I love libraries. Always have, always will. So when confronted with the task of finding somewhere to explore, I chose the library. After a little poking around this afternoon, I found myself in the Paterno Reading Room on the Pattee side of the library. I chose a table and got comfy.
Large, dusty volumes line the plentiful shelves along almost every inch of the wall space. A beautiful high ceiling makes it seem spacious and expensive. Students sit at various tables complete with little green reading lamps - typing furiously, poring over textbooks - and separating the two ends of the room filled with wooden tables are colorful, squishy arm chairs. Many students residing in these arm chairs are actually sleeping, which is quite amusing to me.
This space just smells like knowledge. It's so college-y. I can almost feel my IQ rising by just sitting here, surrounded by everything and everyone. This place is almost an oxymoron. There is complete silence, but yet there is so much happening at once - I can hear the room buzzing in my subconscious. I'm curious to know what is going on in each individual mind. I want to ask, "What are you studying? Why is this topic important to you?" I would inquire, but breaking the silence would be sacrilege.
The books, the people, and the atmosphere are just fantastic. I can't help but feel like I'm a part of something important in this beautiful place of learning.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
The Palmer Museum
After exploring Penn State's own Palmer Museum for about 45 minutes, I knew which piece of art I wanted to blog about.
My piece is called "Modern Limits," done by William T. Wiley in 1975. Wiley used acrylic and charcoal on canvas to create this visually stimulating, erratic painting. There is so much to look at that the eye darts all over the canvas at first. One must step back to appreciate the work as a whole, and then get up close to discover all of the small bits and pieces that make up the painting. Most of the piece are dark swirls that make up images like a telescope, a skull, a castle, people, buildings, etc. There are also pops of color throughout that make shapes, designs, and lines.
This piece may look haphazard and meaningless, but there are indeed rhetorical concepts. Wiley is an artist in California who had a part in developing the northern California Funk Art movement that was characterized by lack of reverence and completely unrefined style. This is a very good example of artwork in this movement for obvious reasons - in this piece there are no rules. It represents 100% carefree expression.
This piece definitely appeals to pathos, or emotions. While studying this work, I definitely felt a sense of anxiety and panic. There is so much going on, and there is a sort of dark, dingy, demented feel to it. But it also sparked my interest and beckoned me to keep looking. This work almost toys with the audience's emotions.
Since Wiley was a contributor to the California Funk Art movement, this piece definitely gives him credibility to being a leader of this form. The irreverence and unrefined style unique to the CA Funk Art movement is apparent here. Also, this artist is credible because he earned his B.F.A. and M.F.A. at the San Francisco Art Institute, and taught at the University of California at Davis for 11 years. These accomplishments give him some major artistic integrity. That is disregarding the fact that he has been creating art since the sixties and continues to do so to this day. His other pieces are in the same style family as "Modern Limits," with graphic and unusual shapes and images and and interesting juxtaposition of color. He also creates sculptures and more tangible forms of art. Wiley has also won numerous awards for his artwork.
A scene can be discerned from the madness, but the madness is the point. According to the work's description, there are many references to Wiley's father who was a surveyor for the U.S. government. I think Wiley's claim is that even through science and careful planning, the world is still a jumbled, unpredictable place. This claim seems extremely persuasive and believable to me. For one, I completely agree with this claim. Sometimes it is hard to detect any rhyme or reason in life. Is there a meaning to life? A destiny to fulfill? Those are the questions that this piece invokes me to answer. The answer could very likely be no, and this piece leads me to believe that. Life is just a confusing journey through time and varied places, that ends in death for all of us, like the skull in the lower left corner suggests.
I definitely had a positive first experience at the Palmer. I haven't been to many museums, but I definitely enjoy going and perusing through exhibits. Art initiates thought in me, and I love that. I could see myself going back sometime this year to enjoy the calm, beautiful atmosphere of the museum and to take a beneficial break from my studies.
My piece is called "Modern Limits," done by William T. Wiley in 1975. Wiley used acrylic and charcoal on canvas to create this visually stimulating, erratic painting. There is so much to look at that the eye darts all over the canvas at first. One must step back to appreciate the work as a whole, and then get up close to discover all of the small bits and pieces that make up the painting. Most of the piece are dark swirls that make up images like a telescope, a skull, a castle, people, buildings, etc. There are also pops of color throughout that make shapes, designs, and lines.
This piece may look haphazard and meaningless, but there are indeed rhetorical concepts. Wiley is an artist in California who had a part in developing the northern California Funk Art movement that was characterized by lack of reverence and completely unrefined style. This is a very good example of artwork in this movement for obvious reasons - in this piece there are no rules. It represents 100% carefree expression.
This piece definitely appeals to pathos, or emotions. While studying this work, I definitely felt a sense of anxiety and panic. There is so much going on, and there is a sort of dark, dingy, demented feel to it. But it also sparked my interest and beckoned me to keep looking. This work almost toys with the audience's emotions.
Since Wiley was a contributor to the California Funk Art movement, this piece definitely gives him credibility to being a leader of this form. The irreverence and unrefined style unique to the CA Funk Art movement is apparent here. Also, this artist is credible because he earned his B.F.A. and M.F.A. at the San Francisco Art Institute, and taught at the University of California at Davis for 11 years. These accomplishments give him some major artistic integrity. That is disregarding the fact that he has been creating art since the sixties and continues to do so to this day. His other pieces are in the same style family as "Modern Limits," with graphic and unusual shapes and images and and interesting juxtaposition of color. He also creates sculptures and more tangible forms of art. Wiley has also won numerous awards for his artwork.
A scene can be discerned from the madness, but the madness is the point. According to the work's description, there are many references to Wiley's father who was a surveyor for the U.S. government. I think Wiley's claim is that even through science and careful planning, the world is still a jumbled, unpredictable place. This claim seems extremely persuasive and believable to me. For one, I completely agree with this claim. Sometimes it is hard to detect any rhyme or reason in life. Is there a meaning to life? A destiny to fulfill? Those are the questions that this piece invokes me to answer. The answer could very likely be no, and this piece leads me to believe that. Life is just a confusing journey through time and varied places, that ends in death for all of us, like the skull in the lower left corner suggests.
I definitely had a positive first experience at the Palmer. I haven't been to many museums, but I definitely enjoy going and perusing through exhibits. Art initiates thought in me, and I love that. I could see myself going back sometime this year to enjoy the calm, beautiful atmosphere of the museum and to take a beneficial break from my studies.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Strengths, Weaknesses, and Room for Improvement
I feel like writing has always been one of my strong points throughout school - I have always enjoyed it. Compared to tedious math classes and bore-me-to-death social studies classes, English classes are my bliss. That is one of my strengths; I am passionate about writing, so I want to do it right. I want to fulfill the objective and get my point across in a meaningful, creative way. I want grab the audience’s attention and show them my point of view. Another strength of mine would have to be my good grammar and spelling (watch me make mistakes now that I said that). My friends and even my mom always come to me whenever they need a paper, e-mail, etc. proofread. It’s advantageous that my English teachers have always had time to write helpful comments on my papers instead of just going through and correcting grammatical errors.
Like every other human being on the planet, I also have weaknesses when it comes to writing. My main problem, I think, is that it usually takes me hours upon hours to write a paper. This is mainly because I get too caught up in diction and syntax. I’m a recovering perfectionist. I know I take every little thing too seriously and I am trying to work on that, especially when it comes to writing. Sometimes the beauty of this art form comes from free expression instead of painfully thought out sentences word by word. Procrastination is definitely another weakness. Like countless other kids my age, getting distracted from work is far too easy. I always write better when I have time and am not rushed. It’s just the matter of me tearing myself away from my friends and getting it done!
I know I can make a lot of improvements as a writer, and this class will definitely guide me towards that. Instead of taking five times the amount of time to write a paper than everyone else, I want to be able to express myself better in a more timely fashion. My papers lose depth and creativity when I slowly plod along in the pursuit of perfection. I think that over the duration of this semester I will master how to appeal to others better. This will make me more sure of myself while writing instead of unconfidently piecing together my papers.
Something else that I will take away from this class is a better understanding of the arts, specifically the arts at Penn State. I think this will help my writing improve by opening myself up to different aspects of life at my new home. New experiences and knowledge do a lot to shape a person, so hopefully the experiences and knowledge that I will get out of this class will improve myself as a person and myself as a writer as well. I’m looking forward to being able to describe things in a new light and with a different mind set. I think this class has a lot to offer me!
My example of art is my favorite poem by e. e. cummings. This is one of the first poems my teacher introduced us to in my AP English class senior year. Everyone felt very dejected going into the poetry unit, myself included. But once we read this poem I was taken aback by the emotion it evoked in me. It made me sad, but it also made me wonder. It made me think. And I absolutely love that.
This poem epitomizes loneliness. It starts out with the number 1, which is essentially the root of loneliness. When you take out the part in parentheses, you see the number one, then the word “one,” than the letter “L” which is lowercase so that it looks like an “I.” Lastly you see “iness,” which sounds like the state of being by yourself. All together it spells out loneliness. Then, the part in parentheses spells out “a leaf falls.” What is lonelier than a single leaf falling from a tree? Plus, the poem is written to look like a leaf falling. I could go on and on about this poem and how much I adore the genius of e. e. cummings. But I will just say that this poem is art at it’s finest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)