Business Card

Found: My house

This is not art, but it's a catchy thing. We give out business cards all the time and it helps to have one that looks good so people will remember they have it.

Tag

Found: My house

This another thing I found that alone, can not be art. It could be used as a symbol though. It could represent consumerism.

Of course, even though not art, price tags easily catch one's eye. We love to shop and look for sales, and the price tag for some of us can be the most important part of the garment.

Frog

Found: My house

This frog is representative of the multitude of stuffed animals I have. I decided that they are not art because they are made in a factory with machines and assembly lines. They aren't a labor of love. They aren't handmade. They aren't unique. They probably made over 1000 of these little frog key chains.

Also, I have not seen any stuffed animals as part of art exhibits. Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't any, just that it's not art in the mainstream sense. To me, stuffed animals are toys and decoration. They are cuddly and make cute gifts. But, they are not works of art.

Shell

Found: My house

This could be a sequel to the coconut. It's one of those things we find on the beach. It's something we love to hunt for and collect. Plenty of people use shells to make craft and paint pictures of shells. But by itself, unmodified, in its natural context, the shell is not art.

SMP Presentation

Today I attended Mike Benjamin's SMP presentation. It was my first time attending an SMP presentation and I was pretty impressed. I had thought of the SMP as a research project that you work on, then present, and get finished with at the end of the year. On the contrary, Benjamin's project will be an ongoing endeavor that he will be part of long after he graduates. His work on creating a "local immersion" experience for students has laid the foundation for a new class that would be comparable to a week study abroad program in our own back yard. Six to ten students would live for 3 weeks as close to nature as possible to learn how to maximize sustainability and minimize environmental impact. The purpose of the project is to try to break free from the institutionalization in our lives and to embrace new methods of learning and living. As a child, Benjamin said he only really learned something if he was fascinated by it and was immersed in it hands on. That was the basis for his idea of living close to nature to learn about it. He was well prepared to take ideas and answer questions, and provided good rebuttals for a few arguments one spectator had who doubted the genuineness of the project. As a result of attending this first presentation, I have to say I will definately be interested in attending many more during my career here at St. Mary's, along with presenting my own when the time comes.

La Jetee

I was able to watch the beginning of the film more closely and critically until I got really absorbed in the story in the latter part. Some of the pictures of the people were shown for what seemed like a really long time while the narrator said quite a bit about them. I found myself kind of willing the pictures to move or change to adjust with the narration. In contrast, the pictures of the destruction of Paris were shown too quickly for me to take in all the aspects of each picture. It was like the artist was showing us that the damage to the city was so unfathomable that there was no way to grasp it. Looking at the still pictures also made me feel more controlled. It was as if I was being forced to look at something even if it was unpleasant.

Rapunzel

In reaction to the reading, I considered how many fairy tales I could have read as a child without understanding the intentions of the authors. Were these stories really meant to be read to children? It's not that there is anything inappropriate about the stories themselves, just that they became under-appreciated over the years. It is proof that there is so much more to art and literature than we as viewers and readers could ever fathom. Even a simple photograph of a cityscape can be a profound statement. Stories are like staircases with levels of increasing complexity. Every time Thompson took the story up to a new level in his essay, it became more personnal to him. His writing became more opinionated and far out. It's as though he was taking Rapunzel and making it into his own story. To be able to identify with a story is another level of analysis.