Dimensions

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

Kinetic art is the type of art that refers to art involving movement. By movement, I mean pieces of that the work that can move. These pieces typically run on a motor but they can also move by wind power or by its viewer. The viewer can touch the part of the sculpture that moves and allow for a set of a chain reaction of events to occur that allow for the movement of the remaining parts sculpture.

This type of artwork came to be around during the late nineteenth century when Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Edouard Manet started to experiment with this type of work. Many people came to be interested in this type of work because, like me, they found it to be interesting.

One particular artist is David C. Roy. He is a kinetic sculptor that has designed over 150 unique sculptures. His work is largely known across the United States and is very popular among the sculpting community for his work. He has been featured in “The New York Times’ and Discover magazine, among many others.

For this project, I have chosen to talk about Roy’s sculpture “Dimensions.” This sculpture was made in 2015 by Roy. He used a spring to make this sculpture. The sculpture itself is a flowerlike piece whose petals change in size and shape as the spring works, drawing the viewer’s attention to the center of the sculpture.

What is the artist communicating and how?

Roy isn’t necessarily trying to communicate anything through his piece; he has made it more for the enjoyment of himself and the viewers of the piece. There really is no clear message as to why someone, in general, would make a kinetic sculpture either. Though it is possible to convey a message through these types of work, it may be a bit hard. Artists primarily make these pieces just to make them and to put them in exhibits. Seasoned critics may be able to find some type of subliminal meaning behind these sculptures but it may not have been the artist’s intention.

Why do you find it beautiful?

I have always admired kinetic sculptures. To be honest, the I first came across this was actually sometime during middle school or elementary school. I was watching an episode of “Arthur” and one of the characters had heard about this art show where they were showing kinetic sculptures. She attended the art show and fell in love with these sculptures. She became interested in them and decided to create some of her own which she later exhibited at her home.

From this episode, I have always liked this type of sculpture. Other sculptures I have seen are boring and stationary, but these kinetic sculptures are really unique. I liked the fact that things were changing and that the sculpture wasn’t wasn’t boring. I never understood how people are able to look at sculptures for such a long time and try to find the meaning beneath them. I just liked to look at it for a few seconds and move on to the next. Kinetic sculptures, however, held my interest for more than a few seconds. I  also liked to see the patterns in the sculptures when something would stop and something new would start. For example, after doing a certain thing for a while, the sculpture would loop back again and restart its cycle. Though it does become quite repetitive after quite some time, it is interesting at first to see what the sculpture will do.

I really wish I would be able to see one of these sculptures or other kinetic sculptures in action. From videos and pictures I have seen of them, they are very entrancing. It would be quite an experience to be able to actually see one move right before my eyes.

"The Kite Runner"

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

The Kite Runner is the first novel to be written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel was published in 2003. The novel is set in the mid-1900’s in Kabul, Afghanistan. Like his following works, Hosseini focuses on telling the stories of Afghan - Americans over a large course of time, typically at pivotal points in Afghan history.

This particular novel follows Amir, a young Pashtun boy from a wealthy district in Kabul. He is friends with Hassan, a Hazara that is the son of Ali, Amir’s father’s servant. The novel begins with the two boys flying kites in Kabul. Amir flies the kite while Hassan runs the kite’s thread for him. When Hassan isn’t doing that, he is expertly chasing down kites that have fallen down from the sky after kite flying tournaments.

On one particular occasion, Amir and Hassan were in a local kite-flying tournament. The tournament was coming to a close with just Amir’s kite and another kite only in the air. With a sudden twitch of his hand, Amir’s kite sends his opponent’s kite down in a spiral. As was the tradition with kite flying tournaments, the runner of the kite would try to find the kite and bring it back to the kite flier. In all other times, Hassan has done this expertly and comes back to Amir with his opponent’s kite. This time was different. Amir noticed that Hassan was taking to long so he went out to find him. Amir ended up finding him in an alley being raped by Assef, a local bully who made fun of the Hazara children. Amir could have stayed and tried to help his friend, but, instead he ran back home. The rest of this part of the novel tells of how the friendship between Amir and Hassan dissolves and eventually comes to the point that Hassan and Ali both leave the residence.

Part two and three of the novel tells of how Amir learns that Hassan was his brother but has now passed away. This and that fact that Hassan saw Amir the day that he was raped is revealed to him through a letter after he returns to Kabul after living in America for a very long time. Upon returning, he learns that Hassan has a son that needs to be taken care of. The remained of the novel tells of what Amir does to get custody of his nephew and to bring him back home with him to the United States.

What is the artist communicating and how?

The novel was written to show the relationships that exist between parents and their children. Amir never knew that Hassan was his brother until it was very late. This was also due to the fact that Amir’s father did not tell him that Hassan was his brother. Amir’s father treated both boys equally, loving them both unconditionally. This was shown when before a kite flying tournament Amir’s father took him and Hassan to buy new kites. Hassan was quiet and easily please and settled on a modest kite. Amir, on the other hand, chose an extravagant kite to buy. Amir’s father saw this and instead bought both boys the kite that Amir had picked out, proving that though Hassan does not know that he and Amir share the same father, they will both be loved in the same way.

Why do you find it beautiful?

This book is definitely one of my favorite books. As of now, I have read both his first and second novel and am in the middle of reading his third. However, from what I have read so far, I am not enjoying it that much. Both his first and second novel were far more interesting and held my attention more. This may be because both the first and second novel were told in third person. The third novel is also told in third person, however, it switches between characters. Normally, I like these types of books because I like to know what the other characters are also thinking, but his third novel does a poor job of stating whose point of view the chapter will be from.

I love the story that is being told in The Kite Runner. The story is unique and interesting and captures and holds the reader’s attention. When I first read the book, I read it in the course of one sitting because I was so intrigued by the events that were unfolding in the novel and I couldn’t bear to put the book down. I loved each and every second of it. I just recently reread the novel for this project and I still had the same reaction to it. Moved and in awe. Hosseini does an incredible job to make the readers feel as if they personally know the characters with the way he tells their stories. Each bit of information draws the reader more and more into the novel and they can’t help but be interested in the deliberate and unique writing style of Hosseini.

Lotus Temple

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

The Lotus Temple is one of the seven Houses of Worship for people of the Baha'i faith located in New Delhi, India. The temple sits on a plot of land of 26 acres in the village of Bahapur. This plot of land was bought by Ardishir Rustampur; he gave all of his life savings to the purpose of building this in 1953.

Fariborz Sabha was the architect of the Lotus Temple. He was approached in 1976 to design the temple. After designing it, he was also in charge of overseeing the construction of it.  The structural design of the temple was made by the United Kingdom firm Flint and Neill.

The temple was completed in November of 1986 but it wasn’t opened until Christmas Ever. Upon seeing the temple and its grounds, many people were awestruck by its beauty. The temple was so beautiful as both a religious site and as a tourist site, that it as won many awards. Some say that it is one of the most visited buildings in the world.

What is the artist communicating and how?

In the Baha'i faith, the number nine is viewed as a very special symbol. For this reason, the Lotus Temple has a great deal of references to this particular number that can be seen throughout the temple itself and its grounds.

All Houses of Worship share a large deal of similarities with one another because they try to adhere to the stipulations set forth by the son of the founder of the religion. He said that all Houses of Worship should have a nine - sided circular shape, which the Lotus Temple does have. Most Houses of Worship also have domes as a part of their structure but since this is not required, the Lotus Temple does not have it.

The temple itself is made up of white marble from the Penteli mountain range in Greece. This is significant because this is the same material that was used to build other Baha'i Houses of Worship.  

The temple is in the form of a lotus with nine sides. Each of the sides of the temple is made up of three 35 - 40 metre tall marble flower petals. From each of the sides of the temple, there are nine entranceways that lead worshippers and visitors alike to a central hall with the capability of seating over 2,500 people. Surrounding the temple are nine ponds, each on a side of the temple.

Fariborz Sahba was the architect for the temple. He is an Iranian who presently resides in Canada. Whether or not he is a member of the Baha'i faith, however, is unclear. He was able to combine important aspects of the faith to create a work of art.

Why do you find it beautiful?

I saw this temple in July of 2013 while my family and I were driving back home after seeing the Taj Mahal. After seeing the beauty of the Taj Mahal, I admit that I wasn’t entirely interested in the Lotus Temple. My mother, however, loved the fact that the temple was in the shape of a lotus flower and got out of the van to take a picture in front of it. After she got back into the car, we drove back home and I didn’t even turn back to look at the temple fading in the distance.

It wasn’t until we got back to America that I became more interested in this unique temple. I tried to find the name of the temple online and it wasn’t that hard because this was the only temple that looked like this. After seeing many photos of it online, I did come to appreciate its beauty, a little late, however.

I loved the clean and simple structure of the temple. Much like the Taj Mahal, the white marble that was used in the construction of the temple added to this and made it stand out even more to me. I appreciated the simplicity of it and its beauty. The temple itself is very large with a height over 40 metres tall and a diameter of 70 metres and demanded the attention of its viewers.

I really regret not getting out of the car to take a picture in front of the temple or go and see the actual temple and its grounds in all its beauty.

The Persistence of Memory

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

Surrealism is “a 20th – century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images.” Many famous surrealist artists include Frida Kahlo, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dali among many others. In their work, they manage to combine a variety seemingly different images into one cohesive piece. For this reason, the works of these artists are widely renowned.

For this project, I have decided to focus on Salvador Dali. Dali was a Spanish surrealist artist from Catalonia, Spain. By profession, Dali was a draftsman but he also dabbled in sculpting, filmmaking, and photography. However, he was most known for his surrealist paintings. These paintings, critics believe, were influenced by Renaissance artists. Of all his paintings, the most famous was “The Persistence of Memory” that was completed in August of 1931.

Though the painting is well known, many critics are still confused as to what the painting is representing. Many critics believe that the painting was inspired by Albert Einstein’s  Special Theory of Relativity. This theory states that space and time are interwoven into what is known as the space-time continuum. Meaning that the events that occur for one person at a given time could occur at different times for another person. However, after an interview, this idea was disproved. Dali said that the inspiration for “The Persistence of Memory’ was actually inspired by a block of Camembert cheese melting in the sun. Dali likened the watches melting to what he saw happening to the Camembert cheese when it was under the sun.

What is the artist communicating and how?

Dali was able to show a lot of themes and symbolism though his a painting. One of the themes was the relativity of time and space. The melting of these watches shows that time is not forever and it can easily be destroyed or damaged. Nothing in our world is as it seems to be and can easily be changing according to our surroundings and environment.

Another one of the themes is of conscious versus unconscious. This theme is about what we think while we are awake versus what we think about while we dream and how these two things are actually entirely different. Even if what we dream about is different from what we think about while we are awake, these two things can influence one another. For example, we can dream about things that we want to happen. Dali represents this by having the center of the painting be a “thing” with its eye closed to that it is dreaming.

Many of the symbols seen in this painting can be seen in many of his other works also. An example of this would be the “thing” in the center of the painting. This “thing” has a melting watch on top of it and seems to have its eye closed with long eyelashes extending from it. Dali often used this “thing” in his other pieces as a representation of himself. The viewer of the painting is not really able to figure out what kind of person or creature the “thing” actually is and it seems like something a dream would create. It also has its eye closed to show that is is in a dream like state.

The second and third symbols are not as large or as prominent as the first symbol but they are the ones that are recurring in his artwork. The ants that are seen on the orange watch on the left side of the painting are used in Dali’s other paintings to symbolize death. The landscape seen in the background of the painting represents a peninsula in north eastern Catalonia where Dali is from.

Why do you find it beautiful?

I first saw this painting sometime during middle school and I remember how much I liked the painting. In comparison to the other paintings I have seen, this one seemed the most interesting to me. It was different from other types of paintings and held my attention for more than a few seconds.

I liked this painting because it has a lot of quirks. Dali put many ties to himself and how he felt in the painting. For example, the background of the painting showed where he grew up and the center of the painting featured a “thing” that he believed to be himself. I also liked this painting because it has a lot of layers. Dali uses a variety of symbols and ideas to get his message across about his painting.

The painting and this entire art movement has always fascinated me. I find it to be more interesting and beautiful than all other types of art and I love to discover works of other surrealist artists.

Warehouse 13

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

Warehouse 13 is a science fiction television series that follows two U.S. Secret Service Agents as they are transferred to a secret warehouse in South Dakota after saving the President’s life. After coming to the warehouse, they meet the man in charge who tells them that the warehouse stores thousands of artifacts that have some type of supernatural powers.

As the storyline progresses, viewers learn that the warehouse they are in is actually the thirteenth version of it and that there have been previous ones. There have been a dozen incarnations of the warehouse before the present - day version. For example, the first warehouse existed during the time of the Alexander the Great as a place to keep artifacts that were obtained from the war. After the death of Alexander, the warehouse was moved to Egypt. It was moved to Egypt because at that time, Egypt was the most powerful empire and it was believed that the artifacts would be best protected by the most powerful empire. As years went on, the warehouse was moved from country to country, always being under the rule of the most powerful empire of the time. However, in the thirteenth incarnation of the warehouse, it is actually in a deserted plot of land in the middle of South Dakota. The most powerful “empire” of our time would be under the rule of the President of the United States of America and the warehouse should actually be in Washington, D.C. Many people agreed that that would be too dangerous of a place to keep these artifacts and decided to move the warehouse to where it currently is.

During the time of the second warehouse, a special group of people, agents, were appointed to be overseers of the artifacts and to collect them and store them in the warehouse so as to protect the rest of the society from them. These artifacts typically belonged to famous people, real or mythological, over history and were usually “cursed” with some type of characteristic from the user of the artifact. For example, Marilyn Monroe’s hairbrush turned the user’s hair a platinum blonde color. Agents would have to find these artifacts and neutralize their powers and bring them to the warehouse.

What is the artist communicating and how?

Through the series, the writers of the show are trying to broaden the viewer's knowledge of history. The writers thought that it would be interesting to combine real people and their works with science fiction to make this an interesting television series while also teaching the viewers a bit about history.

Each episode focuses on a single famous person from history and their work. Usually, an unknowing civilian comes across this artifact and starts to behave in such a way that it attracts the attention of the agents and they must come and neutralize the artifact and return it to the warehouse.

On the series premiere of the show, it was the most watched cable show on American television that night. The show boasted a 3.5 million viewers on its first night and was also SyFy network’s third best premiere ever. The show became to be quite popular and many of the show’s characters would travel to various parts of Syfy’s shared fictional universe, meaning that they would visit other Syfy shows and interact with the characters in other shows such as Eureka and Alphas.

Why do you find it beautiful?

I am usually very picky when it comes to watching television shows and that fact that I accidentally stumbled upon this show while browsing through Netflix was great. I find this show to be beautiful because I love how it is able to combine historical information with science fiction. I have always enjoyed science fiction novels and television shows, and this one has to be by far my favorite show. It provided me and other viewers with an interesting viewing experience while also providing us with historical information. On Netflix, when I first started to watch the series, only the first season was available. I have since tried to find a place where I can watch all 5 seasons, but I still have not been able to find a place.

I highly recommend for others to watch this show because it is not only informational but it is highly entertaining. Each of the characters have their own personal quirks and backstories that develop as the series progresses and it makes it much more interesting to follow along. I really wish that I could be able to see the rest of the series but I hope to find it somewhere online and hope to finish the series over summer.

"Flawless" by MercyMe

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

The song “Flawless” was written by a contemporary Christian band founded in Greenville, Texas in 1994. MercyMe first gained recognition with their song “I Can Only Imagine”. Since then, the group has released six studio albums (four of which have been certified gold), seven songs reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Songs Chart, eight Dove awards, and numerous Grammy award nominations.

The band, being that it is a Christian band, takes much of their inspiration from the Bible, God and Jesus, and other biblical characters. The song “Flawless”, in this case, is inspired by Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.

On April 8th, 2014, MercyMe released their eighth studio album, Welcome to the New. With the release of this album also came the release of their song “Flawless”. The song begins with that there has to be more to life than what is occurring right now; there has to be a deeper meaning as to why we were put onto this planet. The band, through its lyrics, then takes the listener on a journey saying that he will introduce them to “amazing grace”, By this statement, he means the grace of God and all His glory.

The band then reveals that God sent us His only son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins. Through His death on the cross, Jesus Christ has made us flawless. Disregarding all of our bumps, bruises, and scars, the death of Christ has made us flawless.

What is the artist communicating and how?

The song “Flawless” was written to emphasize how each and everyone of us, created in the image and likeness of God, are flawless. In an interview with the lead singer of MercyMe, Bart Millard, talks about how in his own life he was curious as to whether or not there was more to the life he was living. Millard thought that there had to be more than just living by the rules, following your religion, and being good. He then continues to say that no matter what you are going through in your life or what you have already suffered and endured, the cross has made you flawless. They key point of this interview, in my opinion, was when Millard said our enemies will try to bring us down because they know that we are flawless. He goes on to say that they will try to convince us that we are anything but flawless.

Through this song, the artist is trying to display the themes of perfection and redemption. The theme of perfection can be seen throughout the entirety of the song; the entire song talks about regardless of all our scars, bumps, bruises, and everything else that we have gone through, we are still seen as perfect and flawless through the eyes of God. We, however, see ourselves as anything but. We, who were created in his image and likeness, cannot imagine ourselves as being as perfect as God is. However, if He says that we are perfect, we must be after all. The theme of redemption can be seen in the chorus of the song when the artist says “the cross has made you flawless”. Through these lines, the artists is trying to share how our sins were “erased” because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. After his death, we are pure, in a sense. This song is written to show that though we are doubtful of our beauty and perfection, we are flawless.

Why do you find it beautiful?

I find this song to be extremely beautiful because of the emotions that I felt when I first heard this song. I was going through bit of a rough patch in my life and on this particular day, I was already upset and in a bad mood. I was driving home, really irritated with myself and the outcomes of certain situations at hand and was wondering if this was all life was really about, all these obstacles and struggles. However, upon hearing this song playing in my car, I felt my entire attitude shift into a more positive direction and outlook. I honestly felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and I just felt all in all more positive about certain situations at hand.

Though I consider myself not to have the strongest faith, this Christian Rock song somehow touched me. I feel like it could have been any genre of music but it was the lyrics that really just said what I needed to hear at that point. From hearing the lead singer’s voice, I even came to believe that even through all my imperfections and scars, I was somehow flawless. As a result, this song quickly became to be one of my favorite songs and is played on repeat whenever I am going through a rough patch.