JAPAN!

Teachings of the never forgotten, of the Japanese. As the world today, is embellished with the plethora or extra-ness, the Japanese would have a completely opposite approach. Think the Baroque period never existed. The Japanese would shake their heads at the Baroque approach. They would believe that all of the “extra-ness” in their work could all be encompassed in one simple method. One can see this in the different forms of art, where this is all ornamented in the Japanese term, yūgen.

A very important artistic form in Japan was the Nō Drama, which very well comprises of this simple but complex Japanese idea. Take the set of a play, it would have props, characters with make up, vivid costumes, much gesticulation, and dynamic volume. They had their value in the term wabi, which is the beauty of simplicity. Now, take it all away, and you are left with basically a stage… you have now accomplished Nō Drama. Simple eh? This was the way Japanese would illustrate this form of art, and oh so simple to understand right, no! Its complexity stems from its aged, experienced performer, masks, and “off beat” music. The key to the “simplicity” is so that the viewer isn’t distracted from the true message of the play. The point is not to withdraw the attention from the premised emotive element. The constraint allows the more deliberate meaning to settle.

This same simplicity of the Japanese manner can be seen in their poetic form, the Haiku. It compromises onji, 17 syllables, distributed between three lines, with the presentation of 5–7–5 in syllables. Sounds simple, negatory! The objective is to follow those rule, have it be nature expressive and then have a real meaning. You can see these the Haiku methods in this poem,

bright red


the pitiless sun


autumn winds

Matsu Bashō

The reader can witness the kigo in this poem by use of words autumn, but the pitiless sun, as though its striking appearance in summer and spring are withdrawn as the seasons are changing like its September. The cutting word in this piece, the kireji, that signals the shift is red as it offers sympathy on “the pitiless sun”.

This poem doesn’t say a whole lot in words but its reference to nature reflects on people, because the belief is that people exist with nature, not against it, because it is a very key feature in the lives of people. This could be through fantasy, memory, or maybe premonition. The Japanese had this thought that a little can go a long way and that’s how they portrayed their work.

Word Count: 526

Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night

One era that transformed the perspective was the Expressionism era. As the Impressionism era has the idea to capture the moment as it occurred as though the artist of their craft was a photographer. The typical expressionist had a different approach. They wanted their viewer to be exposed to a psychological experience different then one they felt before. It released a more intimate relationship between the artist and the viewer. The artist or author would paint or scribe respectively what their direct feelings were and on the paper it would go as they felt it.

A very savvy artist who would articulate his abilities is Expressionist painter, Vincent van Gogh. One of his most famous paintings is that of "Starry Night". As beautiful as this painting is, it highlights many traits of the era. Initially, the viewer would gaze the entire painting, so maybe their eyes would start low being in the little town below, but as one investigates the paintings of this time, they would see that the village really plays no part in the painting. For one, see how much of the canvas the town actually occupies and then recognize the vastness of the upper two-thirds of the canvas. First, to start is by looking at the wonderfully crafted sky. Now on a normal clear night a sky full of stars and planets, but in no way does it even look that "over-the-top" and expressive. This depicts the fantastic and imaginative thoughts that artist had in this time. Life for van Gogh wasn't easy and his escape thus his psychological detriment was in his art and this skyline is what may have done it as it seems to reach for the heavens, plus possibly being on absinthe which can clearly distort any regular thought or vision a person has. This possible downer drink seemed to alleviate and rescue many psychologically tortured artist and like most alcohol it subdues sense, but blurs everything.

A piece of work that came from this period is that of Franz Kafka. His piece was named Metamorphosis this piece pushed the idea of fantasy when he decided to make the main character, Gregor a.... Roach. This representation of his fantasy would only provoke the psychological appeal. Works from this time would make you WTF! Here, in the Metamorphosis one would say the same. The author would be going through different moments in his or her life, and thus the subjectivity of their work would be presented.

In addition, this was a time when the order of Karl Marx took storm, and the estranged alienation that society and the individual felt are within the pages of Kafka as Gregor lives life as a cockroach. Also, the various relationships within the story such as the bullying type relationship he has with his job and his boss. Next is that between he and his family which are virtually using him to a back breaking extent, and then show hardly any form of sympathy for his new transformation and are only able to find true happiness when he finally dies.

Word Count: 512

Gertrude Stein: A Long Dress

A very prominent author of the Modernism era is one whose lyrical and literal style is one unique of those from times before. This author is Gertrude Stein. She pushed the limits of literature to new bounds, hence the rendering of the Modernism era. One specific work of hers is one called A Long Dress.

One of the literary traits of this time that Stein utilizes is the stream of consciousness. Stream of consciousness is defined as unedited, spontaneous live or recorded performances, as in film, music, and dramatic and comic monologues, intended to recreate the raw experience of the person portrayed or the performer. The use of this characteristic can be seen in lines 8 and 9 where Stein writes, "only a white and red are black, only a yellow and green are blue, a pink is scarlet, a bow is every color. A line distinguishes it". When reading this you can see that this was scribed as it presented itself in her mind. Then with no chance to forget she would place it one the page, and this enabled the reader to feel incite on her feelings. Consistent with stream of consciousness is another key innovation of the Modernist era, which is fragmentation. This literary form had stemmed from the new intellect that Sigmund Freud "alleviated" the world with in the study of psychology. So you can see the simplicities of the world dynamically deliver them at a more complex illustration. His new revolutionary study of the mind trickled beyond the depths of science and moving to the different disciplines of art. This form of fragmentation is illustrated in lines 4-6.

It seems as though her thoughts are incomplete. This new development in literature was to induce a new retrospect in auditory performance as these features could stimulate the mind and body differently. Also this distortion in the fragmentation made the work, uniplanar which would invoke those emotional and sensory feelings.

The complexities of art as they came in this time were all affected evenly, be of course technology is further increasing everyday so with the upgrading of life throughout the world, so would the art elements. In technology, a new time occurring was the advancement in building technology as skyscrapers and better methods of transportation are created. A well pushed technological upbringing is always stemmed from war and this is where many of these psychological references can be induced.

Another artists from this modernist era is the world famous Spaniard cubist Pablo Picasso. He exemplified the fragmentation trait as he could take a three-dimensional plane and flattens it. The flattening of the plain would show the distortion in the painting. The emission of his feeling can be witnessed in his painting. These degrees of painting can be seen in Picasso's Ma Jolie.

Word Count: 466

Lamar Dodd: From this Earth

On Sunday, October 28, at 12:45, we met as a class at Morris Museum. Lamar Dodd is an artist from the modernism era of the "Isms". The painting that I will get to analyze is from this Era is From this Earth. Initially this painting can be a little hard to see, but as the viewer is able to envision this piece, they are able to see the jarring feeling that this piece has. The setting of this work of art says a lot in its own. It already shows four bodies, well four slaves that are picking cotton. There are many unique features to this painting.

So to sum it up quickly in order to get to the interdisciplinary traits, the viewer can first see the arch in the slave’s backs. It shows that the work the participated in was backbreaking and downtrodden. You also see this “cotton field” which is so rooted and enriched with other cotton plants. As you can see this barren field is provided to the viewer by Dodd to give the appeal of the slave’s life in the field, which showed to be barren, dry, and lifeless. The bright use of red shows the blood that picking the cotton would expel from the slave.

Unique to this era is that it does not have a true start or ending point. As you analyze the work of art, the traits of the modern era are evident. You can see this artist’s will to show the alienation of the black slave as they are treated inhumanely as they work their 12–16 hour days, lowly rationed food. The white mastered would strip them of all their credibility as a human. You can see the alienation within the piece as the viewer can see that barren land, the posture of the slaves and the color of the land, mixed with a sky that isn’t sun shining and pleasant. Also a part of this time was the segregation of America, and dealing with Jim Crow.

This was a severe time for the African American. This was a critcal time and expressing the racial experience was common for men of this time as it was a way to keep stragglers from falling off and remember that the goal is freedom and that they have come a long way for the rights that they have now.

A comparative work of literature that speaks as much volume as the piece by Dodd is the poem that was written and also sung by Billie Holiday was Strange Fruit, by Abel Meeropol. However this poem is somewhat short in its deliver its words span wide and powerful. Alienation is also used in this poem as she say strange fruit, to embody the entombed African American of the South, as you can read in line 4, “Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees”. Its an oxymoronic choice as when we think of fruit, we think of something, sweet, nectar-filled, nutritious, and healthy, not the body of a man hated due to his skin color.

Word Count: 510

Anthony Thorne: Charleston Doorway

On Sunday, October 28, at 12:45, we met as a class at Morris Museum. We had a chance to tour and browse the Impressionist artwork that made it through that exhibit. Luckily, I got some photos of the artwork to keep. While there, one work of art that really stood out to me was the Charleston Doorway by Anthony Thorne. There are many reasons that make this piece apart of the impressionist appeal. Anthony Thorne was a Southern American Impressionist so his term serves a little later than the true Impressionist era but his work is so deserving of such.

One touch that the piece has is the brush stroke it has. By looking, you see the incomplete and emotional strokes it takes, as every color isn't thoroughly meshed, meticulous and thorough but blend so well. That deviation from realism is what makes it special. Unique to it also, that most Impressionists had of the time was the removal of black. Also apparent is that even though shadows are casted, they are not always black but only a shade of the actual color, as opposed to the teneberism by Caravaggio as in The Calling of Saint Matthew with his absolute blacks to emit emotion in a piece. An extreme motion in that manner shown in this piece is the white blotch placed in the middle of the door. What makes these paintings so profound is that one, as you get closer, the viewer can see the "true" texture it has, as it is not smooth and layered like paintings of the past. Also unique is that as you come closer and closer to the painting it becomes more and more distorted virtually looking like a color “blah”. These unique features are some of the unique and general forms an impressionist work of art will take on.

The fabulous component of these impressionist painters is one their love to be outside and with the new discoveries in technology, the once hindered inside approach was taken outside with the discovery or metal tubes allowing paint to last longer and the manifestation of the camera which was what the painters attempt, by capturing the fleeting moment in time, as it happened, right then, like a photograph from a camera. Living live as it happens, in the present. As you can see the painting is taking forth outside and the picturesque feature it has is the essence of the shadows as if you knew the direction you were facing you would possibly be able to tell the time. It would capture what is called the "Fleeting Moment", which can be described as the moment, at that exact moment. This can be compared to the photograph of a landscape as if you were on a train. The background may be still and solid, but the the foreground and other parts that aren't in focus will end up faded and blended.

Work that has used in class is Chekov’s, The Cherry Orchard. The similarities that these two works have beyond the fact that they are both Impressionist works are they founding features. The Cherry Orchard similar to the photograph approach artist took was that the literature is presented to the reader in the present. This story is expressed as though the author is living the story as though he is one of the characters. It is exposed in the present, and in its timely and chronological manner. It is illustrated as though it is a photograph presented in words. As the Chekov tries to the give the reader a one-on-one feeling with each character by fulfilling different dialogues, so does the artist pull you into the paintings nature with its “photograph”.

Word Count: 554

Tuesday, September 21, 2010: A Hymn to God the Father, John Donne

A piece of literature that we did not touch in class that I have chosen is a poem authored by John Donne. The poem we read in class was, A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. The poem I am deciding to analyze is A Hymn to God the Father. This poem was published in the Baroque Era, and the reader is able to witness this by the strong alliance that Donne expresses with God. This was a time where the physical and the spiritual worlds are expressed through one another. This is also a time where man is infatuated with the belief and the creation of God. With knowing God as being the omnipresent and absolute being the ways of life are managed in his light. This poem by Donne expresses loads of emotion as if he is begging and pleading for an answer as he is unsure of what may happen to him in the later stages of life, and also those following death. As critiqued by Elite Skills Classics, they explain that Donne seeks this answer for forgiveness as he knows he will sin his entire life, but is remaining question is will all of his sins be forgiven before he dies and this is stated in lines 13 and 14, “I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun” (13); “My last thread, I shall perish on the shore” (14). Also the reference to the shore refers to his fear and obligates to point between life and death, earth and heaven, and considered between is either, Hell, or a life of nothingness. This poem shows the values of power/authority of this time, as God is the all-reigning being. He is shown as the absolutist.

His poem also makes a indication back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This is stated in line2, “Which was my sin, though it were done before?” (2), where he makes a reference back to the original sin of Adam and Eve, and its conservation done by himself. With this poem, again Donne is able to reflect on traits such as, power/authority, physical/spiritual, emotion, and also sense of self as he makes a a private and personal relationship with a higher being, and with these characteristics, it can be proven that this poem is of the Baroque Era.

Word Count: 388

Wednesday, September 15, 2010: Oath of the Horatii, by Jacques Louis David

Today in class we struck a milestone in the manner to interdisplinary thought in the area of Humanities and eastern study. We did exactly what it is going to take to construct a feasible essay and one that can engage in a credible argument. This topic will deal with taking a piece of literature, breaking it down into characteristics and traits and compare it to relative pieces of an era. A piece that we used in class was the Oath of the Horatii, by Jacques Louis David. This painting offers many different ideas to the viewer: one that is upfront and direct, and others that are more sublime and indirect.

This piece is as excellent example of a work of art from the 18^th Century, particularly one of the Neo-Classical era. Traits of the 18^th Century comprise of power/authority, emotion, and order, which are all symbols that this work of art displays. As Dr. Crowther told us, when first observing a work of art, examine exactly what you see before you look in-depth into the piece.

Following the words of Tom, first things first, let’s take a GOOD look. Stating this you can immediately see that the artwork has, three soldiers, a man holding swords and women to the farthest right, who look as though they are tired or weeping. With this knowledge I am able to relate the trait of emotion to the piece. Heading back toward the left, study the three soldiers, well first observe the attire, and considering the era this painting was created, people of this time did not wear this apparel. They had the appeal of the Roman soldier. This clearly reflects on the period, Neo-Classical, or reviving the Greco-Roman artistry.

Additionally, another trait lively represented in the piece, is order. You can see, as David has seemed to split the canvas into thirds, horizontally and vertically. Lowest you can see the women, next the men in the center, and lastly the arches at the top, which are significant in the profound the order the Greeks demonstrate with their building of columns with their formulas, and the Roman arch included.

Lastly, the representation of power is thoroughly shown by the outfits of the men, the sons, by wearing the average Roman soldiers’ battle wear. We all know the power that the Roman nation harnessed at one time in history. The columns as even today, these structures still stand even after centuries of weathering.

Also, one can look at the stance the soldiers stand in where their legs resemble a triangle, which is proven to be geometrically the strongest element in architecture.

Word Count: 436

Monday, September 13, 2010: Rembrandt

As a part of the baroque period a very world-renowned artist today however dead for many years is Rembrandt. He has bestowed the world with many a plenty of paintings. Within the Baroque Era the world was beginning to make a move in scientific discovery. We have seen paintings in class such as the Geographer, by Vermeer as the study of earth is being magnified, as it is a new medium. Different in the two, is Vermeer diagnoses the world, on a macroscopic field, while Rembrandt decides to move microscopically. This particular painting to be dissected by myself ironically is "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp", by Rembrandt himself. He was a Dutch painter as was Vermeer and unique about their addition to the Baroque era is the sort of had a free brush/mind when it came to what they wanted to paint.

This painting would definitely fit in this era for characteristics of this time consist of sense of the self, physical/spiritual, and order. By judging this work of art it shows spiritual vs. the physical world as science is making a leaping bound in this time with the help of those such as Galileo. It gives the human an understanding as to what we consist of and where it comes from, and that's an important reality in the realm of science. This relates, as the spiritual world is one to be questioned at this time as people were left to sort between the theories of creationism vs. evolution, always to be a critical fork in the road.

In addition to separation of the world and the otherworldly, another unique trait of this time is that of order. That’s relatively easy to design, as study is of a human. As the human body is clearly one of the most complex organic structures to dwell upon earth it requires an intense amount of order to enable all of the complex ability it retains such as movement, exchange, synthesis, and no other organism other than viral AIDS is more comparable in complexity. The viewer can clearly see the interior of the arm, including the vessels, muscles, ligament, tendons, and bone, all the way to the fingertips. These all root to a common control the brain, which is the knowledge center, therefore implying the nature of knowledge and the will to actually have, free-will, which is said the openness to paint for these Dutch painters.

Lastly an important characteristic of this time is the sense of self. Relating to the ever-studied wonder of the human being. The nature of the human being and mechanisms used to be a functioning human. This man laying down being flayed and dissected is a direct method of discovering the self because without the inside, there is no completeness to our outside. With these reasons, this painting exemplifies the necessary reasons as to why this painting existed in the Baroque time. This relates to the last paragraph of free thought and free will, notions of the self.

Word Count: 500

Monday, September 6, 2010: Music of the Baroque Era

Music of the Baroque Era, displays several reasons as to why it is in a realm of its own. The meaning of Baroque is stated to be an irregularly shaped pearl, which leads to different distinguishing ideas. However what has definitively shaped this era is its overall complexity, expression of being over the top. It has a very ornate and grandiose expression. These are all characteristics that have been described in class. They are confirmed further when I went to the performance on Sunday, August, 29, 2010, including Professor Purdy, Music of the Baroque Era.
A musician that I followed from the recital was Quentin Kuyper. He played the Baroque recorder, and one of the more interesting instruments, the rackett. So special about this instrument was its design, and the method of having to play. Different from the paintings of this time, the exterior wasn’t the most provocative, it had a uniqueness to it, but its interworking is amazing. Kuyper told us that aside from instruments that came latter to the baroque era like the bassoon that potentially replaced it playing flats and sharps were so much easier than on the rackett. His finger placement looked so awkward and just seems so descriptive as something as simple as sharping a note would take such an uncomfortable finger position.

The design and ability of the rackett really relates to several pieces of this era. One work of art that I can immediately reference is the Saint Teresa in Ecstasy, in the Cornaro Chapel, by Gianlorenzo Bernini. When you initially you see it and recognize it uniform color, but like the rackett that inside which appears to be a plain wooden cylinder with holes drilled, however it contains a more intricate design. In this wooden cylinder is a single brass tube, that is ten times longer that than the instrument alone coiled within and has holes drilled within to perform its necessary tune. These holes must be drilled within appropriately otherwise the expected sound will not be produced. Similar, this sculpture promoted with deep recesses in the carved robe St. Teresa is wearing. It looks simple but when you completely investigate it you see its supreme complexity such as Saint Teresa’s face, which is said to be orgasmic and highly defined. If you thought that the rackett was a simple instrument, remember it’s a part of the Baroque Period, nothing is that simple.

Word Count: 401