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Live Concert Report

Live Concert Report

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Jazz All-Year Round – JESSE COOK

Live Concert Report

I attended the Jazz All-Year Round – JESSE COOK concert at the Place des arts in Montreal. It was held on the 18th, September, 2012. This is one of the most memorable moments I can not forget in my life. It is very important to mention that the concert was well-organized and presented in an appealing manner to all the present fans, including me. Jazz All-Year Round – JESSE COOK concert was presented in this big hall by eight artists. There were vocalists, instrumentalists and dancers. They professionally performed their roles with the prowess that left me yearning for more.

The Jazz All-Year Round – JESSE COOK crew used a variety of instruments, including piano, trumpet, guitar, saxophone and banjo. Each of these was well-coordinated and made the songs played be quiet rhythmic and interesting throughout the whole concert. The sounds came out so clearly and it was very easy for anyone to be acquainted with the message being delivered in each of the songs. There was a free flow of tones in the songs played. These would interchangeably and rhythmically transit from high to low tones. Each of the instrumentalists was competent in doing their bit. For instance, the vocals were tactical in the use of microphone. This helped to produce a clear and audible sound projections in line with the instruments played.

Besides, the musicians were so presentable and rhythmically moved on the stage that they nearly thrilled the audience. They were dressed in a unique uniform that identified their band. This was a very well-designed fashion that conspicuously produced flamboyant colors in the beautiful laser beams in the theatre hall. This appealed to the audience which was thrilled by the presentation. Both the artists and the audience were familiar because I could notice the audience being engaged in singing part of the songs played. Surely, Jazz All-Year Round – JESSE COOK is a must watch concert for any youth willing to entertain.

Sometimes we really want something too much

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Sometimes we really want something too much, but we eventually end up getting the wrong things in life. There are various individuals in history, and to whose, their stories have been narrated to us by people who wanted something and did everything they could to obtain it but ended up getting the wrong choice. It is therefore not a new thing to find people having a desire to accomplish things of their choice only to get disappointed at the later stages by getting a substandard thing comparing to what they wanted.

In the bible, there is a story of a man by the name Jacob who was in love with Rachael as a daughter to Laban. Laban had two daughters Leah and Rachael, and the oldest was Leah. It was such that the second daughter according to their tradition could not be married before the first and older daughter and therefore Leah was to get married before Rachael. Jacob fell in love with Rachael and went to the father of the girl Laban to negotiate for dowry. Since Jacob had no material possession to offer as dowry, he was asked to work at Laban’s grounds for seven years so that he could marry Rachael. Since Jacob was in love with Rachael, he agreed to work for seven years to later marry his wife to be Rachael.

Jacob was ready to do everything as requested by Laban and that’s why he agreed to labor for him. In the end, the tremendous disappointed came to happen after completion of the seven years of work. In mind, Jacob had completed the full payment of the dowry and thus was waiting for the due day to be given his wife, Rachael. Unfortunately, during the day to which the bride was being offered, some conditions were set. One of the conditions that the bride could be delivered at night in darkness and the second was that Jacob had to be blindfolded when the girl was entering the room. Little did Jacob knew that he was being played tricks and that what he expected was not what was being delivered and thus he did not worry about anything as he had trust in the promise made. After the long night, the unexpected happened, and Jacob woke up to the realization that he had been made to marry Leah to whom he had no intentions of marrying.

Jacob did not have any affection for Leah, and therefore he had to go and ask Laban what had happened. In return, he was made aware that the Rachael could not be married before Leah could be married and so in case he wanted to marry Rachael, and he had to work again for another seven years. Jacob decided to work for the extra seven years so that he could finally marry the love of his heart. After working for fourteen years in Laban’s home, he managed to marry both Leah and Rachael. Jacob had to pay a huge price to get what he wanted. From the story, we can say that with little or hard work it is possible to let the things you are fighting for go and therefore we should be determined to fight for our rightful ownership. Jacob had no powers neither could he be able to revert the traditions that any girl from the society could be married at any time without following the order of birth. With no power to change his situation, he was eventually made to marry Leah the first daughter of Laban to whom he never wanted and was compelled to work again to marry the right person. Perseverance and hard work are therefore one of the critical things that we need to possess so that we can attain and achieve our goals.

The claims that entertainment has the capacity of ruining the society

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The claims that entertainment has the capacity of ruining the society is often indicative of the weak grasp of the people who critique entertainment possess the society’s primary fundamentals. Entertainment is only able of demolishing the society’s structure if its audiences’ foundations tend to lose such that they would fear its destruction on a piece of literature, film or the countless other forms of audience satisfaction. It is obvious that entertainment holds insurmountable weight in the society, but it does not possess the capacity to ruin it or cause its downfall but does, however, have the ability to change the society due to the varying definitions of the word ‘ruin.’

The entertainment is capable of introducing dramatic change, and there are some of the people who tend to view even the most straightforward changes to the society as it ruins such as the 19th-century aristocrats. Wealthy men and women were abundant in the 19th century, but wealth couldn’t equate power, thus eliminating the wealthy women from the social hierarchy and giving an advantage to the wealthy white men. When the women became more prominent in the field of entertainment, it began threatening the domination of men in the western culture. The authors Flannery O’Connor among others paved the way for the females’ entertainment, and in the public view, they slowly stimulated the changing perspective of women in the society. Women in the prominent roles outside of the homes are more common in the settings of the 21st century but too many is regarded as the definition of ruining the society.

During the 20th century after the times of Mozart and the classical period, going to the ballet and opera was past time, and that majority of the wealthy and no-wealthy individuals enjoyed. In the year 1913, a dance and a music piece regarded as the rite of spring was introduced in Paris, to which is one of the controversial pieces of music to date. The music featured rhythms along with visuals to which no other of the musicians and composers had attempted. The thrilling ballet was a shock to many audiences as they had been used to the light and playful tone of the past century’s most famous Mozart. After the first minute of the piece, people had started leaving the theatre, by the middle people literary rioting in the streets. The ballet featured the aspects to which today are widely popular and considered classic, despite the widespread belief of the time that an opera that horrific and nonsensical would ruin the society through the weakening of the fundamental moral values of the audiences.

Socrates was a pillar of the society in the ancient Rome, challenging normality with his writings on philosophy and mathematics. In the present days, Socrates is looked upon as one of the greatest minds the race of humanity can offer, regarded as one of the fathers of philosophy, intellectualism and thought. It is unfortunate that Socrates was stoned to death in 399 BCE for corrupting the youths and ruining the society’s culture. The community would and can only be destroyed as long as the individuals in the society allow it to get ruined, and thus so far there has been no definition for a ruined society, but only change for the better or worse as humans tend to move forward and never back.

Reference

Neal, G. (1998). Life: The Movie, How Entertainment Conquered Reality.

The women’s right to vote for an election

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The women’s right to vote for an election was illegal in the late 1800 but has become a common practice in the today’s world. During that times, women could find them imprisoned and fined for participating in the voting process arousing the question as to whether it is illegal for the women to vote. Susan B. Anthony was among the women who had been imprisoned and fined for participating in voting for the 1872 presidential election, and it is after her release that she gave her speech. From her speech, there are several strengths and weakness both internal and external that contributed to the success and difficulties that mat the struggle for the suffrage movement difficult.

The internal strengths of the suffragettes can be deduced from the permeable of the constitution that can be traced from paragraph two. The permeable states that “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the union.” From this phrase, the constitution provides a strong foundation for equality between the men and women as it does not indicate specifically males alone but the people of the United States. Another point that can be deduced from the second paragraph is that the constitution refers to the people and not males or females, by this, women also are persons and can be counted as eligible citizens with the right to vote as well. Both men and women are equal and should be treated in equity especially in the face of democracy. Another strength is that the constitution formed a government that does not confer the blessings of liberty but is intended to secure the benefits of freedom for them, again them referring to both men and women. Therefore, it is a clear indication that the women must also be granted their rights especially that of voting so that they can exercise them like the other citizens to protect and defend the blessings of liberty within the democratic government.

Despite the strengths, there are internal weaknesses as well that made the struggle for the voting rights for the women difficult. Some of the internal weaknesses include the lack of support from the other women. Some of the women cited that there was no need for the women to be granted the rights to vote in the sense that not all men were eligible for voting. Again, gender discrimination can also be said to be an internal weakness that made the women get denied of their voting rights. Women were restricted from voting because they could not represent the country in the army, implying that they couldn’t fight for their country and therefore there was no need for them being granted the voting rights.

There exist external factors that made the struggle for the suffrage movement difficult. The weak judicial system can be termed as one of the external factors that barred the women from voting. Several women including Anthony was arrested and charged for the crime of voting in the presidential election whereas there were no specifications that only males were eligible for voting. Oligarchy is another external factor hindering the rights of women as the powers of the United States could be termed as being concentrated in the hands of a few members of the society. Some of the oligarchies as described in her speech include income, race and the level of education and to which the whites, wealthy and the educated exert control over the society and undermine the rest of the society. Sex oligarchy can also be termed to be an external factor whereby the males dominate in power ruling the females, making the women oppressed all through the society. Taxation without representation is another factor; women are subjected to taxation and yet they are not provided with the right to vote, and this pushes them to the corner as they have no freedom to express themselves through the ballot even after being in a democratic nation.

Reference

Susan B. Anthony (1873). “IS IT A CRIME FOR A U.S. CITIZEN TO VOTE?” Retrieved from: http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/anthony-is-it-a-crime-speech-text/

The word trifles generally refer to the items of little or no importance.

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The word trifles generally refer to the items of little or no importance. In the play, ‘Trifles’ Glaspell uses a lot of clues to which are known by the women alone while the men despise them regarding them as being of no importance. The plot takes place in the kitchen, and this is where all the trifles are, but the men spend their time in searching upstairs finding more substantial clues that are unavailable. In the play, the most significant trifles include, the quilt with elastic stitching, the bird cage as well as the dead canary in a pretty little box.

The trifles can alter and advance the plot of the play as in most of the fictional mystery plays, the plot is always endocentric and features an actively analytical male hero who discovers the identity of the murder through searching for the evidence and reasons his way through the crime. For example, Holmes is generally dispassionate in his pursuit of the murderers all over the scenes and bests the police at their jobs. Unlike the male detectives, the women in the play trifles avoid the ruthless search for the information to which would lead to the apprehension of the perpetrator. The women achieve their solution by the seemingly accidental observation of the kitchen to where they identify all the traces of murder that is ironical to the males. They develop the desire to protect rather than condemn the murderer. The continued use of the rifles in the play keep the play ongoing and as well point out to the ignorance of the male detectives in their work in search of evidence. The trifles have also been used to indicate the role of the females in the society and their position in regard to men and therefore stressing the theme of feminism.

Reference

Glaspell, S. (2010). Trifles. Baker’s Plays.

To be a decent woman fighting for equality

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To be a decent woman fighting for equality of all as well as a role model who is respected by all in the society is all that I dream about in my life. Women of the likes of Oprah Winfrey are among my role models and are as well among the most notable and respected women in the American society. Despite my humble beginnings am sure that I will one day make a difference in people’s lives to end their suffering. The society of today is corrupt of morals, and it is almost hard to point someone in our current generation who could be termed as being a good model to others. We need to be people of high morals and respects for one another and as well get to be committed to whatever we are doing.

Being an African American woman, I have witnessed various occasions that are disrespectful to people doesn’t matter whether white or black. Mistreatment is common in the schools, and places of work are more evident in the current society especially through racism. Racism was once thought to have ended, but it is still practiced in some of the towns in the United States of America. A majority of the victims being the black people. I still don’t understand that up to this regime that the issue of racism can be evident and even can’t imagine how a person can propel hate to their neighbors just because they are not of the same color as them. It is unfortunate that people get killed and isolated because they are termed as not fitting into the system.

Their character and not their skin define a person. I get to think that people tend to see themselves as being superior to others but in the real sense, they are not. Advocating for the equal rights of all individuals will be one of my priorities as am tired of listening to people talking ill about others while in the next minute they depend on them for one thing or the other. It’s the high time that people are made aware that the ultimate role of the human beings is to promote peaceful coexistence among themselves and not to provoke one another or even segregating others on the basis of their culture, race or even the religious beliefs.

In the American nation, people are segregated at various levels that make the interactions of individuals with the others much difficult. For example in my society, the people are divided in the social stratification system with the most magnificent boundary being between the rich and the poor. It is true that the divisions have created wide rifts between the communities themselves and that the interactions are not welcomed. The issue, however, continues to be evident across the races, and even the rich themselves are not able to interact with those from other nations in the sense that they are not of the same class. It is too unfortunate that despite the presence of the constitution in the American country, we still do not adhere to it but instead tend to uphold our ideas to which are harmful to us making it even difficult for the achievement of the American dream.

Coming from one of the despised races, I would like to be in the forefront in the fight against discrimination in all areas including our society. I would want to be the ambassador of peace, utilizing my knowledge acquired from my education to preaching unity and peaceful coexistence among the people living as one. From the religious perspective, we are told that we were all made in the likeness of God and therefore we should not look down on one another as we are all equal. I stand for equality for all the human beings and as well as recognition of women in the society being treated the same as men.

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

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Trifles by Susan Glaspell

The meaning of the title trifles refer to the clues used by the women to solve the case and to those things that men tend to miss because they relate to them as being womanly. The word trifles itself means things of less importance and is derived from Hale’s line ‘well, women are used to worrying about trifles’ (132).

The Sheriff and the County Attorney belittles towards the women; they believe that the issues that they tend to care are of great importance than the issues cared for by the women. The women are seen as inferior to men. The thoughts of the women are regarded as being cute and they are not taken with seriousness. According to the play, it is evident that the women were already used in such treatment and used to defend themselves due to their inferiority. Through Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, we learn about the unhappy marriage of the Wrights. We get to learn that the women are positioned as inferiors in the earlier 20th century.

Susan Glaspell uses the setting of the Trifles artistically to convey the meaning of the play, she incorporates simple elements in the attempt to solve the murder mystery. She begins by the establishment of the general elements to which establish the ideals and values of the characters as well as attitudes as the play progresses, providing deeper meaning to the particular piece of literature. The time periods used affect the values of the characters as the play is set at a time when the women were treated as inferior. The seasonal setting of the winter as well as the lonely farm provides atmosphere of coldness to the play settings and stages as well as to the characters attitudes. Finally the stage setting of the kitchen sets the stage for the unravelling of the murder mystery to which the characters are trying to solve. All the settings in the play attribute effectively to the Nebraska setting especially the weather and time settings.

We can infer from the widely stitched block of Minnie’s quilt to resemble her anger or the nervousness that she was feeling at the moment when she was sewing. Mrs. Hale rips out the stitching as she thought it would be used as evidence against her showing that she was mentally unstable at the time of sewing.

The birdcage represents how Mrs. Wright as she is trapped in her marriage to which she could not escape the door is broken representing her broken marriage allowing her to become a free woman. The bird refers to Mrs. Wright who is regarded as lovely but shy. About the play, the birdcage entails the Wrights marriage, and the breaking involves the death of Mr. Wright giving Mrs. Wright the motivation of freedom out of her marriage. The broken cage could be used as inference but the sheriff does not seem to notice something.

From the play, we get to learn that Mrs. Wright killed her husband and that she is a nervous woman who could be easily get betrayed by her actions. In the case of Mr. Wright, just like other men we expect him oppress Mrs. Wright in the marriage relationship as we are told that their relationship was not peaceful. The details from the play tells us that Mrs. Wright wanted to get out of the marriage but she could not, and that why she killed her husband to regain freedom. Mrs. Peters, being the sheriff’s wife does not sound much of a rebel, she demonstrates her loyalty as a law-abiding wife to the sheriff by stating that, ‘the law is law’ on page 814. And at one point she defended the fact that the men were performing their duties when they were parading in the kitchen. Although she is loyal to the sheriff, she is torn between her growing understanding and sympathy for Mrs. Wright and thus could not reveal the truth.

There are signs of alliance when all the women made eye contact towards the end of the play, this is when they were trying to hide the canary, and there is also a sign of alliance when the women moved closer together at the beginning of the play.

The major theme of this play Trifle is: To not underestimate women. I agree with the critic that the play is a lousy mystery, all the actions had taken place before the curtain went up. Mr. Wright had already been killed before the play started and there is not much reason to sit through the rest of the play as it involves only the search of evidence of murder to which still was a mystery to the investigators. In addition all the action takes place in the kitchen.

The Hamlet by Shakespeare

Conflict is essential for drama, the inward conflict demonstrated by Hamlet include the contemplation for suicide due to the dilemma caused by the ghost in the vengeance of his father’s death. In the demonstration for the outward conflict, Hamlet doesn’t feel that the passive revenge by way of his mother’s conscience is effective enough or suits her offense, he, therefore, takes the matter into his own hands and confronts his mother.

The transformation of Hamlet from a hapless person who was in despair into a determined and a confident man is revealed through the soliloquies that are a reflection of Hamlet’s experiences of self-realization. The soliloquies reveal that Hamlet is virtuous, though quite indecisive. The characteristics are explored via the various ways to which he used to insult himself for not acting on his beliefs as well as his constant need to reassure himself that whatever he did was correct.

In the play Hamlet, Hamlet is primarily a tragedy of revenge in the sense that he starts the revenge of his father’s death. He plots to kill Claudius, in the process of the revenge strategy, he leads to the final classically tragic image of the room full of dead bodies.

Hamlet’s relationship with his mother Gertrude can be described as being intimate, just like that of a mother and son. The relationship, however, was destroyed by her sudden marriage to Claudius to which he saw as fornication as Claudius was his father’s brother. Despite this and hamlet’s conclusion to kill Claudius in the revenge of his father’s death, he does not want to injure his mother as he still loves her.

The setting of the Hamlet by Shakespeare in Denmark is a good choice. Since the important port of Elsinore provided the appropriate as well as the convenient locations for the sentinels, whose sight the ghost of Hamlet’s father to be the guard and for the arrivals of Hamlet from Germany, Fortinbras from Norway and the ambassadors from England and the departure of Laertes to France and Hamlet to England.

Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius and a sister to Laertes; she happens to be Hamlets love interest. In the position of revenge, Ophelia is forced to choose between her blood relatives and her soul as the father and brother warned her that Hamlet’s intentions were purely sexual, and through her inexperience and youth she chooses, her relatives. Ophelia truly loved Hamlet as she claimed that her love was pure. Due to her obedient nature, she decides to listen to his father betraying her love for Hamlet, although Hamlet had already lost the trust in women since his mother got married to Claudius.

Macbeth and Claudius have had a lot of similarities in that for one, neither would be the rightful owner of the throne, the reason behind being that they both killed their kings to take their position although they were not deemed to be the king. The motive behind the killing of their king is due to the greed for power to which they are both dedicated to killing more souls to maintain their position. Both Macbeth and Claudius arouse increased suspicions from the people around them until friction sparks leading to the eventual doom.

Hamlet and Horatio are both good friends, they also students and classmates. Apart from being good friends, the two are loyal to one another, and they could sacrifice their lives for the other. Horatio almost took the poison to accompany Hamlet in the next world. However, despite having several similar characters, the two differ in the sense that Hamlet is quicker to react and this explains the reason as to why he has so many tragedies, on the other hand, Horatio takes time to make his decisions logically.

Hamlets main motivation was to kill his uncle to revenge his father’s death, but he never did it when he had the chance, this was when the king was praying, but he thought of a different way of the revenge. As his main motivation was to kill his uncle, he lost control of himself where he got killed together with the rest. Hamlets remarks were true to the point that his madness killed him and his friend Ophelia also died as a result of the madness. It is therefore evident that his folly cost his life as well due to lack of proper decision making.

Fortinbras is a young Norwegian prince in the play Hamlet; he has been featured as a foil for Hamlet, the prince of Denmark. Both Hamlet and Fortinbras lost their fathers to untimely deaths, to which King Hamlet killed Fortinbras’ father, and Claudius killed King Hamlet. Both of them have vowed to take revenge on their fathers’ deaths, but the difference only appears in the manner to which they get to revenge to which eventually leads to the death of Hamlet.

References

Glaspell, S. (2010). Trifles. Baker’s Plays.

Shakespeare, W. (2015). Hamlet. Krill Press via PublishDrive.

Literature3

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Various ideological conflicts can be derived from the development of early colonial America. Political, economic and religious idealism is much evident from the narratives, and this can be seen through the narrative of conflict, aggression, and ethnocentrism among the communities involved during the development of early colonial America. During this period there were conflicts of interest among the parties involved, and this can be seen in the narrative Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford. Here, the pilgrims are engaged in a conflict among themselves that lead to the signing of the Mayflower agreement to show their allegiance to their king and at the same time set their rules to prevent themselves from getting beyond the boundaries.

Religious ideology is the central concept that can be traced from the narratives, and it is through the idea of religion that there rose the issue of political interest to govern and control the local indigenous people in America. However, the issue of ethnocentrism arises from the colonials as they perceive their culture to be more significant than the others and this makes them despise that of the indigenous people. From the three narratives, Of Plymouth Plantation, A model of Christian Charity and From the Wonders of The Invisible World by Cotton Mather, the issue of a superior culture and religion can be seen to dominate the lesser communities.

The issue of ethnocentrism is dominant all through the narratives and through this the authors try to pass the message of the dominance of Christianity in the colonies. The local cultures and religion are ignored, and the people are forced to adopt the new religion established by the colonial masters. The authors pass the message of dislike and hate to the culture and religion of the indigenous people as they are considered of no value. The works have a common objective of promoting their own cultures and religion while on the other hand differ in the manner to which the message is passed. Honesty and truth are among the virtues of Americanness that can be derived from the narratives.

Reference

Bradford, W. (2018). Of Plymouth Plantation. Charles River Editors via PublishDrive.

Mather, C. (1862). The wonders of the invisible world: Being an account of the tryals of several witches lately executed in New-England. Smith.

Winthrop, J. (2012). 1630. A Model of Christian Charity. The Religious Freedom Page.

LITR 236 World Lit and Fine Arts II Grayson Perry Reith Lectures Extra Credit

LITR 236 World Lit and Fine Arts II Grayson Perry Reith Lectures Extra Credit Assignments

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PART I: DEMOCRACY HAS BAD TASTE

1. Before you start, what are your expectations for this lecture?

a. On a scale of 1-10, what is your interest level for hearing the lecture?

My interest in listening to this lecture is 10/10.

b. What do you think the title of the lecture means?

Based on the title of the lecture, “Democracy has a bad taste” I believe that it talks about the quality of art. There is no empirical way to judge art in regard to good or bad, and what majority perceives as good art doesn’t simply translate as quality art.

2. According to Grayson Perry, how do we determine what “good” art is?  Who are the people who make the determination?

Perry defines the criteria used to define quality of art including financial value, popularity, art historical significance or aesthetic sophistication. There are four stages to the rise and success of an artist: peer approval, serious critics and collectors, dealers and finally the public. Based on the survey conducted by artists, it is evident that the audience are the determinant of what good or bad art is. Perry explains how important the approval of fellow artists is at the start and how critics will judge an artwork. Then come the collectors, who might be serious players or merely individuals keen on “glitzing up” their homes or resell for a higher profit. Art dealers take the highest credit, in that they will validate the artwork through their own reputation and will also choose where to place (or whom to sell to) the artwork. Another criterion for validation of a work of art is “museum quality”, which is judged by someone else at the top of the validation process: the curators, are “the popes of art”, and will select artworks to place in an important exhibition or institution.

 

3. Why is it that “popular” art (art that a large portion of society finds appealing) is often not considered “good art”?  

According to Perry, quality and popularity seems to be odd with each other in regard to art. He gives the example of David Honkey’s 2012 exhibition at the Royal academy. This was a popular show, but yet one of the worst shows to have ever been recorded in regard to art gallery. However, he cites a number of Russian artists in the 1990s, who ran a survey in whose results indicated that people aesthetically wanted the same thing everywhere in the world which included figures and animals on a blue background. There is not empirical formula of determining the quality of art and thus, determining quality of art by popularity might not have what it takes to have it take into museums, or meet the requirements of critics and collectors who are involved in art business. Based on this, popularity doesn’t mean quality art, as it is based on aesthetic of the art. Beauty is on the eyes of the beholder, which means that a person’s perception can be biased into deciding what is good or bad art. With no valid way to measure the quality of art, many people can be wrong, just the same way a wrong political candidate is elected into office, not because they are better, but because of popularity. Therefore, what is popular might not be of good quality, since it might have been popular due to advertisement with no critics.

4. What are some of the examples that Perry uses to explain his positions?  Does he reference anything we have studied in class that you recognize?

In explaining why beauty cannot be used to determine the quality of art, Perry gives the example of David Honkey’s 2012 exhibition at the Royal academy. This was a popular show, but yet one of the worst shows to have ever been recorded in regard to art gallery. However, he cites a number of Russian artists in the 1990s, who ran a survey in whose results indicated that people aesthetically wanted the same thing everywhere in the world which included figures and animals on a blue background. Besides, Perry claims that historically, there have been various attempts to define perfect beauty, such as the Greek’s Golden Ratio, William Hogarth’s serpentine line in painting, or the Venetian Secret thought to be used by Titian and his contemporaries. “Beauty” is usually what defines quality for a visitor at an exhibition, but Perry warns against the use of this word, which would anger contemporary followers of Duchamp, who said that “aesthetic delectation is the danger to be avoided”. 

5. What is your response to Perry’s lecture?  Does he make points that you find valuable, or that change your own attitudes towards art?  If so, explain.

Perry’s lecture has been illuminating, providing lots of lesson in determining the quality of art. Previously, I used to define art based on the aesthetic value, just like many people perceives that good or bad art is based on its appeal to the eyes of the visitor. However, this perception has changed in that I have learned that a good or bad art is determined by financial value, popularity, art historical significance or aesthetic sophistication, and not merely by its beauty.

6. Now that you have finished the lecture, how would you rate it on a scale from 1-10 (10 being the highest)?  Did you find that the lecture was easy to understand?  Why or why not?

After completing Perry’s lecture, I can rate it 10/10, and this is because it has exceeded my expectations. Perry has not only added reasons why the quality of art should not be solely be determined by its beauty, but a combination of other factors, but he has established individuals who can determine the value of an art including approval from peers, serious critics and collectors, dealers and finally the public.

PART II: BEATING THE BOUNDS

1. During this lecture Perry outlines his criteria for determining what is, and what is not, art (which he identifies with “cracks of the whip”).  What are the different criteria?  Outline each one.

One of the criteria used by Perry to define what is art include economic because there is a lot of money, almost 43 billion pounds a year and which are sloshing through the art market. Economic is therefore one of the reasons why one should call what they do art since it’s a nice incentive. Another criterion is that because a person is an artist and this qualifies their work to be deemed works of art. Since it is something, a person does, maybe they just want a good excuse to do something. Therefore, something that an individual loves doing can be considered works of art.

However, there are criteria that can be used to determine what is not art. For example, when an art becomes incredibly famous, it ceases to be an art and this includes the example of the Mona Lisa which Perry can hardly see it as an art. Another criterion to determine what an art is whether it is in a gallery or an art context. Another boundary is it a boring version of something else, if not, that art should be considered a joke and not art. Another criterion is whether it made by an artist – there is no such thing as art, only artists, and therefore, a person has to be an artist for them to make art. Another criterion is photography-problematic. In the 1990s, every second show seemed to be photography, but currently, there are endless snaps, making it to determine what is photography. According to Perry, if people are smiling in a photo, that is probably not a piece of art.

2. Do you agree with Perry’s definitions?  Go through his list, and see if there are ones you agree with, or ones you don’t.  Explain why you agree or disagree with the points he makes.

Perry has made various definitions in his lecture. One the definitions that I agree with include the definition of an art photo. According to Perry, an art photo is defined as any photo that is bigger than two meters and it is priced higher than five figures. I do agree with this definition in that famous artist such as Andreas Gursky make huge photographs, sometimes four meters by two meters, and his photographs are worth higher than five figures. For example, his ‘Rhine’ photograph has the highest price of any photograph ever, being priced at 4.5 million dollars.

3. Now that you have listened to the lecture, what have you learned?  Has the lecture changed the way that you consider works of art?  If so, how?

Listening to the lecture has made me think deeply especially what has to or not be considered as art. For example, if an art has been famous, it does not qualify to be called art. Other boundaries that can be used to determine whether it is a piece of art include whether it is in a gallery or an art context. Another boundary is it a boring version of something else, if not, that art should be considered a joke and not art. Another criterion is whether it made by an artist – there is no such thing as art, only artists, and therefore, a person has to be an artist for them to make art. Another criterion is photography-problematic. This lecture has really made me realize that you have to be an artist for you to make a work of art.

Little Toot By Hardie Gramatky

Little Toot By Hardie GramatkyIntroduction

The story “Little Toot” that was written in 1993, by Hardie Gramatky, is a story that was meant for children in the age group of 2-7 years. This is the age where in they are in their preoperational stage as they are not independent in case of understanding the story but will be assisted by others and would need to be attracted by imagination provocations. This story is meant to capture the imagination as well as impact children in a positive manner by giving a moral to the story or a message through the story. The aim is to deliver a simple concept of being hard working as well as not to underestimate anybody, and this has been done in a creative and capturing manner through a story of a tugboat (imbd.com, 2010). The objective is to help the readers or children be entertained and absorbed as well as learn a positive thought. This relates to Piaget’s theory of subjective logic. It is based on basic concepts and helps children go ahead and imagine simple things like a boy having become a boat. It helps enhance their focus on shapes and lets them think about associations, friends and morals (Npr.org, 2010).

Summary

The story “Little Toot” is a well written and creatively formed a story where in a boy who is in the form of a tugboat, presumes work to be a joke. He is involved in games and having fun. He does not focus on his tasks at all. In this situation, his friends, who happened to be other boats got irritated of his games that went on all day long. They did not appreciate him as he never did his work (Npr.org, 2010). They also called him a “sissy” (imbd.com, 2010). In this way, he was always looked down upon. He was dejected by other tugboats and so has had to drift away to the sea. He realizes his faults. In the sea he comes across a ship wreck. This is when he decides to prove his worth. He helps in this situation. In this way, he does regain a position in the tugboat community and also does not have to live in the sea anymore. He also makes his parents proud and is happy about it as he had made them feel embarrassed by being playful and silly all the time (imbd.com, 2010).

Discussion

This story aims at capturing a child’s imagination and involving him as the story is being narrated. It also helps to let children start visualizing and understanding through basics like shapes and concepts. Bringing objects to life helps children get more involved and understand incidents or concepts in an easier manner. It makes it possible for them to learn by example of non-living things which are presumed to be animated. They can associate several movements and actions and that also being carried out by non-living things easily. Animation is one of the best methods for children of this age group to learn as it not only depicts and explains actions, but also is extremely amusing and entertaining. It helps add to knowledge, ideas and thoughts.

This story helps analyze three different theories of child development. As per the intellectual development theory, children learn very rapidly and they are quick at grasping. The story caters to his theory by providing several instances where in a child is required to make logical connections in order to understand this story. This story caters to the need of children o learn and so provides them with concepts of requirement to work and not play all day long. It explains several things that children can grasp and learn in this age group of preoperational stage.

Moral development is also an important aspect of children learning and growing. Here, in this story, the author has used the concept of hard work as a moral and has also shown it to be the right way or the acceptable behavior. It has tried to explain to little children as to how important it is to balance work and play in order to be acceptable to everybody.

Social development is the most important aspect of child learning, cognition and development at this age, socializing itself is new to them. They are not in a position to clearly identify as to what is acceptable and what is not. Yet, they do understand that it is extremely important to be acceptable in order to be liked and appreciated. So, this story explains these concepts through facts like the playful tugboat embarrassed its parents and was looked down upon by other tugboats. Moreover the fact that the little playful tugboat was forced to drift away to the sea leaves a long-lasting impression on young minds about behaving in the right manner and completing their work in order to be accepted by friends and family (imbd.com, 2010).

In this way, this story closely relates to several theories of cognition and learning in children. It focuses on their areas of interest and is successful at being able to capture their imagination to the best possible extent. Children enjoy this story as they get to learn and imagine as well as make several associations while listening or watching it in the form of an animated story. Actions, expressions, voice tone and color when added to this story leads to intense learning among children as they grasp the concept of hard work very quickly through the medium of this story.

Conclusion

To conclude, “Little Trot” is a well-written and engrossing a story that focuses on teaching children moral values, social behavior and intellectual learning along with entertainment. Though the story is a lot of fun for children, it does not fall short in delivering knowledge and concepts as well as creativity and ideas to children of age – groups of 2 to 7. At this stage, of preoperational learning, this story is a great benefit, especially to school going children who have been having to face a transition form playing all day long to having to put in some efforts in learning. So, this story helps children understand the need and importance of hard work and tells them that as they grow and need to become responsible, they also have to strike a balance between work and play. They cannot ply all day long, without completing their work, mainly consisting of homework, if they have to be appreciated and accepted by their friends and family. This brings in a lot of learning, which is in tune with several of the theories on child development.

References

Npr.org, 2010, as retrieved on August 24, 2010 from

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15606787imbd.com, 2010, as retrieved on August 24, 2010 from

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047183/