By the Way

I don't know if you guys have noticed, but a mysterious person named "Nikoda" has commented on a couple of my blogs. Don't worry, she's not in the class, she won't be on the class list. She is a friend of mine from back when we both wore diapers.

I Just wanted to Share

I just wanted to share "She Talks to Angels" with everyone- I heard it on the way to class this morning and hadn't heard it in a long time. I love this song- the lyrics are so beautiful and haunting...it actually kind of reminds me of Amelia or Yvonne or whatever her name was in "Mr. Dynamite".

The Black Crowes - She Talks To Angels (original video)

About 99 Ways

Ever since we started talking about "99 Ways", I've begun to take notice of this concept exemplified all over the place. The most striking thing to me is how many different ways books can be translated into film. And then they often re-make movies, which is another example of how a storyline can remain unchanged, but with huge opportunities for creative freedom within the piece. Sitting here watching television, I just came across "Romeo and Juliet", the 1996 Leo DiCaprio version, which I absolutely adore~ I went to the movies and saw it 3 times when it came out, own the soundtrack, the whole deal... So, of course, I'm watching it and I can't help but think of what a great example this film is of the idea our "99 Ways" is demonstrating. Stylistically, it could not be more different from the classic Franco Zepherelli (sp?) version. And another great example is that no matter how accurately the original film version depicts the play, it will never be the same as the way it was performed in Shakespeare's time, on his stage. And of course, this applies also to all of his and other playwrights' works put on the big screen. It's really quite "interesting" eh? No, really, I think it's great that our imaginations can interpret one thing in so many different ways; and what's even more truly interesting is that two people can watch the same thing and have completely different perceptions of the work given his her life's experience, beliefs, opinions, etc. Very cool.

Edgar Allan Poe

This was my first favorite poem: Poe, while maybe a tad insane and more than a tad morbid, was truly an artist ~ http://www.pambytes.com/poe/poems/for_annie.html

Oh Yeah

Thought-provoking- another quality that I forgot to mention...art must be thought provoking. If you feel strongly about something or an emotion arises, it's usually followed by thought.

OOPs

I just realized that I titled my last post "art and beauty", but didn't mention anything about beauty. So, here is what I meant to write in my last post:

Beauty can be merely eye candy or beauty can grab ahold of us an force us to stare, while we feel special just being in the presence of such splendor. It is the latter that can be truly considered art. Not to say that only beautiful things are art, but beauty catches our eye and can evoke tremendous feeling. Which means that mother nature can be the most accomplished artist of all; I don't consider the air-brushed photos of gorgeous women in "Playboy" to be artistic photography, but when I watch deer eating in my backyard during the first light of morning, I am exalted. So, we can create art manually or find it in nature. Often, we imitate nature to create beautiful art.

ART and BEAUTY

HHmmm...art is an interesting concept. It is not nearly as complex as people try to make it. In my opinion, art is, in essence, anything that evokes emotion or arouses strong feeling. This is not necessarily strong feeling or emotion about the piece of artwork which one is viewing, but in general. SO, if you ask me, the artist knew what he was doing when he turned that urinal upside down and wrote on it. It seems that everyone in the class had a relatively strong opinion regarding the work. That strong opinion denotes a strong feeling behind it, derived from looking at the image of "The Fountain". This, however, may not be what the artist actually intended. Really though, what the artist was thinking, feeling, or wishing to convey is pretty much irrelevant. Art is made to be viewed and taken in by the audience. Once it is no longer a work in progress and it is on display, there is no control over what people make of it.