ckaras14's posterous http://ckaras14.posterous.com Most recent posts at ckaras14's posterous posterous.com Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:59:00 -0800 Revised Vanitas Review (DSS) http://ckaras14.posterous.com/revised-vanitas-review-dss http://ckaras14.posterous.com/revised-vanitas-review-dss

Flemishschool02

Paintings from the Baroque time period have a way of connecting with the viewer. Baroque is big, bold, and has an eerie realistic quality about them. The subjects are very direct. The 17th century Flemish oil painting A Vanitas Still Life located the Flint Institute of Art (FIA) in Flint Michigan. This piece was formally dated 1620 but not signed so unfortunately the artist is unknown.  This artist used an interesting technique when composing this particular piece were most Vanitas still life’s use similar subjects or symbols of death or transience (skulls, clocks, burning candles, and flowers) this piece adds in the element or text almost as if it were an encyclopedia of Vanitas paintings. Each Vanitas object has its own motto of explication.

“The skull has the most prominent motto: it says, as if speaking to the viewer, "I was as you are now; you will be in the future as I am." The vase of flowers with its central tulip and fallen petals is labeled "As the beauty of the flower does not last long, a person also quickly fades." Above the hourglass are the words "Time runs fast, all youthful grace vanished before one is aware of it." The lower half of the marker of time is called "a metal of oblivion." On the slip of paper in the lower left, is a command of caution: "Look and pray, or you will face no day of peace." In the center, the book’s long, two-page poem refers to all these objects:

O human being, you are a wandering guest on earth. Flesh is the hay of the Lord, like a garden flower which by cultivation reaches a higher level of quality (page 59.) As a lit candle has to burn, so a man once born must fall into the hands of death (page 60.)”

(Kelly 1)

                     This quote translates the mottos posted next to each item. The motto displayed next to each object really helps to explain the main idea behind a Vanitas painting. The word vanity comes from the word Vanitas and the main idea behind a Vanitas still life’s were to display monetary possessions in a casual setting like what you would find on a end table or dresser. Such as flowers, candles, and books, but the symbolism of death is always slipped in. in this piece the flowers peddles are falling off or the candle is almost burned out, theses paintings are used to tell the viewer to enjoy what you have while you have because nothing lasts forever, beauty fades, the candle will burn out and death comes to everyone.         

The formal elements of this piece are congruent with the time period. The use of line, shape, space, color, and light are brought together to form a well balanced composition. The use of line is used to move your eye along the piece. The lines formed by the front and back edge of cement table contained your line of site side to side, and the edges of the book placed in the center of the composition moves eye diagonally, and backwards moving the viewers line of sight from the skull on your left hand side, to the hourglass on the right.

One of the most important Baroque qualities is the use of space. When it comes to baroque there is no wasted space. The objects in this picture are large, bold, and close to the picture plain like a cropped photo. The pictures main focus is strait to the point and in your face, with no wasted space and no extra back ground noise to distract from the point.

The use of space to its fullest extent is only one way that the artist illustrated the intensity of the piece another is the use of light. In this case the light technique is called Tenebrism extreme light to dark contrast, in this piece the Tenebrism is not as prominent as in other paintings like it but it is there. The slight Tenebrism is achieved by this artist pleasing the objects agents a flat black background, and by using the spot light effect. The spot light is what really gives the piece a dramatic theatrical feel. 

The theater has an influence on many painting from this time period because it is the time the theater first started taking hold in Europe. The theatrical effects in this piece are the spotlight and the use of movement, which may surprise people because this is a “still” life. Even though the movement is small but it is there. The movement is shown in the flowers, the peddles of the tulips are falling and some look as if they could fall at any moment. Other concepts of movement are seen in the hour glass and the candle. The sand of the hour glass gives the viewer the impression to be falling, and the flame of the candle is implied to be flickering and dying out.  

This painting is one of my favorites at the FIA. I’ve been to the FIA many times and no matter what amazing new piece or exhibit may come to our local museum I always make it a point to go visit this one. Although the piece is very simple and some may say there’s not much when compared to other works of art, I personally feel that there’s a kind of mystery about A Vanitas Still Life that keeps me coming back. It could be the message that every Vanitas painting brings to the viewer or maybe the lack of background knowledge behind it.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:02:00 -0800 This is Pilobolus http://ckaras14.posterous.com/this-is-pilobolus http://ckaras14.posterous.com/this-is-pilobolus

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Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:39:00 -0800 Historical overview of "A Vanitas Still Life" (DSS) http://ckaras14.posterous.com/historical-overview-of-a-vanitas-still-life http://ckaras14.posterous.com/historical-overview-of-a-vanitas-still-life

 

Flemishschool02
Paintings from the Baroque time period have a way of connecting with the viewer. Baroque is big, bold, and has an eerie realistic quality about them. the subjects are very direct. The 17th century Flemish oil painting A Vanitas Still Life located at are very own Flint Institute of Art (FIA) was formally dated 1620 a but not signed so unfortunately the artist is unknown.  This artist used an interesting technique when composing this particular piece were most Vanitas still life’s use similar subjects or symbols of death or transience (skulls, clocks, burning candles, and flowers) this piece adds in the element or text almost as if it were an encyclopedia of Vanitas paintings. Each Vanitas object has its own motto of explication. 

“The skull has the most prominent motto: it says, as if speaking to the viewer, "I was as you are now; you will be in the future as I am." The vase of flowers with its central tulip and fallen petals is labeled "As the beauty of the flower does not last long, a person also quickly fades." Above the hourglass are the words "Time runs fast, all youthful grace vanished before one is aware of it." The lower half of the marker of time is called "a metal of oblivion." On the slip of paper in the lower left, is a command of caution: "Look and pray, or you will face no day of peace." In the center, the book’s long, two-page poem refers to all these objects:

O human being, you are a wandering guest on earth. Flesh is the hay of the Lord, like a garden flower which by cultivation reaches a higher level of quality (page 59.) As a lit candle has to burn, So a man once born must fall into the hands of death (page 60.)”(Kelly 1)

                     The motto displayed next to each object really helps to explain the main idea behind a Vanitas painting. The word vanity comes from the word Vanitas and the main idea behind a Vanitas still life’s were to display monetary positions in a casual setting like what you would find on a end table or dresser. Like flowers, candles, and books, but the symbolism of death is always slipped in, like the fact that the flowers peddles are falling off or the candle is almost burned out, theses paintings are used to tell the viewer to enjoy what you have while you have because nothing lasts forever, beauty fades, the candle will burn out and death comes to everyone.         

The formal elements of this piece are congruent with the time period. The use of line, shape, space, color, and light are brought together to form a well balanced composition. The use of line is used to move your eye the lines formed by the front and back edge of cement table cantaned your line of site horizontally and the edge of the book placed in the center of the composition pulls your eye diagonally backwards moving your eye from the skull on your left hand side to the hourglass on the right.

One of the most important Baroque qualities is the use of space. When it comes to baroque there is no wasted space. The object in this picture are large, bold, and close to the picture plain like a cropped photo, the pictures main focus is strait to the point and in your face no wasted space and no extra back ground noise to distract from the point.

The use of space to its fullest extent is only one way that the artist illustrated the intensity of the piece another is the use of light. In this case the light technique is called Tenebrism extreme light to dark contrast, in this piece the Tenebrism is not as prominent as in other paintings like it but it is there. The slight Tenebrism is achieved by this artist pleasing the objects agents a flat black background, and by using the spot light effect. The spot light is what really gives the piece a dramatic theatrical feel.

 

The theater has an influence on many painting from this time period because it is the time the theater first started taking hold in Europe. The theatrical effects in this piece are the spotlight and the use of movement, which may surprise people because this is a “still” life. Even though the movement is small but it is there. The movement is shown in the flowers, the peddles of the tulips are falling and some look as if they could fall at any moment. Other concepts of movement are seen in the hour glass and the candle. The sand of the hour glass gives the viewer the impression to be falling, and the flame of the candle is implied to be flickering and dying out.  

This painting is one of my favorites at the FIA. I’ve been to the FIA many times and no matter what amazing new piece or exhibit may come to our local museum I always make it a point to go visit this one. Although the piece is vary simple and some may say there’s not much to compared to other works of art, I personally feel that there’s a kind of mystery about A Vanitas Still Life that keeps me coming back. It could be the message that every Vanitas painting brings to the viewer or maybe the lack of background knowledge behind it. 

 

 

Works Cited

Kelly, Raymond J, III. August 15, 2006. http://www.steigrad.com/cat/flemishschool02.html 

 

 

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Mon, 29 Nov 2010 18:26:00 -0800 This is Only a Thought http://ckaras14.posterous.com/this-is-only-a-thought http://ckaras14.posterous.com/this-is-only-a-thought

I’ve been thinking about my future, specifically my future jobs. I know what I want to do when I grow up but the problem is, I’m lazy and I really don’t want to work for it. The other day my boy friend brought up an amazing point that got me thinking, a growing field that doesn’t take a lot of schooling and could potentially put my art skills to good use. This is only a thought and I don’t know how far I’ll take it but I could be a tattoo artist. It sounds a little crazy but it is a growing field and it takes a particular type of person to do this job I have a steady hand and I’ve been told that, well I’m not sure if it’s a complement or not but I’ve been told that I’m kinda evil and mean so the idea of having someone pay me to put them through the pain of stabbing them repeatedly with a needle, branding them for eternity with a image of tweedy bird or a one night stands name doesn’t bother me even a little. Again this is only a thought

  kat von d Kat Von D, Jesse James Is &ldquo;The One&rdquo;<----One day this could be me

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Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:58:00 -0800 Hope you had a good Thanksgiving http://ckaras14.posterous.com/hope-you-had-a-good-thanksgiving http://ckaras14.posterous.com/hope-you-had-a-good-thanksgiving

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5kGe-vFI0a0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param></object>

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Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:34:00 -0800 Quadruple Tooth Extraction http://ckaras14.posterous.com/quadruple-tooth-extraction http://ckaras14.posterous.com/quadruple-tooth-extraction

Tomorrow I’m going in to get all four of my wisdom teeth removed. I’m a little nervous, I really don’t know what to expect. Will I swell up and look like a chipmunk? Will I be able to talk or will I just mumble? And the biggest question of all, will I be able to eat my thanksgiving turkey? I can only hope it won’t be too bad. This is why I’m missing class tomorrow.

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Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:51:00 -0800 DSS pk http://ckaras14.posterous.com/dss-pk http://ckaras14.posterous.com/dss-pk

pk_art.pptx Download this file

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Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:41:00 -0800 The Subject For My Next Paper http://ckaras14.posterous.com/the-subject-for-my-next-paper http://ckaras14.posterous.com/the-subject-for-my-next-paper

Flemish School, Circa 1620 -A Vanitas Still Life

Exhibited Flint, Michigan, Flint Institute of Arts, To Be, or Not to Be: Four Hundred Years of Vanitas Painting, February 4 — April 2, 2006, number 1

Literature

Raymond J. Kelly, III, To Be, or Not to Be: Four Hundred Years of Vanitas Painting, Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan, 2006, pp. 20, 34, 50 -51, number 1, illustrated

This work used the emblematic vanitas principle of dependence on text to an extreme degree, almost as if it were an encyclopedia of vanitas paintings. Each vanitas object has its own motto of explication. The skull has the most prominent motto: it says, as if speaking to the viewer, "I was as you are now; you will be in the future as I am." The vase of flowers with its central tulip and fallen petals is labeled "As the beauty of the flower does not last long, a person also quickly fades." Above the hourglass are the words "Time runs fast, all youthful grace vanished before one is aware of it." The lower half of the marker of time is called "a metal of oblivion." On the slip of paper in the lower left, is a command of caution: "Look and pray, or you will face no day of peace." In the center, the book’s long, two-page poem refers to all these objects:

O human being, you are a wandering guest on earth. Flesh is the hay of the Lord, like a garden flower Which by cultivation reaches a higher level of quality (page 59.) As a lit candle has to burn, So a man once born must fall into the hands of death (page 60.)

Although these verbal clues are all intellectual commonplaces, the painting offers several unique visual characteristics. Chipped edges and vertical hatchings show that it is a stone ledge on which these objects sit: a harsher, less domestic setting than the more common tablecloth. The twenty-four hour sundial is extremely unusual: the light of day runs from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., on top of the ledge, while the dark of night, below the ledge, runs from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Different times are shown; 2:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. indicate that night (unending night?) lasts much longer than the remaining hours of our day. The message of the subscription also lies in shadow. The end nears: most sand has already fallen from the top globe, most of the candle has burned. In contrast to the strong horizontality of the ledge are dramatic vertical lines (the quill, the tulip, the hourglass) and strong diagonals (the quill case, the book, the candlestick’s handle).

This work had formerly been dated to around 1640, but may have been executed somewhat earlier. It has something of the look of the Dutch monochrome vanitas paintings from Leiden in the 1620s and 1630s, although the flowers’ red and the ribbons’ blue hint at Flemish love of color. The starkness of its composition might predate the 1636 arrival in Antwerp of Jan Davidsz. de Heem, whose influence on Flemish painters produced a marked increase in the complexity of their arrangements and the sophistication of surfaces presented. The extensive use of quotations and the distinct positioning of each object make this painting a valuable example of the early, emblematic stage of vanitas.

Raymond J. Kelly, III

We are grateful to the Flint Institute of Arts for granting permission to reprint Raymond J. Kelly’s entry.

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Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:05:00 -0800 Mash-up: The Nabataean Rock Art http://ckaras14.posterous.com/mash-up-the-nabataean-rock-art http://ckaras14.posterous.com/mash-up-the-nabataean-rock-art

Mash-up: The Nabataean Rock Art

More than 2,000 years ago, Petra, a cliffside metropolis located in the southwestern desert of modern-day Egypt, and famous for its rose-colored rock-hewn tombs, monuments and private dwellings, was the thriving capital of the Nabataeans. Artifacts and relief carvings from this civilization of nomads turned prosperous in 1978 during the excavations at Khirbet et-Tannur. Two sealed pots containing macaw feathers, were discovered in a cave by two boys. The boys discovered the pots with a bowl of seashells and a plate. The artifacts were divided between the two boys and lost for years. This cave was later discovered to be the tomb of mummiform figures called shabtis, shabtis were buried with the deceased, ready to serve their masters in the afterlife; the pots are faience objects containing macaw feathers, faience is a glazed ceramic material composed mainly of crushed quartz or desert sand, water, some lime and copper,and would be placed at the dead person's side to ward off danger in the days of the pharaohs, Artifacts and relief carvings from this rock-hewn tomb were coined as Nabataean rock art, by Leo Frobenius in 1978 during the excavations at Khirbet et-Tannur. commenting on Nabataean rock art, Leo Frobenius remarked: “.. oddities occur which are completely outside our understanding. There are large forms, shaped like fierce-looking replicas of hippopotami, onto which human figures are painted ...” He coined the  Nabataean rock art,  formling' to `denote this composite type of forms and yet not easily explained'. These motifs still remain poorly understood. In 1998, he began research into their form and meaning. He set out and introduce some new findings.

University of Pennsylvania archeologist April Nowell's first impression was that the the  Nabataean rock art was simply a rock when she first saw a picture of it in a journal. But after teaming with colleague Leo Frobenius to examine the rock art under a scanning electron microscope, she changed her mind. "There is no doubt in my mind; the figurine is definitely tool-modified," says Nowell. The double pot were X-rayed and probed with a fiber optic drill at the Los Alamos National Laboratories. During that process it was then learned the pots contain macaw feathers tied with twine made from yucca fibers. And so the question arose: Is this the first work of art? If it is, it's about ten times older than the cave murals in France, which date back to 20,000 B.C. And so WHAT'S ART AND what isn't.

 The Nabataean rock art Formlings carry deeper metaphoric references than have hitherto been allowed. Leo Frobenius examine further the many repeated contexts and previously overlooked associations. These informative contexts include potent creatures and animals, people, therianthropes, botanical motifs growing from their edges and flecks, which are sometimes elaborated into insect forms. Formlings are also conflated with bulbous plants . Faience's or Nabataean rock art formlings earthly origins also linked it to funerary usages. Earliest faience objects included beads and amulets adorning the dead, as well as scores of faience tiles used to line temple or tomb walls. These blue-green tiles, which imitate a reed motif, suggested the watery world from which all life emerges and returns, and they were meant to give light and life to the king in his sunless tomb.

 

They did not wish to disclose tribal secrets, said the tribe's general but, The Narrative elders made a choice. They would, however, have preferred to have the pottery returned to them but, The Narrative explanations saw Nabataean rock art formlings as landscape depictions. Frobenius, however, regarded them as symbolic and that relevant ethnography would aid their interpretation. He designated them `the king's monuments', noting that formlings decorated ancient tombs in rock shelters. Some writers saw formlings as material phenomena: a stockaded village or mud huts, cornfields, quivers, mats, xylophones, grain bins and beehives. The apiary view, popularized in the 1970s, has held sway until very recently. Yet others inferred thunderclouds or, specifically, strato-cumulus clouds and pools of water or rainwater. These interpretations fall into the `gaze-and-guess' category (Lewis-Williams & Dowson 1999) in which the researchers' own perceptions guided their reading of the art. Whereas the apiary view is plausible in some areas, it remained descriptive and less interpretative.

 The Nabataean rock art are on display at New York City's American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and to the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM), co-orsanizer with the AMNH. Presented under the patronage of Queen Rania of Jordan, the items-from the tomb  near Nabataean at Khirbet et-Tannur, reunite for the first time the discoveries from the 1978 excavations at Khirbet et-Tannur.

 

Mash-up: The Nabataean Rock Art (color coded)

More than 2,000 years ago, Petra, a cliffside metropolis located in the southwestern desert of modern-day Egypt, and famous for its rose-colored rock-hewn tombs, monuments and private dwellings, was the thriving capital of the Nabataeans. Artifacts and relief carvings from this civilization of nomads turned prosperous in 1978 during the excavations at Khirbet et-Tannur. Two sealed pots containing macaw feathers, were discovered in a cave by two boys. The boys discovered the pots with a bowl of seashells and a plate. The artifacts were divided between the two boys and lost for years. This cave was later discovered to be the tomb of mummiform figures called shabtis, shabtis were buried with the deceased, ready to serve their masters in the afterlife; the pots are faience objects containing macaw feathers, faience is a glazed ceramic material composed mainly of crushed quartz or desert sand, water, some lime and copper,and would be placed at the dead person's side to ward off danger in the days of the pharaohs, Artifacts and relief carvings from this rock-hewn tomb were coined as Nabataean rock art, by Leo Frobenius in 1978 during the excavations at Khirbet et-Tannur. commenting on Nabataean rock art, Leo Frobenius remarked: “.. oddities occur which are completely outside our understanding. There are large forms, shaped like fierce-looking replicas of hippopotami, onto which human figures are painted ...” He coined the  Nabataean rock art,  formling' to `denote this composite type of forms and yet not easily explained'. These motifs still remain poorly understood. In 1998, he began research into their form and meaning. He set out and introduce some new findings.

University of Pennsylvania archeologist April Nowell's first impression was that the the  Nabataean rock art was simply a rock when she first saw a picture of it in a journal. But after teaming with colleague Leo Frobenius to examine the rock art under a scanning electron microscope, she changed her mind. "There is no doubt in my mind; the figurine is definitely tool-modified," says Nowell. The double pot were X-rayed and probed with a fiber optic drill at the Los Alamos National Laboratories. During that process it was then learned the pots contain macaw feathers tied with twine made from yucca fibers. And so the question arose: Is this the first work of art? If it is, it's about ten times older than the cave murals in France, which date back to 20,000 B.C. And so WHAT'S ART AND what isn't.

 the  Nabataean rock art Formlings carry deeper metaphoric references than have hitherto been allowed. Leo Frobenius examine further the many repeated contexts and previously overlooked associations. These informative contexts include potent creatures and animals, people, therianthropes, botanical motifs growing from their edges and flecks, which are sometimes elaborated into insect forms. Formlings are also conflated with bulbous plants . Faience's or Nabataean rock art formlings earthly origins also linked it to funerary usages. Earliest faience objects included beads and amulets adorning the dead, as well as scores of faience tiles used to line temple or tomb walls. These blue-green tiles, which imitate a reed motif, suggested the watery world from which all life emerges and returns, and they were meant to give light and life to the king in his sunless tomb.

 

they did not wish to disclose tribal secrets, said the tribe's general but, The Narrative elders made a choice. They would, however, have preferred to have the pottery returned to them but, The Narrative explanations saw Nabataean rock art formlings as landscape depictions. Frobenius, however, regarded them as symbolic and that relevant ethnography would aid their interpretation. He designated them `the king's monuments', noting that formlings decorated ancient tombs in rock shelters. Some writers saw formlings as material phenomena: a stockaded village or mud huts, cornfields, quivers, mats, xylophones, grain bins and beehives. The apiary view, popularized in the 1970s, has held sway until very recently. Yet others inferred thunderclouds or, specifically, strato-cumulus clouds and pools of water or rainwater. These interpretations fall into the `gaze-and-guess' category (Lewis-Williams & Dowson 1999) in which the researchers' own perceptions guided their reading of the art. Whereas the apiary view is plausible in some areas, it remained descriptive and less interpretative.

 the  Nabataean rock art are on display at New York City's American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and to the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM), co-orsanizer with the AMNH. Presented under the patronage of Queen Rania of Jordan, the items-from the tomb  near Nabataean at Khirbet et-Tannur, reunite for the first time the discoveries from the 1978 excavations at Khirbet et-Tannur.


 

 

 

"Petra: Lost City of Stone" Showcases Brilliance of Nabataean Civilization
Elaine PasquiniThe Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.  Washington:Apr 2004.  Vol. 23,  Iss. 3,  p. 51 (1 pp.)

Full Text

 (601  words)

Copyright American Educational Trust Apr 2004

[Photograph]

LEFT: A lifelike relief carving of an eagle is thought to have been part of a limestone frieze guarding the Qasr al Bint in Petra. RIGHT: A limestone Eve Idol stele may have inspired Picasso.

 

More than 2,000 years ago, Petra, a cliffside metropolis located in the southwestern desert of modern-day Jordan, and famous for its rose-colored rock-hewn tombs, monuments and private dwellings, was the thriving capital of the Nabataeans. Artifacts and relief carvings from this civilization of nomads turned prosperous traders and renowned masters of building and engineering are on display at New York City's American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) until July 6. In September, the exhibit moves to the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM), co-orsanizer with the AMNH. Presented under the patronage of Queen Rania of Jordan, the items-from Jordanian, European and American collections-reunite for the first time the discoveries from the 1937 excavations at Khirbet et-Tannur. The artifacts were divided between the CAM-home to the most extensive collection of Nabataean sculpture outside of Jordan-and the Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman.

Co-curated by Glenn Markoe of the CAM and the AMNH's Craig Morris, the extraordinary exhibit features 200 items-many on display for the first time in the U.S.-ranging from stone-carved temple facades and bronze statues of Greek deities to delicate ritual objects mainly from the first century CE. A 1,600-pound sandstone bust of the Nabataean's primary male deity, Dushara, a cult statue of the storm god Qaws, and a marble torso of Aphrodite also are on display.

The delicacy and sophistication of Nabataean sculptors can be seen in the lifelike relief carving of a standing eagle, probably once incorporated into a limestone frieze that guarded Qasr al Bint (palace of the Pharaoh's daughter) in the Temenous Gate area of Petra. A symbol of celestial power, the bird has intricately carved wings, feathers, feet, and deep-set eyes under a prominent brow.

A limestone Eye Idol stele featuring a stylized geometric face-to which Picasso's cubist female images from the early 1900s bear an uncanny resemblance-is an excellent example of Petra's awesome treasures. Excavations in 1974 unearthed this small simple stone sculpture of the Nabataean goddess al'Uzza in the Temple of the Winged Lions, which dates to 27 CE and is still the site of ongoing excavations. Much remains to be discovered, for only one-twelfth of Petra-a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site-has been excavated.

Since Petra was a major crossroads of international trade routes from the first century BCE through the second century CE, many works in the exhibition reflect the Greek and Roman influence on Nabataean culture. Among the most significant is a Roman marble vase with panther-shaped handles, a one-of-a-kind treasure discovered in the site of the Petra Church. Although the Nabataean capital eventually became part of the Roman Empire in 106 CE, archaeological evidence suggests that daily life for this thriving multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual society remained basically unchanged.

Visitors to "Petra: Lost City of Stone" may also enjoy an accompanying photo exhibit. "The Bedouin of Petra" by Vivian Ronay features 28 color photos of the Bedoul tribal group now living in the small village of Um Sayhun. The Petra Shop sells handicrafts and jewelry made by Jordanian artisans, along with ceramics, textiles and books. Middle Eastern cuisine, including authentic Bedouin Arabic coffee with cardamom, and the national dish of Jordan, mansaf-a traditional recipe of highly seasoned lamb cooked in yoghurt-is served in the Petra Cafe.

Research into the formlings in the rock of Zimbabwe
Siyakha MguniAntiquity.  Cambridge:Dec 2001.  Vol. 75,  Iss. 290,  p. 807-808 (2 pp.)

Full Text

 (1161  words)

Copyright Antiquity Publications, Ltd. Dec 2001

[Headnote]

AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY TODAY

 

In 1929, commenting on southern Africa's rock art, Leo Frobenius remarked: '... oddities occur which are completely outside our understanding. There are large forms, shaped like galls or livers, into which human figures are painted ...' (1929: 3333). He coined the term formling' to `denote this composite type of forms and yet not easily explained' (Goodall 1959: 62, my emphasis). These motifs (FIGURE 1) still remain poorly understood. In 1998, 1 began research into their form and meaning. In this note I set out the history of the formling debate and introduce some of my new findings.

Formlings are found principally in Zimbabwe, but they also occur less frequently in South Africa and Namibia. With oval or oblong cores as the basic `building blocks', their shapes and sizes vary. These cores have semicircular white caps at one or both ends and are usually covered in regularly patterned lines of microdots. Sometimes circular lines with an orifice bound stacks of cores. Occasionally, these boundaries have triangular or linear-spiked crenellations on their edges.

Narrative explanations saw formlings as landscape depictions. Frobenius, however, regarded them as symbolic and that relevant ethnography would aid their interpretation. He designated them `the king's monuments', noting that formlings decorated ancient tombs in rock shelters. Some writers saw formlings as material phenomena: a stockaded village or mud huts (Rudner & Rudner 1970: 86, 87), cornfields, quivers, mats, xylophones (Cooke 1969: 42), grain bins (Holm 1957: 69) and beehives (Cooke 1959: 145). The apiary view, popularized in the 1970s, has held sway until very recently (Pager 1971: 349-52; 1973). Yet others inferred thunderclouds (Rudner & Rudner 1970: 87) or, specifically, strato-cumulus clouds (Lee &Woodhouse 1970) and pools of water or rainwater (Breuil 1966:115,116). These interpretations fall into the `gaze-and-guess' category (Lewis-Williams & Dowson 1999) in which the researchers' own perceptions guided their reading of the art. Whereas the apiary view is plausible in some areas, it remained descriptive and less interpretative.

San art is now known to be symbolic (e.g. Lewis-- Williams 1981; Huffman 1983; Walker 1996); simplistic narratives therefore have no place in the explanation of its nuances and subtleties. Current researchers draw on San ethnography and, in particular, on San notions of supernatural potency in their explanations of formlings. One explanation is that formlings represent the gebesi or human abdomen as the fountain of potency or that they could be trancers themselves (Garlake 1995: 96). Another elevates the literal landscape interpretation to a metaphorical level:'maps' (Smith 1994: 378, 384) of trancers' preternatural journeys. New explanations have usefully advanced this study, but several aspects remain unexplained.

Recent research

Formlings carry deeper metaphoric references than have hitherto been allowed. I examine further the many repeated contexts and previously overlooked associations. These informative contexts include potent creatures and animals, people (FIGURE 1), therianthropes, botanical motifs growing from their edges (FIGURE 2) and flecks, which are sometimes elaborated into insect forms. Formlings are also conflated with bulbous plants (FIGURE 3).

Unlocking the symbolism of formlings must necessarily begin with a clear definition of the range of forms that are subsumed under the term. For many writers, the term is synonymous with any nebulous form; this is misleading and confuses interpretations. As Garlake (1995: 91) notes, formlings are `based on comparatively simple clusters of oval shapes'. Yet it is apparent that in some explanations single ovals are treated as if they are themselves formlings.

Almost all writers on formlings have inferred some kind of material derivation. Every other San art image does, so this is a fair assumption. Even the `other world' imagery derives from material world subjects or their conflations. My own formal study of formlings shows that they do indeed derive from physical phenomena, but not entirely in the same way as previous writers have supposed. Their shapes and embellishments reveal that they depict an insect form. This subject is not readily recognizable because of the perceptual difficulties introduced by the aspect in which formlings are executed. The problem is confounded further by their variations. Nevertheless, they exhibit unity and constancy in their morphology as well as in their contexts and associations. Fundamentally, iconic resemblance in San art was not a sufficient condition for representation. Instead, conveying symbolism in formlings San artists summarized graphically those significant features of the subjects containing the required kind of information. The 19th- and 20th-century ethnographic corpora preserve significant San beliefs. These beliefs provide the light to penetrate the symbolism of formlings, which is varied and subtler than can be discerned prima facie.

Tying formlings to a particular natural model and explaining how this allows us to interpret these images is the focus of my research. I expect detailed publications of my findings during 2002 and 2003. Acknowledgements. The Swan Fund, Oxford University, funded this fieldwork and research. Their generosity is gratefully acknowledged. I wish to thank Professor David Lewis-Williams,

It's a very nice rock, but is it art?
Ben PappasForbes.  New York:Aug 10, 1998.  Vol. 162,  Iss. 3,  p. 39 (1 pp.)

Full Text

 (221  words)

Copyright Forbes Aug 10, 1998

[Headnote]

And so the question arose: Could this be the world's first work of art?

 

WHAT'S ART AND what isn't? That's an old question. In 1981 archeologists discovered a lava fragment with unusual markings in northern Israel. The fragment, some 200,000 years old, has a circular groove near one end and two more grooves along its sides.

These features could have occurred quite naturally. When molten lava hits the atmosphere, the rapid cooling often twists it into odd shapes. On the other hand, this particular hunk of rock looks suspiciously humanoid-the groove on top could represent a kind of head, and those on the sides, arms.

And so the question arose: Is this the first work of art? If it is, it's about ten times older than the cave murals in France, which date back to 20,000 B.C.

University of Pennsylvania archeologist April Nowell's first impression was that the rock was simply a rock when she first saw a picture of it in a journal. But after teaming with colleague Francesco D'Errico of the University of Bordeaux to examine the rock under a scanning electron microscope, she changed her mind. "There is no doubt in my mind; the figurine is definitely tool-modified," says Nowell.

If she's right, homo sapiens had artistic impulses from the very beginning-not relatively late in his development. -B.P.

.

 

 

Full Text

 (791  words)

Copyright Cleveland Jewish News May 29, 1998

Ancient Egypt is revisited in intriguing museum exhibit

In the days of the pharaohs, mummiform figures called shabtis were buried with the deceased, ready to serve their masters in the afterlife; fierce-looking replicas of hippopotami, considered evil creatures of the underworld, would be placed at the dead person's side to ward off danger.

These and other faience objects are part of an intriguing exhibition called "Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience: at the Cleveland Museum of Art through July 5. More than 200 objects from 30 world-class Egyptian collections recreate with stunning clarity the life and world of ancient Egypt. "Nothing is more Egyptian than faience," says Dr. Lawrence M. Berman, the museum's curator of Egyptian art.

As old as the pyramids, faience is a glazed ceramic material composed mainly of crushed quartz or desert sand, water, some lime and copper. It was faience's brilliant coloration after firing that endowed the ancient material with its magical properties. Egyptians referred to faience as tjehnet, a word loosely meaning "shining" or "gleaming," indicating its comparison to semiprecious stones.

Because faience's components were linked to the earth, the material became synonymous with generation and rebirth.

Faience's earthly origins also linked it to funerary usages. Earliest faience objects included beads and amulets adorning the dead, as well as scores of faience tiles used to line temple or tomb walls. These blue-green tiles, which imitate a reed motif, suggested the watery world from which all life emerges and returns, and they were meant to give light and life to the king in his sunless tomb.

Faience objects were considered a luxury and made for the elite, less than 10% of the population.

Surrounded by walls of turquoise and terra cotta, these objects, most of which are small, assume an intimate beauty of their own. The outstanding audio tour is narrated by museum director Dr. Robert P. Bergman with additional information by Berman and Dr. Florence Dunn Friedman, curator or ancient art at RISD Museum in Rhode Island and of this exhibit.

One of the best preserved mummiform figures is the shabti of King Seti I. He is depicted with his agricultural tools ready to plow the fields for his master in the afterlife.

Board games, like the one on display called Senet (it looks like a variant of chess), were a popular pastime of the rich. Burying the game with the deceased accorded it funerary significance, for winning the game in the nether world assured the deceased a blessed life after death.

Faience objects related to women were associated with female fertility, pregnancy, birth and child-rearing. The goddess Hathor and the god Bes were two deities associated with fertility and female life. "Perfume Jar in the Form of the God Bes" has the head of an animal and a swollen stomach. As the protector of infants and new mothers, this bestial creature was considered sufficiently ugly to ward off evil.

Many bowls and other vessels were adorned with fish and lotus buds, key symbols of spontaneous regeneration and rebirth.

A blue-black bowl adorned with an image of a nubile young girl strumming a lute is considered the finest decorated vessel of its kind to have survived from ancient Egypt. The bowl, a tomb gift, would serve to revive the fertility of the deceased, who would then be reborn.

Sistra, or ritual rattles, were used by priestesses and musicians in public religious ceremonies. The one on display illustrates Hathor, the mother goddess who has the ears of a cow. On her head, she supports the sound box in the form of a shrine filled with metal rods and jangles. When shaken, the rustling emulates sounds of reeds along the river; this would entertain or mollify the gods in the afterlife.

Included in the exhibit are doll-like objects which were playthings the deceased would take with him to "entertain" him in the afterlife!

Rich ancients were no different than their modern-day counter-parts. They loved beautiful jewelry such as the intricate chokers and collars on display which were worn by men and women. Jewelry was not only for ornamental purposes, but served protective functions to ward off illness, disease and peril.

Elaborately decorated drinking vessels with lotus motifs, like "Chalice in the Form of A Blue Lotus," emphasized the plant's importance as a symbol of rebirth.

Faience's ability to reflect light, like the sun, moon and stars, enhanced its ability to promote the deceased's rebirth. A shimmering, beaded burial shroud with images of gods for protection and a layer of fringe to simulate the sun's rays, insured the deceased's transformation from an earthly to a solar being.

A time-ticketed exhibition, "Gifts of the Nile" is well-worth the price of admission. For information, call 216-421-7340.

Photo (Statue of Thoth)

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Ildefonso Pueblo drops claim to White Stone pots
Saltzstein, KatherineIndian Country Today.  Oneida, N.Y.:May 19, 1997.  p. D1 

 

Full Text

 (1020  words)

Copyright Indian Country Today May 19, 1997

San Ildefonso Pueblo drops claim to White Stone pots

The San Ildefonso Pueblo has dropped its legal claim to take possession of two sealed pots containing macaw feathers that were discovered in a cave near Los Alamos by two boys in 1978.

Tribal officials decided to drop the much-publicized case because they did not wish to appear on a witness stand and disclose tribal secrets, said the tribe's general counsel, Ann Berkley Rodgers of Albuquerque.

"Going to trial posed incredible problems according to pueblo law," said Ms. Rodgers.

"They did not want to put tribal members in a position to be cross-examined. There are things they can't be asked about.

"The pueblo elders made a choice. They would, however, have preferred to have the pottery returned to them," she said.

The pots will be returned to Daniel Ridlon, one of the two people who found them, said Ms. Rodgers.

"The pueblo made a decision to uphold our traditional laws and will not participate in a trial where our members' beliefs will be open for public inspection and cross-examination," said Elmer Torres, governor of the San Ildefonso Pueblo, in a prepared statement.

The boys discovered the pots with a bowl of seashells and a plate.

The double pot has been X-rayed and probed with a fiber optic drill at the Los Alamos National Laboratories.

During that process it was learned the pots contain macaw feathers tied with twine made from yucca fibers.

"The object was severely desecrated by Los Alamos Labs without asking the pueblo. They drilled holes, removed the contents, shipped them away. In this situation, whatever was sacred about the pot was severely compromised," said Ms. Rodgers.

"Why be put in a position on the witness stand to be cross-examined?

There's no way I can protect the case," she said.

The White Rock sealed pots, named for a community near Los Alamos, have been kept in a Los Alamos National Laboratory archive since 1978.

The 600-year-old pot, which is actually two pots cemented together with an ancient form of mortar, is considered sacred by the San Ildefonso tribe.

Tribal members say the pots are ceremonial and powerful and that it's dangerous for anyone without knowledge to handle them.

"The pueblo emphasizes that it disclaims any responsibility for what may happen to those who expose themselves to the White Rock sealed pottery. We recommend it not be sold or displayed," stated Mr. Torres.

"The Pueblo put together all the anthropological, historical, ethnographic and legal studies available to the public to establish that it was the owner of the sealed pottery, and that the pottery should be returned to the pueblo," he said.

"Pueblo law, ancient Spanish law and current United States and New Mexico law all supported the pueblo's ownership," said Mr. Torres.

"The court has said this is not enough, although no other pueblo ever claimed the object. We will respect the court's decision that more information is required," he said.

The pueblo can do no more to establish its ownership without exposing pueblo members to trial and cross-examination, which would force them to violate traditional prohibitions on talking about our religious beliefs, practices and customs," said Mr. Torres.

Depositions from tribal elders were sealed, said Ms. Rodgers. Already, Mr. Ridlon's lawyers "asked questions they shouldn't have asked," she said.

"There's conflict. It's my duty to protect my client zealously. They would have asked questions a pueblo person would find wrong."

"It was the pueblo's (pot) but it was the fact-finding process that is inconsistent with pueblo traditions of secrecy that cost them the case," she said.

"The pueblo brought together its people and made this decision, a strong act on its part. I represent them and if that's what they want to do ... If it had not been an insurmountable problem we would have won at trial. I respect their values," she said.

Mr. Ridlon's attorney, Walter Latham of Santa Fe, said his client "doesn't know what he'll do with it. It's been a long time, almost 20 years, since he's had possession of it. It's open to possibilities. He might just hang onto it."

Mr. Ridlon had offered to give the pot to a museum, but that offer was rejected by the pueblo, said Mr. Latham.

"Mr. Ridlon feels that he's the owner of abandoned property," said Mr. Latham. "According to the laws governing the finding of abandoned or misplaced property he is the founder of abandoned property.

"It's our position that the property was abandoned until this litigation ensured. He found this property. Not every pottery shared belongs to someone," he said.

"Federal law attempts to address competing interest of museums, gallery owners, and Indian tribes. Not every single object goes to a tribe," Mr. Latham said.

"The law attempts to define cultural patrimony as an ongoing relationship between these objects. It's hard to prove in court.

"The tribe did not own it. They have not proved it. A realistic assessment is that they would not win. This was a way they would not win. This was a way they could save face. That's my personal belief," he said.

"The legal test is whether this is an object of cultural patrimony which requires ongoing use of this in religious practices. This particular bowl was not used," he said.

The law cited is the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, said Mr. Latham.

"He (Mr. Ridlon) is pleased. He feels he's been the rightful owner all along," said Mr. Latham.

Mr. Ridlon sued to get the pots back from a Los Alamos museum.

In 1993, the San Ildefonso Pueblo went to federal court to seek return of the pots under the NAGPRA, saying they were taken from the tribe's aboriginal land. The pueblo sued the lab, Los Alamos county, and Mr. Ridlon.

Judge Paul Kelly Jr. of Santa Fe, a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals judge designated to hear the case as a district judge, dismissed the lab from the suit in April.

But Mr. Kelly designated the lab as custodian of the pots until the case was decided.

Illustration (Native American clay pot

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Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:39:00 -0800 People Art http://ckaras14.posterous.com/people-art http://ckaras14.posterous.com/people-art

 

 


Subject: People Art
Look closely, these pictures are made from people.

These are so unique!!! (They're people!)

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Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:21:00 -0700 Buffy Vs Edward mashup http://ckaras14.posterous.com/buffy-vs-edward-mashup http://ckaras14.posterous.com/buffy-vs-edward-mashup

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Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:15:00 -0700 Burlesque http://ckaras14.posterous.com/burlesque http://ckaras14.posterous.com/burlesque

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Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:12:00 -0700 Comments and corrections http://ckaras14.posterous.com/comments-and-corrections http://ckaras14.posterous.com/comments-and-corrections

I choose this piece because the fined of a new Michelangelo is very exciting to me, especially   because my field of study is finding, authenticating, and restoring pieces of art. This is an article about a man and his family that have been possession of a unfinished Michelangelo. I did not make any corrections to this piece because this is more of a news article so anything added was just a comment I did a mix of funny sarcastic comments and general information about Michelangelo and his Pieta pieces.  

C1,C3,C6,C7: are all comments about Michelangelo and The Pieta sculpture.

C2,C4,C5,C8,: are more sarcastic comments about wording and mental imaging

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Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:10:00 -0700 Untitled http://ckaras14.posterous.com/31741417 http://ckaras14.posterous.com/31741417

Cassandra Karas

Doc j. Schirmer

10/26/10

Lost Michelangelo Found in Buffalo

Submitted by Joan R. Neubauer on 2010-10-12

The great artist Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) gave the world such masterpieces as the Sistine Chapel, the Pietá[C1] , and David. Born in 1475, he died in 1564, [C2] 446 years ago. So no one ever thought they’d see a new Michelangelo, until Italian art historian and restorer Antonio a Forcellino laid eyes on the painting in Buffalo, New York.

When owner, 53-year old Martin Kober showed the painting to Forcellino, the unfinished painting of Jesus and Mary[C3] , he couldn’t believe his eyes. Similar to other paintings by the great master, Forcellino said, "This painting was even more beautiful than the versions hanging in Rome and Florence.”

The painting had hung on the living-room wall of the Kober family for years.

Everyone just referred to it as "The Mike." Then, one of the kids knocked it off the wall with a tennis ball, and as a result, the Kobers wrapped it up and put behind the sofa [C4] for safe keeping, and there it stayed for the next 27 years.

When Air Force Lt. Col. Martin Kober retired in 2003, his father said, “Now, with your newfound free time, do something with this!" And he took on the job of researching the family story surrounding the painting.

Kober, now 53, took on the task and researched the history of the painting. He contacted auction houses, Renaissance art scholars, European archives, and even met with museum directors in Italy. He eventually found Antonio Forcellino and told him the story of the painting. [C5] 

Forcellino said, "It wasn't the story that had scared me, but that it had been exposed to heating commonly found inside a middle-class home,” wrote in his new book, La Pieta Perduta, The Lost Pietá. Besides, he didn’t really believe in the existence of another rendition of a painting that already hung in museums. "I had assumed it was going to be a copy.

"In reality, this painting was even more beautiful than the versions hanging in Rome and Florence. The truth was this painting was much better than the ones they had. I had visions of telling them that there was this crazy guy in America telling everyone he had a Michelangelo at home," Forcellino said.

A scientific analysis of the painting, believed to have been painted in 1545[C6] [C7] , proved the Michelangelo was real. "The evidence of unfinished portions demonstrate that this painting never, never, never could be a copy of another painting," Forcellino said. "No patron pays in the Renaissance for an unfinished copy."

Additionally, the ownership history, points to the work being done by Michelangelo around 1545 for his friend Vittoria Colonna, about 45 years after Michelangelo sculpted his famous Pietá that now stands in St. Peter's Basilica.

The Pietá painting then passed to two Catholic cardinals and eventually ended with a German baroness named Villani. Villani then willed it to her lady-in-waiting, Gertrude Young, the sister-in-law of Kober’s great-grandfather. In 1883, she then sent the work to America[C8] .

Forcellino said Herman Grimm, a noted Michelangelo biographer, saw the Pietá painting in 1868 and attributed it to the master. Additional evidence includes a letter in the Vatican library discussing a Pietá painting for Colonna. "I'm absolutely convinced that is a Michelangelo painting," Forcellino said.

However, the jury is still out, according to Michelangelo expert William Wallace, a professor of architecture and art history at Washington University in St. Louis. Wallace said he saw the painting before Kober had it privately restored to remove 500 years of wear and tear, and maintains there is no definitive scientific way to attribute such a painting. Instead, experts will, over time determine the authorship of the painting.

However, Wallace agrees to the painting's potential worth. Now in a bank vault, the painting that hung on a wall in Buffalo, New York, could be worth as much as $300 million[C9] .


 [C1]The pieta is Michelangelo only signed work

 [C2]Like Elvis Michelangelo didn’t die he just went home

 [C3]The painting is a version of the pieta sculpture

 [C4]Yard sale fined of the century

 [C5]Kober:”so like ya I found this Michelangelo behind my couch”

 

Museum director:”Ya right, and I’m Leonardo DaVinci ”

 [C6]The first pieta by Michelangelo was sculpted in 1498 when he was in his early twenties and an unknown artist 

 [C7]This painting of the same subject was painted about twenty years before he died

 [C8]Fragile handle with care “under statement”

 [C9]Money you fine in the couch could be more then you could have ever imagined

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Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:02:00 -0700 Lost Michelangelo http://ckaras14.posterous.com/lost-michelangelo http://ckaras14.posterous.com/lost-michelangelo

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Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:21:00 -0700 Evaluating Web Sites http://ckaras14.posterous.com/evaluating-web-sites http://ckaras14.posterous.com/evaluating-web-sites

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Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:45:00 -0700 pop up http://ckaras14.posterous.com/pop-up http://ckaras14.posterous.com/pop-up

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Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:41:00 -0700 Bring back Bugs http://ckaras14.posterous.com/bring-back-bugs http://ckaras14.posterous.com/bring-back-bugs

What happened to Saturday morning TV? TV Shows such as Road Runner, Bugs Bunny, and Daffy Duck have disappeared .these shows are no longer shown on TV at any time of day on any channel “trust me I looked”. Some say people lost interest in the classic cartoons others say the shows were taken off the air because of their violent nature or subtle innuendos that younger children may not fully understand but might repeat, I feel that these excuses are ridicules. Anything children might pickup from older TV shows are from a lack of education and close minded parents. This weekend I had some extra time on my hands to relax and catch up on my Saturday morning cartoons and I was disgusted. New Cartoons are ugly, deformed, creepy, and rude. I did not see the humor or any other entertainment from these animations.  I wish to know. What happened to Saturday morning cartoons ? A combination of entertainment and a introduction to culture.

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Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:43:00 -0700 Bookworms go on adventures (MMR final draft) http://ckaras14.posterous.com/bookworms-go-on-adventures-mmr-final-draft http://ckaras14.posterous.com/bookworms-go-on-adventures-mmr-final-draft

 At a young age everyone gets asked, what they want to be when they grow up. My answers always surprised people. My earliest responses were architect, engineer, archeologist, artist, art teacher, and the curator of the Louvre. When my collage academic advisor asked me my career choice or my major, I looked back at what I told my parents when they first asked me. Now despite the strange looks and laughter I tell people “when I grow up I want to be Indiana Jones.” Indiana Jones was a teacher and an archeologist and believed strongly about the important of museums. Indiana Jones from the movie Raiders of the Lost Arch shares these and other characteristics with other leading men in movie that brings adventure to history.  Like Flynn Carsen in The Librarian: Quest for the Spear and Robert Langdon in The DaVinci Code.

These movies fantasize the lives of average men. The main characters who have an extremely exaggerated sex appeal such as Indiana Jones with his rugged, hansom, appearance as well as being daring and  incredibly smart. Flynn Carsen also has these extremely sexy traits but the rugged and daring attributes are masked by his intelligence he comes off as more a bookworm, a lot like Robert Langdon. Robert Langdon is the oldest of my three examples, but because of his age he appeals to a more sophisticated audience his charm is that he’s so smart he’s sexy. Although our main characters are fantasized in a way but no matter how hansom or suave  they try to be deep down there kind of nerds  . These everyday average men in the movies have dedicated their normal lives to the academics. Indiana Jones is a teacher, Robert Langdon was a writer, and Flynn Carsen was a professional student with a doctorate or degree in twenty two different subjects. Now these types of men teachers, writers, and students are normally pictured behind a desk or in a library. These bookworms are thrown in to an adventure as a hero. Only in the world of Hollywood can a stereotypical nerd be a hero. The hero that saves the day retrieves a priceless artifact and gets the girl        

In these movies being a historian what you would think to be a frightfully dull job of studying and reading, is twisted in to a thrilling advancer our bookworms slash adventurers gets the chance to travel the world looking for buried treasure, which is always hidden behind conspiracy and mystery that can almost always be solved with their whit, charm, and their vast historical knowledge. Now in the real world these jobs are boiled down to their simplest form. In reality retrieving a priceless artifact involves a combination of trial and error searching and study when historians finally find a valid site they travel to the middle of a hot desert. Digging for days on end with a tiny little shovel and a little broom to carefully and slowly revile pieces of broken pottery. In the movies all you see is a buff handsome man clutching a gold idle running from pissed of pigmies in a desert oasis.        

            The girl is another element of these movies the damsel in distress.  In every movie the hero is paired with an equally intelligent but somehow physically inferior female counterpart. In the movies the female starts of as a guide or an equal someone who can pull their own wait and help, but always manages to get in to trouble. This creates the false impression that only a strong man can save the day and the woman need saving. I am obviously pointing out that most historians are portrayed as male, and most action heroes are also male. In these three movies Indiana Jones, The Liberian, and The Da Vinci Code, the girl gets in trouble and the man swops in to save her at the last second. 

            In the movies a historian is stereotypically portrayed as strong, overly intelligent male in his mid to late thirties. who during the week sits behind a desk but on the weekends gets to travel the world in search of burrier treasure, solves elaborate puzzles, fights for what he believes is right, and in the end always gets the girl.  The only truth behind the movie is the fact that the historians are generally extremely intelligent males. Looking at the reality next to the fantasy I see that the job of a historian is very interesting from and academic perspective but taking a personal view I wish to bring the adventure to the mundane.   

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/735524/Picture_426.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SDDeZIjqb7z Cassandra Karas Cassie Cassandra Karas
Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:31:00 -0700 review, review http://ckaras14.posterous.com/review-review http://ckaras14.posterous.com/review-review

After Tuesdays review and reading and rereading my paper I realized that i need sooooooooooo much more help, so i have made my first appointment with the writhing center. so hopefully i can unlock one of those achievements , which like the points on Who's Line is it Anyway ?  "where everything's made up and the points don't matter." but anyway i would like to say thanks to my group and KarateCarolyn for your "meat and potato" insights so i will take your comments and hopefully come back Monday with a revised rewrighten remarkable paper.    

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/735524/Picture_426.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SDDeZIjqb7z Cassandra Karas Cassie Cassandra Karas