paintings were reminiscent of the Japanese painter Sesshu and the Japanese style in general with his light, subdued color palette, and minimal brush strokes. The author also said as I stated before that he chose to rebel along with Georgia O' keefe.

He did a lot research on this painter. He had many quotes from peers and Whislter himself. I even learned a little about Whistlers life. How his price for his paintings were high, even after he went bankrupt after paying for a lawsuit he won. His proud persona was sure that he would, "be born when and where i want" and he was able to keep his prices up.

I found this article very interesting because I had never seen a painter like this before and I plan on doing research of my own.

Sculpture of a Scavenger That Hints at Horrors Seen

The Article that I decided to write about was an art review that was titled Sculpture of a Scavenger That Hints at Horrors Seen. This article was in the New York Times and the review was about this piece of art that was called bumps in the road. The Author said that the piece is big and comprised out of various materials and a disembodied head which is attached to a wooden cross legged stool resting on a burned black platform. The audience of the article was meant to be for anyone and anyone who has any problems in their life of any kind. The audience may also be meant for those with physical or mental disabilities.

The methods that the author used in analyzing the work is that she describes the work in extreme detail. She mentions the award and the fact because the artist won that award that some of the artists work gets to be exhibited. The author of the article describes the background history of the artist in a little detail, which means she did some research. The author goes on to say what she thinks about the piece and mentions the physical and psychological aspect of the Second World War. The author also mentions that it references sculptural tradition ranging from modernism to that of ancient Egypt and Greece. The author also mentions that the artist refers to her sculptures as landscapes of human debris. Then the author concludes the article by mentioning that the piece refers to ancient monumental traditions where a heroic figure is placed on a pedastal. Then she sums up the review with her own thoughts.




http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/10/19/nyregion/19artsct_CA0.ready.html

Art or Not

The article I chose to read was Art or Not from the website Slate.com. The article dealt with the on going debate on what is Art. The Brooklyn Museum constructed an experiment to determine what makes photography art. They collected a sample of photographs and asked both experts and non-experts their opinion on the different pieces. The author Mia Fineman describes the exhibit as an art installation addressing the conceptual nature of a crowd-curated exhibition. She adds her own opinion about the experiment by stating her concern that art is treated as data instead of an actual work of art. In her critique, Fineman explained the breakdown of all photographs submitted. Since the project centered around New York, mainly people submitted famous New York landscapes, such as, Coney Island, the Brooklyn Bridge and other romantically crumbling architecture. After the experimented was tested, the Brooklyn Museum came to the conclusion that there were many likeness similarities between the experts and the non-experts. On the other hand, there were photographs that they both did not agree on. For example, some more “artistic” photographs were appreciated more by experts than patrons with little to no art education. I think Mia Fineman’s voice came out the most when she was explaining the argument of the exhibit. They wanted to test Surowiecki’s theory about the wisdom of crowds in the realm of visual arts. Since majority of their participants were amateurs it really allowed for a wide range of photographs. In the end, the article and the exhibit came down to taste. There are no right or wrong qualifications for art, because it will still be split between the people that love it and the people that hate it. The most interesting part of the article was when a painter surveyed American’s and found the most appealing attributes of a painted. He then used all of his findings to create the painting entitled “American’s Most Wanted”.