Week of 2/1 Responses

Chapter 3: p. 66 #8

I was actually very impressed with all three pictures that the three people drew.  I asked three of my girlfriends to draw the people and they all were resistant at first due to embarrassment, but the results were not that bad! 

This first photo ("a boy jumping and waving") was drawn by a girl and she said that she learned how to draw in while she was in pre-school at St. Luke's and that she probably stopped drawing around 14.  It is a pretty basic level of drawing complete with hands, feet and details of the face, but does not have much in way of the body.  It is a step up from stick figures!

The next photo is a bit more complex in terms of the developmental level of the drawing because you can see the face is more detailed, there is a neckline, detailed hands, ankles and shows.  This girl said that she has been drawing since she can remember but stopped around 12.  She said she draws rarely now but still enjoys it very much.

This last drawing another one of my girlfriends did and although it has an elementary developmental level, the arms are twisted and the face is pretty lifelike.  She said that she started drawing in elementary school and learned in kindergarten in art class.  She said that she stopped drawing because she felt discouraged and felt she was bad at it and also because she did not take art in high school.  In all three cases, it seemed that a feeling of inferiority left the girls feeling that they should not pursue drawing and that is the reason they stopped.  This was very disheartening to me but also rang very true to home being that it is the exact reason I myself stopped drawing.  I am very much looking forward to ARTV 350 to remind me that anyone can create art and be artistic in their own unique way!

Week of 2/1: Responses

Chapter 2:
p. 39, #4

Ethnic Folk Dancing: Hungary and Romania Lesson Plan

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Multicultural_Education/MUL0201.html

Multicultural Fair Lesson Plan

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Multicultural_Education/MUL0009.html

Our Musical Festival Lesson Plan

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Multicultural_Education/MUL0002.html

Assessing Women's Past Through Art Lesson Plan

http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/art-act-08.html

Women's Suffrage Art Project

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/suffrage/printable/26720.html?detoured=1

I was very impressed with the copious amounts of resources for lesson plans on multicultural and women's art that I could access on the internet.  This was very encouraging because I would not consider myself particularly artistic and it showed me that regardless of my innate talents, there are so many resources that can allow me to still incorporate art and creativity into my classroom and lessons.

Everyday Art Pictures

I took this photo of a window display of a wedding dress and tuxedo at a local"JCREW" clothing store.  It caught my eye because I was immediately impressed with the clever set up making the display have a strikingly life-like quality to it.  This piece of art was created with mannequins, clothing, and a few strategic props.  The two mannequins and the wedding cake under the "male" create a realistic wedding setting that display the clothing in a very favorable manner that leaves the viewer/customer very satisfied.  I am definitely not in the market for wedding dress shopping but even passing by this display and seeing the context it was in left me with a very upbeat and joyous feeling, a response I am sure many felt and that was aimed for by the marketers.  People that are not fond of weddings/relationships/love or that do not place much emphasis on weddings would definitely not have such a positive response to the piece.  

 I noticed this impressive sign that is advertising for the "Hard Rock Cafe" restaurant while I was driving.   It is probably comprised of lights/electricity, construction materials and sturdy materials being that it is both large and I am sure very heavy.  Upon noticing it I noticed I immediately became happier because it triggered several happy memories eating and visiting different Hard Rock Cafe's and the amazing artifacts they house around the world with my family.  These have all been very fond experiences so I was very positively effected by the piece.  People of other cultures that do not value music, or rock and roll in particular, would definitely not have the same type of  reaction because these restaurants would not be impressive or important to them.  

I noticed this Beatles version of the classic board game "Monoply" in Target and had to take a picture.  I am a HUGE Beatles fan and therefore had a very strong, excited reaction upon seeing this.  It is clearly a marketing tool used to catch people's attention and to sell their product to the masses. (It clearly worked on me!).  To create this piece the photo was scanned and the addition tagline and Monopoly title would have to be electronically scanned on to the cover.  This is a totally digital piece of art but I feel that the manufacturers were successful in combining the old with the new in this piece.  This piece would not even catch the eye of someone who has not been exposed to the Beatles and their music or legacy or someone who is not a fan and just does not care.  It also would not effect someone who does not play games or Monopoly in particular.  Therefore, people that do not have families or children would not be interested in this piece, nor would someone of a lower economic status because a board game is not how they would be spending the little money they did have.  

 This display caught my eye as I was walking by a street restaurant because it was so adorable and understated.  It was an interesting juxtaposition of the "It's Summer" sign while we are actually in winter and reminded me of my favorite season and therefore filled with with great happiness and longing for the long and relaxing days of summer.  It was also a very calming piece for me with the combination of the light and gentle colors of the flowers, sign and wagon.  In other cultures, summer could mean 100+ degree weather and no break from school so it would not have such a relaxing connotation to it that it has for me. 

I absolutely love this piece of art because it is so forward and does not sugar coat its message whatsoever.  I saw this on my winter break when I visited my sister in Eugene, Oregon and fell in love with it.  I am personally a Christian believer so it gave me great joy to see this and know that it would hopefully be touching other people.  For someone that is not of this faith it could possibly arise negative or hostile feelings, but hopefully when taking the messages it portrays into account, they would put those initial reservations aside.  The piece is made on a bike with signs and flowers just attached right onto it.   I thought it was so clever, artistic and a perfect reminder of Christianity in your daily normal life.  

 I took this picture of my sorority letters, Kappa Kappa Gamma, here at USD.  They were cut from ply wood and are painted light blue.  We use these letter cut outs very often when we do events and activities for our sorority and this time in particular was for recruitment this past week.  Seeing them always brings me great joy and reminds me of so many fond memories and all the friends that I have made because of Kappa.  Seeing these letters would be virtually meaningless for anyone who is not a part of Greek life or is not even aware of what it is.  Most notably people outside of America that do not attend college and obviously are not in the Greek life would not have any response to these pieces.  They could also be construed poorly if someone could not attend college for financial reasons or for some reason has a negative opinion of college or sororities.  

I took this last photo of my mom on our break when we drove to Park  City, Utah to go skiing.  We stopped to take a picture of the Wyoming state sign here.  It is another example of a digitalized piece of art and gives the viewer an idea of the state of Wyoming; with the tagline "Forever West" and the cowboy and mountain range it is clear that the state has an emphasis on the outdoors.  The context of the sign marked our entrance to the sate and therefor I had a feeling of excitement and relief upon seeing it.  For someone that is not fond of the West or Wyoming for whatever reason, this piece of art could be viewed very negatively and even with dread.  I have always found state signs to be very intriguing and so unique so I like this particular piece.