Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Reflection Paper
I also learn to put more into my essay papers. When writing you need to make sure that you know what you are writing about, it has to be on topic, has to make sense, and is creative. I learned this with The Stranger essay. In order for me to write about Albert Camus's story i had to understand what it truly was about. A man who has already shaped his identity is conflicted by those who want to shape it for him. It was on topic. the identity of another human being. and most importantly to me, it made sense. Every human being is conflicted with an identity crisis but there are those who's identity is fixed and no body understands them. those who don't are classified as the weak.
Notebook Entry
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Stranger Essay
Throughout the story of The Stranger, Mersault has been hit with choices that to him, amount to nothing. On page 41, Mersaults’s boss wanted his opinion on opening an office in Paris, an idea for the company and wondered if he would be interested in moving there. Mersault replied that living in Paris and staying where he currently was was all the same to him. On page 41, Marie, the woman he is dating, asks him to marry her, Mersault replies that it wouldn’t make any difference to him. Two completely different things are the same to him which was an indication that they mean nothing or have no important to him. Hearing that from a person might make someone think that they are depressed, but Mersault wasn’t even unhappy about his response. It meant nothing to him.
The question that many people ask about the character of Mersault is why he is the way he is. That question is the theme of the story and the belief that the author had when he wrote the book. Albert Camus, who was an Existentialist, made his character, Mersault, the personification of the belief. Existentialism is the belief that life has no meaning only the meaning you give it. You must develop yourself into making one. A paradox in the form of ideas, which can not be proven unless the one, who comes up with the idea, takes a drastic “leap of faith”. This leap will define your meaning only to you as your ideas are absurd in the eyes of a common person.
Maybe the reader is not suppose to understand Mersault because we don’t share his belief or truly understand what existentialism is. Maybe the reader is supposed to view him as “absurd” and confusing because existentialism isn’t what we follow.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Lee Waisler: What He Does
Art has been passed down since cavemen paintings. Although not as fancy or well drawn like today’s modern paintings, it just goes to show that no matter what day of age, art will always have an impact on people. It has evolved, it has matured and still to this day do people come to realize it’s significant. Lee Waisler is one of those artists. Born in 1938, Lee Waisler was born in a small Jewish family in LA.
One of his famous is Under the Mushroom, a warning of nuclear warfare (Stuttaford). But Lee doesn't paint to create, he paints to know himself and to find out who he is (Grim). Isn't that what being an artist is all about?
Why is Lee Wialser important? He is part of something that we all enjoy. Art is a form of entertainment. Like music, it is there to give us a satisfactory felling when we need it the most. Sure, art isn’t your type of entertainment, but it still serves a purpose for people to express themselves as they see fit. And what makes Lee's paintings so entertaining is that they give you a sense of purpose. Because we see them daily we judge people. Lee gives you facial portraits of famous people you can identify and by just looking at them you will get to see how they look. What they look like. What makes this picture so different from their others? Why they look the way they look. By acknowledging the painting you are acknowledging the artist. But the way how he draws the pictures make you wonder if the person that the painting is based of is looking at you. Through the eyes of the subject, you are the one being viewed, and that what makes Waisler’s painting so important. Because the people that he draws are mostly dead, he creates his own form of understanding of what goes on through their minds. A simple subject that has every meaning in it. Art doesn’t always need to be abstract or extremely well drawn to the point that it seems that the artist is trying to prove something; a simple portrait is all that is needed and that is what entertainment is about. It is only fair to say to no matter the subject of style it is painted, Lee Wialser’s importance to the art world has already be giving prove as the artist is know to have art creations shown all over the word. From Tagore’s art gallery in New York to his other art gallery in India, as well as his invitation to join Indian Prime Minister I.K. Gujrai at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi (Tagore), Lee’s influence and impact on the art world won’t seem to be going any where any time soon.
Just like Miles David, a blues musician. While Lee’s profession was art, Miles was music. Both of them have made hug impacts into the entertainment industry by expressing themselves by doing what they do best. The red background gives you a feeling that you’re in 1920’s
This painting is called The Witness. It stands at 60x36 in inches. Lee Waisler created this piece in 2003. What do you see? An old man who has too much time on his hands? A man filled with grief? Or is it someone who just happened to be looking at your direction. This painting is a perfect example of what Waisler does best. He does his best to capture the facial expressions of what he his painting. The gray of his hair to indicate the time he has spent on earth. The length of it. Why is his beard so long? Maybe he doesn’t care to cut it. His eyes. Do they look like eyes of dread or just plain old man eyes staring at the distinct waiting for something? The face is mysterious and only a selected few can read it. It is as hard to explain as the human being wearing it. As a viewer you would look at the picture and ask your self what does it mean? That isn't what Waisler wants. To enjoy the simplicity of the portrait is all that is needed. The history behind the painting is what is important. As it was stated before, this painting shows off the style that Lee uses when painting: Facial expresses, so that the viewer can see “eye to eye” (
He usually draws 20th century celebrities such as Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, and Gandhi (
Lee Wiasler was introduced to eastern culture and Hindu-Buddhist belief by his neighbor Beatrice Wood while living near
But if there were any real life figures that Lee must have had a respective acknowledgment to draw were Sigmund Freud and the Dali Lama. The father of the theory of ID, Ego, and the Super Ego, Sigmund Freud made it so that every psychologist can label a persons mind how they see fit. But it was a breakthrough in science as the human mind was the biggest challenge, and still is, to crack. Everybody wants to know what is on someone’s mind. Couples want to know what their lovers are thinking, judges, what the hell the criminal was thinking, and competitor on an online match, how sad their opponent must feel after that head shot. But the power to read minds is best left to comic book characters. The fact is know one can know what is on another persons mind, but you can learn how they think and Freud established that with his work.
In his portrait, it shows two Sigmund facing each other. His left side represents his physical side as the color indicates. The right side represents his mind as shown with the grey color. Or maybe it is the other way are around with the mind being a colorful creator and the human being this grey, seemingly depressed and distorted being that causes to be in question. As the creator of id, ego and super ego, he must have been fluent in the study of the human mind. But with the picture that Lee has drawn, it looks as if he has one final project to complete: himself. What animal is so subjected into itself that it fails to see its true potential?
Speaking of scientist his Albert Einstein portraits also need to be mentioned as well, because its’ Einstein. The most famous scientist of all time, mostly heard to insult a friend or another person for their genius mistakes. But even Einstein had his own problems (its true just look it up). In this portrait of Einstein, it would appear to be alittle abstracted, that is because it is. But when the thought comes to mind, so was Einstein as shown with his hair being tangled and unorganized, even in life, his uncombed hair was what made his character. His theories changed what people know about physics today. His mind was his best friend and he used it well.
As for the Dali Lama (http://www.dalailama.com/biography/a-brief-biography), a peaceful man who is believed to be the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. His real name is Tenzin Gyasto and his image comforts those who don’t see any way a resolve, as well as his teaching of peaceful solutions. This is another political activist from
From the start of his career to where he is currently, there would appear to be a theme in what he draws. Even the materials he draws with which to him have a symbolic meaning to themselves (Hulme, Emily. “Art world going in circles.” AM
College Essay
My name is Derrick Anthony Hines. I’m an African-American Male and I’m 18 years old. I lived in
My old man was dexterous and I wish to be like that as well. I liked to open up any mechanical object I could find and open it to see what the inside looks like. I once fixed my broken GBA. The right d-pad wouldn’t work because of over usage. I didn’t know that at first, so I was very upset that it wasn’t working properly. So, eager to see what the inside looked like (also to play more games) I opened it and fixed what I can. It works perfectly. I want to know that my future will have me working on the things I love and I love the machine. The complexity of it is mysterious. It is like a demigod: all powerful, but can die. It always needs to be improved or upgraded and I want to acquire the knowledge that is needed to repair them. I want to know how they all function and what corrections need to be made.
I see myself as an open minded thinker. I am intrigued by topics with deep meanings. They are like puzzles to me, waiting for someone to see the big picture it desperately wants people to see. They are life long lessons that shouldn’t be taken lightly. They are to help me on becoming wiser in the long run. That’s what I am. A person who needs a logical explanation to why events happen. But there is a fear that I have, that my knowledge will be my down fall. Is it good to know everything? Is it good to know how problems start? If you prevent the cause, what’s to stop the effect from being the problem itself? Most people would say “you don’t know, so move on.” Your biggest enemy is your mind. I won’t lie, me and my mind had a few rounds ourselves, but it’s a sign that I think, and because I think, I’m able to reason, and if you’re able to make reason, you’re in control. To convince your mind that you are in control of it is a step into being an open-minded individual. Also those who are open-minded do have a tendency to talk to themselves. I have no shame of it, because truthfully, it helps me when I need to make a decision. I’ve been mentally preparing myself for when I become an adult. I don’t want to make stupid mistakes, so learn as much as I can right now. I still got a lot to learn and I’m ready for what’s to be taught.