phoebeshumanitiesblog

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Domestic Architecture

     The first space I have chosen is my home. It serves its function as a domestic space by providing shelter, comfort and being aesthetically pleasing. The space has natural light through the big bay windows and light colored walls which makes the space feel light and welcoming. It has minimal furniture which makes it open as well as the big bay windows. The natural lights makes the space bright. The house is well maintained and new. It is unremarkable as it has a simple exterior design.      The second space I have chosen is my boyfriend’s home. It similar to my home as they both provide comfort and shelter. The interior is also open but has less natural light than my home. Due to the lack of natural light I like my home more. The interior has darker tones which makes the room appear less bright. It is more cramped as it is a smaller home with more furniture. It is not unique as it is the same as the other houses in the neighborhood.      

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My Manifesto

Manifesto of Mixed Emotions

     As I was looking through the posts on my blog, I noticed a war of emotions going on within the posts. The war I noticed is a battle between tragic loss and sadness, versus joy and appreciation. In my discussion about Christmas, I reference both hopeful and sorrowful songs which are themed around the Holiday. I also explain why Christmas is a time of powerful mixed emotions for myself. The sculpture I decided to include in my blog has a sorrowful message behind it, but also one of appreciation. The work of art is joy in its purest form, contrasting completely with my personal experience around Christmas, and with some of the Christmas songs. It wasn’t something that registered with me while originally inspecting and writing about the painting: Black Untitled, but now that I am looking at the blog through this new lense I am even seeing this painting as being representative of the clashing emotions on my blog. 

     My segment about Christmas starts with my own personal experience with Christmas. This includes the happy thoughts of my ex boyfriend and I doing things like making gingerbread houses clashing with the painful memories of discovering his death by overdose in a hotel room. The songs following my personal experience and my analysis of these songs have a similar theme. “Grown up Christmas List” by Amy Grant is a hopeful tune talking about hoping for an end to suffering and loneliness in the world. On the other hand, “Christmas Tears” by Freddie King explores the loss of a loved one in a way, due to the lyrics focusing on an ex lover and the speaker’s memories of her around Christmas time. 

     The statue I chose to include in my blog is a bit of a mix of emotions in and of itself. The statue is entitled “Bloom” and it is located in The Garden of Hope and Courage in Naples, FL. Both the title of the sculpture and the name of the garden where it is located seem to evoke feelings of hopefulness. The statue itself holds a prominent place in the garden and does not display any sort of tragic scene. However, the statue holds a deep and sorrowful place in the hearts of many as it is meant to be a monument for those who have passed away, and a beacon for those who have lost loved ones to be drawn into and appreciate. It is surprisingly coincidental I chose this piece for my sculpture due to the mixed nature of my emotions discussed in my Christmas section. 

     The painting I chose, “Black Untitled”  is difficult to understand, until you stop trying to understand it. While writing for this painting originally, I was trying to make sense of the work, trying to identify some characters within the white lines or discover some secret intended image. I came to the conclusion while looking at it with a different mindset today that this painting has the potential to be or represent almost anything the viewer wants it to be. In this case, for me, the post represents the presence of 2 forces, and the battle between them.

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My Themed Playlist

Introduction

     I think a lot of people have a complicated relationship with Christmas. Christmas becomes a time where we are forced to confront our past. We may be overwhelmed with memories of loved ones who passed away or family members we no longer have a relationship with. I find myself confronted with memories of both of these things this year. At twenty-two, I feel myself fighting to grasp onto the last shred of magic I had once felt around this Holiday.  For those of us who have had Christmas’s magical light fade, Christmas becomes haunting. It is a bittersweet holiday. We remember happy moments we spent with the ghosts of our past and those snippets of joy collide with the painful memories.      Last Christmas was one of the last days I saw my boyfriend before he was found dead in a motel room. As Christmas approaches I find myself reflecting on my memories with him. When I was trying to think of a theme for this project, I couldn’t stop thinking about the time we made gingerbread houses together. As someone who is haunted by Christmas, I wanted to explore the theme of “Sad Christmas”. I am hoping my playlist reflects the wide range of emotions circulating throughout our communities as Christmas inches closer. “Grown-Up Christmas List” Amy Grant Pop Ballad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmF2rsDHOZc

     The lyrics focus on the negative aspects of the world she would like to change and how she reflects on these things at Christmas. She contrasts her childhood wishes for Christmas with her wishes now. She explains how the way she saw Christmas as a child has changed drastically from how she views Christmas now.      The melody demonstrates a large vocal range. During the verses, her mood is more melancholy which is demonstrated by a lower vocal register This contrasts with the chorus, when she moves into a higher vocal register to convey a more hopeful feeling for what she wants from Christmas. The tempo is slow which allows for the singer to sing drawn out and dramatically. The slow tempo also sets a contemplative mood as she reflects on her feelings about Christmas. Again this allows for the song to convey the sadness behind the words.      The song opens with consonant musical sounds which allows one to feel the soothing nature a child feels when they are first introduced to Christmas. Consonant harmonies continue throughout the piece, but the shift in harmonic progression at the start of the chorus is less predictable which creates a dramatic effect. This sets up the listener to really feel the emotions of the sad lyrics that follow.      The piece has a binary form of ABAB which toggles between the verses and chorus. This allows there to be contrast between the version of Christmas the singer experienced as a child and the version she experiences now. “Christmas Tears” Freddie King Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i2wypLkWkY

     In this song the lyrics tell the story of a man who is both irritated and sad around Christmas as the holiday makes him think of an ex lover. The melody is repetitive and relatively stagnant, which allows more emphasis to be placed on the lyrics. The tempo is laid back and allows for improvisation of the instruments, which is typical of the blues style. The constance of the tempo expresses the artists’ feeling of agitation. As expected of the genre, the song includes more dissonant chords from the blues scale. The harmonic progression is basic and predictable, but includes interesting harmonies such as seventh chords. The slight dissonance in harmonies demonstrates the conflict of the singer’s mixed emotions about his ex-lover. He is missing his lover but also angry. The conflicting feelings are typical of a breakup.      In terms of form, this song is closely reminiscent of the form Theme and Variations. The first verse demonstrates a simple version of the melodic theme, which he repeats throughout the piece. Each time the theme is repeated, he varies it with different instrumental interludes and vocal embellishments.      Throughout the song, the vocalist demonstrates word painting. He uses slight differentiations in the melody to draw attention to certain phrases. For instance, when he sings “smiling on the outside” at the end of the second verse, sings a higher note. Higher notes sometimes resemble a feeling of joy, such as the smile he is singing about, but the harsher tone in his voice demonstrates the anguish he feels on the inside.

“River” Joni Mitchell Folk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NH-ctddY9o     Joni Mitchell’s “River” is a well known “Sad Christmas” anthem. As she gazes upon the Christmas decor and spirited lovers, she is forced to confront memories of her own failed relationship. The joyful feelings of those around her give her a desire to run away. She is one of the people haunted by Christmas.      This song opens with an allusion to the commonly known melody of Jingle Bells. The piece also closes with this theme from Jingle Bells, but it is more harmonically distorted to include more dissonance and minor chords. The use of jingle bells juxtaposes the commonly shared thoughts people have of christmas with her own personal experiences. The contrast between the light heartedness of the start of the piece with the gloomier ending demonstrates how her past Christmases with her lover were more happy and now they are only distant memories. The minor chord she ends on leaves the listener in a state of gloom to empathize with how the artist feels about her heartache.      The song contains several examples of word painting to illustrate the message of the music with the melody. For instance, on the chorus, she elongates the word “long” with a vocal run. Similarly, on the word “fly,” she does a long vocal run then takes an upward direction, as if she is leaving the ground and taking flight. The accompaniment of the piano also demonstrates word painting. The flowing and constant nature of the piano symbolizes the flowing of a moving river. The moderately fast tempo conveys the constance of the river.      The form of the song is most representative of binary form. The verses each repeat the A section twice and then move into the chorus, which is the B section. The form could also potentially be categorized as a sonata form. It is typical that a sonata might start with an introduction before the exposition, just as Joni Mitchell begins with Jingle Bells before the verse. Then, the chorus could be categorized as a development, except she does not move to the key of the dominant harmony as classical sonatas do. The exposition and development then repeat for the second verse and chorus, as many classical sonatas do. The piece then closes with a recapitulation, which is verse three and the jingle bells outro.

“Christmas Baby” Neptunica & Victor Perry Electronic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FBecSLEjuo

    The harmonies used in this song are very consonant, which are typical of Christmas songs that want to convey the joy of the season. However, when I listen to the lyrics of the piece, it conveys a more yearnful and lonely message. Lyrically, the singer is begging for her partner to return to her for the holidays so she does not have to be lonely.      As typical with the electronic genre, the melody is simple and repetitive while there are more complexities found in the background. As the piece goes on, more layers of instrumentation are subtly added.      Form wise the song follows the structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. The bridge has the most harmonic interest of the song. This is most representative of expanded rounded binary form. The first section is made up of two subsections, which are the verse and chorus. The section is then repeated for verse 2 and chorus 2. The bridge then represents contrasting material on the dominant harmony at the beginning of the B section, and then it returns to the chorus for the other subsection of B.

“Pretty Paper” Willie Nelson Country https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM7x5dwhFXs      “Pretty Paper” differs from the rest of my “sad Christmas” playlist as the story is told in a second person narrative rather than a first person. The singer is drawing attention to those among us who are alone during what is meant to be a season spent with loved ones. He emphasizes “the blind eye” and lack of empathy many choose to show those who are alone.      Throughout the piece, Willie Nelson does not stray from the harmonic progression set forth in the first stanza. Each stanza follows the same progression with a similar melody, which is indicative of Theme and Variations. With each new stanza, variance is given by differentiation in lyrics and slight melodic embellishments.      Country music sometimes shares characteristics of blues, and this song is a great example of that. Several jazzier chords are included, primarily seventh chords. This added dissonance creates harmonic interest and represents the melancholy mood of the song as he narrates this Christmas story.

“Last Christmas” Wham! Pop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gmARGvPlI

     In “Last Christmas” the singer is disillusioned with Christmas. The Christmas prior he was filled with the hope and cheer many experience during the Holiday Season. He gave his heart to someone expecting the feelings he had for them to be reciprocated. The betrayal of his past lover haunts his current Christmas as he now associates the memories of his past lover with the holiday.      This song contains constant and repetitive harmonies add to the catchiness of this song. Dissonance is primarily heard in the overlying vocal runs during the last several repetitions of the chorus. These moments of dissonance add to the feeling of anguish heard in the singer’s voice as he laments over his regrettable past.      Rhythmically, the piece contains certain moments of syncopation. For instance, in the second verse, when he sings “I kept my distance, but you still catch my eye.” At the beginning of the phrase (“I kept my distance”), all major syllables fall on the beat; however, in the second half of the phrase, the words “catch my eye” all fall on the upbeats. This rhythmic complexity makes the beat less stable, which represents the emotional instability the singer feels when he catches a glimpse of his past lover.      Structurally, the piece follows the form of chorus (x2), verse 1, verse 2, chorus (x2), verse 3, verse 4, chorus, verse 5, chorus (several repetitions). This form is reminiscnant of rondo form, because the main section, the chorus, continually comes back again several times, with other sections in the middle. The continual repetition of the chorus represents how the artist keeps returning to this painful memory in his heart.

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Bloom

     This sculpture is titled Bloom. Bloom is located in The Garden of Hope and Courage in Naples, Florida.  The sculptor is Kathy Spalding. Bloom weighs 500 pounds. Bloom is located in-between two other sculptures. All three sculptures are large which allows them to stand out in the garden. The other two sculptures are both very similar. This allows Bloom to stand out.       Bloom honors loved ones who have passed away. Bloom is a sculpture of a woman holding a hibiscus stamen. Around the base are dedications made by visitors to loved ones and flowers. The hibiscus stem symbolizes the holding of a loved one. The flowers planted around loved ones' names shows that the flowers are representative of those who have passed. The subject of the sculpture is the hibiscus as it is being held by the women while surrounded by other flowers.        The Garden of Hope and Courage is located outside of NCH Baker Hospital. The location allows someone to reflect on loved ones who have passed in this same hospital. It allows the grieving family and friends to know they are not alone.The community values its loved ones and wishes to honor them after they pass.      The sculpture is full round. I believe this adds to the sculptor by allowing it to be viewed from different angles. This sculpture has become an icon for the park. I do not believe it would have as much power if it was not full round. The use of full round also allows the sculpture to stand out as it can be viewed from many different areas of the park.

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     The work of art is a photograph of a baby rabbit and a chick in a meadow. The important details are the focus, tone and subjects. The focus of the photograph is the subjects. The background is blurred while the subjects are not. This makes the subjects stand out. The viewers eyes instantly jump to the subjects since they are the focus. The tone is overall cool. This is due the green background. The cool tone of the green background gives the viewer a calm feeling. The subjects are cute and being friendly with one another. They are visually appealing for the viewer. This gives the viewer a happy feeling. The subjects are also warm colors, brown and yellow. This makes them stand out from the cool toned background. The contrast between the subjects and the background allows the viewers eyes to jump on the subjects.      The details that appeal the most to me are the cool tone of the photograph. This gives me a calm feeling which I enjoy. I also like that the subjects are visually pleasing. I love animals so I am drawn to this photograph even more. The animals being friendly with one another also draws me in. Kindness and friendship are values that are important to me.      The work raises the themes of friendship and springtime. Rabbits and chicks are often associated with springtime especially the Easter season. The flowering meadow also reminds one of spring which is a time of blooming flowers. The friendly animals raises the theme of friendship. The animals being two different species shows friends come in any shape, size or color. Appearance does not matter, what matters is who you are as a person. This is overall a happy work of art. This piece is meant to evoke happy feelings.