Art in My Life
Growing up, the first forms of art I was most exposed to were literature and music. Both served the same purpose in my life: to take my mind away from the present. Their effect on me was the same. When listening to a song or reading a book my mind was so focused on what I was doing that I was oblivious to the world around me. My mom frequently complained about my infatuation with books because whenever she called me to run an errand while I was reading, I never heard her. She assumed that it was because I was purposely pretending not to hear to avoid doing work. In order to snap me out of my daze one of my siblings always had to come to my room and physically shake me. That was the level at which I was engrossed in books.
Earlier on in my life I mostly read adventure stories and science fiction novels, none of which ever jeopardized my innocence. Raised in a strict environment, I guess I could say that my parents shielded me from the harsh nature of the world around me. The kind of books I read and the limited range of television shows I watched helped to maintain my distorted image. I accepted society as a well-oiled machine, which had no kinks or aberrations. Gradually as I entered high school and started reading higher level literature, my views changed. No piece of literature did as much to jar me into reality as The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
I was 11 years old when I first read The Bluest Eye. I had seen it around the house for a while but never started reading it. Usually I would pick it up take one look at the front cover and put it down. On the front cover it had a picture of a young black girl holding a white doll with blue eyes. At that age there was always something else to do, b...
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...of ignoring the emotionally unsettling. In art the taboo of keeping quiet can be fought if not defeated. The artist tells the truth in his art for it is influenced by these emotions. He can’t lie about what he feels especially in his work. His work is the medium through which he conveys these feelings to the world without inhibition. In a way the artist also deflects this truth in his work. When a painting, music literature, or another form of art elicits emotions in us too strong to bear, or tells us truths we can’t handle we are always left with the option to lie to ourselves about it, trying to convince ourselves that it’s only art. The artist however, doesn’t worry about seeing something the world doesn’t see. All she can hope is to represent his vision in its pure form. If he or she has done this that he can rest knowing his work has served its function.
...elationship between the people in the composition and their feelings in each other’s company. The viewer is forced to think critically about the people in the painting and their feelings and body language.
'The Bluest Eye' was Toni Morrison's first novel that takes place in the 1940's and is set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio. This story is about a young girl named Pecola Breedlove who is about 11 years old and would give anything to have the bluest eyes. "Pecola is a delicate, sensitive and abused child when the story begins, and by the time the story ends, she has been just about completely destroyed by violence, and pain."
“The Bluest Eye” is taking place around 1940 in Lorain, Ohio. During the year of 1940, discrimination, especially toward African Americans, was still a serious problem. People believe that whiteness is the standard of beauty. The main character, Pecola, who was a nine-years-old African-American, was influenced by how people view beauty. Pecola suffered and felt that she is inferior to others. Pecola believed that having a pair of blue eyes would made people think she is pretty, and would be the key resolving all the problems.
When I was in elementary school, I read every Judy Blume book I could get my hands on. I cried through three readings of Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terribithia and scared myself with every Stephen King novel I could finish. In junior high and high school, we were taught Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, The Hobbit and Sounder, and My Brother Sam Is Dead, along with the classics. None of these books ruined my innocence. When I was date-raped the summer I was sixteen -- that ruined my innocence.
The Bluest Eye is a brilliantly written novel revealing the fictional trauma of an eleven-year-old black girl named Pecola Breedlove. This story takes place in the town of Lorain, Ohio during the 1940’s. It is told from the perspective of a young girl named Claudia MacTeer. She and her sister, Frieda, become witness to the terrible plights Pecola is unintentionally put through. Pecola chooses to hide from her disabling life behind her clouded dream of possessing the ever so cherished “bluest of eyes”. The Breedlove’s constant bickering and ever growing poverty contributes to the emotional downfall of this little girl. Pecola’s misery is obtained through the touch of her father’s hand and the voice of her community’s struggle with racial separation, anger, and ignorance. Her innocence is harshly ripped from her grasp as her father rapes her limp existence. The community’s anger with it’s own insecurities is taken out on this poor, ugly, black, non-ideal, young girl. She shields herself from this sorrow behind her obsessive plea for blue eyes. But her eyes do not replace the pain of carrying her fleeing father’s baby. Nor do they protect her from the shady eyes of her neighbors. Though this book discuses negative and disturbing situations, it teaches a very positive lesson.
Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South and Madonna Enthroned are very similar images that were produced by very different cultures. Both images were produced during the 13th Century. The image of Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South was produced in Tibet during an interesting period of the country’s religious history. The branch of Tibetan Buddhism is led by a religious and sometimes political leader called the Dalai Lama. It was during the 13th Century during the reign of Kublai Khan, around the time of the production of this painting, that Tibet experienced the first incarnation of the Dalai Lama. One has to wonder if this painting is somehow related to that occurrence. According to one source, the reincarnation system for the Living Buddhas is the main point distinguishing Tibetan Buddhism from other forms of Buddhism.
Though people can look into color and composition, others can still even look into the source of the art itself. Cole goes deeper, delving into the source of the art, looking in particular into the idea of cultural appropriation and the view a person can give others. Though it is good for people to be exposed to different opinions of a group or an object, sometimes people can find it difficult to tell the difference between the reality and the art itself. Sometimes art can be so powerful that its message stays and impacts its audience to the point where the viewer’s image of the subject of the art changes entirely. Cole brings up an important question about art, however. Art has become some kind of media for spreading awareness and even wisdom at times, but in reality, “there is also the question of what the photograph is for, what role it plays within the economic circulation of images” (973). Cole might even be implying that Nussbaum’s advertisement can sometimes be the point of some media, and that sometimes the different genres of art can just be to make someone with a particular interest happy. One more point that Cole makes is that “[a]rt is always difficult, but it is especially difficult when it comes to telling other people’s stories.” (974) Truthfully, awareness and other like-concepts are difficult to keep going when a person or a group is not directly involved.
He does not rule out the art of powerful emotions…They allow the artist to dispassionately observe the world around him, to “take in” all manner of worldly events, and they permit accurate self-reflection.
How many of us can honestly remember how we were introduced to the world of literature? I don’t know about you, but I don’t really remember how I was introduced to the world of literature. But I do remember reading a lot of fantasy books, because for me as a 7 year old, reading about things which couldn’t possibly exist in our world seemed for more appealing. And because of this, I had a massive collection of books on fairies and I dreamed of being one. And yes, I had a wild imagination. And although it didn’t work out, now it make me realised how much of a powerful impact literature can have on someone.
Each member was required to bring a story or poem for discussion. One week, having nothing to bring, she quickly wrote a story loosely based on a girl she knew in childhood who had prayed to have blue eyes. The story was well received by the group. Toni put it away thinking that she was done with it. When her sons where asleep, she started writing. She dusted off the story in which she had written for discussion in her writers group and decided to make it into a novel. She drew on her memories as a child and expanded on them with her imagination so the characters developed a life of their own. The Bluest Eye was published in 1970, too much critical acclaim, although it was not commercially successful.
I’m a painter, that’s all! Since a young boy I realized I had a passion and a talent for painting, but I don’t consider my self an artist (it does not interest me). I simply have a physical and mental need for painting. There are many like me who oppose to be labeled as artists.
According to this theory the artist may or should depict what is true to life, what really is, what is beautiful and therefore pleases him, or even what may be useful as material for ‘science'; but that to care about what is moral or immoral, right or wrong, is not an artist’s business.” (5)
Throughout the ages art has played a crucial role in life. Art is universal and because art is everywhere, we experience it on a daily basis. From the houses we live in (architecture) to the movies we see (theatre) to the books that we read (literature). Even in ancient culture art has played a crucial role. In prehistoric times cave dwellers drew on the wall of caves to record history. In biblical times paintings recorded the life and death of Christ. Throughout time art has recorded history. Most art is created for a specific reason or purpose, it has a way of expressing ideas and beliefs, and it can record the experiences of all people.
The arts have influenced my life in amazing ways. Throughout my life, art has been the place I run to and my escape from the world. As I’ve grown older, art has become so much more than that. Every piece of art I create is a journey into my soul. It’s a priceless way to deal with my emotions and my struggles. I create art not only because I enjoy it and because I want to, but because I have to. Somewhere deep inside there is a driving force, urging me to put my heart down on paper. I become emotionally attached to each of my pieces because they are like dashes on the wall marking my growth. Each one is the solution to a problem I have dealt with and overcome.
Imagine a painting of your life, what colors would be there? How would you show the different times in your life? Would you shade the areas where you had a hard time or use lines to show that? Being a artist that never truly finishes their work would be hard. When you are young, your enthused about painting. As you start to get older, all you want to do is visit with friends, so you miss that part of your life. Then you get back on track and work like crazy to make up wasted time. But you think to yourself “Will I ever finish my masterpiece or will it end when I do?”