Art Essay Number 4: Pictures at an Exhibition

Modest Mussorgsky was an innovative composer of Russian music during the Romantic period. Mussorgsky drew from Russian folklore and culture to create a uniquely Russian sound full of vivid realism, wildness, and extreme melancholy. Many of his works also contain extra-musical associations, referencing other artistic mediums in his compositions.

Pictures at an Exhibition, composed in 1874, is a suite of ten piano pieces inspired by Mussorgsky’s visit to a memorial exhibit held in St. Petersburg of paintings by his late friend, artist and architect Victor Hartman. Mussorgsky’s aim was to capture the attitude and atmosphere of these paintings in music. Each movement of this work corresponds to a painting, with the exception of the recurring theme called “Promenade,” representing the visitor walking between the pictures.

Here is a performance of two (“Gnomus” and “Il vecchio castello”) of the ten movements. More information about each movement can be found here.

In 1922, Russian conductor Serge Koussevitzky commissioned Maurice Ravel to arrange the composition for orchestra, and it has since become a staple of orchestral repertoire. It is interesting to compare Ravel's interpretation and arrangement for orchestra to Mussorgsky's original score.

Watch here as the National Philharmonic of Russia performs Ravel's orchestration of the same movements.

4th Art Analysis

For this final art analysis I decided to pick a picture that is particularly nostalgic to me because I used to do this all the time when I was a kid. Basically, this is a depiction of a doodle war between two pieces of notebook paper. An army and fortress is drawn on two separate pieces of paper and then using your imagination you play out the battle and how it would progress. This picture captures these child like sentiments very well in that it take what is normally a 2D scene, bring it into 3D, and then demonstrate the action as it ensues.

What is great about this picture is that it shows what is happening in a child’s mind so that we, the adults, can understand the thought process behind these very elaborate battles. This particular one seems to be pulling slightly from D-Day though so I’m not sure if a child came up with this one. Nevertheless this is a piece of work that brings back memories when we can make pictures move without a video screen.

3rd Art Anlaysis

For my third art analysis I decided to use this odd, but very wide spread, picture of the Dark and Light Long-Cat. This is a particularly interesting photo because although the purpose of the photo is to be humorous, there is actually a lot more going on than immediately is apparent.

For starters, this photo is, most obviously, a fight between good and evil. If you notice in the background, the city/suburbs are actually engulfed in flames with smoke bellowing into the sky. This destruction could be a result of the presence of the Dark, Long-Cat, which seems to be smothering out everything it touches and engulfing the landscape in darkness. However, on the opposite side of this dark scene is the presence of the Light, Long-Cat and its calming aura of light. Its presence could represent many things: hope, salvation, peace, the Second Coming, etc. Either way, it is clear that a battle is about to ensue. With paws out stretched, they both prepare for the conflict to come.

But then again, perhaps I am over thinking this and it is simply two very long cats of differing complexion that happen to be standing right next to a scene of chaos…

Art Essay # 4

I am a book nerd and I just finished an excellent book called Night Road by Kristen Hannah. This book is a great work of art because it appeals to all ages of readers and makes the readers feel as though they are in the story.

The book is about a foster child girl named Lexi. She moves from foster home to foster home, but then finally finds out that she has a living relative, her great aunt. She is a little skeptical at first because she is worried that her aunt will not love her and throw her back out on the street, but instead, her aunt shows her what real love is. On Lexi’s first day of high school she meets Mia. Mia is an outsider just like Lexi. They become best friends very quickly and Lexi is over at Mia’s house almost everyday. Mia has a twin brother Zack who is the most popular boy in school. Of course, Lexi falls in love at first site, but she is afraid to say anything because she doesn’t want Mia to find out. Zack and Mia come from a very wealthy family and their mom, Jude, is very protective. However, she is a great mom, and is kind of the mom that Lexi never experienced. Jude wants to be a great mom because her own mother was a terrible mother. Anyways, three years pass by and soon it is their senior year. Lexi and Mia are inseparable, and Lexi still has hidden feelings for Zack. However, they start wanting to do things that high schoolers do such as go to parties and drink, but Jude is very skeptical. She lets them go anyways, and Zack and Lexi finally admit their feelings for each other. Mia gets over it, and Zack and Lexi become a couple. One night, they all go to a party. Zack volunteers to be the designated driver, but he quickly becomes pressured into drinking. Soon, all three of them become drunk and realize they are way past curfew. Lexi volunteers to drive because she is the least intoxicated, and the three of them get into Zack’s car. Mia and Zack live off a windy road, and Lexi gets distracted for a split second and she crashes his car into a tree! Jude awakes to realize her children still aren’t home, and answers her door for the policemen in front of her house. They travel to the hospital where they learn that Mia is brain dead. Jude slips into depression and decide to press charges against Lexi. Lexi has to go to the prison where she finds out she is pregnant with Zack’s baby. She gives the baby to Zack, but when she gets out of prison, she realizes she wants to be a great mother to her girl, Gracie. While in her depression, Jude becomes a terrible mother. She can barely look at Grace because Grace looks exactly like Mia. Jude and her husband go through some hard times, and she has to turn to her mother for help. This isn’t easy for her because of their bad relationship. However, Jude figures out what she needs to and changes her life ways. Zack goes to medical school and reunites with Lexi. They get over their problems, fall back in love, and create a family with Gracie.

Some reasons this book is a great work of art is because it appeals to every age reader. It appeals to high schoolers because that is what age Zack, Mia, and Lexi were in the beginning. The readers read about them going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing sex for the first times. The book appeals to middle age people because of Jude and her husband. The readers read about parenting and struggles of losing a child. The book also appeals to older people because of Jude when she is older and Lexi’s great aunt. The readers read about Jude’s reunion with her mother and the joys of becoming a grandmother.

Another reason that this book is a great work of art is because the readers feels as though they are in the story and evokes emotion. Personally, I know I have read a good book when it makes me cry. When I read about the car accident, I could not stop crying. I could relate to this book because I have had friends who have made the decision to drink and to drive. Just like in the book, the consequences were awful. This book is excellent because it teaches many lessons, live life to the fullest because you never know when it will end, cherish great friends forever, and do not be afraid to fall in love.

This book is great because it inspires its readers. I highly recommended this book to anyone!

Art Essay Number Three: The Invisible Man

Look closely at this photograph above. Did you notice the man standing in front of the bulldozer's tire or did he simply blend in with the background like a chameleon? This is Chinese artist Liu Bolin, also known as the "Invisible Man." He carefully chooses an image in which he wants to be "disappeared" and then stands there as still as possible, sometimes for hours at a time, while his assistants paint the design onto his military fatigues. Many people passing by don't even notice him until he moves. Before beginning the actual painting Bolin must digitally impose a portrait of himself on an image of the scene to carefully plan what will need to be painted onto his clothes.

According to Bolin, his motivation for these works is deeper than just creating an image. He is making a silent statement about his government, who shut down his studio in 2005 and is known for persecuting artists, and the way in which he sees his role in society. In Bolin's words, "I choose to camouflage my body into the environment so that people will pay more attention to the background's social property by erasing the meaning of my body as an individual."

Bolin's work struck me because of its uniqueness and quiet strength. Suddenly the emphasis has been placed on the background, and the viewer finds himself/herself focusing on details that might otherwise get overlooked. The amount of detail and patience necessary to pull off each work is amazing. I cannot imagine standing completely still for hours at a time. Bolin's work is also interesting to me because it is a synthesis of several different artistic mediums. It's part visual, part performance, and part photography.

Here is a short video about Bolin.

Art Essay #3 Guernica

I was inspired do my analysis on Picasso's Guernica by "Six Names of Beauty". I am slightly ashamed to admit that I could not place the painting offhand when Mr. Sartwell mentioned it in the text, so I looked for it on the Internet. I will not lie and say that I was immediately overwhelmed by the beauty of the piece. To be honest, I was more confused than anything else. It took me a bit to understand that confusion was at least part of the point. Guernica is a complex work, and it has been interpreted by numerous critics in different ways.

Some of my confusion was relieved by reading the historical background of the piece. Guernica is a town in Spain that was destroyed by an aerial bombardment in 1937. Some critics believe that the eye/light bulb represents the sun and the concept of a bomb. Also, the newsprint images in the painting represent how Picasso learned of the town's destruction. The inhabitants of the town were largely women and children and this is reflected in the work. While the concepts depicted are universal, understanding something of the historical context of the piece makes its meaning slightly clearer.

The painting's chief focus seems to be the pain and confusion associated with the destruction of war. The human figures are portrayed in different positions but the imagery of suffering is consistent. Some figures, such as the disembodied head emerging from a window, express horror, while others seem to be almost audibly screaming. The man near the bottom portion of the painting died violently, and below the bull a woman can be seen clutching her dead child. The imagery is violent and confused and echoes the themes of the painting. This suggests Picasso's power, the ability to shape recognizable images into conveyances of his theme.

Obviously, this is not a particularly uplifting or anatomically correct piece, which prompts the question of why it is considered a great work of art. Sartwell states that it taps into a longing to be overwhelmed, something which this painting can clearly provide. The myriad of imagery is immediately overwhelming and prompts the viewer to try to understand the visual cacophony. The confused nature of painting forces the viewer to look at the image more carefully than they might if it were simple and straightforward. Why, for example, does the horse have what appears to be the point of a knife for a tongue? These symbols continue to produce interpretations from critics and casual observers alike.

As a whole, this work possesses power. It holds the power to submerge an observer in a tumult of visuals. Picasso shapes the natural world to convey his message through strangely twisted bodies and symbols. This creates an aesthetic experience that grasps and consumes the viewer, rather than pleases.

--Laurel

Art Essay #3: Milk & Cereal by G. Love and Special Sauce

Alright so I decided that instead of just leaving this as it was, that I'd re-write it and expand to make an actual art commentary about this piece...so here goes!

So when you first listen to this song your response probably includes something about it being fun and goofy, etc. which it is. I don't feel like I need to analyze that side of the piece very much because its obvious: it's a song about different types of cereal (sorry Dr. Grant that they don't include fruit loops). But beyond the goofy topic and the fun melody, the song is pretty technical and challenging.
Listen to the harmonies. On the main hook of "milk and cereal, cereal and milk" the high harmony is just some version of a moving third (not all that complicated) but whenever they go to the big chord around 1:10, I hear at least 5 voices being layered which is very complex. Although I'm sure this song is a studio creation and it probably isn't performed live by G. Love very often, the idea behind the song is genius.
Now let's move to content. Types of cereal, cool! Now maybe G. Love was just stoned and came up with this song, but even some of the rhyme schemes in here are well crafted. The verse about Wheaties is really well thought-out. Although they are all perfect rhymes (I'm counting wheaties-needy as a perfect rhyme although technically it's a subtractive rhyme), the important thing about rhyming is that the words all match the content and the hot-spots make sense. A hot spot is the last word of the phrase and if you can read those and determine the subject of the verse, etc. then the hot spots are done well. In this case its wheaties-needy-greedy-myself. That makes sense to me, you guys can tell me if you think its a good rhyme sequence!
So there's my analysis! The most important things for me in a song are whether its well crafted, well sung, and interesting. I think this song definitely embodies that (although G. Love's pitch is somewhat questionable it totally works for the style of the song). Oh and I think the tag at the end about grandma and her bran muffin is hilarious!

Hope you guys enjoy the song as much as I do! Here's the clip: