Movie Posters...

Drawing the human body...

During the viewing on wednesday I couldn't help but notice the strange similarities between some works of art by Michelangelo and several other artists in comparison to the current phenomenon of bodybuilders. I know this may seem like a stretch, but in our discussion about the unrealistic and "ideal" body figures and shapes that we saw in a lot of earlier drawings and sketches remind me of the seemingly impossible bodies of professional bodybuilders. The way that muscles seem to burst out, and how you see forms that you didn't know even existed are almost identical. Bodybuilders consider what they do as art, and however crazy it seems, its true. They are shaping their bodies in a way that could be considered ideal, just as Michelangelo designed and sketched hundreds of years ago. Here are some pictures to help you see what I am referring to. :) 

text/image hunt

"The hawk is aerial brother of the wave which he sails over and surveys, those his perfect air inflated wings answering to the elemental unfledged pinions of the sea." 

Walden   

by Henry David Thoreau

page 131

This image was chosen because it is a literal representation of this sentence. There is a hawk flying over the waves, and surveying the elemental power that is the water. 

This second image is describing another meaning through context. This is the USS Kitty Hawk that is part of the US Military, the small planes are represented as the hawk who is surveying the powerful or "elemental unfledged pinions of the sea". The military/ship is the driving force (pinions) in this image and the sea is representational of our country and safety. The image put with the sentence can bring about a completely different meaning from what the original author had intended. 

This last image is of Obama's inauguration and is also representational instead of literal. Obama is like the hawk who is surveying over the pinions of driving force of the sea which is America. 

Simple Beauty.

Reading #1

I actually enjoyed the reading quite a bit. There was a decent amount of thought provoking parts and I especially liked all the photography and history. I was moved by the story of Emmet Till and how his mother made the decision to have an open casket at his funeral as an example of the horrific actions and hatred that was occurring in our country. 

I thought that another interesting point in this section was when they did the composites of the "beauties" in the 50's and 80's and how different the faces were. Beauty seems to evolve and take on different forms but there are still key features that tend to stay the same such as full lips and symmetry of the face. 

Surprised and excited by how the class discussion progressed and how deep we were able to dig into the reading I am looking forward to what else this quarter will bring. :)