Blog 1 response.

                                                               Art Experience      
                     

         When I was younger I saw the biggest building in the world located in Dubai. It was so tall that I couldn't see the top. And my dad being an engineer he broke down everything and explain how it was made. What was  the foundation made of and ever since then I have had a new eye to this world.

        From then on I see every building as an art masterpiece that is made in parts starting with foundation then the pillars and finally the roof

Blog Post 2

In Neil Labute's play The Shape of Things, characters commit many immoral actions.  While it is easy to jump to blaming Eve as the most immoral character in the play we have to further examine the actions of all the characters.  While Eve played with Adam's appearance as if he was a literal piece of art, Adam made very immoral decisions to get himself to where he was at the end of the play, and who he ended up being (by appearance) certainly wasn't representative of the person he actually is, or was at the beginning of the play.

First off, the argument for Eve's immorality is obvious.  She played with Adam's emotions and feelings and coerced him into doing things that added up towards making him a totally different person, and a fake one at that.  She unsparingly used sex to motivate Adam into completing the tasks which she was ever so carefully suggesting and implanting into his brain.  She played with him and crafted him for a year and a half, and maintained no true emotional connection with Adam.  In fact, she constantly lied to him and ended up humiliating him in public during her final art thesis, where she attempted to succeed in a class at Adam's expense.  Evelyn violated the ethic of caring because throughout the entirety of her "art project", she didn't care one bit about Adam or his feelings, and at the end of the play she couldn't have cared less about his reputation.  However it is important to remember that she never outright told Adam to do anything, and every decision was his to make.  With that being said, we can now examine Adam's moral shortcomings

Adam's moral shortcoming is plain and simple, and it sticks out like a sore thumb.  Adam's behavior in the play violates the ethic of justice because he is violating a critical ethical principle of having a sound concept of self.  Adam is not loyal to himself and he is not his own person because he lets others mold his actions.  He allows Evelyn to suggest increasingly drastic alterations to who he is as a whole, and he is more than willing to transform and mold himself at every stop along the way.  By letting others make his decisions for him, Adam robs himself of personhood.  His unfaltering willingness to change, bend and stretch himself in any which way for Evelyn are telling of his critical lack of a sound self-concept.  He can't perceive himself as having preferences or having any sort of taste or quality in life because he lets others define his goals, priorities and appearance.

That being said, it is of my opinion that Adam lacks more in terms of morality than Eve.  Eve manipulated him and lied to him, yes, but none of this would've had any impact or taken root had Adam not allowed himself to be made subject to someone else's desires.  If Adam was able to be happy with who he was and make decisions for himself, Evelyn would not have had the opportunity or the ability to mold him and change him in the ways he did.  I view Adam's moral shortcoming as a prerequisite and an enabler of Eve's immoral actions

Blog Post #2: The Artist As Scapegoat

Asking "who is the most lacking in morals" is not only about what someone does, it's about what they did, why they did it, and what impact it had. We know that what Evelyn did was bad, it was long term manipulation. However, she did it for art, and whether or not Adam ended up better or worse off is a matter of opinion, I think he was better. By never specifically asking Adam to make any changes, Evelyn actually showed him that he was capable of making those changes on his own. I think when asking who lacks the most morals, it would would have to be Phillip. Small minded, inconsiderate, and rash. The bad acts that Phillip did in the movie were driven by his selfish attitude. There was no logic to kissing Evelyn. Thinking that it would make him "even" with Jenny and Adam was a ridiculous notion. It only showed how little he really cared for his friends. His low moral attitude was also brought to light during his argument with Evelyn in the beginning of the play. Through the play it was clear that this character was not a good person. The other characters can not be classified as "lacking in morals" because for each one of them, the morality of their actions was a matter of perspective. Phillips acts were bad regardless of which way you look at them.

Blog Post 1: Your Art Experience

The experience occurred when I was visiting the Kennedy Center a few years ago. I heard the unaccompanied Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major: Prelude. The sound of a lone cello is very relaxing, but not like a physical relaxation. When I listen to the lone cello it feels like my thoughts are being organized. It has helped me to sit and listen to it in times of stress. My favorite cellist is Yo-Yo Ma, especially playing the Bach Cello Suite. Yo-Yo Ma plays it in a way that is almost mathematical, he goes from one note to another very naturally. I think when the cello is played this way it has a very unique appeal that other music doesn't.

In the play The Shape Of Things, morals are really brought out to be questioned between all the characters, but specifically about one, Evelyn. Everybody in the play seems to have their own idea about what morals really are, based on the way they act. You can notice it most in Evelyn because from the very beginning of the play you can see that she is manipulative and she uses people for her own benefit.

One way you can really see that she is the one that has done the most wrong in the play is when she manipulates Adam. She uses him for her art project, which she announced to everybody at the very end of the play. She made Adam change himself for her (she did it by simply making suggestions) Adam really liked her so he'd do anything that she talked about, she played with his feelings. She went as far as to make Adam choose between their relationship or his friendship with his friends, Phil and Jenny. She started a lot of commotion throughout they play, she kissed Phil, she influenced Adam to do crazy things, and she lied about who she was.

Adam makes a big mistake as well, he changes everything because he decided to do it throughout the play, but he only does it because they're suggestions that come from Evelyn, even if he didn't really agree with the changes he was making. He also became a liar, started lying to all his friends when they'd ask about his changes, why he did them, how he did them, because he'd do things he never wanted to do before meeting Evelyn. Now that Adam was cute, he would flirt with other girls, had an affair with one of his Phil's fiance and was about to end the friendship between all them because of Evelyn.

I think that everybody in this play is equally wrong, it all honestly depends on how you view things, you may think that Evelyn did more wrong than Adam, but I don't think its true. They both gained something from out of their relationship, like using each other. Evelyn used Adam for her art project and Adam used Evelyn to be better, to look better, to feel better. He built his self esteem up because of her, opened his eyes to doing things different from the ones he was used to. In the play Phil and Jenny do wrong as well, you just can't see it that much because the play isn't necessarily based on them. Jenny being Phil's fiance still kissed Adam, she did wrong as well, she didn't show to have many morals. Everything is just based on  how you view things, but everybody in a way made a morally wrong decision.

The Artist as a Scapegoat

     Throughout history, there has always been a code of morals, whether that be personal or religious or what have you, people have always had a sense of right and wrong. In the play The Shape of Things, there are only four characters throughout the script. All four of these characters lack a moral compass, some more than others, but one in particular. Both couples (Adam and Evelyn, and Philip and Jenny) are participating in dysfunctional relationships where cheating, lying, and not being true to oneself seems to be acceptable behavior. In the end, this behavior sabotages both relationships and leaves these people in ruin, some more than others.
     From the very beginning, Evelyn is seen stepping over the line at the museum, already violating a rule. By defacing a statue to giving Adam an ultimatum about his friends, one could say that Evelyn has the least morals of all the characters. Additionally, she used and manipulated Adam for her art project, used for her own gain. She lied the entire time to Adam while they were together with total disregard to the pain she brought Adam and ultimately, his two closest friends. She spoiled good relationships and didn't care one bit.
     From a different perspective, Adam had the least morals. We are all responsible for our own actions. Not only was Adam not true to himself while dating Evelyn, he also cheated on Evelyn, and by default, his best friend. Although you could say that Eve changed Adam, she technically did not force him to do anything, he did everything she suggested willingly. This means that Adam was not "forced" to do anything, he willingly did things just to please his girl and disregarded his true friends.
     Although Adam, Philip, and Jenny were all untrue to their friendships and cheated on each other, their bad behavior pales in comparison to Evelyn's. She used an ultimatum in her relationship with Adam, which in my opinion, one should never do in a relationship. She also used and manipulated Adam for her art project with no regard to his feelings. She hurt Adam and she had no clue why it would be painful to him. She is by far lacking in morals the most.

blog post #2

There are quite a few people who can be called a "villain" in the play, but the person who takes on this role the best, is Evelyn.  She is an artists of strange taste and chooses Adam to be her canvas to work on.  Her project entailed transforming Adam from a overweight bum, into a fit, clean and well carried man.  She saw Adam as weak which was why she chose him to be her canvas; he could be easily manipulated and morphed into what she wanted.  She got him to lose weight, stop biting his nail, get a nose job, change his close and hairstyle; all things that bettered his appearance.

 Although this does seem like she is doing something positive, that wasn't the case.  She didn't do these things to be nice to her "boyfriend" who she supposedly loved, she did it for her art project.  She didn't actually love Adam, or even see him as her boyfriend; he was simply a "specimen" in which she studied to see if she could shape him into a more attractive human being.

She managed to make Adam do these changes for a few reasons.  Adam was weak and when an "attractive" young lady like Evelyn showed interest in him, he did what it took to keep her regardless of how crazy it was(nose job).  Secondly, Adam thought that Evelyn was in love with him and she played on his emotions and manipulated him into thinking that what she was doing was right.

Evelyn wouldn't have been able to manipulate someone like Philip; he is confident, well dressed, and know who he is while Adam on the other hand does not.  It is okay for you to make changes, but don't make them for someone else, make them for yourself.  Also don't let yourself get taken advantage of, be strong and don't forget who you are.

Blog post 2

In The Shape of Things, morals play a very important role in the plot. Each character has their own set of moral codes that they follow, making conflict inevitable. Evelyn is arguably the most lacking in morals, looking at the way she lied to and manipulated those who she calls her friends. Evelyn is not the only one in the play who demonstrates a lack of morals.

Evelyn constantly lied about who she was, and she manipulated her boyfriend Adam in order to get her way. She even went as far as telling Adam to choose between her and his friends. She constantly told Adam to change himself for her, and wouldn't take no for an answer. At one point, she even kissed one of Adams friends.

Adam isn't innocent either however. He would listen to Evelyn when she wanted him to change, even though it went against his own wishes, and lied to his friends about why. He also had an affair.

In the end, I believe Adam could be described as the most lacking in morals. While Evelyn was more manipulative, Adams actions showed a stronger lack in morals. Anybody who cheats on his girlfriend but then goes on to choose her over his own friends has serious moral issues.

Blog Post #2

Paragraph 1: restate the question and give it some context in terms of the events of the play
--Paragraph 2: look at one possible answer
--Paragraph 3: look at a very different possible answer
--Paragraph 4: settle on the best possible answer and explain why it was the best

  Who is the most lacking in morals?  Why?  Is there some a critically important ethical principal this person violates (review "Ethic of Justice

This story involves many complex characters. They are average every day americans, in a small college town. None of these characters are criminals or outlaws, but they aren't described as pure saints either. Which character has the worst morals.

Some people would say that Adam lacks the most morals, for letting Eve manipulate him. He changed his exercise routine, wardrobe, and even got a tattoo for this girl. 

Others would say that Eve is the wrongdooer for her sick twisted plot to manipulate poor Adam. Her actions were cold and calculated. She messed with the concept of love and thats wrong,

The character most lacking in morals is Eve. She makes up her mind to target and manipulate a fellow student into making him believe he was loved. During this process she manipulated his behavior and norms. She violated the number one rule, trust. 

Blog Post 2

When deciding if something is ethical or not, one must evaluate if their opinion is biased. In the play, The Shape of Things, readers question the actions of Eve throughout the play after she reveals that Adam was her art project. People argue whether or not what she did was ethical, but the real question they should be asking is what her real motive was.
If her motives were selfish then it would be considered unethical because she wasted Adam's time just so that she could finish a project. The action of using people is a very unethical act because it degrades a human's life to a daily used tool. However, emotions could also be a factor when considering if her actions were ethical or not. She might have been mad at Adam for going for Jenny in the past so it could have led Eve to embarrass Adam in public.
Eve might have done some questionable things to Adam, but Adam's oblivious nature made him such an easy target. Maybe what Eve did to Adam was too beneficial to call unethical because of his previous disgusting lifestyle. It also was Adam's fault for being easily manipulated as a human tool so it is somewhat his own responsibility. But at the end of the day, Eve made Adam a better and more social person.
In my opinion, I believe that Eve crossed the ethical line because if her intentions from the very start. This plan or idea that came to Eve required her to abandon all of her empathy when dealing with Adam because it would lead to an inevitable end for Adam. She also had a incentive to break Adam's heart to further her own objective and need.

Art Expirience

The first time I saw art was the first time I realized art wasn't a thing. I saw my surroundings and saw art in everything I saw. This is when I started becoming aware of my surroundings and what was going on in the world around me. To me, art serves some sort of purpose in reality whether that be physically, mentally, emotionally or culturally. I see nothing in this world that doesn't fit into any category.

By recognizing art you must recognize what it is. Creativity is the backbone of the human race and evolution and without it we would not develop both physically and mentally as human beings. Open your eyes and look around you. You could make the case that nothing is art because everything is art, or vice versa. Everything was once an idea. It is not the idea that is art but what happens after the idea is put into the real world.

This made me realize the importance of everything both physically and virtually. Before I might see something and not see any importance in it. Not until you put an imaginary timeline on things is when you will realize it is art. Take a promethean board: You see one in every classroom and think nothing of it. It’s a cool device but it has become a normality seeing one everyday for most people. Take into consideration the effort, energy, and creativity in its purist form. What started as an idea of what could be was put on paper and engineered to become the real piece of art it is.

I really connected to this way of thinking about art because it makes me more appreciative of the things around me. They might be the most simplist thing but it is not until you look at something in depth to see what it really took to make something. Inventions are art and remain art even when changed over time. What started as a wheel was just a circle, and now this design is used everywhere. The importance of this is it promotes a better way of living and most importantly change. Art is the creativity that surrounds us and progresses us through time and until someone realizes art is everything they must realize it started as nothing.

Blog post 2

There has always been controversy between the distinction of what is right and what is wrong, this is called morality. The play "The Shape of Things" by Neil Labute is a great example of this controversy, distinguishing right from wrong. From our point of view, every character acts incorrectly throughout the play; but who are we to judge what is right and what is wrong if our perception of morality is merely a prejudice that has been taught to us. Throughout the play every character acts incorrectly, all of them violate the core principles of morality, but who is the most lacking in morals?

From all the characters the one I would say lacks morality the most is Evelyn. At the beginning she is shown as a lovely woman, she is sweet and seems to care about Adam. She gets into Adam's head in such a way that he changes completely just to make her happy. She lied about everything, from the begging to the end. Evelyn made Adam loose weight, change his hair, she made him change the way he dressed, get nose surgery and get contact lenses. Not only she manipulated him to change his physical appearance, she also made him change his morals. Her actions made him become a liar, she made him choose her over his friends in order for them to keep dating. At the end she exposed him, she gave out a speech in public telling all she had done with him, she basically told everyone Adam was her puppet and she did with him whatever she wanted. All of her actions were morally incorrect because she is using a human being as if it was a thing, just a mere object. She breaks every principle of morality by using Adam for her project, because the end doesn't justify the means.

Another character that was morally incorrect was Adam. He was incorrect by letting one's opinion change him, he let someone "shape" him and lost all of his morals for her. He agreed to everything she said without thinking about it. He became a liar to keep her and to keep his friends as well, but at the end he ended up choosing her over them. I would say the character who is the most lacking in morals was Evelyn. There is no way what she did can be considered as normal, or human. She messed up another person's life just to get a good grade, to prove a point. She ruined Adam, she broke his heart, made him lose his friends, and also ruined Philip's and Jenny's marriage.

In my mind almost every character in the play violates my code of ethics, but this is because
I can not assume that everyone shares the same code of ethics. The one character the play that I would consider to be the most at fault is Evelyn. She found Adam who lacks confidence, and continuously tries to influence him to break his ethics. She knew exactly what she was doing, yet seemed to show no remorse. she led him to believe they were in love while along the way he was changing himself for her just so she could break his heart.

 Adam is also to blame, because he is way to easily influenced. He should not allow someone like that to change him, and he should have seen her bad intentions from the beginning. He also cheated on Eve,and while she is a far worse character he simply never has the confidence or courage to say no to anything . He is so vulnerable to evil and I believe that is his greatest fault.

Blog post #4

In "The Shape of Things" characters do a few immoral things but which character  is most guilty of being immoral? And what did they do that makes them the most immoral? Did they plan on acting this way? Well our only real options to answer our first question are Adam, Evelyn, Phillip, and Jenny.

The first argument that pops into my mind is for Evelyn. When Evelyn and Adam meet near the statue Evelyn gives off a flirtatious vibe and makes Adam start to think that he likes her. Evelyn then tells Adam that he should change his hair, get a tattoo, get plastic surgery and do a number of things to change his look and also change who he is. Adam fell under a spell of love for Evelyn and Evelyn took advantage of that and manipulated Adam. This would not even be a big deal if Evelyn actually had an interest in Adam at the end of the day when his metamorphosis is over but sadly that just is not the case. Evelyn feels no actual connection with Adam. She simply made Adam make sacrifices and changes to his life because he thought he was doing it for her but in reality it was just for Evelyn to do some research for her college thesis and then walk away from the relationship like it never happened. Neglecting how Adam is being impacted. This total disregard for Adam and his well being and playing with his heart stands tall as the most immoral action in the book.

Some would try to argue Adam for the most immoral. Because he placed an extreme amount of trust in Evelyn just after meeting her and he could be at blame for what happened to him and because of what Adam did with Jenny, his ex girlfriend who is now marrying Adam's friend Phillip. But this does not amount to what Evelyn did. Evelyn never had any feelings for Adam when Adam was stuck between loving Evelyn and watching his friend marry his ex. Evelyn's immorality was long and drawn out  like it was planned as with Adam it happens more all at once and once begun seems more like improve.

Blog Post 2

Within the play The Shape of Things, the ideas of morals are brought into question. Every character behaving differently and acting upon their own morals, while breaking the moral codes others hold. This is most noticeable in the character of Evelyn to any viewer with the way she manipulate and plays people. Though she is not the only person in the wrong.

One way you could see it is as the obvious Evelyn is the biggest wrong-doer. She manipulates Adam, using him for an art project, which I might add repulsed everyone who saw it. She made him make decisions to change himself for her (while trying to play it off as simple suggestions, leading him on, but truly it is his will), going so far as to make Adam choose between her and his friends. She kisses Adam's friend, defaces a statue, and lies about who she really is.

Adam is also a prime candidate. He acts entirely upon his own will throughout the play. He makes his own choices throughout the play, changing himself for Evelyn even when he doesn't like it and doesn't have to. Not only that, but he lied to his friends about the things he did, had an affair with a friend (and his friend's fiance), and checked out other girls and such. In the end, he even chose to abandon his friends for a romance that he believed was real (but in fact was not).

In my mind, the best answer is no single character though. I believe truly every character is equally lacking and full of morals, though that changes depending on one's point of view, their own morals. If one was to look and was above morals, they'd see everyone as equally wrong and right. Though since Jenny and Phillip were in the play less, they have less time to be seen lacking morals, thus showing off Evelyn and Adam as more lacking in morals than Jenny and Phillip. I believe Evelyn and Adam both do major wrong, about the same amount, and it's all just as bad as each other. They both worked off of each other, one's morally wrong decision would breed a morally wrong decision in the other, thus making them equal.

Morals and ethics have always been around, though not always in the same form. In "the shape of things" the story of Adam and Eve is represented through the characters Adam and Evelyn  where in the myth eating an apple makes them see the difference between right wrong Evelyn makes Adam do things that could be considered immoral or lead him towards an immoral path.
In the story Evelyn could be considered the most immoral character as she is willing to commit crimes like vandalism upon a statue in pursuit of art and manages to manipulate others for her purpose.
Adam could also be seen as immoral as he was willing to cheat on his girlfriend with his friend's fiance and allows himself to be changed by Evelyn.

Moti Tesgera

English 4

Artist as a scapegoat 

       Over time there has been a line between morals and ethics. These things have been a principle and have been followed and when they are not followed or broken there are always consequences. In "The Shape of things"  there is a reference of ancient biblical history. This is by sin consuming Eve and making her eat the apple and then making Adam eat the apple. A similar thing happened in "The Shape of things" were Evelyn slept with Adam and they both cheated on their girlfriend or fiancee.

   If I had to chose one person out of these four to pick as the most unethical would be Evelyn. I would chose her because the moment they introduced her into the play she was already vandalizing and breaking some rule. Just like how in the bible eve did not want to listen to Adam and she wanted to eat the apple, Evelyn did not want to leave the museum and she wanted to spray paint the statue. She is the clear cut person who is the most unethical.

  

   Another person that would be considered unethical is Adam. I would say Adam because he slept with Jenny. But after he slept with her he lied to Evelyn and said all they did was kiss. Jenny could also be another person who is unethical. This is because she sleeps with Adam. But, The difference between Adam and Jenny is that Jenny is engaged to Philip.

   At the end the person who is the most unethical would be Evelyn. I chose her because she is the one that is made to look like the villain in the play. All the way from the beginning the play writer makes her seem like the villain. He does this buy making her break several rules in the first scene when they were in the museum. He makes her seem this way from the beginning to paint a picture in our heads so that we will allways think that Evelyn is the villain and Adam is not. I personally chose Evelyn because if it werent for her actions adam would have never done what he did.
  

Blog Post #2

The code of morals and ethics are both guidelines written and unwritten that differ between communities, religions, countries and regions. Although these guidelines may not be actual "laws" they are things both frowned upon and discouraged to do. These morals and ethics differ across the globe and also have different punishments based on where they take place.

In the play, "The Shape of Things", the character that struck me as the most in lacking of these ethics and morals had to be Eve. Her selfishness throughout the story is proven by her actions of manipulation and "acting". It was in her best interest to make Adam into this human she saw as the best in different categories. She played Adam, tricking him into thinking he was her real boyfriend in order to prove her agenda and show her abilities. Eve slowly demanded more and more from Adam, changing his appearance and how he acted and did things day by day.

Why was she the most in lacking morals rather than Adam? Over time Adam became more and more confident with how he did things and eventually got in between his best friends and cheated on Phillip which ruined his friendship with them.  Adam betrayed his best friend by cheating on him with his engaged fiance. Not only this but he lied to Eve about it, breaking  "bro code", a certain guide of moral and ethic code as well as lying which is a moral in itself.

 The outright biggest break in the code of moral and ethics is manipulation for self-pleasure. Eve had one thing in mind when completing this "art" project and that was to prove herself and her abilities. She didn't care how she left Adam after the fact and what place in life he was in.  Adam would never have done what he did without Eve pushing him more and more into becoming what he eventually became, a cocky a!@hole.

Blog Post #2

Throughout history, the debate on morals and 'right vs. wrong' has raged on. From the biblical standpoint, in the story of the Garden of Eden, was Eve the evil? Was it her fault that they got kicked out of the Garden? The topic of morality arises again and again throughout Neil Labute's,“The Shape of Things”, along with not so subtle hints as to its correlation with a biblical story concerning right vs wrong, as the main characters names are Adam and Evelyn.

The easy answer for who was the villain in the play is Evelyn, as she continuously manipulated everyone around her. To begin with, she was introduced as a criminal, trying to vandalize a piece of artwork in the museum, and she proceeded to not respect Adam's wishes and the museum rules and spray painted the statue anyway, after Adam asked her not to. Later, she manipulates and coerces Adam into changing everything about himself. The changes were not all bad, of course, he lost weight and gained confidence. But overall he lost his sense of self as she changed him completely. But did she stop with just manipulating Adam? No, she continued to tear apart Adam's relationships with his closest two friends, Phillip and Jenny. She even managed to blow up Phillip and Jenny's engagement. Through her actions she proved that someone will completely change, and this may have been a success to her, but in reality she also proved the depth of her narcissism, as she destroyed all the happiness and relationships of these three people when she inserted herself into their lives, just to complete her senior project.

On the other side of the spectrum, however, there is Adam. Adam obviously began with a very weak sense of self and was easy prey to Evelyn, but regardless of how one might feel about themselves, there is a general duty to one' self to be their own person, and not to change entirely for another person. Sure, a small change here and there to compromise is okay, but to change entirely is unhealthy and untrue to one's self. Adam went from overweight, biting his nails, long hair, with a couple close friends to losing 25 pounds, healthy nails, 'better' hair and no friends. Yes, most of these changes are in fact good changes but he did it all for Evelyn and thus he was not true to himself. Adam also cheated on Evelyn with his best friends fiancee, Jenny. To violate both his relationship with his best friend and his girlfriend is a very immoral thing to do, and he continued to lie about it until he was proved guilty. Later, Adam cut ties with both Phillip, who was supposed to be his best friend, and Jenny simply because Evelyn told him to. He then asked Evelyn to marry him, which did seem to be motivated out of guilt and not one hundred percent sincere.

I think that between the two, Evelyn was the most immoral because she completely picked apart Adam's life, and for a while built him up, just to tear him down until he was worse off than when he began. This act of really just simple cruelty demonstrates pretty clearly her immorality and narcissism. But wait, there's more! Tearing Adam down wasn't enough for Evelyn, she proceeded to ruin his best friends' engagement, and tore apart the friendship too.

Blog Post 2: Response

From the play “The Shape of Things”, by Neil LaBute, all the characters may have done some bad, or may have done much more. Which character though, is the most immoral and unethical? What actions and motives lead them to hold this status? Is it just the outcome of what happened due to their actions, or is it their intentions as well? Did Evelyn’s lack of good faith in her relationship with Adam cause her to be bad? Or is it Adam, with his uncaring and willingness to be her pawn, only wanting to go toward his desires, make him the unethical one? Could it even be Jenny or Philip, cheating on each other when they are fiancée? All things considered, who is responsible for who, and what is our liability toward?

Evelyn is an answer to whom is the most unethical. She leads Adam on, who genuinely believes that they are in love and in a reliable relationship. Toying with his feeling she makes him do things such as get cosmetic surgery, tattoos, give up his friendship with his closest friends, amongst other things. In the end she breaks the relationship in the cruelest of ways; even after he proposes. Her intention was not pure, her methods of getting what she needed neither. Breaking the relationship by going in front of the entire town and even proclaiming that she is doing so and knows so, by claiming that he's been lead on and used as a tool just for her college thesis.

Another possible claim as to who is unethical is surprisingly Adam. Adam, although lead on and returned in the most horrifying of ways, too had a part in the final result. How he acts before the relationship is unethical. He trusts Evelyn, a stranger who is not to trust due to coming to the museum with the intent of defacing a object in there. He quickly trusts her though, to the point of believing her when she says that he needs to fix his hair. He followed his desires too much as well, being with her because she is good looking, yet doing many things outside of the boundaries of the relationship such as looking at a waitress, or making out with his former crush, Jenny.

Overall, I believe that Evelyn is at hand for being the most unethical and immoral. She was in a dependent relationship with Adam, him being the dependent. She had his full trust and controlled his actions, yet in the end misled him to go astray. Her responsibility fell toward taking care of him according to what she had claimed, yet she did not do so.

Blog Post Two

Ari Weissfeld

In Neil Butte's Shape of Things there are instances revealing flawed moral characteristics of the individuals involved. Two individuals who lack in morals are Adam and Jenny. Jenny influences Adam to participate in cheating even though they both had significant others at the time. Jenny was the lead seducer, also she was in a engaged to her significant. However, Adam was just starting to get serious with Eve. Another individual who lacks the morals is Phillip who participates in hateful speech towards Eve and shares a kiss with her to get back at Jenny. Also, lacking in morals  Eve for violating the Ethic of Justice. She manipulates Adam the entire play as part of her art project losing sight of the individuals personal interests.

Eve's manipulation of Adam with only the success of her art project in mind shows low levels of morals. However, the manipulation of Adam did not result in bad things and the changes improved his appearance. Some will say that Adam does not care for how society looks at him and changing him to go against his beliefs is unethical. Eve did not force him to get any of the changes though  Adam could just have said no if he did not want to change his appearance and conform to please society.

Phillip's interactions with Eve unravels the many moral flaws he has. The first time they interact they get into a heated argument about how she is changing Adam. He calls her a bitch and other obscenities when it does not seem like she is harming Adam. Also, Phillip meets up with Eve while still with Jenny and they kiss. However, this was to get back at Jenny for cheating on him with Adam.

Considering all individuals in the story Adam  is guilty of having the least morals. Eve did make him change to the contrary of his beliefs, but  an argument can be made that Eve changed him for the better. Also, Eve did not force him to do any of the changes and they were all good changes. In addition, Adam while in a serious relationship with Eve cheats on her with Jenny. After committing this sinful act he continually ensures Eve that nothing happened, but merely a kiss. The combination of cheating on Jenny and continually lying about it to Eve makes Adam my pick for having the least morals.

The Artist as a Scapegoat

Gavin Spellmeyer

2/27/17

Hon English 12

Boswell 4

The Artist as a Scapegoat

Over the last century or so there has become a heated and controversial debate between what is considered ‘ethical’ and ‘justice’, and which is considered to be more important. In the play “The Shape of Things” by Neil Labute, this topic arises again and again, as each character seems to cross many different lines. However, defining what is considered crossing a line, and deciding whether or not it was deserving, is open to interpretation by the audience. Personally I believe many lines were crossed throughout the play. Many actions and consequences were deserved, but many were not. We see this most frequently among Adam and Evelyn.

Evelyn did many things in the play that I would consider ‘unethical’. Starting at the beginning of the play, she did not respect Adam’s duty to follow his boss's orders and keep her away from the exhibit, deciding it was okay to cross the velvet rope and go places she wasn’t allowed. After that she then influenced Adam into leaving her alone in the exhibit, with the intention of illegally vandalizing someone's artwork. She continued to cross ethical lines as the play went on by manipulating Adam into doing things he originally would not have wanted to do. She coerced him into many things, including: changing his dressing style (causing him to get rid of his favorite jacket), convincing him to work out and change his physical appearance, getting a nose job because she said it would look better, and changing the way he styled and cut his hair. Not only did she cause Adam to change himself, but she also crossed a line when she decided to kiss Philip in retaliation to what Adam did with Jenny. Even though she wasn’t the one who caused this (Adam did) it’s not right to do it back as a result. Of all of the things she did, the action I consider the worst is how she took advantage of how Adam was blinded by love, and never fully realized what she was doing. She manipulated him into thinking she loved him, and as a result took advantage of his love and influenced him into changing himself, when in reality it was all for an art project. She permanently changed his life all for an art project. Although she never instructed and forced him to do anything, she still took advantage of his weakness, and used it against him.

Despite Evelyn’s numerous unethical actions throughout the play, Adam had many of his own as well. First off while dating Evelyn he cheated on her with Jenny, not only betraying Evelyn but also his best friend Philip. He knew what he did was wrong and continuously lied to Evelyn and Philip about it, further admitting his own guilt and making matters worse. Another issue he had was the changes he made to himself. One of the most important things a person needs to do is to stay true to their values and core beliefs - something he had trouble with. He allowed Evelyn to influence him into changing virtually every aspect of his physical appearance, whether it be his clothing, hairstyle, workout routine, nose, etc, many of which he did not want to do. He did it because to him it was more important to have Evelyn’s heart rather than being happy with himself. The argument could be made that having her love his appearance would in turn make him happy, however deep down that doesn’t have the same effect as being comfortable with your own body. He was blinded from noticing that there wasn't a true connection between them and that she was using him for his own personal gain. It’s important to find out what someone’s true intentions for you are as quickly as possible, so that you can prevent them from using what they know against you. In this case Adam fell victim to Evelyn and he did not maintain his integrity and stay true to himself.

There are arguments to be made that either one of the characters was worse when it comes to following ethics, however between Adam and Evelyn I think the blame eventually falls on Adam. Yes it was terrible what Evelyn did, and yes she took complete advantage of him, however it’s Adam’s own fault for allowing her to do so. At any given time he could have stopped her and said “No I'm not going to do that” but he never did because he had no power in the relationship. He didn't stand up for what made him feel himself, and decided rather to be whatever made Evelyn ‘like’ him more. If he stayed true to his values and beliefs he wouldn't have lost his two best friends and never would have had to deal with Evelyn in the first place. She knew he was an easy target who would do whatever she wanted, and it's Adam’s fault for not recognizing that.

The Artist as a Scapegoat

Throughout time there has always been a code of morals and ethics that people have obeyed throughout time. Whenever some one breaks these morals or code of ethics, people get very upset. Countries base their government on morals and makes laws according to their set or morals and ethics. In the play "The Shape of Things" the four characters in the play break morals and ethics in todays society. They cheat on each other, lie to each other, and manipulates one another to reach their goal. Once character stands out, Eve, she is manipulative throughout the play and continues to destroy long lasting friendships to achieve her goal. Her goal throughout the play was to make shape and sculpt a character named Adam into a piece of art. She transformed him from a man considered ugly by most, to a handsome man that was desirable by all. However, throughout this process Adam continuously became more twisted, his moral compass lost its way. Despite that, was Eve really the worst character or was Adam? Is Eve to blame for Adam's actions?

One possible answer is that Eve is clearly the evil villain of this play. Her actions continue to show her immoral side as she manipulates Adam throughout the entire play. She meets Adam and shows immediate interest in him, they start dating and Adam thinks they are in a committed relationship. Throughout their relationship Eve starts changing small things about Adam. At first, she asks him to change the style of his hair or to wear a specific shirt. Continuing deeper into their relationships her demands become more and more obscene. He starts dieting to lose weight, he buy an entire new wardrobe, and even has a cosmetic surgery to improve his facial features. Adam doesn't notice these small things as much as first, but starts to question Eve the bigger the demands become. Furthermore, every time he questions her demands she convinces him saying "its for the better, do you not like the changes?" She also uses seduction to convince him whenever he starts thinking about what is actually happening. Adams morals deteriorate as his appearance is becoming falser and falser from the real him. He lies to his friends, he cheats on Eve with other girls, but he doesn't realise it because he is simply not himself anymore. Eve states at the end of the play she only did this for the sak of art, and she shows no remorse for what she did. At the end of the day, her actions caused a caring man to become a liar and a cheater, friendships were ruined forever all because of the sake of Eve's art.

Another possible answer is that Adam is the villain of the play as he is responsible of hos own decisions even though he is influenced by others like Eve. As adam changes throughout the stories, his behaviour also changes with his appearance. He starts flirting with more girls as well as becoming increasingly confident in his appearance. His best friend Philip has recently become engaged with his long time girlfriend Jenny. Adam is well aware of this and states several times that he is very happy for them. Regardless, Adam spends some time alone with Jenny and ends up having intercourse with her. When Philip confronts Adam about what really happened when he hung out with his fiancee, Adam lies. Eve eventually finds out what Adam did and meets up with him to talk about it. As they are talking about it Eve states that she will only continue to date Adam only if he stops opening time ties Philip and Jenny. Without barely hesitating Adam gives his long time friends up for his apparent love for Eve.

Finally, after knowing what each of these character did wrong, who is the real villain? In my opinion I think Eve is the the villain because of the consequences her actions caused between the other characters. Her reasoning for doing her "experiment" was to make her greater art project. During the entire relationship she sees Adam as sculpture that she is constantly making aesthetic changes to him. Also, as she is changing his appearance she is also changing his morals. He turns into someone who he is not, he becomes another person in an alien body. Although, we will never know if he changes his morals after Eve tells to him what she really did to him. That could be a defining moment if Adam was worse than Eve. However, using what my fundamental moral beliefs are I think Eve pushed Adam into the person he became and in that way made his choices her choices. According to me is it so wrong to make a person love you and spend an entire year of their life just to find out he was a project. In that sense Eve is the villain of this play, every morally wrong doing can be traced back to her actions or words.

BLOG POST #2: THE ARTIST AS SCAPEGOAT

Review the "Immoral Acts/Vices" list you created while reading the play.  Who is the most lacking in morals?  Why?  Is there some a critically important ethical principal this person violates (review "Ethic of Justice" from earlier handout) or is there some aspect of his/her behavior that is irresponsible (review "Ethic of Caring" from earlier handout).

Confused?  Here's the same question, just another way:  Many people see Eve as the "evil doer" or "villain" in this play.  Is that a fair assessment?  That she tries to influence Adam's choices and behavior is undeniable, but many people try to influence our actions all of the time: our parents, TV commercials, your teachers, etc.  Does that make them evil, too?  Before judging Eve, think about what each of us is ultimately responsible for and think about who each of us is ultimately responsible to.

Remember, all responses should be in 4 paragraph form:
--Paragraph 1: restate the question and give it some context in terms of the events of the play
--Paragraph 2: look at one possible answer
--Paragraph 3: look at a very different possible answer
--Paragraph 4: settle on the best possible answer and explain why it was the best

My art Expirience

        My art experience was back when i was in 5th grade.  On an early Sunday morning, my family drove down to Washington D.C to see a art piece called "the Awakening" which is a giant man made out of metal who has almost all of his body under ground.  The only thing coming out of the ground in his head, two arms, a knee and a foot. I at first thought that the statue was of Jesus but it turns out that its just a giant man.  He is a 72 foot statue of a man who appears to be trying to break free from earth.  When you looks at his face, you can see the fear or anxiety in his face which shows that he is fearing being buried alive.Not only did i enjoy going to see this sculpture because it was so big and well made, but also because i could climb on it.  Its not very often you get to touch an artist piece or work, let alone climb on it.

Response to blog post #1

The first time I listened to Abbey Road by The Beatles I was about 8 years old, and just started to play guitar.  Up until that point I had never really heard any music besides what would be played on the radio in the car, and had a very limited exposure to rock music. My family and I were on vacation on the Chesapeake Bay, and the owners of the house left an Abbey Road CD along with a CD player.

When I played the first song from the album I was taken aback by the melody lines and harmonies, and astounded by the way all the instruments formed together to make a whole.  All of the parts seemed to fit together seamlessly in a way I had never heard before.  I spent the rest of the vacation listening to the album non stop.

After being exposed to The Beatles for the first time, my motivation for playing guitar increased significantly, and I began to see the instrument in a whole different way.  I started improving much faster and it was much easier to find time to work on the skill.

Although I was not aware at the time, Abbey Road is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time, and it was the last one that all 4 of The Beatles worked on together.  They wanted to make something that they would be happy calling their final work.  They took their time writing and recording it, which was not always the case with their earlier albums.

Art Blog

          When I was just a few years old, I was helping my Dad clean out his stuff from a little apartment he was moving out of, and we found some of his old jump medals and awards from his days in the 82nd. There's a strong tradition of military service in my family -- specifically Army. In my family it's sort of expected that you will serve at least a three year enlistment to earn your place and help start the rest of your life. My Dad's airborne wings were a symbol of that belonging and acceptance that I had always been told about, as well as a coming-of-age challenge that I felt was part of my family's legacy, and I dreamed to one day earn my own. 

           The wings are not very fancy or ornate. It is a small metal pin, the center is a parachute, which looks kind of like a diamond, and extending out on both sides are an eagle's feathered wings. To see a picture of one of these badges, feel free to click the link at the bottom of the page.

          The badge symbolized commitment, loyalty, and duty to me. These values were instilled in me from a very young age and continue to be very important to me in everything I do. The badge also felt like it was a representation of my family, as most of them have one, so I've always felt that to truly earn my place in my family I must one day earn my own wings.

          I think that I really connected with this piece of artwork because I don't see much of my family very often, and I have always tried to keep up with them, and earn my place among them. This badge was like a symbol of earning my place, and kind of gave me a physical object to strive for, as opposed to just wanting to one day 'earn my place'. This made the idea more realistic, and has stuck with me ever since. I think whoever designed the wings did a good job of keeping it simple, while still maintaining meaning and value. Although it is just a simple metal pin of a parachute and wings, it is a symbol of much more, and this is captured in the badge itself.


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNyZAvDbB_CBJXSsJz7vj44QHmlFxGAUVrb8UX_2IcufjHsGZDhzynf_IFdbnQ6WGpZ1gRQB02b50h4Hxnd3KA8U_2Ltqxzgah8L2K9xiSKtMYFIeZgjweq-fE_4X4cgUN3dAy2RWXLE/s1600-h/US_Army_Airborne_basic_parachutist_b%5B1%5D.gif

Blog Post

When I lived in Colombia my house was always stuffed with paintings, sculptures and books. I never really paid attention to any of them, I was so used to seeing those images in my daily life that I never paid close attention to them, the only thing I saw were paintings and sculptures of people with overweight. None of these representations caught my interest until September of 2016, two weeks before I moved to the U.S. I was sad about leaving so I started detailing my entire house, thing by thing until I got to this weird art pieces. Not until this moment I was able to appreciate them, I noticed all of them were created by the same artist, Fernando Botero.

From his paintings there was one in particular that caught my attention. It is a painting in black and white, it kind of looks like a sketch. It is like a picture in which the fat man has a suit and a tie on and he's sitting with his leg crossed. Next to him stands a fat woman wearing a long dress and she is between hugging him and leaning on him. In my perception this is a couple that lived around the 1930's and 1950's which belonged to the high class and the way they're dressed show they had a high socio-economic status.

This painting has an impact on me because now that i'm here and I feel alone or away from home I think about that painting. That painting reminds me that I have a home where I can always go back to, that I have a family that has been there for me my entire life and they will always be. It also brings memories of my childhood and brings me very happy memories, and no matter where I am it makes me feel like im home.

The artist Fernando Botero does not paint fat people, he prefers to use the term volumetric. He not only paints humans like this, he also makes the environment surrounding the person this way. He does this because this is the way he sees the world, I connect with this piece because the artist reminds me that everyone can se the world in a different way. It reminds me that I should have my own perception of the world and that the world is as I see it, not as others tell me it is. It brings me memories because of the fact I grew up with that painting always being in my house and it has a sentimental value because it reminds me of my family, and as the woman is lying on the man makes me feel like I can always lean on my family because they will always be there.

On August 25, 2016 I lost my best friend, the most important and closest person I had, my grandfather. He had lost his battle against cancer. I remember that night as if it was yesterday, the unbearable pain I still feel till this very second. Everybody was devastated, our rock had passed away. I tried to be strong and help my mom out, who was drowning in her own tears. I needed to get her on a plane and send her to Honduras to say her final goodbyes to my papa. I remember that nobody was really there for me, except for my boyfriend, I remember sitting on his room's floor crying to him, to calm me down he decided to play Christian music. There was one song in particular that caught my attention, its called " Algo esta Cayendo" (Something Is Falling). That song touched my heart so hard. It made me feel a little better which was crazy.

The lyrics to the song made me feel like everything was going to be okay, that everything happens for a reason, it was helping me understand that my papa wasn't suffering anymore, that he was in a better place. There was a specific phrase where it said " His glory is falling over me, he will heal my wounds, he will help me get up right back on my feet" (Translation in english) That particular phrase told me that I needed to be the best for my grandpa, thats what he wants, that even though he passed away I can still make him proud, hes watching my every move, looking over me and that as time goes by, my wound will slowly heal.

The impact that this song had over me was so big, I didn't want to do anything. I didn't want to go to work, I didn't want to come to school (it had all happened around the time school was about to begin), I didn't want to do anything but lay in bed and cry my eyes out. This song helped me see that, thats not what my grandpa wanted, I needed to get up and go to work, that I still needed to help my mom out, I still had my things to pay. It was my senior year, I needed to go to school, I was so close to graduating, I couldn't mess up, that's not what he wanted for me, Im sure he would've been very disappointed if he saw that was what I was doing with my life.

The person who sings this song, Jose Luis Reyes, made me understand so much. Made me understand that god does everything for a particular purpose. First, that I needed to be happy because my grandpa wasn't suffering anymore, he was an angel! Second, that god doesn't give anybody anything that he thinks they can't handle. At first I felt like I was dying from pain, but I knew I could try to overcome the pain, not completely, but enough to help me go on with my daily life. He used just his lyrics to make me understand everything. One song, one song helped me get back up on my feet, just one song.

Patrick Kirlin

It was the summer of 2013, I was a rising freshman in highschool and my musical knowledge went as far as 90's hip hop to current pop. I didn't have much of an exotic taste in music for my age until my uncle's wedding. He hired a cover band to play various 70's and 80's rock songs. It wasn't really my style but I gave it a shot. I ended up enjoying it way more then I thought I would, but I never thought it would spark my interest until the last song of the night when my uncle, in drunk irishman fashion, grabbed the mic and the band immediately started playing the song "you shook me all night long" by ACDC.  The performance was incredible. Everyone was singing and dancing along and my musical preference would be changed forever.

The song was more than just a good sound, it was an experience. Everyone in my big irish family for one night would be loud, drunk, but most importantly fully united to celebrate the bond of my uncle and his wife. Young as I was I felt that I was looking at this event from a bird’s eye view; I was just taking in the experience because I wanted to remember it forever.

Still today, everytime I hear that song my memory takes me back to that warm summer night. It is almost impossible to not fall into that day dream. This is my favorite part about classic rock as a whole; every one of my favourite songs had a distinct memory that goes with it. “Freebird” by lynard skynard brings my to the 3rd of July in Annapolis a crazy night with three of my life long friends. “American pie” was the song that was playing when I found out my grandfather died and to this day I think about him when I hear that song. To me music is more about the memories that I attach to different songs than the actual sounds produced by the instruments.

The art reaches simply by chance, but when it does it becomes a memory locked in my head forever. My uncle is a huge fan of classic rock so that is how I initially fell in love with the genre.

merica´

As a kid i would spend every summer visiting my family in Washington State. They live in a small town right next to Joint Base Lewis-McCord, in pierce county. Even though they arent originally from WA, they decided to move out there when my uncle was Assigned to McCord AFB. Every day during the summer i would play outside my grandmas house, waiting for my Uncle to get off work. And every day he would pull into the driveway wearing his ABUś, or (Airman Battle Uniform) the classic green and brown camo unis. To me those uniforms were art.  At a young age he explained to me that they stood for something good. Later on when i understood the responsibility of Serviceman, I understood that they also stood for bravery. My uncle is a very polite and good man to begin with, but when he wore that uniform he acted extremely polite. I truly believe that being around so many service members including my uncle, from a young age, molded me into a patriot and made me strive to serve my country. I believe that a warriors uniform is Art.

When I was a kid I didn't really give art a second thought, just something that looked nice and that seemed useless at times but as I grew older I saw it as something more important, bringing things together and being all around us.
This perspective of it came from a friend of mine who was very interested in all forms of art, painting sculptures, music, films... and she introduced me to seeing it in a new light starting by using different mediums of it and slowly working me up to appreciate more classical forms of art.

The Wiggles

I was five years old and was about to go to bed when my Dad came in and told me that on Friday night we were going to go to a wiggles concert at the Verizon center. I could not sleep that night because I was just so filled with excitement. I loved the wiggles and really enjoyed watching them every weekend on TV.

I had obviously heard music before, but I don't think I'd ever seen it performed live which definitely increased my appreciation for art. The rhythm of the songs, but also the costumes of the characters filled me with joy. This experience helped me know what to look for and get a better feeling for what I like when it comes to art that I couldn't see, but could hear.

You can check out their hits here: http://www.thewiggles.com/

Sunday February first was the first time i saw it. I was nine years old. It was one of the nicest thing I have seen at the time. It fascinated me how the person in the painting did what he did. What he did is something that you would not expect a regular human being to be able to do.

It was a man catching a football like I have never seen it before. He had the tip of his toes in bound and he secured the ball and fell to the ground. The thing that made this art for me is the setting. This is because there was 40 seconds left in the whole game and because of this his team won the game.

The artist, Santonio Holmes, does a very good job of perception. The way he wants people to see how he is doing what he is doing. The most important part of this art is the way he was holding on to the football like it was his baby and he couldn't let it go, and he did not let it go even while he was being pushed onto the ground.

This work of art was later said to be the best in its category and that man in the photo won an award for what he did. To this day that work is still remembered and talked about. It has been over eight years and every time I look at it it amazes me how he did what he did in that photo.

If you would like to see this photo link is right here

https://www.google.com/search?q=santonio+holmes+catch+super+bowl&safe=strict&espv=2&biw=1034&bih=847&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjc7-jFpf7RAhXqylQKHYsgAqUQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=af5el7Cad-jxGM:

My Art Experience

Foxglove by Iris Scott

     As I was scrolling through Facebook one evening, I came across a time lapse video of a woman making a finger painting on a large canvas. "That's a FINGER PAINTING?!" I blurted out. "That's so...beautiful." I had to look for more. I craved more finger painting from this wonderful woman. I scrolled down and saw a link that said "Click here to see more work from Iris Scott." I clicked on it, and it brought me to this lovely site of finger paintings, most of them dogs shaking water off of them so their ears flap and spirals of liquid go flying everywhere. "I love this artist," I sang as I scrolled through her other works. Then I came across it. "Foxglove" it was titled. I ordered a print of it that night.

     Imagine a little red fox tucked away in a red-haired woman's arms. They seem to be sleeping while a wave of colorful grass cradles them. Finger painted -- all of it.
     If anything, this art serves a personal function for me. It makes me feel content and protected whenever I look at it, which sometimes helps me cope with strong emotions. 
     The artist, Iris Scott, does a very good job at evoking emotion like this by using different colors, lines, and textures in her paintings. She manages to create different positive feelings with just her fingers, paint, and a canvas. I also love the fact that she creates these masterpieces with her fingers, almost as if the activity she does is juvenile, but her final pieces are so... not.

If you would like to check out more of Iris Scott's work, you can click here.

My Art Experience

During the first and only time I watched the movie Babel, I was sleeping over at my friend's house. He had already seen the movie and recommended it to me before promptly falling asleep within the first ten minutes.  During this time in my life, I was dedicating significant time to college applications and I was worrying a bit about the whole process, but I was doing well in school and I was still able to create and spend free time in ways that were making me enjoy my senior year.  My life was relatively easy and I only had a few major things that I was focusing on.

Babel is a movie based on the main premise that our lives are interconnected.  Things we do in our own lives can easily affect that of others, and this is what this movie is all about.  In short, the movie interlocks 4 very different cultures in a well-crafted, suspenseful story that evokes emotion.  We learn about the lives of 4 very different groups and their complicated relationships to each other, unbeknownst to them.  The story is very complex, and their lives converge tragically at the end.

This movie impacted me because it made me view humanity and the world differently.  Although the ending was sad, it made me feel warm inside when I realized that people all around the world are really not that different.  We all have our own struggles and mistakes, and people in radically different cultures can easily be sharing in these experiences and life events without you ever knowing.

Lastly, the director did an amazing job of weaving all of the stories together and developing the plot at a good pace.  An American couple was vacationing on a tour bus in Morocco when the wife was accidentally shot by the son of a Moroccan farmer, testing the range on his new rifle.  The Director was able to weave in information about the events transpiring in Morocco while he was telling the story about what was happening in America and Japan in the meantime and how they were all connected.  Through news reports on TVs carefully placed in the backgrounds of many of the better shots of the movie, the audience was constantly updated about the events that were transpiring in Morocco, sometimes receiving inaccurate, presumptive news that served to make the story more complex, interesting and suspenseful.  At one point, we were told that the American wife was killed by Moroccan terrorists, but in the end the story didn't exactly pan out this way.  All in all, I believe that this was a meaningful, beautifully-crafted story that affected me by giving me a broader understanding of the world as a whole and the lives of people in it.

Response to Blog 1

During the mid-way point of junior year is when I heard the mix-tape that would change my life. I was in ceramics when a notification hit my phone about a newly released mix-tape. I recognized the name of the artist because I previously listened to one of his successful songs on Sound Cloud. When I opened up Spinrilla, I saw that the name of the mix-tape was "Lil Boat". After viewing the album cover, I decided to give a listen to the up and coming "Lil Yachty".

The music I experienced could only be described as "positivity music". The beat of the music left a smile on my face and made my feel good about myself. The messages in the song might appeal to the youth but overall it has very positive vibes. If rainbows and butterflies flew in every time that mix-tape played, I wouldnt be surprised.

This mixtape did not change me, it was used a coping mechanism since the stress of junior year was catching up to me. It made my junior manageable since it boosted my self esteem. The mixtape also made me turn up when the occasion was right.

 I believe this work of art spoke to me is because Lil Yachty is such a carefree person and his message of just having fun makes life seem much less stressful. I respect this work of art because the effort put in is very apparent and he made this mix tape free in order to spread his "positivity music".

   In 2011 I was surfing through the internet looking for new music when I stumbled upon the mixtape "Acid Rap". It instantly grabbed my attention, but not in a good way. I thought it was terrible and could barley make it past the first song. Everything about this mixtape was so different from any other rap music I had heard and I just disregarded it without actually listening to it. After about a month without thinking about or listening to Acid Rap I was visiting my friends in Houston and they were listening to it none stop. This time I actually listened to it and I was amazed.
   Chance's approach to his music was unlike anything I had heard from the rap genre. Rather than reciting verses about money, girls, drugs and the other things almost all rappers talk about, Chance raps with incredible honesty about his life, family, community and the problems that surround him like on the track Paranoia. On this song he paints a picture of himself as someone with his blunt on his lips the sun on his eyes and his gun on his hip. At this point in the mixtape Chance comes off as someone very druggy and very violent but then looks back to ask the question why the media isn't covering the extreme gang violence thats going on in his home town of Chicago with lyrics like "Where Matt Lauer at? someone get Katy Couric in here" followed by more honesty throwing bars out like "down here It's easier to find a gun than it is to find a f******  parking spot" or "Put visine inside my eyes so my grandma will f****** hug me" and the music that accompanies his lyrics is not just a catchy tune with a crank baseline. The music is pianos, guitars, organs, trumpets and more .
    This mixtape changed the way I listen to rap music. It made me actually listen to the meat of the music. What their actually saying. It also was able to put an interest in creating music in me.
  What made this work of art really grab me was Chance's honesty. The story he tells. I had never been able to listen to a mixtape or album like this and helped me to not just like rap music but actually respect it.

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As I was in the Secret Santa in my family this Christmas, I had to buy my little cousin something and quickly too as there was only 3 weeks left. But I didn't want to buy her something, I wanted to make her it. I searched for a way to make her present custom and unique, fitting in her personality and desires after learning that she liked galaxies. Turned out that there was a canvas art called Crayon Galaxy from a DIY video on YouTube.

Textured, realistic, beautiful, and creative all described Crayon Galaxy. It usesd colors such as the beautiful purples and pinks and blues seen in crayon boxes to make it look like an actual galaxy. Textures from leftover crayon make it seem more than a flat canvas, enabling it to reach out to the viewer. Melted white crayon imitate stars and other heavenly bodies, furthering the reader into realizing that this galaxy is real.

I grew spiritually because of it. It inspired me to do something foreign in my art routine through it being amazingly captivating and well done. I generally stick to drawing or digital art, and have never worked with a canvas. It made me realize that good art may come from different medias, therefore spiritually enlightening me to know more about one of my favorite things, art.

It was able to reach me by being able to pull off the task of creating something as breathtaking as a galaxy with something people normally don't associate this type of realistic art with. The innovated thought that went behind it makes something as childish or redone look amazing. It refreshens crayon art into an artwork that isn't just meant for a child, but for everyone. This is due to its appeal in esthetics and evocative way of portraying a galaxy.

My first art experience

Ari Weissfeld

Art Experience

The experience occurred when I was visiting D.C. in the summer going into 7th grade. My parents dragged me to the Newseum to provide entertainment for the day. Surprisingly, I was enamored with the monumental history on display. Parts of the Berlin Wall, 9/11 artifacts, and space memorabilia fascinated me. However, the photography room was the most impact full. Hundreds of photographs engulfed me from every angle. The combination of the photos and the display showed me how meaningful art can be. While examining the photos one stood out and really impacted me. A photo of a malnourished African baby with a vulture waiting for the baby to die. The photograph represented a tragic piece of art that moved me that no other piece of art has. 

Photograph of New York

New York Skyline of Wall Street

Over the last few years I have begun to really appreciate photography -- especially urban photography -- so one day I decided I needed a print to hang on my wall. I’ve travelled to many different cities, but my favorites include New York, Chicago and Boston, so I went searching to find a print I liked from one of those locations. After some time, I came across a fantastic 32x24 inch print of New York overlooking Wall Street from a bird's eye view, and decided to buy it. Whenever I do homework I scan the photograph up and down, as it hangs over my desk, studying and noticing new details about it every time.

The beauty of the photograph, taken by an aerial photographer named Cameron Davidson, is within the details it's composed of. There is a stark contrast between the cold, dark blue buildings towering over one-another, and the bright orange streetlights illuminating the streets at the base surrounding them. This framework is a symphony of orange and blue intertwined to create an alluring mosaic. There’s an array of blue-shaded buildings with many variations between square, oval, and pointed structures, all unique in their own way. No pattern between short and tall, round or square, stone or steel, just one large architectural gathering.

To me the photograph serves the personal function of allowing my imagination to run wild. There are so many different aspects and details within a concentrated area that I can study it forever without getting bored. It’s easy to get lost in the buildings, streetlights, pedestrians, corners, cars, windows, etc and it forces you to imagine what was going on at that exact moment in everyone’s lives. What were they doing? What were they thinking? What were they saying? Who were they with? How were they feeling?  Someone, somewhere, hidden behind the buildings and windows, could be having the best day of their life; or their worst; and yet we have no idea about it. It forces us to question the infinite possibilities and situations they could be in, testing our imagination, and allowing us to place ourselves in their shoes.

This photograph speaks to me not only because of its visual appeal, but of the way it compels me to think and utilize my imagination. It offers a new perspective every time I see it. I can imagine a new situation, environment, person’s life, and event each time, envision the thousands of interactions occurring simultaneously. When I’m sitting doing my homework, I am reminded of how much there is to this world and how small each individual's life is in comparison to the whole. There are so many different aspects and perspectives to this world, and the beauty of this photograph is in the way it highlights and brings forth these perspectives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bbtg3ue0kI

I was at my friend's house right after we left the inauguration protest. We were all just sitting talking about what we had just witnessed, some of us were crying and then I stumbled across a video on my Facebook feed. It was donald trump, his sickly voice booming over images of police brutality and violence against black people during their fight for civil rights in the 60s.

This video was showing how we have in fact NOT gone forward socially, but backwards. The same racist words and cheers came out of his mouth just like in the 60s. The images were terrifying and REAL. Black people being terrorized and pushed and degraded at a Trump rally and then the same thing in the streets of their cities in the 60s.

This video served as personal, social, and educational function. It made me cry, it led me to mourn. I had just walked down the streets on DC, trumps voice booming in my ears "you will never be ignore again". The lies he spat tore me apart, so it impacted me quite a bit.

This particular art work reached me because the artist did a very good job of conveying emotion. It was impossible not to feel something while watching it.