isaybaby

[isaybaby]

Self-Assesment

When I was in senior high school, philosophy was my favorite subject; I never expected that I would have a subject like this one. My favorite subject together with my passion? It's simply incredible. My professor somewhat intimidated me, but she's very kind and compassionate. I like how she thoroughly describes our lectures. She still ensures that we understand what she teaches, which is particularly important given that our schedule is after lunch when most people are asleep. I learned how to concentrate and persist longer in her subject. Her activities, readings, and essays taught me time management skills. Other subjects may do it as well, but this one is my personal preference. The tasks we did were amazing and I loved them even though they were stressful. My favorite assignment was when she asked us what our aesthetic was and what we considered about films. I was given the chance to describe my aesthetic and advocacy, as well as my film criticism; I did like the films she suggested we watch because the storylines were interesting. As a first-year student who hates essays, I admire it right now. It's my weakness, particularly when a professor asks us to write 1000+ words; I've done it before, but in this class, I learned to value essays and readings. I am confident in claiming that my only strength is my skill and passion, which is art, and I enjoy how I can learn and grow my skill here. Readings, as well! Readings, on the other hand, I despise. Our professor, on the other hand, taught me to appreciate it. I'm not sure why she makes her lectures seem so fascinating, but they are. This term was filled with things I loved, ranging from John Berger's Ways of Seeing to Concept Development.

[isaybaby]

Non-Pictorial Representation

The scope of non-pictorial representation in art is quite extensive. The Lexical Theory is one of my favorites; it is close to conventionalist theory in that it includes prior interpretation and awareness. When I recall this idea, I still think about music, and a certain band springs to mind when I hear it. Munimuni is the band I was referring to, and their song is the one I used on my midterm plate. Since their words are so complex, their songs' vocabulary necessitates extensive knowledge of the Filipino language. They are an example of the Lexical Theory; their use of vocabulary for their lyrics necessitates a deeper interpretation, which I appreciate because it allows me to learn new words.

[isaybaby]

The Staging Process

One of the key factors in making an award-winning film is how the film would look in each scene. Filmmakers use an expressive tool in which is called Mise-en-scène, this tool is at the director’s disposal wherein a critic can determine what specific cinematographic work is needed. This tool can also help the filmmakers to identify a specific style of the movie needed.

Filmmakers use different shots in a film, these shots have specific names such as extreme close-up, close-up, medium close-up, medium shot, medium-long shot, long shot, extreme long shot, or distance shot. These seven types of shots can change the mood and aesthetics of the film. Using the correct type of shot can also help the spectator to understand and feel the ambiance of the film, it can also help the spectator to read and decode the main subject from the props. Another camera shot that filmmakers take advantage of is angles. Just like the filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, he incorporates the appropriate angles in his films. In Quentin Tarantino’s film Pulp Fiction, the briefcase’s contents are never seen, its either the angle is inside the briefcase or outside. Angles like this helps the film viewer to generate their scene that makes the film enjoyable. Lastly, filmmakers take advantage of color in their films. Color can be a huge part of the Mise-en-scène. Just like in art colors in film can be connected to their symbolic value and can give an impact on the viewers in terms emotionally, psychologically, and even physically. Colors can also represent the character's characteristics and traits and would even set the mood and tone of the film.

[isaybaby]

If The Fountain had not been made by a famous artist, would you have it in your own home?

I do not consider "The Fountain" or the urinal turned upside down to be a sculpture. Art is something that creative people can make over a long period. Artists often put in time and persistence when creating art. The artist of the sculpture didn't put any time into it because he just signed it and used it to troll and test people in the exhibit. He is famous for what he did not because his work is "art." I'm sure people won't be able to understand it because it lacks profundity. Even if it was created by an independent artist, I would not have it in my house, regardless of style. It's not appealing to me and doesn't go for the interior design I like. It's just fascinating and amusing to me because who would have imagined that people could think about that kind of troll; it made him famous. It's just a urinal turned upside down, so I don't see why I should pay a dollar for it and put it in my house. I read somewhere that it was once popular and fascinated people.nTo understand why it is art, you must focus on the historical aspect. This work was created in 1917 when art was still very conventional. Some would argue that it was the audacity to claim this as an art genre, while others would argue that it was one of the most controversial works of the era, shifting art from modesty to indecent exposure.

[isaybaby]

The Fountain

Marcel Duchamp, a French avant-garde artist sent a sculpture to the Society of Independent Artists in New York for an exhibition, which turned out to be an equally brilliant and ludicrous work of art. The title of his work, "The Fountain," was a urinal turned upside down and signed with a fictitious name, R. Mutt. It was largely ignored by society, causing controversy in the art world at the time. People often asked, "do you think this is an art?" And, as the picture shows, it's just a urinal flipped upside down. Did the artist make a concerted attempt to do this? Is there a wider context here that anyone can grasp? There is nothing else attached to it but a signature; nothing that qualifies it as "art" in the sense that the artist executed any action that left a mark on their craft. We couldn't tell it apart if it were mixed in with several similar mass-produced urinals. He took it to an exhibition as his work of art to troll the artists; to test the limits to see how much he could get away with, and to trigger thinking on what "art" really is. As a whole, I think that the idea is valid and makes sense. I just do not believe that the urinal itself is an example of art. Most musicians tend to anticipate what critics would think about their work. The artist ends up winning, particularly when an artist creates an uninteresting piece of art but offers it an intriguing backstory, resulting in it being priced far higher than it would have been had a more independent artist been behind it.

[isaybaby]

Film Theory

The Photographer of Mauthausen is a historical film that gives a thrill to the audience. I believe that the main purpose of the film is to educate and make us realize that photos are a huge help, not just for that kind of situation but overall. The movie hunted me around all night, and I kept wondering how they managed to live in that kind of situation. For me, it's a different kind of horror, particularly because it's based on a true story. I recognize that they are inmates, but it is the bosses who make the situation unbearable. I enjoyed the film, and the performance of the protagonist and other prisoners did an excellent job of portraying a character living in a dangerous jail. I like the sound effects and background music that they used because they give me a rush. This is not the kind of horror film I've seen before; this one is scary, and it hunted me before I went to sleep. According to our prof's theories, the film used de-saturated grading to quickly note that the scene conveys the history and struggle of the characters. Also, various shots were used in the film; I recall a scene in which Boix punched one of the people in charge, and the guards took him to a prison where he was the only one. There are a couple of intense shots in the film, including the climax, where they used close-up shots of the protagonist holding a camera. The Photographer of Mauthausen, in my judgment, is a realism theory. It focused on the lives of people who live in deplorable circumstances, with the dark realities of humanity. It discusses social issues, specifically because it is a historical film based on actual events. The film's objective is for the viewer is to learn a lot from it, and it takes a realistic approach to life. I didn't see any weaknesses in the film and I liked how it kept me wondering. For example, in the first scene, both the father and his son are taken to Mauthausen. But the guards separated them, and I had several thoughts before realizing that the father was going to die. No, the guards did not transport him to a distant jail; they wanted to murder his father. And, I've found that when they split the other inmates, they divide them based on their age and the energy they have. They will kill you if you are old enough and they believe you are worthless. They need individuals who are capable of serving as the superior's assistant.

[isaybaby]

The Photographer of Mauthausen

The Photographer of Mauthausen, it was directed by Mar Targarona. When I watched the trailer, I said to myself, "ah, I should watch this one," not just because it looks fascinating but also because it's focused on real cases, which makes it even more messed up. The film is about prisoners, who served and died imprisoned at the Mauthausen camp during World War II. Francisco Boix worked as a photographer and as Paul Ricken's assistant. Boix, together with other inmates, gathered many of the negatives of photos documenting the crimes of SS officers such as Franz Ziereis. Due to the brutality of the Nazis and Kapos, Boix managed to survive in the camp. He is brave enough to deliver justice to millions of victims, the superior of the camp did a lot of cruelties when someone does something that he didn't like. He didn't think twice, he even sent some of his guards just to kill other prisoners. Prisoners who traitor him kill him immediately, I believe that he always bring his gun with him. One problematic thing is when they were at the gathering, someone gave the kid a gift; a toy gun. The superior gave him a real gun so that the kid can experience the thrill to kill. As far as I can remember, he killed 3 people at the gathering, he didn't even sorry for them.

[isaybaby]

Modes of Presentation

I chose the song entitled "Marilag" by Munimuni. Marilag means majestic, it often uses to describe what pleasing in the eye; to compliment, or to admire. But Munimuni wanted to say to us that there are still people who are with us, who still care for us. It means there are still beautiful things that will happen even though we are struggling. I picked this song because it is my comfort song, it makes me calm and it always reminds me to breathe. I saw them live, and they played this song, it felt different. I still remember that I wished their performance would not end because it felt like my problems were all gone at that time. Munimuni's song can calm your heart because of its deep, poetic, and hopeful lyrics. I remember one of the members of the band said that it's okay to cry if you hear the song because that's exactly their goal; to release all our tears. After all, it is true and nice at the same time because all of us have tears still left inside that we should let out. I read somewhere that the band wrote "Marilag" in just 30 minutes, they are in front of the horizon that did not have much color yet until the sun rose. Sunrise for them is a metaphor of hope and that's why I always remember that no matter what will happen, there's hope.

I believe that the song is the non-visual artwork; a conditional theory under non-pictorial representation because I already stated what the song is all about, people have an idea of what the song is talking about. If I only said marilag and its meaning, you would understand it easily. The visual artwork which is my artwork, I used alcohol markers and watercolor. I drew two people hugging each other and plants in the background to interpret that there's hope. My artwork is unconditional because if people can see my work, they would understand and recognize it quickly. To get it easily, I painted the two people differently; one is black, one is colorful. The black one is the person who is struggling, who has problems and still finding his/her wish. The other one is colorful, the person who has hope and willingly shares it with people who are coping.

I consider that the meanings and metaphors are interpreted because I translated and represented the song in my artwork. People will easily understand my work and what marilag means especially if they will listen to the song of Munimuni. Munimuni is not just a band that writes songs, I think I can say that they are my hope. If I am the person who is black in my artwork, I would like Munimuni to be my colorful one. Munimuni helps us to feel better. I know we've been dealing with a lot of emotions these past few months and I highly recommend listening to Marilag by Munimuni, from soft and meaningful to a loud and motivational song. Being alone is fine but being with someone is much better. You do not necessarily need a partner, a friend is okay.

References:

1.    Munimuni (2017, April 16). Munimuni - Marilag (Lyric Video).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4qWwtiKupA

2.    Munimuni (2019, June 15). Munimuni - Marilag | live at Jess & Pat's

#TahananGig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj_8SWBhLj4

3.    Munimuni (2019, September 1). Munimuni - "Marilag" Live at Tahan Na 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0LSe64-Yb0

[isaybaby]

Understanding Art and Beauty

Catharsis is the purgation of feelings of pity and fear through art; it's an emotional release that can lead to tragic pleasures. The sublime by Kant has mathematical and dynamic. The first one is mathematical, it is a numerical estimation of measure that requires us to calculate based on quantitive thinking. The second one is dynamic, which can be represented as a source of fear. We can look to an object as fearful, and yet not be afraid of it.

I chose five photos, 3 in catharsis and 2 in sublime. These are not just concepts but also examples. The first three photos are cathartic because I can relate to them. Aristotle claimed that purging our emotions was the aim of a good story, particularly a tragedy. Catharsis pertains to any sort of art that makes us feel intense negative emotions, but we humans are still attracted to pursue it. Let's say the first two photos are artists. Artists don't like to rush things, especially in their artworks, the art may not look good, and they will not achieve what beauty they want. That's why they do not want to rush when it comes to drawing or painting, they want to take their time, and the feeling and pleasure they feel when they finished their work is catharsis. Artists released their emotions once they are satisfied with their work. I can vouch because I graduated as an Arts and Design student, the feeling while I am working on art and the feelings I released when I am done are different. Another example is at the top, the field of tulips. The process of growth of the flower, but people do not care because they will still do their best to take care of it. The feelings that humans released knowing that the flower blooms beautifully, was catharsis.

Sublime is the basic type of aesthetic for Kant. It feels like we encounter aggressive events or massive structures that tend to overwhelm us; that is, we realized that can't seem to wrap our minds around them. This is either mathematical (capability for intuition is overwhelmed by scale) or dynamical (capability for resistance is overwhelmed by power. Kant stated that the sublime has been the name for objects inspiring awe, because of the magnitude of their size/height/depth or transcendence. My two examples of sublime are the two pictures at the right, the building, and the milky way. The milky way in the universe is mathematically sublime, we don't know what else we have not discovered but if we look at it, it's beautiful. The other photo is of the buildings, they symmetrical and huge. In this case, power is found in nature that is compelling to our dynamic selves. The buildings are "fearful," but (because we remain disinterested) it is not an object of fright. The fear that the buildings might fall or destroy, to the point that you will ask yourself what will happen next, but if you observe the buildings, it's beautiful.

[isaybaby]

Reflecting

The activity that I did last week in my AESTETA class is about aesthetics, our aesthetic. Mine was about women, it was like women empowerment. Some of you might think "that's an advocacy, not art," or "that's not beauty if there's a lot of people are suffering from it." People might think I am romanticizing what we are fighting, even though we didn't have to do it in the first place. Women are beautiful; they are art. We, women, should not be fighting for our rights and safety because in the first place we deserve to be safe and to practice our rights. The beauty of this aesthetic comes from the women who bravely acted on their deserved safety and rights, and it's nice that other women bravely followed and realized that they deserve it. Honestly, being a woman is powerful, so powerful, to the point where men would do anything to not let other women realize how powerful they are. I can relate my aesthetics to my art style, I have always been sketching and painting women in my free time because just like what I have said, women are beautiful, precious, and important. My aesthetic didn't change because I realized that I always have time to fight for it.

I've watched the first episode of Ways of Seeing by John Berger, and I realized that what he explained in the video is true. Original paintings or art, especially the famous ones, can be photographed or copied and placed anywhere. I think we lost something because the original holds the value but it loses of sense of worth. And people still think that paintings are too expensive? Artists always put their effort when they are doing their work. The power of cameras to replicate pictures has also shifted the way society views paintings. In the past, paintings were arranged to be shown in a particular building or museum. Because with photographic reproduction, at the same time, audiences could see a painting in several different ways. Berger states that seeing reproductions of artwork in various contexts "multiplies and fragments" is the definition of a painting to a viewer; that when people look at something, they observed and relate to themselves.