Versace's Men Without Ties
Men Without Ties (p.25, Hannah) reveals a male figure, athletically built, broad shouldered, narrow-waisted, muscular legged, with one Versace necktie in hand and two tied around the waist. The figure is captured in a dynamically dashing pose, choreographed to show off his muscles, built, vitality and gracefulness.
Men Without Ties is one of many nude poses in Versace's Men Without Ties, a portfolio album of his works. Here, Versace puts together a collection of sketches, designs and magazine advertisements, inserted into such avante-gard fashion magazines as Vogue, Elle, Bazaar, etc. for his Mens Wear collection. Here, Versace introduces to the general public, to the passionate collectors of Versace clothes and to those fans with an eye for fashion, his idea and concept of the "New Man," Versace's man without ties.
This "man without ties refers directly back to Roman sculptor's Diskobolos a marble copy of Greek's original of c.450BCE . (Diskobolos is one of many surviving Roman copies of Greek sculptures, indicating Greek art and sculptures' prominent and long
lasting influence on Roman civilization and society). This heroic-
sized statue depicts a nude athlete, a discus thrower at the moment when the discus is swung furthest back, at the very decisive moment just seconds before the discus will be soared into the air (p.114, Robertson).
Discus Thrower type sculptures, art and architecture is typical of Greek High Classical and Hellenistic art and concerns. High Classical and Hellenistic art desire to portray healthy and vigorous athletes of ideal physical proportion and beauty, to represent the vigorous, healthy and active Greek individuals and citizens. In this way, sculptures, along with other art mediums and architecture, hope to elevate Greek's victory and to celebrate Greek's triumph of a democratic and enlightened city-state over Persia's imperial forces; Greek civilization over Persia's barbarism; reason over animal passion.
Both Man Without Ties and Diskobolos , as mentioned, portray a vigorous, athletic figure, dancing theatrically in dramatic actions and gestures. Whereas Diskobolos is rendered in sculptural, life-size, three-dimensional form, Man Without Ties is rendered in a two-dimensional, black-and-white photograph. Nevertheless, both mediums further express Greek High Classical and Hellenistic arts' concern for a more expressionistic figure, one that conveys and appeals directly to the senses through this lustrous glistening of surfaces and emotions.
The action-figures are now able to reach out beyond its "contained" space and into the immediate surrounding environment. The figures now seem to impose themselves forcefully upon the spectator, provoking the viewer's response to the dramatic situations.
The Statue of a kouros depicts a Greek man in the nude. Although he looks like a man, the large scale, and the miss proportioned features makes it unnaturalistic. The toes are too long, the genetalia is unrealistically small, and the joint lines are exaggerated.
Tony Kushner, in his play Angels in America, explores a multitude of issues pertaining to modern American society including, but not limited to, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Through his diverse character selection, he is able to compare and contrast the many varied experiences that Americans might face today. Through it all, the characters’ lives are all linked together through a common thread: progress, both personal and public. Kushner offers insight on this topic by allowing his characters to discuss what it means to make progress and allowing them to change in their own ways. Careful observation of certain patterns reveals that, in the scope of the play, progress is cyclical in that it follows a sequential process of rootlessness, desire, and sacrifice, which repeats itself.
Looking deeper into the statue a trained (or imaginative) eye can see more than what is just given at a glance. The pose given by Hermes is the classical pose of contraposto. Contraposto is a pose developed where the majority of the weight is placed on one leg and the other leg in a relaxed with relatively no weight on it in a position that can both be relaxed and ready to jump to action in the same resting position. The virtually unnoticed half palm tree that Hermes is resting against gives a divine character an almost mortal because of the necessity of support on an earthly object. In the pose where the presence of strength and anticipation of a move, there is also the presence of a mortal presence. The balance of the counter limb activity is present in the contraposto stance expressing a certain diagonal symmetry. In the Lansdowne Hermes both the right arm and the left leg are in the resting position awaiting the next motion. The right arm is resting on the right buttock anticipating some sort of motion or action to be carried out by the seemingly dormant arm.
Greek art is considered as a turning point for the development of all aspects of cultural art history, such as architecture, sculpture, pottery and painting. The ancient Greek civilization was famous for its mythical and aesthetic principle in the art culture. Renowned for the pottery, Greek had developed its unique painting technique called the black-figured. “Achilles and Ajax playing Dice” by Exekias is the most significant black-figure amphora for its iconography and that represents the ideal art principle and history of the ancient Greece.
Author Steven Seidman writes that “it is the power of the closet to shape the core of an individual's life that has made homosexuality into a significant personal, social, and political drama in twentieth-century America “(38). Those that are homosexual tends to tell lies and play deceitful silly games just to appease family, coworkers and a few dear old friends. They feed into the prejudices and fears about homosexuality. In Angels in America, many of the characters are homosexual, and the truth about their sexual preferences comes out. Kushner shows us the difficult struggle that often precedes a gay person’s acceptance of her or his identity, and the ways in which one’s ability to enact this identity is dependent on the acceptance of others.
In Tony Kushner’s play “Angels in America” the strong concept of “identity” is explored through each character. Factors such as religion, sexuality, and social class play a role in assigning the play’s characters with their own sense of individuality. Living in such an unaccepting world, at times it can be hard to find your true self. Throughout Tony Kushner’s play “Angels in America”, there are quite a few characters who have trouble accepting themselves for who they really are. Whether it is striving for a new identity, or being limited by one according to social standards.
Angels in America is a story about two couples, which are different, but, at the same time, somehow similar. The main difference between the couples is that one gay (Louis Ironson and his lover Prior Walter), and the other traditional (Joe Pitt and his wife Harper). The story is quite simple, about ordinary people, however makes people feel the mystical atmosphere, skillfully connected with realism. As a "fantasia," Angels in America is a major departure from prevailing theatrical realism, with detours into the religious and the supernatural — angels, ghosts, apparitions, and visions appear over and over. The play is a great combination of the real life situation, and the mystical figures, which help the heroes to understand the true life values.
Angels in America is a moving piece of literature and film. The characters are created with such debt, and background that they came to life. The dream-like structure overlaps with the realistic powerful scenes, truly giving them play a heavenly glow. The conflicts are heartbreakingly truthful and yet how the characters over come them are moving. I have read very little plays thats have had such a powerful effect on me. I highly suggest everyone finds an opportunity to enlighten themselves by both watching and reading Angels in America.
...successful collaboration of sound, colour, camera positioning and lighting are instrumental in portraying these themes. The techniques used heighten the suspense, drama and mood of each scene and enhance the film in order to convey to the spectator the intended messages.
The primary focus of ancient Greek sculptures was that of the human body. Almost all Greek sculptures are of nude subjects. As the first society to focus on nude subjects, Greek sculptors attempted to "depict man in what they believed was the image of the gods and so would come to celebrate the body by striving for verisimilitude or true – likeness (realism and naturalism!)."(Riffert) Not only did the Greeks celebrate the human form in their art but also in everyday life. (Riffert) One of the favorite topics for sculptors was that of the athlete. In Greek culture athletes were described as "hero–athletes". (Riffert) This shows that athletes were revered and looked upon as heroes. The influence of athleticism is evident in many famous sculptures. I will attempt to show how the human form influenced Greek art. It is important to note that many of the Greek sculptures discussed do not exist in their original form but rather in Roman copies of the original bronze sculptures. (Riffert)
Most of the story takes place in flashbacks that Willy experiences. Willy believed that he would’ve been able to achieve the American dream, which to him was to become a salesman, specifically similar to Dave Singleman, that could easily sell anything to anybody, if he worked hard enough for it. In the end this proved to not be a successful endeavor, and he dwells on the idea that if in the past he went with his brother to Alaska, he may have come out as successful and rich as he supposedly had. As stated in Cardullo’s reproduction of an essay written by David Mamet, some of Willy’s flashbacks may be inaccurate accounts of the past, as Willy seems to contradict himself, even immediately following something that he says, "I'm very well liked in Hartford. You know, the trouble is, people don't seem to take to me" (Cardullo). This demonstrates that perhaps Willy had no chance of ever reaching the American dream, as he may not have ever had the opportunity to go with his brother, he just thinks that he did.
Willy grew up believing that being “well-liked” was important to becoming a success. He envisioned Biff, the once great high school athlete, becoming a success for the wrong reasons. In contrast, we see Willy’s friend Charley who lived the real American Dream as a successful man in the business world. Through Charley we see the rewards to chasing this dream, such as the access to more money, and being able to have a flexible enough job to offer Willy a spot. On the other hand, the Loman family was not lucky enough to have any type of reward from the hunt for this success. Through this play, we see how the American Dream drove Willy Lohman and the family crazy and obsessed with a false fantasy. Arthur Miller shows us that the American Dream is valid, but those who hope to substitute popularity and lucky breaks for hard work are likely to
To begin, Willy’s methods of searching for likeability are erroneous. He believes that the superficiality of attractiveness goes hand in hand with being well liked. Willy’s downfall started with his impression of Dave Singleman, an 84 year old salesman. According to Willy, he had “…the greatest career a man could want.” Sure this man was liked in cities around the world, but Willy’s altered perception of the American dream masked the realities of his life. Willy failed to see that instead of being retired at 84, Dave Singleman was unwed, still working, and in the end “dies the death of a salesman”; alone and without love. Believing in this dream, ultimately leads Willy to his hubris; too proud to be anything but a salesman. Throughout the play, Charlie often asks Willy, “You want a job?” Instead of escaping his reality of unpaid bills and unhappiness, Willy’s shallow values lead him to refuse the switch from him attractive job, to that of a carpent...
reality. The most surface level critique of the picture is a+b=c; whether you are male or female if you buy the jeans, you wear them, you will be as flawless, skinny, sexy, and wanted as the models. Furthermore, the women are represented as liberated and carefree, providing a fantasy that they are at the center of the males focus. They do not care what is done to them, and they know that they are irresistible. However, in reality the women look actually quite emotionless, and CK is saying have no reservations about anyone, flaunt what you got with anybody or however many people. Likewise, the males appear to be enjoying themselves, what do they have to complain about. They’re sculpted, naked women all around them. However, in truth they desire for the women to submit to them but the female lying across the male on the couch is propping herself up with her arms with one hand on the male 's face, holding it rather aggressively. She is giving the message that she is in control, so despite the male’s desire he ends up submitting to her waiting for her plan and her lead. In the end, the males and females walk away with nothing left on them but their bare skin and the reality of
Willy is a salesman trying to find success in a country known for its endless amount of opportunities. He grows up seeing how successful his brother, Ben, has become and because of this he is determined to succed in his lifetime. He wants to show his family that they can achieve whatever they put their mind to. Willy sees the American dream as the ability to become prosperous by the amount of individuals that like him. It is easily shown that he feels personality, not hard work and improvement, is the key to living a successful life. “You and Hap and I, and I’ll show you all the towns… And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England. The finest people. And when I bring you fellas up, there’ll be open sesame for all of us, ‘cause one thing, boys: I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England, and the cops protect it like their own…” (Miller 24). Willy always raised his kids to think being popular and well liked was most important. He told them that if they had those two traits t...