Art Research

Initial Response

I am writing in response to a sculpture by Peter Voulkos from 1952. This sculpture was found at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. By just looking at the sculpture and taking in first impressions it is ceramic and very odd looking. It seems abstract to me. I always wonder with abstract art who actually finds it aesthetically pleasing it just seems odd to me. It looks like it was made using the artist’s feelings without any actual forethought as to what it should look like.

Informed Response

According to Peter Voulkos’s Biography located online at the Jordan Schnitzer museum of Art’s website, he emerged at a time when “ceramics were searching out different traditions.” This helps in my understanding of why the sculpture is made like it is. He was looking for something different, something not already done. Because he was also considered an abstract expressionist artist at this time I feel like my interpretation of abstract was directly on.

Creativity and Spirituality

Spirituality and Creativity

1. I define spirituality as the search for an acknowledgement of one’s ultimate nature and purpose. It is the belief or the actions that speak to belief of being connected to something greater than one’s self in this life. People are usually looking for an answer to the big question in life, of why am I here? Spirituality, no matter what form, is a great answer to that question and it leads to many different beliefs.

2. I believe that spirituality can be very closely tied with religion or faith, and in most cases that is what people tend to compare or contrast it to. However, I do not believe that people have to have a specific religion to be so called “spiritual”. Thinking back to the 60’s or 70’s (excluding the drugs) many people considered themselves to be spiritual or one with the earth and that isn’t really a religion. Also, when someone goes through a near death experience and decides to live differently he may or may not turn to religion but that particular change could be spiritual for him.

3. Creativity seems to be more of an abstract process than something easily definable, but I believe that creativity can be closely tied to originality. To create something is to make something from new or original from idea generation, therefore creativity really is more of a process of thinking. A process that involves ingenuity and imagination to complete a task or a project. I don’t think however that it only involves imagination I think that it takes a lot of analytical thinking as well.

4. Everyone has the capacity to create something. The source of creativity can come from many aspects of humanity, a person’s values can influence how the person creates, a person’s spirituality can influence what a person will create, and a person’s dreams or aspirations could very well influence what he may wish or hope to create in the future. In Greek mythology the belief is that there are muses who inspire creativity, therefore in the current day it is said that if one feels like he has lost his creativity he needs to find a new muse. That is exactly what spirituality can do for a person.

Horror Enjoyment Research

My first article, Why do people love horror movies? came from the Science Daily website. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070725152040.htm This article talks about the general assumption that in theory, when it comes to human behavior, we pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Then the article postulates the question of why then would someone voluntarily place themselves in a position to be scared half to death. The article states later that in theory there could be a few explanations, one that the person is excited by the movie, not afraid, two, that they endure the fear "for a sense of relief at the end", and three the author argues that "people are happy to be unhappy....people may actually enjoy being scared." I believe that this article is right on target with our readings for this week. Noel Carroll, in the piece, Why Horror? states early on that many people, "do seek out horror fictions for the purpose of deriving pleasure from sights and descriptions that would customarily repulse them." (Carroll 275) This agrees completely with the article I found.

University of Chicago Press Journals (2007, July 31). Why Do People Love Horror Movies? They Enjoy Being Scared. ScienceDaily. Retrieved 11/07/08

Carroll, N. (2002). Why Horror?. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., Chap. 17). New York, NY: Routledge

My second article, Why we like horror, came from a website called, In Bob we Trust, http://inbobwetrust.net/whywelikehorror.html. Bob summarizes early on that in general everyone seems to have a different reason for why he or she likes to be frightened by horror, and that they all seem to have a different view of what horror actually is. He divides the question into several key areas. Why do we like fiction, why do we like fantastic fiction and why do we like that creepy stuff. For the purposes of this assignment I will now focus mainly on his interpretation of why do we like that creepy stuff. He discusses the fact that every day there are real monsters that do really horrible things to other human beings. He states that "horror fiction can be an escape from those real horrors," and it "can be comforting because you know it's a safe monster...ultimately you know it can't hurt you." In our reading this week from Berys Gaut, The Paradox of Horror, Gaut believes that when horror is that stereotypical, it can be likened to actual phenomena of today, that this loses the curiosity for most individuals. He states that, "it is difficult to believe that our curiosity could be sufficiently stimulated..." Gaut believes that the reason so many people like horror is because of the curiosity of the unknown. I think that this is a good point but I still think that Bob has some ground to explore with his theory of escape from reality.

Gaut, B. (2002). The Paradox of Horror. In Neill, A. & Riley, A. (eds.) Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates (2nd ed., Chap. 18). New York, NY: Routledge.

Lewis R. (2007) Why we like Horror. In Bob we Trust. Retrieved, 11/07/08.

The Art of Personal Adornment

The Art of Personal Adornment

In general I am very simplistic and modest in the way in which I dress myself. My jewelry includes only my wedding ring and the necklace my husband gave me on our last anniversary. I do not wear much make-up and when I do it is very minimal, only to enhance my current features. I choose to dress this way because I feel like this is the best representation of who I am. I am not an attention seeking person, I have never been. I feel like the way in which I present myself to the world shows a lot about my character and I feel that I have a very wholesome and genuine character. I believe in God and I believe that my body is a temple to be used for God’s purposes. Currently I am the director of the preschool at my church and modesty is very important when working with children. If I tried to dress more shockingly or to stand out from the crowd I don’t feel like that would be a good example that I would be setting for these children and for that matter my own daughter. I want my daughter to grow up with a good example of how to grow to be a strong and independent woman like the example I was given as a child. I don’t want her to think about fitting in or standing out from the crowd. She needs to understand that her personal adornments should have nothing to do with what path she chooses to live her life on. Before I became a wife and a mom, I probably dressed a little more trendy, like most young adults in high school but I still had the same values so I really haven’t changed that much, and I have never worn much jewelry or make-up.
In my family, it was always really important that you adorn yourself the way in which you want others to perceive you. Growing up and always doing well in school and volunteering through my church and in my community I felt like I wanted others to perceive mw as a very responsible young adult. I didn’t really feel like I was ever on the same page in my life as my peers. I still don’t. Not many college students get married right out of high school and then three years later have a baby with their spouse. (Who do not divorce). I still try to be the responsible one and I don’t mind beig perceived that way. This was how I was raised.
I feel like my peer community, no matter which crowd are still trying to please. I feel like some dress more trendy trying to impress their friends, some try to dress differently maybe to please themselves or by peer pressure to stand out from the crowd. No matter how they dress or adorn themselves, I feel like most college students are still trying to find themselves and understand who they want to be. Not what they want to do with their lives, that is completely different. But who they want to be perceived as, who they want themselves to be as individuals, and who they want to be as compared the their peers. I believe that styles and personal adornment for most college students change quite a bit as they try to find their place in this world, and as they try to find what works best for them.

Life Values Assessment

My Values

Five most Important:

God
Family
Integrity
Loyalty
Friendship

Less Important:

Security
Health
Personal Development
Personal Accomplishment
Wisdom
Enjoyment

Community

Service

Independence

Creativity

Leadership

Expertness

Prestige

Wealth

Power

Location

Today I woke up at 8:00. I fed my daughter her breakfast, dressed her, and then I cooked breakfast for my husband and I. Then we all left for church. At church, today was my turn to teach preschool and I trained a new teacher in the process. After church I made lunch and my husband then he left for work. My daughter and I played until it was time for her afternoon nap and then dinner. Afterword we played until it was her bed time. I then began my homework and getting the house put back together for the next day.
My top five values; God, Family, Integrity, Loyalty, and Friendship are well reflected in my daily activities. My dedication to God is reflected through my work as the director of the preschool for my church. My daughter and my husband are my world and I do my best to take care of them and meet their needs which shows my dedication to my family. I am not derelict in my duties as a student, preschool teacher, mother and wife showing my loyalty and integrity.

a. I believe that my family instilled in me very deep beliefs in family, integrity, and personal accomplishment.

b. I think that all the values I received from my family are still valid. My grandmother raised me and she and I have always had very similar beliefs. My childhood values are still valid to me today.

c. I plan to open my own full-time preschool through my church. To make quality childcare available for those who might otherwise be unable to obtain it.

d. Money is always an issue. I also still need to finish school and obtain my teaching degree so that I am qualified.

September 29, 2008- First Blog

This particular blog, Dr Laura's blog, is one that I have read frequently. I picked this particular post because I feel like it not only has a lot to do with something that might be widely debated these days but also it is something that I personally have a strong opinion on. Being a new mother myself ( of a beautiful four month old baby girl ) I cannot imagine having to be in a full time job, not to mention one that can monopolize your time off the job, ( Mayor, Vice President, etc. ) and still be there for your child and husband. Yes women should have the same opportunities as men but when you make a choice to have a child, (not to mention five, like Palin) your child's welfare should outrank your need to "have it all". Children need to be raised by their parents, not daycares or other children. I think that Dr Laura does a good job of outlining this in her blog.

http://www.drlaurablog.com/2008/09/02/sarah-palin-and-motherhood/