Mask Video

Can you say anything about the relationship of your film to the story of the Bronze Serpent?

In a way I think my video does relate to the story of the bronze serpent. The whole idea behind the serpent was that it was ironic for God to be healing them through a serpent because they were being killed by serpents. In a way I see this in my video as well. Typically, masks are seen as bad things, objects that hide who we are from the rest of the world. However, in my video, I am trying to connect the mask to the past and a more traditional use of it and want this to be seen as a good thing. So in a way I'm trying to show something that is typically thought of as bad, as good, similar to what God did with the bronze serpent. 

I would like to add my intention behind the video because it was portraying a different idea than my picture. In my video I am again trying to show contras between modern life and a more traditional life. I attempted to do so through the use of Tae Kwon Do, a traditional Korean martial art, and the use of traditional music. I was trying to show how sometimes in modern life we are lost and confused, like I was at the beginning of the movie, because we don't have any traditions that we believe in to guide us. However, tradition can create a sense of strength and comfort, because you have guidelines by which to judge life, and in the second half of the movie this is seen through my confidence in performing Tae Kwon Do. 

My "True Self" (Extra Credit)

This is a picture with one of my friends at graduation. I think it shows my "true self" or at least a part of my true self because in it I'm acting silly and having fun with a friend, two things that are very definitive of me as a person. The being silly part has a lot to do with my personality and my friends are incredibly important to me.

Earthwork

My half of the Earth work pictures

Difference between Landscape and Earth work in experience creating them and in the images themselves?

For me, my landscape picture and my earth work pictures are very different from each other, both in how they were made and what they say. The landscape picture was taken by myself at night and it was a very solitary experience. On the other hand, the earth works was a group project and we collaborated a lot on the ideas and the actual products of the project, also it was a day and just in general more of a social experience. 

With the landscape picture I was trying to communicate the loss of the respect for nature. I was trying to show how nature had been taken over by society and been made to conform or destroyed if it did not. It was a very sobering picture. However, to me the earthwork pictures had a sense of the beauty and wonder of nature that is still present if we go and look for it. It was about discovering how nature is beautiful and how we can show our appreciation for it. Overall it had a much more hopeful perspective. 

What does the picture reveal about my relationship with Nature/Creation? 

I think these pictures reveal the fact that despite the fact that more often than not I consume the products of nature, I do truly find it beautiful and wonderful. It reminded me how amazing and beautiful God's creation can be and how much I should enjoy living in it. I think often times I forget that fact because I spend most of my time inside, locked away from nature, but it was good to rediscover the wonder of it all. 

This is a painting by Claude Monet entitled "Nympheas". It reminds me of my picture because it shows a beautiful scene from nature. The picture, although vague, has a very real aspect to it and makes me want to be there. I think it this way it encourages wonder and respect for the beauty of nature, much the same way as I hope my pictures do too. 

Mask

1) Does your mask bear any relationship to the images and/or issues below? Does it relate to pre-modern or post-modern traditions (see below).

My mask has a relationship with the theater aspect of the pre-modern tradition. It also relates to the festival of renewal. The mask is based on a traditional mask that appears at the Carnival of Venice, a celebration that let's the people relax and be a little silly. These masks are based upon the tradition of comedia dell'arte, an Italian form of theater in the renaissance world. Both of these traditions allow people to become those that they are not and allow them for once to be equal with those around them.


2) Does it bear any relationship to your real/ideal portrait? Or to the concept of True Self/False Self?

I think it does have some relationship to my real/ideal portrait. In the portrait of myself I was trying to show the contrast between loving myself and hating myself. In this picture I am attempting to show the contrast between having confidence, with the mask, and being afraid, without the mask. The mask is allowing me to become something I am not, or maybe it is allowing me to become what I truly am.

Landscape

Difference between Landscape and Earth work in experience creating them and in the images themselves?

For me, my landscape picture and my earth work pictures are very different from each other, both in how they were made and what they say. The landscape picture was taken by myself at night and it was a very solitary experience. On the other hand, the earth works was a group project and we collaborated a lot on the ideas and the actual products of the project, also it was a day and just in general more of a social experience. 

With the landscape picture I was trying to communicate the loss of the respect for nature. I was trying to show how nature had been taken over by society and been made to conform or destroyed if it did not. It was a very sobering picture. However, to me the earthwork pictures had a sense of the beauty and wonder of nature that is still present if we go and look for it. It was about discovering how nature is beautiful and how we can show our appreciation for it. Overall it had a much more hopeful perspective. 

What does the picture reveal about your relationship to Nature/Creation? 

I think this picture reveals the destructive aspect of  not just my relationship but society's relationship to nature. We use nature to meet our own needs without thinking about how it affects it and how we might be able to be better stewards of the resources God has given us. Instead we just consume, not value it as a gift from God. I think this picture helped me to realize that I should look at nature with more respect and try to find ways to show that through how I live. 

This painting by Caspar David Friedrich entitled "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" reminds me of my picture because it is trying to show dominance over nature. The man is standing on the rocks as if he owns them and everything he can sea. The ironic part about the picture is that he is so much smaller than the sea that he is claiming and it could wash him away with ease. 

Real Vs. Ideal

Pictures of Emma (by me)

Pictures of me (by Emma)

Mass Media At Large: 

I think my picture of Emma holding a Starbuck's coffee cup speaks a lot to the current state of the advertising world. Everything in our lives has some kind of advertisement in it, whether it be while we're listening to the radio on the way to work or looking through a magazine in our spare time. Everything has an ad that is trying to persuade you to buy this product or that product that will supposedly make your life so much better than it is now. But in the end, these things don't make us happy and I think this picture shows that, because of Emma only looking superficially happy, not truly happy. 

This painting is "Venus of Urbino" by Titan. I think it demonstrates the opposite point of Emma's first picture of me, the one where I'm hiding behind my hands. In this picture the woman is open and showing herself fully and she seems to be pleased with how she appears. It goes back to the Renisance ideal of the body as the measure of all things (Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man). Emma's picture, however, is the opposite. It shows a woman who does not want to be seen, who does not think her body deserves to be praised and admired and who, in general, does not like her appearance. 

Getting Lost Slideshow

Picture of God

Contemporary Image

This is a picture of survivors of the concentration camp at Buchenwald taken by Margaret Bourke White. Margaret Bourke White was the first woman photojournalist for Life magazine and the first woman war correspondent. She traveled around the world while World War II was taking place. In 1945 she ended up at Buchenwald with General George S. Patton. Buchenwald was one of the first concentration camps to be created in Germany and would be the place where around fifty six thousand out of two hundred and thirty eight thousand people who entered the camp would die.

I chose this picture because the horrors that it not only depicts but infers. While most people in America would naturally think of the Holocaust as a horrible event, I have a personal connection to it. Because of that connection, the looks of these people  touch me a lot. They're scared, angry, desperate and curious. Through this picture, I get a small glimpse of what it must have been like to be in their situation and from that, have more compassion for those who went through it. Perhaps this is the connection to God. Not only is the picture showing those who are mostly likely from His chosen people, it helps me to better understand God's love and compassion for all people. 

Historical Image of God

This is a painting entitled "Portrait of Christ's Head" by the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. It belongs to the historical period of Bourgeois Baroque, and it was painted from 1650 to 1652. This is shortly after the Protestant Reformation ended, in 1648. I think the painting's close proximity to the Reformation is significant. For instance this version of Jesus is a lot simpler and less grand than previous portraits of Him. I think this speaks to the Protestant tendency to dull down the former Catholic grandness of images.

I think I choose this piece because of it's great show of emotion, which is one thing Rembrandt is famous for. In this picture I can easily see and feel the love and compassion that Christ is showing. I think I also like it because of it's simplicity. It's not too crowded and busy. It simply shows what it wishes to, which I think heightens the emotions He is expressing. Mostly I like it because when I look at it, it's almost as if that love and compassion is being expressed directly to me.

Peer Review of Body Image

The viewer sees a photo of a woman in a black tank top holding a red rose. She sits in front of a metallic grey leather background. She wears a cross necklace and her face is half made up.
Her steely gaze contrast with the clown-like quality of her facial decor- she demands to be taken seriously. She appears to be criticizing what society demands of her, which is beauty in the eyes of the majority. She desires to change how the majority view beauty.
The red rose begs the question- did someone give her the rose? Is she going to give the rose to someone? The black shirt and hair and their contrast with the bright red rose inspire a gothic sense of drama and confrontation.
The picture reminds the viewer of a gothic piece of a woman confronting her beholder, but also shows the body in 2011- the cross necklace symbolizing the Christian's attempt at life in a fallen world without falling into its traps.

What is the body in 2011?

First, I want to compare my picture to the Aristocratic Baroque style, specifically the painting by Peter Paul Reubens entitled "Venus at a Mirror". Both of the images show an idealized and dramatized vision of a woman's body, as is common with this style. Also,  the subjects both have very sad expressions on their faces, like they are getting no pleasure from what they see. However, my picture also differs from "Venus at the Mirror". The main difference is the fact that while the Baroque style tried to idolize the ideal human body, my picture points out the opposite of this ideal, the reality.

Next, I would like to talk about what my picture symbolizes. When we received this assignment my first thought was of the reality of horrible self-image and the pursuit of a fake ideal in our society. By this I mean the fact that from very early on in our lives we are inundated with images that tell us we do not measure up to the standard of beauty that is expected of us. So we strive to meet that standard and when we fail, we learn to hate ourselves. And yet, we still try. Try to look and be perfect. We try to become like the models and actors we see, all the while knowing we can't because they aren't real, but still we try. We hide behind our perfect masks, hoping no one will notice the flaws beneath the surface. It's an endless cycle of pretending and hating. This picture symbolizes all those people who have ever pretended to be perfect, hiding the flawed but beautiful person beneath.

Religious Thoughts

When I thought of pictures that have to do with my religion the following two come to mind...

This is a picture by Thomas Kinkade. It's entitled "Prince of Peace". When I was younger I really enjoyed this picture. It's not clear and crisp, and yet, I think it depicts Christ's sorrow on the cross very well. 

This picture was taken by my mom when we visited Israel during my junior year. It's a picture of the inside of the Garden Tomb, one of the possible spots of Jesus tomb. 

Together I think they show two very important parts of Christianity: the cross and the resurrection. 

Footprints in the snow