Going for a run

Well since today’s weather was fantastic I decided it would be a nice time to go for a run. What I noticed when I went was the beauty of the nature. Sure it's past fall and most people wouldn’t think it to be nice out now but it really is.   

The frost of the early morning made everything sparkle and it looked so beautiful. The leaves have fallen off all the trees but they were decorated white from the cold morning. In the background the mountains were green from pine trees and the sky was pink and clear of clouds.  The cold air wasn’t the only thing taking my breath away.

It was such a beautiful artistic scene that I had to just stop and look at how amazing the picture before me was. Honestly, it looked like it came straight off of a painting, and I can't help but want to go running every morning for the same scene.

Self-Evaluation

1. Self-Evaluation

This semester seemed to fly by!  Throughout it though I believe I have come to be a somewhat better writer, and more appreciative of art. I feel more confident in my writing now and have successfully learned how to blog! I never would have thought I would be learning through blogging but anything is possible I guess. I think the blog actually did help a lot because it wasn’t a big thing we had to stress about every week, but was enough to get us to write every week. I think my blog made me open up as a writer and I’m not as nervous to write about new things now. This class was the first time I ever wrote a memoir and I really enjoyed it and it has convinced me to look for more writing classes to further my writing. I can now use ethos, pathos, and logos to further understand writing by evaluating others and incorporating them into my own pieces.

When I first started at Penn State I avoided any and all art classes. I am proud to say I have found a new respect for the arts and even enjoy them now. I thought the trip to the Palmer art museum was going to be a horrible experience and big waste of time but, I ended up having a great time in the relaxing atmosphere. I never even knew of all of the art activities on campus before taking this class! It has really opened me up to a whole new side of Penn State that I truly enjoy. I have started to attend some of the on campus plays, shows, and on occasion revisit the art museum.  There are even some off campus activities I have been considering going to such as local book readings.

The fact that the class was also a freshman seminar was awesome because it really got into more of the arts of Penn State. Getting to go on trips to the Arboretum was an amazing experience because it got us out of the class room and more into the art of nature. Getting to go to the Palmer art museum was a great experience but without the class I doubt I would have ever gone and I’m glad I finally did go. Getting to see In the Red and Brown Water was something I thought I would hate but was surprised that I actually did enjoy it.

All in all I am really happy that I got a chance to take this class. Throughout it I was able to grow as a writer and an art applicator in ways I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting. Even though the class was a little early, and I never did get used to that, I will still miss it.

 

2. Blog Response Round-Up

 

1. http://knaviello.blogspot.com/2012/09/working-horse-hauling.html?showComment=1348273200501#c6077495178096097747

2. http://knaviello.blogspot.com/2012/09/arboretum-experience.html?showComment=1348885331089#c7004488779826768654

3. http://haileyhere.blogspot.com/2012/09/do-i-walk-by-h.html?showComment=1349658199813#c8091002021422085080

4. http://knaviello.blogspot.com/2012/10/animal-house.html?showComment=1350257003388#c698030299927871707

5. http://theartofanargument.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post-4-social-network-movie-review.html?showComment=1351989059453#c8549857144504059641

6. http://jrose412.blogspot.com/2012/11/center-stage-with-penn-states-center.html?showComment=1353206483993#c8501128573230499006

7. http://cheddarbread.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-red-and-brown-water.html?showComment=1354421354201#c8322468165506490114

8. http://rfatherly.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-red-and-brown-water-by-tarell.html?showComment=1355452557079#c1834006513297813353

9. http://colorfulspots.blogspot.com/p/artscultural-response.html?showComment=1355452882514

10. http://the1meltingpot.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-red-and-brow-water.html?showComment=1355453286078#c4968620569518114382

 

3.

Hi, Ms. S--I completed my SRTEs! J

What We Talk about When We Talk about Blogs... again

Since my gmail account was hacked and then deleted I have re-done my first blog post for my new blog! J

Template- Since it is my first time blogging I had to choose something easy enough for me to understand and navigate. I ended up choosing the water mark template because it seemed simple and didn’t look half bad. My goal was to end up with a blog that really reflected my personality that I could successfully operate and the water mark template seemed to be the best choice.

Color- Who doesn’t love pink? It’s a fun color that isn’t so bright it hurts to look at and isn’t too dark so you can still see everything alright. I’m not a formal person at all and didn’t want a design that yells “I’m only doing this for a grade” but instead something that was interesting for my very first blog experience. The design is cute and girly that just makes it an amusing page to look at and hopefully the fun design brings a smile to everyone’s face.  The only thing it’s missing now is some glitter!

Font- “Cherry Cream Soda” is the font I choose for the title and I would be lying if I said I didn’t love the name. It’s big and easy to read and I like the way it looks. For the rest of the blog I choose the simple font “Georgia” because it’s easy to read and doesn’t look to flashy.

Pages- the only other page I included was an about me page. It just includes some general information about me so people can get to know me a little better if they feel like reading it.  I made it a separate page because I personally think it looks cluttered when it’s in the side margin and this way people don’t have to see it if they don’t want to.

Title- My original blogs title was Art Smarts!, because it was enthusiastic, exciting, and kept with the fun theme.  I was hoping to gain some new “art smarts” entering the class because I really didn’t know much about art. After my gmail account was hacked and I had to make a new blog I decided to stay with the name to keep it simple but just added the “Improved” since it was my new and improved blog.

Links- I didn’t include any links mostly because I’m still trying to figure out how to use blogger. Maybe once I’m a little more comfortable with it and know how to use it I’ll include some links to some fun stuff, but until then no links.

I love my blog! It’s pink, fun, enthusiastic, and exciting! I think it reflects me in the way it’s kinda girly. Building the blog was a lot harder than I expected and I think that may just be because I have never made one before. With blogging I’m expecting to gain more knowledge of the arts and improve my writing skills.

Cultural Opportunity

Recently there was a concert in the hub with The Maine, and Mayday Parade.  My friend and I are big fans of Mayday Parade so naturally we had to attend, especially since it was a free concert for Penn State students. After waiting in line for a few hours we went in, the room was very large with a stage set up against the far wall. Like most concerts I have been to it was dark inside and everyone was gathered around the stage eager for the show to start. Once inside we found some more of our friends and fought our way to the front of the stage.

 It started with The Maine followed by Mayday Parade.  The Maine could have been better, they had low energy and so did the crowd. Everyone just stood and watched, asides from the one drunk super fan, and The Maine didn’t seem happy about that and did point it out a few times. They did however, tell some funny stories from their trip that got some laughs from the crowd, such as some trips to down town State College and got a lot of cheers when they kept saying how they loved Penn State. They were the opening act and should have done a much better job hyping up the crowd, but were still somewhat entertaining.

When Mayday Parade took the stage the energy completely changed. They started out with one of their popular ballads and then moved into another one of their popular songs. They had a lot of energy on stage and immediately the entire audience was singing along and dancing. The front man Derek made a few comments about how he loved to visit Penn State and kept thanking the crowd for knowing all the words to their songs.

 

The audience was all college students and it was a very enjoyable atmosphere.  A large guy next to me was screaming like a little girl the entire time and even happily stated he was “a total fan girl”. It was such an exciting experience that when the band was done playing the crowd chanted until they came back out for another song. I have been to events like this one and it surpassed my expectations. My friend said “It was a great experience, the crowd was completely connected to the band and it was a great time!” If there is ever an opportunity like this again I wouldn’t pass it up for anything!

In the Red and Brown Water

“In the Red and Brown Water” was a story of Oya, a talented runner with a difficult life.  After she is offered a scholarship she declines it to stay home and take care of her sick mother who dies shortly after. She is denied a scholarship after and falls in love with a man who cheats on her and leaves for war. She begins a relationship with Ogun but seems unsatisfied with it. With her life falling apart and everyone she loves gone or with someone else she desperately wants a child but cannot have one. In the end, her love Shango gets another girl pregnant and it's enough to finally push her over the edge and lose her sanity.

What struck me as the most important thing for the main character was that Oya achieved her dreams and in the end she failed at all of them. She wanted to run track and care for her loved ones but has to turn down her scholarship to care for her mother and both of those dreams die. In her attempt to care for a relationship with Shango he is unfaithful and she unhappily stays with Ogun. 

What most compelled me about the performance was the acting and dancing. The acting was in my opinion excellent. The actors really threw themselves into their characters and played convincing roles. They were both humorous and dramatic when needed. The tribal dancing was new to me so it also interested me a lot. The mature language discouraged me slightly though. I wasn’t expecting it and am not a fan of it.

My critiques of the performance would have to be that the setting was somewhat unclear at first. The tribal dancing and outfits made it kind of seem like Africa. Next, they were saying they were in the projects, which I always assumed to be in Cities, but by the end I was able to figure out they were in the bayou. Again, another critique would be the langue but that is just a personal opinion of mine and it did add somewhat to the drama.

It was not my first live performance. What I found different about it was that it was the first live performance I have ever seen where the background never changed. I didn’t really know what to expect going into it so I can’t really say if it met my expectations or not. Compared to other performances I have seen though I did think it was a good show.

Social Network

You don’t get to 500million friends without making a few enemies.  The Social Network was released in 2010 was directed by David Fincher and has won many awards such as an Oscar, a Golden reel, and a Critics choice award.  It stars Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, and Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker. It follows the story of Mark Zuckerberg’s time in Harvard and how he created Facebook, one of the most widely used social networking sites today, and the lawsuits that followed.

Although I’m not a genius getting sued for millions and can’t hack into Harvard’s computers or make a website while I’m drunk let alone sober, I am a college student who has seen some of what is portrayed in the Social Network and I’m also an avid Facebook user.  I was expecting some boring story about computer nerds sitting around a computer where one eventually screwed the rest of them over for a lot of money.  All I can say is I was wrong. Don’t get me wrong there are still some computer nerd aspects such as the competition to become an intern by hacking but they even found a way to turn it around by making the possible interns take shots every few minutes. But like any great college movie the film included some humor, drama, and aspects of college life.

           The film is mostly a drama but there are a few parts that make you laugh. The film doesn’t use dark humor, but it’s not light either. In one scene they try to build a zip line from the house to the pool but rip the chimney off the house instead. The characters mostly use sarcastic humor such as the character Erica Albright says “I'm sorry you are not sufficiently impressed with my education.” Zuckerberg replies “I'm sorry I don't have a rowboat, so we're even.”
          
          Getting sued for millions? Yeah, that’s some drama. Some claim their ideas were stolen, others that they own more of the Facebook Company, while all of this is going on they bring darker sides out of one another making more drama arise. Zuckerberg’s girlfriend tells him “..You’re going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole.” They’re in college for the creation of Facebook so naturally college life is all around them. One scene Saverin has to carry a chicken with him everywhere as part of his hazing. Also they party; often in the film they go to parties and clubs, or are drinking. Zuckerberg even creates a website while drunk in the beginning.

I loved this movie, and think any college or Facebook fan would. It brings the best of film out with a lot of drama that is softened with humor. Although it did have a few dry spots it’s still worth it to see the award winning film.

A Blast at the Botanical Gardens

              When I heard we were going to the arboretum I was excited. I have been there before and thought it would be a great way to spend a class, then I realized we were meeting there early Monday morning I wasn’t as excited. After my 8 A.M class I rushed up to the H.O. Botanical Gardens. It was a cold morning and of course I was sick to make worse, but I realized that the beauty of the gardens were worth the trip and facing the cold. I guess you could call me an outdoorsy person, since I camp, and hike, but I also enjoy the great indoors as well and have a very girly side.

 After the quick gathering in a beautiful part of the back of the gardens I went off to explore.  I quickly noticed that the gardens had changed since the last time I had been there. One thing that really caught my attention was the sun flowers that were definitely not there last time I was. They were so gorgeous and I was envious that the ones in my garden don’t look like that. As I continued walking i made my way to a small pond with vibrant pink flowers in it. They might have been my favorite since they were such an attention grabbing color mixed in with all the greens of the pond. The pond was a little dirty and the water was so dark you could only really see the fish in it when they swam to the top for a few seconds.

Next, I walked over the main fountain. People and cars passing can see it from the road and it’s usually one of the main attractions when visiting the arboretum. It has bamboo leading up to it that we got an interesting story about… Apparently they grow so fast they will grow through a person if they get tied down over them. Freaky huh? When I got up to the fountain it brought back some of the memories of coming before, once with my high school law class, after visiting the Katz building. Another time was after the Nittany Valley Sprit Rally, a cheerleading competition, with my squad; I could almost see my teammates trying to throw each other in the fountain. I also remembered before my prom my friends and I all going to that same fountain to get our pictures for one of our last gatherings before we all went our separate ways after high school. It was great to go back to a place I had such fond memories at and couldn’t help but smile.

I wander around for a few more minutes trying to avoid the sprinklers that seem quite inconveniently close to the path. I decided I should go since my cold seemed to only be getting worse from the cold and I had a class I had to get to. As I was leaving I walked past rows of trees and the sign that read “the H.O. Botanical Gardens” walking away I came to the conclusion that it was worth risking the cold even if it was just a short trip. The scenery was amazing with the mountains in the background and beautiful plants all around, and even with a stuffy nose I could still smell the sweet floral scent.  I would go back to the arboretum in a heartbeat for the stunning views, and peaceful atmosphere. For those who haven’t been there I definitely recommend it!

Palmer Museum of Art Visit

Self-Portrait as Women Recovering from Effects of Male Gaze (What’s Underneath), Julie Heffernan, oil on canvas, 1992

      When I first saw the painting it just looked like simple painting of apples and pears full of reds, greens, and browns. It looked appealing but nothing out of the ordinary or special. When I looked a little deeper into it I saw that mixed within the apples and pears were different individual pictures. I realized that it wasn’t just a nice painting of some random apples and pears, but a beautiful piece that held multiple pieces with deep meaning in them. Some of the inner drawings were more detailed than the others and some depicted different scenes in life. Some of the inner images consisted of a woman with a man tied up, a woman at a lake with a child while a man was off in the distance, a girl eating breakfast in bed, quotes that are very hard to read, and many more.

    Made in 1992 it feels like the artist is trying to prove that women are still not equal to men or are still facing hardships from men, even though equal rights have been established. Its making a social comment to men and women that even though they are considered equal on paper they aren’t necessarily in life. One of the pictures that stuck out to me was of a man tied up and a woman standing next to him, to me it is like the artist is voicing her feministic opinion that women need to be more in control.  Another one of the smaller pictures was of a woman and child at a lake with a man off in the distance, almost as if to symbolize that, men can go out as they please while it’s expected of a woman to stay with the children. Almost all of the smaller things in the portrait express the artist feminist views as well.

      For me this piece really worked a range of emotions. I wouldn’t say it invokes anger but it did make me somewhat upset at what role women are cast into even today.  It also somehow gave me a slight feeling of empowerment because in some of the scenes the women are in power and it gives the sense that I wasn’t the only one with the feeling of how wrong the roles of society are. It connected to my values because I too believe that men and women should be equal and if a woman wants to be the money winner in the family and not stay at home cooking, cleaning, and watching children then all the power to her. I don’t really feel it’s a major problem today because if a woman really wants to then she can go and get an education and have a career, but I feel it’s still somewhat expected of her to be the one who takes care of the home and it shouldn’t be.

      The artist is credible because she has a B.F.A. with high honors from University of California, and a M.F.A from Yale School of Art. She has won many awards and fellowships for her work, and has also had teaching experience in the field.

         My overall experience at the Palmer was unexpectedly enjoyable. I love going museums, but it was my first time going to an art museum and I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. You would think with me being from the area I would have been there before, but it was a completely new experience for me. When I went I was one of the only people there and it was a pleasant, calm, relaxing, atmosphere. I wandered around a bit awestruck at most of the pieces especially the older pottery. When I went upstairs I was really impressed with everything. I would see myself going back possibly when I want some peace and quiet or just to relax and look at some of the art again. 

 

Citations

"P·P·O·W | Julie Heffernan | Biography." P·P·O·W. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2012.                        <http://www.ppowgallery.com/biography.php?artist=10>.