This
week in class we learned about creating beauty. Last semester was more
concentrated on appreciating and learning about beauty. Now we have started to
learn how to create our own beauty using the rules of creativity. In order to
gain some inspiration for our architecture project, we watched a film on Frank
Gehry. Frank Gehry is a post modern architect. It was very interesting to learn
his process when creating these gigantic beautiful buildings. He made his
architecture on the spot and he made it look very easy, and fluid. One thing
that struck me hard was that when one of his fellow colleagues said that the
reason why Frank Gehry was so talented was because he understood light. He used
natural light to emphasis his work and make it stand out. He used light as a
building material. Hearing this, I planned to use similar techniques using
light to make our architecture building stand out.
This
whole week I was very busy with the GBS Variety Show. Watching the Variety show
numerous amounts of time, one thing I noticed was the lights. The light show
and the time and effort put on the lights were incredible. When you look up at
the ceiling of the auditorium, u can see dozens of lights. There are spot
lights, lasers, colored lights, etc. Thousands of dollars are spent in order to
rent these lights. Without the lights, the show look very bland and dull. The
lights are what make our variety show different from all the others. The different
types of lights give the mood, and emphasize the each individual act. Light is
one of the most important prop in order to create incredible beauty.
Understanding
light and manipulating, is what differentiates good quality art from the mediocre.
Frank Gehry and Richard Winship, who was designed all the lights, are very
similar. They understand the importance of light when creating artwork. The Variety
show would not be the same if it weren’t for the lights. Many of Frank Gehry’s
buildings would not be as great if it weren't for him understanding the
importance of light. Many artists use light to create incredible beauty. Like
Frank Gehry and Richard Winship I must incorporate light into my building.
Understanding how light bounces off figures or illuminates certain part is what
makes some art even more beautiful. Using light is what differentiates our building
from other groups work.
Kimmy, I completely agree to what you are saying. Before I
took the class, I had no idea what Postmodernism and modernism meant. I did not
know what does concepts were. By learning about these concepts I was able to
incorporate it in my daily life. I had no idea Postmodernism and Modernism was
everywhere. The movie Devils Wear Prada
is just a small example of how these ideas are incorporated everywhere. If you
just take the time to look and learn these concepts it will help you understand
and appreciate the beauties in life.
Best of the Week: Thinking Philosophically
Ariella, I think what you wrote about was very unique and interesting.
It was really cool how you made a connection with what we learned in class to Sophie’s World. I loved your quote from the book and how you
incorporated it to our class. “Wisest is she who knows she does not know.” This statement truly
opened up my eyes and allowed me to be content with that which I do not know. I
too am now more aware of my surroundings. I realized the importance of
questioning and thinking philosophically. The one thing we must do is question.
This week in class we started to
learn about the difference between modernism and postmodernism. During the 1850
to 1945 many people thought and tried to express their “inner self”. The
believed they must turn inward to find meaning. Modernist composers like Theodor
Adorno and artist like Pablo Picasso tried to encourage new thinking. After 1945 the postmodernist developed a new
way of thinking and reinvent many of the arts. The postmodernist believed the
world was more multifaceted and believed in complex network of networks. Artist
and composers in this era thought in the idea of no absolute truth. Philip Glass,
a well known modern composer, demonstrates this form of thinking. In this
piece, “Einstein on the Beach”, it really gets to the fundamentals of postmodernism.
The beginning of the piece starts
out with a synthesizer playing all alone. Then a choir of voices is added into
the lonely synthesizer. They sing a mellow “1234..”. Then a narrator joins the
duet making it a trio. The trio goes on for a couple minutes having a
conversation. All of a sudden, a violin joins the trio and mans booming voice
joins, making it a quartet then a quintet. At this point there are so many parts
going on at the same time it is hard to understand and listen to it individually.
The beauty of this piece is the complex nature of it. Individually the parts
are very simple. It is a synthesizer holding only a couple notes, a violin
doing arpeggios, a woman talking, a choir singing “1234…”, but all together it
is a complex network of networks. It is too complex to listen to the parts individually,
as a whole it becomes breath taking music. He emphasizes the importance of
harmony and counterpoints. This piece of music shows a more innovative side of
creating music. It is not the classic people hear every day.
When I first listened to this piece
by Phillip glass I thought it was very creative. He put together very simple
parts into something very complex and beautiful. They were bits and pieces put together to
present a whole. Instead of having a concrete melody, they were mostly
harmonies supporting each other and having a conversation. Because of the
supporting roles of all the parts in the piece, is what I admired most about
the piece. It was not like the everyday songs you hear on the radio. The
gradual change of the song from a solo to a duet, to a trio, and on and on is
what I thought was very pleasing.
I think this piece can be a metaphor
to our current society. Our society today has become very complex. From out ancestors
of hunter gathers, there are many new inventions and we have come a long way. Every
day we go along our simply life, like going to work or school, but this simple
action creates a very complex society. The individual parts in this piece are
very simple, but it creates a very complex whole. “Einstein on the Beach” is a
very creative piece of artwork. I enjoy this piece very much, and it is not like
anything I have heard. The beauty comes from the complex nature of the music.
