THE PURPOSE OF TODAY'S EXERCISE ON SOVIET AESTHETICS WAS:
Ankita asked me this after class, and I thought it was a fair question. The purpose was to, you know, learn about some of the specific aesthetic problems that came up during the Soviet revolution. But in a more practical sense, the purpose was to prepare you for a potential final exam question on Soviet aesthetics, and to use Soviet aesthetics as a tool of comparison/contrast to help you understand the other aesthetic systems we have studied / will study.
LECTURE HOMEWORK FOR MONDAY:
Watch the Porgy and Bess DVD!!!
WRITING HOMEWORK FOR SATURDAY:
From the sample papers I gave you, reduce the Preface from 191 words to 125 words, or reduce the Image 1 caption from 242 words to 155 words, or reduce the Image 2 caption from 220 words to 145 words, or reduce the Image 3 caption from 121 words to 80 words. Post your version to the blog below.
LEFTOVER HOMEWORK FOR SUNDAY:
Do the Oscars assignment if you missed Obama and the Grammys... what aesthetic theories were stated or implied during the Oscars ceremony? You might ponder, for instance, why the Best Picture winner was chosen instead of the other nominees. Also, in light of the Soviets, see how the Academy tries to justify itself as a special artistic/intellectual class.
AND OF COURSE:
Paper 5 final draft due to turnitin.com on Tuesday night at 8:00. You should have a works cited [see Easy Writer 204-225 for formatting guidelines], acknowledgments, and reflections.
CORONA DEL MAR "RENT" CENSORSHIP RUCKUS:
Continues in this New York Times story, which links it to related aesthetic debates in other U.S. high schools.
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revision of image 3 analysis
ReplyDeleteOtto Dix, an expressionist artist comparable to George Grosz in his realistic depictions of the Weimar Republic during its dark starting years, created this painting in 1918 when World War I was just coming to an end. Titled “Fallen II”, the piece portrays a dark and broken German society through the combination of images that don’t seem to fit together but, as a whole, suggest that Germany is a country in need of a revolution.
(don't know if this is necessary, but...)
word count: 75
Otto Dix shows his signature expressionistic work in this piece. Dix's starkly realitic depictions of the Weimar Republic's difficult starting years is similar to George Grosz's paintings. The painting, from 1918, called "Fallen II" was one of Dix's darker paintings. The war was ending and Germany was being brutally punished in its wake. Dix did well portraying a broken German society in this painting, and the multiple figures that don't fit together works to depict Germany as a country in need of revolution.
ReplyDeleteThese are great, because they show how you can take different approaches in editing your captions. There isn't a single "right" answer. I also think they maintained most of the substance of the original.
ReplyDeleteThe political ambiguity of Germany from 1918-1933 left a cultural impact on the ideals of women. During Weimar Germany, political leaders used women as a political strategy rather than illustrating them as intellectual individuals. After the Weimar republic failed, other political parties depicted women in different ways; The Nazis described the idea German woman as "Healthy," strong, and intellectual. These three images explore the differences and transitions of the depictions of women during Germany's economic and political struggle. It shows how different political groups viewed women through paintings, sketches, nd posters. The degrading representation of women during Weimar Germany percolated political artists to utilize their artworks as a furative response and influenced omen to act a certain way.
ReplyDelete"Meggers" is Martha... I acidently posted on a friends acount
ReplyDeleteI did image #3
ReplyDeleteThis is an example of an expressionist piece of artwork by Otto Dix. Created in 1918, his painting "Fallen II" depicted his view of the newly established Weimar Republic, and the problem it faced: the war was just beginning to subside and Germany was struggling in its wake. Dix was good in portraying Germany's difficulties in this particular painting, and this cluster of incongruous images form a discernible picture that expresses the country's need for a revolution.
Image #1 (148)
ReplyDeleteIn this propaganda poster, the Nazis are directly attacking the Communist party. This propaganda technique differs from other work which tended to glorify the Nazi image. The poster still uses the traditional German font, but it shows advancement in Nazi propaganda from conventional ideas of promoting your own party to mudslinging. The Nazi put a skeleton, a symbol of death, in communist attire to show that the Communists will bring death to Germany. Red is often used as a color of warning. Here it is used to show that communism is a threat to German society as they are a foreign influence. Nazis used propaganda to spread their message and build a foundation of ideals which people can live by. Their messages were clear enough for common people to understand and accept. This poster is saying that Communism wills is a threat and only Hitler can save us.
Alyssa Kim
ReplyDeletePreface: 124 words
During Weimar Germany, political leaders utilized women more as political strategy rather than illustrating them as strong and intellectual individuals. After the Weimar Republic failed, the Nazis described the ideal German woman as someone who was “healthy,” strong, and intellectual. These three images explore the transitions of the depictions of women during Germany’s economic and political struggle. Both points in time use women as a political method in several different ways: The degrading representation of women during Weimar Germany percolated political arts to utilize their artworks as a furtive response. It allowed for the uprising of feminist Hannah Hoch, a female Dada artist. It influenced women to act a certain way and for others to assume the roles of German women during this time.
Image 3
ReplyDeleteThis picture portrays some of Otto Dix’s well-known expressionist pieces. Dix was paired closely to George Grosz’s expressionist depictions of the Weimar Republic, especially in its early stages. “Fallen II”, dated back to 1918, was one of Dix’s darker expressions of Germany as the World War I was ending and an economic downfall in its wake. This painting clearly states Dix’s view of a dark and broken German society when considering how indiscernible the images in the painting are.
Preface [91]
ReplyDeleteThe political ambiguity of Germany from 1918 through 1933 left a great cultural impact on the ideals of women. During and after Weimar Germany, political leaders used images of women more for political strategy than merely for photographic purposes. The following images explore the differences and the transitions of the political depictions of women in paintings, sketches and posters during Germany’s economic and political struggle. The degrading representation of women during Weimar Germany percolated political artists to utilize their artwork as a furtive response while influencing women to act certain ways.
On the cancellation of the Rent musical at that school, I find it kind of annoying that the principal (even if she "emphatically denied" having "pulled the plug") would call for another production to be made instead. I recall having read more scandalous novels and poems in my high school English classes; no stop was made there. I, being the nosy snooper that I am, went on their high school website to see what sorts of material they were exposed to in their classes; one of their English classes is reading Victor Hugo's Les Misérables which, if I remember correctly, contains prostitution somewhere in its text. Hugo may not have included homosexuality in the novel, but the principal permitted the reading as part of the curriculum in that one English class...
I'm not exactly sure what is in question of being art...the censorship? It isn't art, I guess. There was no intention of it being art; the principal probably didn't want for there to be complaints of a school production that includes homosexuality or prostitution (or she personally disproves of one or both). The "painting" Dr. Winter used for our midterm was a different kind of censorship; Grosz probably had some Dadaist intention for it to be art--to have that response of approval from his fellow dadaists or an angry one from traditional-art-liking people like Alberti.
Yen Sou
ReplyDeleteImage #1
Word count: 151
In this propaganda poster, the Nazis are directly attacking the communist party. It is used to promote the Nazi party by destroying the image of another party which differs from earlier and later works that tended to glorify the Nazi image. This poster uses the traditional font of an older German time but shows the advancement in Nazi propaganda from conventional ideas. The Nazis put a skeleton, symbolizing death, in communist attire to show that they feel the Communists will bring death to Germany as stated in the poster. Red is often used as a color of warning. The Nazis thought communism, a foreign influence, was a threat to German society and so implemented propaganda to spread their message to build a foundation of ideals by which people can live. Their messages are clear enough for the common people to understand and accept. Nazi standards are effectively spread to the masses.
Image #2;
ReplyDeleteWord count: 137
This poster, made by Felice Albrecht in 1932, was a piece of propaganda art designed for Hitler. It depicts an old farmer-couple looking gravely at a ghost-like figure hovering over farm houses. The old man is holding a scythe, while his wife is sitting next to him, resting her sad face on her hands. The ghostly figure is a symbol for the Great Depression. Jobs were so scarce that "unemployment [rose] to nearly 30 percent in 1932," and the artist wanted to portray Hitler as a person who would help everyone, even the lowly country-folk. Note the usage of the color red in both the font and the borders. This was the artist's way to promote socialism and at the same time appeal to traditionalists by using the old, complex font rather than the modern, easy-to-read font.
image #2 (my own ^_^) 151 words
ReplyDeleteThis picture depicts an “older farmer-couple with a ghostly-like figure over farm houses.” (Artstor) The artist dramatizes the poverty by drawing a farmer with a scythe looking gravely over a barren land. The woman sits helplessly next to her husband with a similar grave expression. Felice Albrecht made this poster in 1932 during Hitler's rise to power. The ghostly figure is a symbol of the economic depression that was going on at the time. Jobs were so scarce that unemployment rose to nearly 30 percent in 19321 and the artist wanted to portray Hitler as a person who would help everyone, even the lowly country-folk. Note the usage of the color red in both the font and the borders. This was the artist's way to promote socialism and at the same time appeal to traditionalists by using the old, ornate font rather than the modern, easy-to-read font.
Was Benjamin Button not nominated or you just didn't like it?
ReplyDeleteI've only watched Wall-E other than BB so I wouldn't make a very informed decision. Although I did hear that Slumdog was very good.
-Yen
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/35b0167b17/the-curious-case-of-forrest-gump :D
ReplyDeletePreface: [121]
ReplyDeleteDuring Weimar Germany, women were utilized more as political strategies than illustrating them as intellectual individuals. These images explore differences and transitions of the depictions of women during Germany’s economic and political struggle. Various political groups viewed and demonstrated women in paintings, sketches and posters. However, their utilization and intentions of the female gender differ in several ways. The degrading representation of women during Weimar Germany percolated political artists to utilize their artworks as a furtive response. It caused the uprising of Hannah Hoch, a female Dada artist and feminist. It influenced women to act a certain way and for others to assume the roles of German women during this time.
Image 2:
ReplyDeleteThis picture depicts an “older farmer-couple with a ghostly-like figure over farm houses.” (Artstor) The artist dramatizes the poverty by drawing the husband holding a scythe while desperately and gravely looking at the creepy figure above the barren land; while simultaneously drawing the wife with a similar helpless and worrisome expression. The ghostly figure is a symbol of the depression that was going on during that time period when jobs were so scarce that “unemployment [rose] nearly 30% in 1932”; which is the same year Felice Albrecht created this poster, this was during Hitler’s rise to power. This poster was to portray Hitler as the person who would help everyone, even the lowly country-folk, and the artist’s way to promote socialism and appeal to traditionalists too. Germany was begging for change and Hitler was ready.
Nearing the end of the Academy Awards ceremony, Will Smith presented the awards for Best Visual Effects, Audio Effects, Screenplay, and Editing. All but the Visual Effects category went to the film Slumdog Millionaire. For most of the night, Slumdog Millionaire racked up the most Oscars and was presented with the best movie of 2008 award. What critics and movie-watchers all over seem to be implying is that a great movie must have several aesthetically-pleasing aspects enable to rack up awards and be considered the best of the best. Not only was the storyline immaculate, but several other elements such as editing added to the movie’s great achievement. The music and editing helped add to the overall effect and mood that Slumdog Millionaire intended.
ReplyDeleteSomeone told me the Academy Awards ceremony was at 8:30 so I missed most of it, but I did catch the presentation of awards for the best actress and actor in a leading role and the best picture. It seems as if actresses and actors were considered Oscar-worthy if they knew how to portray their characters "authentically;" the presenters for the award for the best actress in a leading role heavily stressed this word in their mini speeches about each actress. Angelina Jolie, for example, demonstrated "authentically" the "heartbreaking anguish" of a mother in search for her son in Changeling. That probably goes for Kate Winslet, as well, in her role of an illiterate Nazi concentration camp supervisor in The Reader (I only read the book so I don't know if I'm getting this right), only Winslet had been better in her role than Jolie had since she won. I guess there must be a hierarchy of abilities to being "authentic" when it comes to acting, that is, if they're going to present awards to those who can make it to the top. Following Winslet's acceptance of her Oscar, I recall hearing that good actors, such as best actor nominee Frank Langella, are able to draw the audience in "on the inner life" of their character. Sean Penn, the winner of the award, proves himself to be the best since he doesn't let his being a "moviestar get into the way of acting;" true actors have to shed themselves of who they are when they become the characters assigned to them (Christian Bale probably became himself again when the lighting guy walked onto the set and distracted him). Only by losing themselves in their roles do they show great "commitment to [their] roles." The man who gave the little speech about Sean Penn also had to point out that he was a "great human being," but I don't know if that is significant to his being a good actor. There was little said about what makes a film great (it just is?).
ReplyDeleteImage 2 121 words.
ReplyDeleteThis picture depicts an "older farmer-couple with a ghostly-like figure over farm houses." (Artstor). The couple seems helpless as they look toward the ghostly figure. The ghostly figure is a symbol of the Great Depression that was going on at the time. Jobs were so scarce that "unemployment [rose] to nearly 30 percent" and the artist wanted to portray Hitler as a person who would help everyone, including the country-folk. Notice that the font is older and more complex, showing a desire to appeal to traditionalist. The nazi party promoted socialism and more conservative politics to bring Germany back to power. Germany was begging for change, and Hitler was a leader ready to alter the current government to bring about change.
ahahah thank you amanda :]]
ReplyDeletei thoroughly enjoyed that.