Intro to Drama

First of all I really enjoyed this quote that opened the chapter:

"A play in a book is only the shadow of a play and not even a clear shadow of it.... The printed script of a play is hardly more than an architect's blueprint of a house not yet built or [a house] built and destroyed. The color, the grace and levitation, the structural pattern in motion, the quick interplay of live beings, suspended like fitful lightning in a cloud, these things are the play, not words on paper nor thoughts and ideas of an author."
-Tennessee Williams

I would have to say that I totally agree with the quote; drama is better performed than read from a book. I have been in a few plays in my days and it is much better to actually see the play going on, even though sometimes when I read, or hear a drama read, I can see the pictures moving inside my head. I also thought it interesting what the book said about ritual performances proceeding the alphabet. I had never thought of this before and it really made me think. I mean we wouldn't have some of our stories unless our grandparents told them too us. That's how it used to go before we had an alphabet and a sensible way of writing down these stories; they were passed on from generation to generation through story-telling.

In fact as I think someone mentioned in class we wouldn't have drama unless we had stories. It all starts when a parent reads their child a story. They read it at first, and then change their voice to match each of the different characters, then they start acting parts out, until it becomes a play. I think that the transformation of the story to a play is a wonderful thing to have come from a simple child's bedtime story. Lots of things are like this; if we would only be as a child, with childlike faith we could do anything.

Organ Recital in the Tabernacle

My Dad works as a tour host at the Conference Center downtown, and he told me about these Organ Recitals that happen daily at 12:00 and 2:00 in the Tabernacle. I grabbed a friend and we headed down. We were planning on attending the 12:00 one but we missed it, so we spent our extra hour at Gateway shopping and grabbing a bite to eat.

This time we got there early and enjoyed the Orchestra on Temple Square’s recording of various hymns, before he concert started. What I thought was interesting and quite amusing was that before each recital the usher in charge does a acoustic demonstration for everyone in the Tabernacle. He started first by just talking and telling us more about these organ recitals on Temple Square without using a microphone, and you could hear him easily. Then he went on to rip a piece of newspaper, which you could here like it was only a little way away, not 50 feet. Then he dropped three straight pins, one after the other, and then a small nail. This was the cool part! I have been in the Tabernacle on numerous occasions because my older brother plays in the Orchestra on Temple Square and I grew up in Salt Lake City, but I have never seen this done. When he dropped the pins and the nail I could hear it like it was being dropped on the bench next to me. The nail was the same just slightly louder. Then as he welcomed us to the Tabernacle and concluded his little speech he turned in a complete circle to show that you could hear him just as well, even when he was facing the choir seats. It was amazing! My favorite part about the Tabernacle is that if you sit up in the balcony you can hear the instruments like they are right about you; that is how good the acoustics are. If you get the chance you should definitely go listen to a organ recital, or any concert in the Tabernacle, and just marvel at the amazing sounds produced without microphones.

Anyway, on to the recital: the woman who played the recital did the acoustic demonstration again right before she started just in case more people had wandered in. She opened with a Trumpet Tune that was short and bright, and then she moved on to a famous organ number of Bach’s called Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. This one was more alive and loud; Bach was always one of my favorites on the organ. The next piece she played was a new hymn that a contemporary artist had written called God Weeps with Us Who Weep and Mourn which was pretty much just a hymn, but more somber and like a sacrament hymn as you can guess from its title. Then she played her own arrangement of Come, Come, Ye Saints which then slowly became America the Beautiful because of the 24^th of July weekend. It was a beautiful rendition. Then she played an older melody. For the finale she played a French piece from the Romantic Era called Toccata in B Major by Eugene Gigout. I thought this piece was the best and connected most to class because it was from the Romantic Era and lately we have been talking about how music and art from the same era tends to have the same qualities. There was this energy and life to the piece that reminded me of the Romantic Era and the wall behind the pipes was this beautiful shade of Fuchsia that fit right in.

I think the whole atmosphere was awesome, because it was really casual, but the recital was good enough to have been at night and cost 15-20 dollars. The high caliber of the performance was a huge contrast to the casual, walk-in status of the Tabernacle, and it was FREE! What could be better? I would give this recital a 8.

Understanding the Dance

This week in class we switched over from the Fine Arts to the Performing Arts, and we started by talking about dance. I used to dance when i was pretty little; ballet, jazz, tap, and some hip hop. I danced from the time I was around eight to when I entered the eighth grade. One of my friends continues to dance until her junior ear of high school with the same company. I chose sports over dancing, though I did love it!

Two of my other friends danced quite a bit. Meisha did more lyrical and danced on the high school Dance Company for two years, ans Sara has been strictly Ballet pretty much her whole life. I remember as we were growing up that Sara would lways have to go to dance everyday, and didn't get to hang out with us much. Now, thanks to class, I know why! I had no idea that ballet took so much effort and that you have to start early to be able to actually be able to dance on point. This past week in my Aerobic Dance class we had a substitute and she always has themes to her routines; this time's was Ballet. Oh My Gosh, now I know what it mwnas to be a ballerina! MY legs were dying and I know that I didn't even experience a fourth the pain and work that an actual ballerina goes through. We picked Ballet as our theme so we wouldn't have to do her Hiop Hop routine; I'm pretty sure we thought it would be easier or something, but it wasn't.

I had the opportunity to go see a number of both Meisha and Sarah's dance recitaIs. I just loved going to see them dance; it made me really wish I had stuck to dancing , but then again dancing wasn't really my forte. Sarah's still dancing and is going to dance this fall at the University of Utah. Meisha, like me, chose sports over dance, and has been focusing on soccer of late. I've realized now the determination and enormous effort that goes into being a ballerina. I'm sure Sra has far to go, but she is well on her way.

I also think dance is a wonderful way for people to express their emotions. My senior year in high school I was friends with a couple of the girls on Dance Company. When is came time for their Spring Concert they wereall practicing early before and late after school for the whole week before. When I arrived at the concert i founf that most or all of the dances were choreographed by multiple girls in the company. Let me tell you, those dances were good; I doubt I could even attempt to choeograph something like they did! It's amazing. This class has done a lot to educate me on dance and I can't wait to learn more about the Performing Arts.

The Market

This afternoon I visited the Provo Farmers Market and it was amazing! As I stepped foot on the block I felt that I was in some inhuman experience. It was like Swiss Days in Midway (Heber, Utah) but about a tenth of the size! I loved the atmosphere. It was like walking in and out of about a dozen different countries and cultures one after the other. I loved it. The choices were endless from crepes from France, Tacos from Mexico, to Tye-Die from a local vendor.

I loved the idea that anyone could sell what they made there. I think that the Provo Farmers Market is a great thing, and I am glad it is there. It also creates the opportunity for local citizens to use their talents not only for their benefit, and also for the appreciation of the comsumers/customers. I only had about twenty minutes to spend at the Market, because I got there later in the afternoon, but if I could have I would have lost myself in every booth, and gotten the whole experience. Hopefully next time I'll be able to spend more time there, and pay more attention to all the booths.

One of the things I found most interesting was the crepes being made with Nutella, bananas, strawberries, and whip cream on top. These I can relate with personally because the first day we were in France, in the little town of Normandy, I tasted my first antique crepe with Nutella from France. It was the best, and it brings back the memories, though they are few, of my short stay in France. Oh, how I long to visit again. All in all I loved the Provo Farmers Market, and i would give it a 9!

What's Behind the Paint

This last Wednesday's class discussion was probably my favorite one thus far! I LOVE paintings and all the art that was created throughout history. I knew most of the paintings and painters that we discussed in class and that might have been what made it so exciting and interesting to me. At the beginning I felt that I was about to fall asleep because of attending the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but I soon found there was no chance of my eyes shutting ever, for fear of missing something important and new.

I loved our discussion of the various paintings. My two favorite were The Oath of Horatii By: David, and Wheat Field with Crows By: Vincent Van Gogh. First, The Oath of the Horatii is a favorite because of the story behind it, and second because it's a great painting that really moves the educated viewer to feeling for the women. Oh, and this was my favorite part of class because I for once felt that I'd made a connection that contributed to class. I had seen and studied this painting before, but had ever known the true story. I also did not know that this was a painting painted about the story of the Sabin Women. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers has always been a favorite musical of mine, and I'd never connected the two. I felt smart at this point, but also that I had learned something in return. I love moments like these!

Second, Wheat Field with Crows is a favorite because there is so much in the painting that i wouldn't have noticed had I been informed of it's history. It was the last painting Van Gogh painted before he killed himself. There are three paths and they represent the different paths you can take in life. The real question is did Van Gogh knew he was going to kill himself while painting this painting? The path in the middle is the center focus, and it draws the eye at the first glance. Maybe Van Gogh could only see one choice in his future, ending his life. This painting could also be saying that when we think we only have one choice, we need to look around and see the surrounding path choices available. We become too focused on what we are doing that we don't realize we could possible be taking a different, and maybe better, path. The birds in the painting are also crows, which are usually a bad omen in general. Maybe Van Gogh felt that the world was crashing in on him and he just made the first available choice; the path straight ahead. There, there is the irony in that statement; the path that was straight ahead was the one that led to Ven Gogh taking his own life. Was is the right choice? Or should be have chosen differently?

The colors in Wheat Field with Crows relate to another of Van Gogh's paintings called The Night Cafe. Yellow is known to be a color of happiness and sunshine, but in particular paintings like there two of Van Gogh's, the shade of yellow used is not the pleasing kind. It is actually a kind of stark, sickly shade of yellow. Paintings like this one and The Oath of the Horatii are able to create emotion in the viewer and they have a story behind them that brings the character of their artists out fromt he canvas. If paintings didn't this crucial feature paintings would be forever less exciting to learn about.

Seeing Sculpture

In reading Chapter 16 this week I learned some new things. I had never thought about anyone being confused if the sculpture is a sculpture or architecture. I had always just thought of sculpture, being sculpture. I also loved the quote by Sir Kenneth Clark:

"To be naked is to be deprived of our clothes and the word implies some of the embarrassment which most of us feel in that condition. The word nude, on the other hand, carries, in educated usage, no uncomfortable overtone. The vague image it projects into the mind is not of a huddled defenseless body, but of a balanced, prosperous and confident body: the body reformed."

This was also something I found kind of disturbing when I first viewed many European paintings in my A.P. European class, but as I continued to study the art I found that nude in art was different from a person being naked. The painters were glorifying the body, and in that era of time the body was celebrated by artists and sculptures in their works.

What I also found interesting about this chapter was the advantage to viewing a sculpture over a painting or fresco. You can view it from all sides; I had never thought about this before. I love both paintings and sculptures, but this makes sculptures more interesting and I will notice the views from the different sides that I didn't notice before. I also like the idea of a sculpture being a frozen point in time, but eternal at the same time. The piece isn't alive and isn't moving, but it lasts for a very long time for all to enjoy. The other point/quote I found interesting was by Finn:

We are like the blind man who has to learn how to see with his hands." We have to train our eyes to feel the sculpture in all its parts and from every conceivable vantage point, as if we were actually touching it." You are in fact touching all its parts with your eyes rather than with your hand.

I loved this chapter on sculpture because I knew most of the sculpture mentioned in the chapter. I love the artists mentioned in the chapter too; Michelangelo, Rodin, and Moore. I thoroughly enjoyed this chapter and it helped me to view sculpture in a whole new light!

The Oquirrh Mountain Architecture

I had the opportunity of attending the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House early this-morning with my ward. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to witness all the rooms in the temple before it is dedicated, and not everyone is no longer allowed in the upper rooms. I have only been to two other temple open houses; the Nauvoo and Draper Temples.

As I was walking up to and inside the temple I noticed something special about the temple. I was thinking while we were driving out to the temple, that it wasn't as white as the newly dedicated Draper Temple, or even the Salt Lake Temple. I thought to myself, "why wouldn't they want the temple to be white, like so many of the others?" Then, as I pondered, I came to the realization that each temple is built to match and according to it's immediate surroundings. As we got closer the temple seemed to almost have a reddish, brown tint to it, and I thought "well it matches it's surroundings for sure!"

Then I started thinking back to class when we talked about each building being built the way it was according to, and to fit into, it's immediate surroundings. As I entered and toured the temple, I found that most of the trim and furniture was of a medium wood, that seemed to match the areas surrounding the temple outside. I also noticed from the video shown before the tour, and from walking though the temple, that circles are a significant symbol used in the ornamentation and decoration of this specific temple. There were circles in the carpet, on the walls, and set as the design on the tops of the tables. Here I started focusing on one of the main focuses of my religion, circles, forever families, and the plan of salvation. We are all destined to return to our Heavenly Father through following the plan of salvation with our families, so that we can be happy with our families for eternity. I appreciate this opportunity to tour this undedicated temple even more now that I have learned to look deeper into the meaning of the temple, in relation to both the materials used in building this temple, and the meaning of the often used symbol of the circle.

A Visual Analysis of Pcasso's Guernica

In this week's reading in Coming to Our Senses led me to an in depth analysis of Picasso's oil painting Guernica. I have studied on the surface, and seen this copies of this painting before. I think it is a very interesting and deep piece of art, if given the correct information, and the time to ponder it.

First, the book discusses the critical limitations of painting; that any interpretation, except one based on the most obvious and mundane issues, is open to conjecture and modification. Each individual brings a different expectation and gleans a different meaning from the same work. I noticed the comment of Ellen C. Oppler, an expert on Picasso's Guernica, "...in spite of the fact that Guernica is Picasso's best-known painting and one of the masterpieces of our time, "yet it is a problematic work, stylistically complex, with images difficult to decipher, whose meaning is unclear." Picasso even commented on his own art basically saying that he doesn't plan the painting before he sketches. "While it is being done it changes as one's thoughts change." Even when it is done, it keeps changing for every person who chooses to view the piece. Later in the section Picasso says, "basically a pictures doesn't change...the first 'vision; remains almost intact."

Second, the medium of a painting describes very well what the artist if trying to say through line and color. I had never noticed the significance of the vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and curved lines in a painting until I read this chapter. One fact I found interesting was that even though iol was a well-used material for painting, this painting by Picasso is larger than previous oil paintings at that time in history. Oil paint is said to be remarkably simple in terms of materials used, in spite of its extremely complex and profound meanings. I learned, while reading, that straight lines coming together at sharp points tend to create life-threatening images. That may seem obvious to some of you, but it was new to me! The original painting had swatches of colored, patterned cloth and wallpaper on it, adding a color dimention to the otherwise bleak white, grey, nad black design. These pieces of cloth were removed along with the red tears that were on the running woman's face have been removed, leaving the painting monochromatic. The monochromatic color scheme ended up providing a vivid symbol for the basic theme of the painting: the grey ash of death.

Lastly, the form and symbolic meanings of Guernica. Frank D. russell suggests, in the reading, that the structural organization of Guernica combines in uneasy tension the competing values of classical restraint and romantic fervor. I thought it was interesting that the triangle in the middle of the painting is representative of the triangle being the favoredd form in both Greekclassicism (pediments) and the Italian Renaissance (pyramidal patterns). I love how that little piece of information connects beautifully with our recent discussions of architecture in class. A symbol in the painting that I liked the most was the horse, which to Picasso represented "the people", in a Christian context seems to represent Christ. I thought this was an interesting point to ponder. The threatning electric light above the horse's head suggest as much: an eye (God's all-seeing eye maybe). What I didn't notice before was that the spear piercing the horse's side is another visual connection to Christ's wounds on the cross.

I thouroughly enjoyed my reading and anaysis of Picasso's Guernica oil painting, and I can't wait to here more of what significance color, line, form, and symbolism have in paintings, and other art forms.

Most Enjoyable!

This week in class we discussed a number of things, from architecture and anxiety dreams about teaching, to painting, and red chairs. I think this last Wednesday was one of the best classes we've had. It was very enjoyable.

The class started out with a quiz on architecture we'd talked about on Monday, and then we moved on to Modern Architecture. I found it interesting that with modern architecture is so different from older forms of architecture. I mean, before it was how beautiful you could make the building, and with modern it almost seems that we're just trying to do whatever is easiest, instead of what is more appealing. On my brief visit to Europe I noticed that all their buildings, even if it is an apartment complex, still looks good. Their buildings are not at all skyscrapers and each building has it's own individual look. I think that European architects have done more with their capabilities than any American architect I've ever heard of. Personally I think most American architects that came after colonial times got into the make as many houses or buildings as possible, instead of building them all different and unique.

I loved our group/class discussions about From Bauhaus to Our House. Our groups questions were about Walter Gropius, his architecture, how Frank Lloyd Wright's aesthetic differs from Gropius's, and Kahn's contribution to Yale Campus. I found the idea of starting from zero quite interesting in a couple of ways. There is the fact that the architects coming over from Europe during the Great Depression had to start from zero, because they were penniless. Then there is also the part where Philip Johnson decided to give up everything and move to Chicago to study to become an architect at the feet of Walter Gropius. Lastly, there is the part where Modern Architecture comes in; literally starting from zero. I also like the part in the book where it says that everyone started from zero. The only thing I have to say to the citizens of America at the time when Kahn built on to The Yale University Art Gallery is why didn't you buck up and tell the man that he'd ruined the building?! I also found it interesting that people back then would just deal with whatever was going on in the architecture world, while now we rebel against that stuff, and architects of today focus more on what we want then what they think is aesthetically pleasing to us; we get a say.

I LOVED our discussion about color and it's emotions!! I took A.P. European my Junior year of high school(as I've mentioned before), and so I understand all the artists we talk about it class. I also love that color can do so much to a painting, and that the same color can mean so many different things when presented differently. I was amazed at the power of color in painting. Still I would have to say that our discussion of the red office chair was still the best part of class. It was cool to see everyone's reaction to the different colors and to discuss them as a class. It was interesting to see how when the red was by itself it it gave off a bad feeling, but as soon as you added the yellow and orange, the feeling of the painting started to lift. I also enjoyed looking at the Van Gogh painting, and discussing how even though most of the painting was yellow, it was almost a sickly yellow and it made the feeling of the painting as a whole less enjoyable. I never realized that color could have so much influence on a painting and how we view it. This Wednesday's class was very good, and I feel I learned a lot about color and its emotions, as well as more about architecture in general, and Modern Architecture.

The Medium

In class this week we talked about the medium of a piece of art and how it helps reflect what the artist is trying to say through their art. I think that the medium of which the art is created with definitely reflects the authors emotions and thoughts.

We also talked about criticism and the role of a critic also. I like how when we were actually given the chance to think and talk about what we defined a critic as and how we felt about a critics job in general. In our little group, we all felt that we didn't like critics because they are definitely biased in many ways, and they try to make us see things their way; in a sense taking away our free agency of being able to diagnose a piece of art, or a performance for our selves. But, by the end of the class we all felt a little better about a critic, and their job. It was a good class; I learn something new every day!

Beautiful or disgusting?

Even though I know that different people find different things beautiful, but the article on Beauty by Marcia Muelder Eaton has intensified that opinion. Some people can find evil or destroying things beautiful.
There are many conflicting perceptions of beauty. I loved the image of our television and magazine society, and how the author of the article finds "those 'beautiful people' that many of [our] generation see on some television advertisements seem positively repulsive." Beauty and our definition of beauty has changed over time, unfortunately not for the better of America either.
The analogy of something being beautiful, being like food that is delicious; that if something isn't good we don't enjoy eating it, but that doesn't mean that we should not see art because we don't think it's beautiful. If we just concentrated on food being good, and not the nutritional value; like if we only think about art as only being art if it's beautiful instead of the nutrition of the soul of an individual and of a community.
Something doesn't have to be GORGEOUS to be beautiful, it just has to be spiritually nurturing!

The Eighth International Art Competition

Since March of this year the Conference Center has displayed some of the art from the Church History Museum's Eighth International Art Competition for the public to view. It is open Monday-Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. until October 11, 2009 in the Conference Center in Downtown Salt Lake.

The theme for the competition is “Remembering the Great Things of God.” Each painting, sculpture, quilt, mosaic,and picture has a plaque by it the tells the viewer the title and includes an explanation of why the the author thinks their piece is one of the "Great Things of God".

Some painted pregnant mothers, or mothers with new born babies and explain that birth, or procreation, is one of God's great gifts to us. Others paint their take on the atonement, or resurrection that explain how great Jesus Christ's Atonement was. Others painted pictures or made sculptures of famous church leaders or church figures such as Joseph Smith Jr., Eve, Temple Presidents in Ghana, Africa, and favorite scripture characters.

What I found interesting was that everyone found somethings else to be great things from God than others, but whatever they created was beautiful. Every piece of art in the exhibit was beautiful. There were some with bright and happy colors depicting the eternal happiness of marriage in the temple, and darker sinister colors depicting Gethsemane or the Crucifixion, and still more holy white colors depicting Christ in a garden surrounded with a bunch of little children.

Each person who visited was able to vote on two or three of their favorite pieces in the exhibit, and in October one would be chosen to receive an award. There were also little markers on a number of the pieces that meant the church had bought those paintings. I chose one of Eve kneeling and praying to Heavenly Father outside the Garden of Eden that was just breathtakingly beautiful. What I loved most about the experience was the spirit could be felt there. It was silent, and even though if you listened hard you could here the hustle and bustle of the city going on around the Conference Center, when you were thinking of nothing but the fantastic art in front of you couldn't here it. The light that streamed through the windows onto the art made it almost like heaven. This created an atmosphere that everyone could enjoy. I loved it!