Art Experience

My art experience came in the form of visiting the country fair. If you don’t know what the country fair is, it is a gathering of hippies of all kinds sharing art and experiencing life with one another. For me the actual experience of visiting the country fair was very different then what I expected. I thought it would be a Saturday market on a larger scale, but it turned out to be a nuclear bomb on my mind. When I first arrived at the country fair I couldn’t believe how many people where actually there. There was a huge field covered with cars, and the people organizing this parking lot were extremely inefficient. After a fifteen minute walk my friends and I reached the front gate. There were sculptures make out of garbage all over the place; a piece sign made out a broken bikes and vans painted with a every kind of hippie mural you can think of. The fair had multiple stages with people reading poetry, performing music, and interpretive dancing. The dancing was the most entertaining part because at least ninety percent of the dancers where on acid, shrooms, or some other psychedelic drug. There were booths set up throughout the fair, and most of them were selling jewelry, paintings, pictures, glass sculptures, and wood carvings. The paintings and pictures were very beautiful and most of them were of nature. The different combinations of colors were mesmerizing and the artist would come up and talk to you about were their inspiration came from and what they were trying to depict with this picture or painting. I have never experienced the hippie culture in that way, and it wouldn’t have been so unbearable if they would just put on some deodorant. But all in all it was an experience that changed my view of the hippie culture, and what they value is so much different from my own values.

Creative Spirituality

I would define spirituality as the inner journey or struggle someone goes through to become spiritually enlightened. I see spirituality as something that someone searches for their whole life. In the reading that was assigned for creative spirituality the author gave 5 stories people went through to become spiritually enlightened, and each story it was a struggle for each one of those people. Each person searched for answers that philosophers have dealt with for ages. Questions asking why are we here, what is my purpose in life, and also questions concerning death. I feel spirituality goes hand in hand with these questions, and taking a life long journey to understand these difficult questions.
I feel spirituality and religion have a great deal of differences, but they also share fundamental qualities. A quote in the reading said that religion does not like spirituality because it provides answers for questions that should only be answered by the lord or God. This is the major difference when it comes to spirituality and religion. Religion deals with giving yourself up to higher power and trusting in your savior, while spirituality encourages you to find your own answer to these questions. The feeling you receive from both religion and spirituality are relatively the same. Whether you are in the presence of God or meditating you feel overwhelmed with emotion, and both religion and spirituality have the power to change your values and beliefs.
The word creativity can be defined as the process of generating new ideas and concepts. You can also be creative by adding creative ideas and putting your own art into an existing product, craft, or art piece as well. Creativity is not just limited to the arts either, and is useful in science, math, history, landscaping, etc. You can be creative in just about every aspect of life. Being creative is valued by the spiritual community, and being creative allows you to think outside your comfort zone and continue to grow as a person.
The source of creativity, which I interpret as your inspiration for creativity can come from anything. For me I feel the most creative when I am surrounded by nature, going through personal hardships, or am under pressure. I feel you have to push yourself to accomplish something that is truly creative, and creative work is something that should not come easy. An example of creative hardship is when Andy Goldsworthy failed to create is rock formation multiple times, and every time I saw the rocks crumple I saw his disappointment and pain. But when he finally finished his rock cone, he created something truly creative and the sense of satisfaction that comes along with creating a creative work of art.

Aesthetics of Horror

The first article I read was by William Scheinman and was called “Toward a Philosophy of Horror”. The article basically was a less in depth version of Carroll’s “Why Horror?”. The article starts off talking about why we enjoy and decide to watch and engage ourselves in horror films and other things that would normally disgust us in real life. Scheinman goes on to suggest that we watch horror films for other reasons then just being shocked and scared, and suggests that we are engaged in the evolution of the monster character. For him, true horror is always about two things: subversion and transformation. His last comment about horror is the beauty that he finds in the story and characters. He doesn’t mean beautiful in the obvious sense, but the sense of beauty from myths and folklore that make these “monsters” more than just creatures. As I mentioned above his idea of horror films is very similar to what Carroll talks about. Carroll talks about the how the narrative form in horror films and how that makes up a big part of the entertainment aspect of horror. Carroll, as well as Scheinman, talks about the monsters roll in the film and the connection the audience should make with that character. Carroll says, “Monsters are natural subjects for curiosity, and they straightforwardly warrant the ratiocinative energies the plot lavishes upon them.” Both of these writers believe the audience wants to find out information about the monster. This idea of unknowing ads to the experience of a horror film, and turns the monster from an “it” into a creature or something real.

The second article I read was an essay called “Why Horror Films are so Popular” by Derek Both. Both talks more about the entertainment factor of horror films as opposed to whether horror should be considered art. He talks about the sensation of being scared and nervous is the reason we see horror films, and how no other money plays upon these types of emotions. Both says, “what other kind of film can make you bury your head under the pillow, jump at the slightest noise or make you suddenly afraid of the dark?”. He also suggests people watch horror films to become completely detached from reality. The idea of horrific and graphic images ads to the adrenaline we experience when watching a horror film. Carroll says, “Thus, we are attracted to, and many of us seek out, horror fictions of this sort despite the fact that they provoke disgust, because that disgust is required for the pleasure involved in engaging out curiosity in the unknown and drawing it into the processes of revelation, ratiocination, etc.” This is the biggest connection between Carroll and Both’s article because they both feel gore and bloodlust are a huge part of the horror film genre. Especially in today’s horror films horrible deaths ad to the shock value and what ads to the scariness is the victims are average people like me and you, and this ads a sense of reality to horror films that didn’t use to be there.

Scheinman, W. “Toward a Philosophy of Horror” Retrieved from http://www.williamscheinman.com/essays_philosophy.htm

Both, D., (2007). “Why Horror Films Are So Popular” Retrieved from Articlesbase at http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/why-horror-films-are-so-popular-208906.html

Personal Adornment

I have never considered my personal adornment art in any form of the word. The only expressive body art I have is a tattoo on my inner upper arm, but I have always been fascinated with body art. Tattoos, piercings, clothing, or any other form of body modification attract my attention, and i find it hard to look away when I see a guy/girl with a full sleeve tattoo. While some people consider tattoos and piercings as marks symbolizing mislead youth, I find it expressive and mesmerizing. I have never considered turning my body into a work of art mostly because i can hear my mom yelling at me about how I will never get a job with all those tattoos. It sounds kind of wierd to say, but I admire those people that have full sleeves or a tattoo that covers their whole back because of the pain and commitment they go through. Today in lecture I heard that body modification symbolizes a right of passage and also represents becoming a man or a women. It is easy to come up with examples of body art symbolizing rights of passage in nonwestern or ancient societies, but today teenagers rebel from their parents by piercing or tattooing their body to represent coming into their ownself and breaking away from being their parent's child.
As i stated above I have always had this fascination with tattoos and couldn't wait for the day I would get one. I would consider my mother pretty old fashioned when it comes to body art. What i mean by old fashioned is she hates tattoos and doesn't want her son covered in ink the rest of his life. I got my tattoo over christmas break sophmore year in college. It is of an angel that represents my guardian. My mother was very reluctant about the whole situation, but ended up ok about what I got. What surprised me was how eager I was to get another one. I thought that some people view tattoos as works of art that are inspiring or beautiful, and some become addicted to the feeling tattoos give them. I consider myself to have an addictive personality and if it wasn't for my parents I would easily have four to five tattoos. It made me realize that some tattoos are done in the name of art, and people get tatoos or other forms of body art for a whole different reason, whether it be painful pleasure or an addiction. While I do not value art nor am an artistic person, I am able to make a connection with tattoos in a totally different way.

Values

After Prioritizing my values it led me to believe my most cherished values are family, friendship, enjoyment, personal development, and health. I have basically considered these to be my core values, but i have never thought about how I exercise them in a daily setting.

Family plays a big part in my life. I may not talk to them everyday, but hoping the best for me. Just today I had to drive up to Corvallis for a job interview. Since I am broke and don't have a car, I need a means of transportation to get there. I am in luck because my sister lives in Corvallis, and drives down to Eugene to get me. Only family would drive 45 minutes out of their way to pick you up, and then drive you back and not even ask for gas money.
Friendship is something that can be taken for granted. I am very lucky to have such good friends and appreciate all they do for me. Whether it's the countless times they have let me borrow their car, entertained me, or bought drinks for me at the bars, friendship is a part of my life everyday.
Enjoyment, I value taking pleasure in life and being optimistic. I try to take enjoyment in everything I do, even if it sucks. I surround myself with people I enjoy and make choices that have a positive impact on my life. As i am writing this post, I am sitting outside enjoying the weather, since Oregon has a limited amount of sun. There is no time to have a negative view on life.
Personal development is something i strive to do everyday, whether it be by getting an education, working out, or challenging myself everyday. Currently I am competing to partake in a very competitive internship that is way out of my comfort zone, but I am pushing myself to expand that zone. I wouln't be where I am today if I didn't challenge myself.
I feel that if you lead a healthy life you will lead a happy life. Eating right and keeping your body healthy creates a sense of pride for yourself. You become more confident in your skin and around people. Not to say that I don't have my share of bad habits, but i like to think i pick my poison wisely. An example of being healthy that I practice daily is physical activity.

While writing this post I started to think about how values change as you grow up, and if some values all together vanish. Looking back to grade school and middle school I tryed to remember what i valued back then. The only one that had any significant relevance was religion. I attended a Catholic school for nine years where I went to church every wendnesday and sunday. Now a days the only time I go to church is Christmas and Easter with my family. I still value being a good person with strong morals and ethics, but the religious part is drifting away. I find it interesting how something can be such a big part of your life, and once that it is gone your values start to shift and change.

NBA Finals: Heated Rivalry Reignited?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3445879&name=hollinger_john

After recaping what appers to be the most exciting NBA season I can remember in a long time, I couldn't think of a better way to end it than with a Boston/LA final. This legendary rivalry is one of the greatest rivlaries we have in sports, and with the hype of the "big three" in Boston vs. NBA MVP Kobe Bryant how could this final not live up to Magic vs. Bird. Unfortuantely this series lacked the passion and anger that we have been seeing all playoffs, well at least LA lacked these qualities.

One of my favorite quotes that i heard regarding the finals, after Boston stomped LA in game six, was the text of the day on the Jim Rome show. The text read, "I didn't know Phil Jackson changed his triangle offense to the crapizoid offense". This mirrors how LA played throughout the whole series. Even though LA won two games, with Kobe caring them to both of these wins, they deserved to get sweeped. Their offense lacked any kind of motion what so ever and resembled more of an Isaah Thomas team than a Phil Jackson one. Besides from Kobe and brief glimpses from Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic, the bench contributed nothing to the cause. The thing that mind boggles me was previous to their finals appearance they were the best looking team in the playoffs, while Boston looked to be extremely overrated.

I don't want to take anything away from Boston, they were the better team and proved it without a doubt. The passion and emotion Kevin Garnett displayed on and off the court makes him almost impossible to dislike, and with his quote in the postgame interview, "Anything is Possible", speaks as load as his actions.