Copy/paste 62.8 words--the insights/thoughts/word you find most compelling--said by artist(s) on this blog (you have four choices; use one or two artists--click on the comments on the posts below). Write 314+ words agreeing, disagreeing, extending, and/or reacting to their insightful words. Really think hard and critically. Do not type fluff to fill the 314 minimum. Invest some time and thought. Be as original as you possibly can.
Andrea Offermann of Germany, Tomer Hanuka of Israel, Tomislav Torjanac of Croatia, and Joanna Barnum of the United States will undoubtedly offer you stimulating thoughts to work with. Like these four, you are becoming better and better thought criminals all the time.
75 comments:
Period 5.
I'm a child of a white, western, middle-class family, so hardly marginalised, yet I've written a novel that some call magical realist. Clearly I don't fit the pattern you have in mind. I think art comes from some sense of discomfort with the world, some sense of not quite fitting with it. That sense of not fitting might happen more frequently with peoples who are marginalised, but would that result in magic realism being a favoured mode of storytelling – Yann Martel
I am the child of a white, Midwestern, middle-class family. I have never had the thought of writing a novel but if I did I am sure I would write it about what I know, not what I do not know. I would relate it to my life in certain ways, I do not know if I would be able to create a piece of art with knowledge I do not have, not to mention it is easier to write, draw, speak, and simply express the world you know. I do agree with Yann Martel when he says “I think art comes from some sense of discomfort with the world, some sense of not quite fitting with it.” You hear a lot of bad stories about minorities after tragic events take place, like the middle-easterners after 9/11. We are not comfortable having these cultures around after a few of their people have done something so unforgiving and terrorizing. Imagine how scapegoats must feel though. Never fitting in, not because of anything they personally did, but because of who they are and where they come from. It’s easier to make minorities look worse than majorities. When the tables do get turned, and a majority looks worse than a minority, the artist, author, or speaker, gets the boot. Criticized for being different and having different views. Our views are what make us individuals. Without them everyone would just be zombies like in 1984 with no sense of self. There needs to be hate and controversy in our lives, without it we would never question ourselves or force ourselves to research and prove what we know, everyone would just assume they were always right and always better than someone else, who also thinks they are always right. I’m not saying we should fight with every person that disagrees with us on certain topics or we should force everyone into believing one thing, but you can learn more from new insights. When someone points out your flaws it is easy to see them and fix them, but with no one there to correct you or point out your flaws, they are going to maintain and never be changed. Everyone wants to be a better someone, right? So, I am the child of a white, Midwestern, middle-class family, and I have judged people who are not white, who are not from the Midwest, and who are from lower-class and upper-class families. That does not mean it is right. Maybe there is so much hate between races, social standings, and customs, simply because the majority always wants to feel they are right, they do not want to risk loosing their title as the majority.
Terrific voice, originality, and openness, Tanya. You are distinctly a thought criminal.
I was more reasonable than a Mac computer--and I wasn't happy for it. I was very good at stripping away mystery from life until there was nothing left. India is a gloriously (but also miserably) unreasonable place. A place where all stories are still possible. Where some people are very reasonable and some people are very unreasonable and most people are openly a mix of the two. I would urge you all, ALL, to one day visit India. Go with a small backpack, an open heart, an open mind--and you'll come back a different person. When I was in India, I became tired of being reasonable. I asked myself, for the first time really, what do I gain from being so reasonable. Is life a contest to see who can be the most rational?
I believe that everyone falls into a very reasonable place in their life. We all have our comfort zone and it is hard for us to get out and be unreasonable every once in awhile. You can not take it too far and go all out, you need some reason in your life but taking time and just being unreasonable every once in awhile is needed. The American society has really taken reasonable to a new level; we all want to look the same, dress the same and not do anything spontaneous and adventurous. We live our lives the same day after day after day, our same old routine, there is rarely a happy medium, we tend to be at one end of the spectrum or the other. Everyone is either super reasonable or completely and utterly unreasonable. I try to have a happy medium, it is quite hard, I try to be spontaneous once in awhile and yet still have my daily routine, going out of my way to do things I would normally never think to do. Going out of the norm and doing something unreasonable is what keeps you sane, if you do the same thing every day and do not have any spontaneity you will go crazy! I would love to travel the world and do nothing but go to different places where they need people to work missions and help out, but being the reasonable person I am, I can’t give up my comfort zone of being home, going to work and knowing what comes next, if I were to travel and not come home for weeks, months, or even years it would be going completely out of my norm. I wish everyone had the same outlook on life, and could be spontaneous and yet have some rational in their lives, having a happy medium would be perfect. We as humans are predisposed for certain attributes, and being reasonable seems to be a very distinct one for almost everyone. I believe we are making being the most rational a contest, never before have we been so set in our ways, as we are now. If only we could change the way everyone thinks, now that would change the way everyone sees the way we are.
pd 1 :]
period 3.
I'm not sure it does, or that it should.
the novel stands on it's own and is a complete and whole creation.
the illustrations are a personal interpretation/reaction to the text. i see them more as a companion piece, a subjective expression based on what i've experienced while reading the book.
being a visual person i enjoy exploring content though images, and hopefully this exploration can enrich another reader's experience as he/she contemplates their own correspondence with the story.
I completely agree with Tomar Hanuka when he explains his artwork as a companion piece and a self-interpretation of the novel. Most artwork, at least my artwork and I presume other artists, is not created in order to help other people better understand something. Most of the time it is something that means something to that one artist, and hopefully if it means enough to the artist, then it will be able to impact the viewer as well. An artists enjoys creating pieces to express themselves and help themselves better understand what they interpret, and usually the artist’s sincerity will brush off on the viewer. I also think sometimes artwork can be ruined by overanalyzing it. Usually an artist will not talk about their pieces and tell you why or what they were meaning. They will not tell you what to believe each line is suppose to represent. They want you to view their piece as a whole, and relate to it yourself. Each piece of artwork belongs to its viewer. It may have been created by the artist, but I believe that the piece and the analysis of that piece belongs to each viewer themselves. Each piece of artwork creates a different view and world for that viewer, and that view only truly belongs to the analyzer. This is the same for a novel. In order to truly enjoy and understand a novel you must be able to relate it to yourself, otherwise what significance does it really have to you? Probably not very much.. Hopefully there is enough variety in the world where everyone is able to find artwork, novels, etc. that can relate to themselves and help them better understand the world.
Why do you think we need art; how would the world be different without art?
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I do agree that we do not need art to survive. If there were no art the world and all the people would just keep their pictures to themselves. Yes, this would be somewhat boring but could it be for the better. If you are offended by a certain art piece you would most certainly like it if someone would keep it to themselves. The down side to all of this if there were no art would there be any color or variety or thought? Yes you may think about things but you would not have the joy of looking at a picture noticing something that forms a question in your mind and then thinking about how you would respond if someone were asking you that question. Then if there was not someone in the world to upset you and there were no conflict in the world everyone would get bored. People can claim all they want that they don’t have any hate for anyone just “strong dislike” they are lying to themselves! Unfortunately it is the way we are if people are not perfect we find something to nit pick about them, something to discuss with other behind that person’s back! Art forms conflict thought and questions!
Period 5
What does this accomplish on a large scale? Art works slowly in forming the interior life of individuals. A person who feels for art has a rich inner life that will keep them rich no matter how much money they have in their bank account. The converse is true, too: a person who feels nothing for art will always be poor no matter if they're millionaires.
My legacy? Art is a gift to the world. The artist gives for nothing. What readers do with my books is the concern of readers, not mine. I give; it's up to others to see whether they want to take.
I agree with Yann Martel in that a person who feels for art has a rich inner life that will keep them rich no matter how much money they have in their bank account. I think that todays society is to focused on how much money we have. I feel that people are judged to much on what clothes that you wear, the car that you drive, and the house that you live in. Why should any of this really matter? Sure it is fun to have nice things but is that really going to mean much of anything in the long run? I mean, when we pass away are people going to remember you for the nice things that you have? Or are they going to remember you for your personality. I think that art brings out personality in people. If you get excited about a work of art you are showing your personality and are, in a sense, rich. And if you are the one that is making the art you are also "rich". You are expressing your emotion in something visual and showing how you feel. When you create art you can make it confusing so that not everybody is going to look at it the same way. Then, when people look at your artwork they can interpret it however they please. Artists are helping others become "rich" by doing this. I also agree with Yann Martel when he says that art is a gift to the world. Tomer Hanuka said, the truth is we don't need art to survive. Which a I also agree with but that being said, art truly is a gift. Art isn't life threatening and if we didn't have it the world, in my opinion, would just be boring. I think that one of the reasons that art is so interesting is because there are so many different ways that you can interpret it. You could be thinking one thing and you best friend could be looking at it a completely different way. I think that this is cool because when people express their opinions you begin to see art a different way too. There are so many different choices with art and it is a great way to express yourself.
pd. 5 (Martel)
So I started to look at that most unreasonable of activities: the religious, which is alive and well in India. I looked at Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, Jews, and in each I saw an approach to life that was, quite suddenly to me, thrilling. Mystery refreshes, reason exhausts. I was so exhausted and here was refreshment. NOT THAT I BECAME A FUNDAMENTALIST! Life is a mystery which the fundamentalist ruins by flattening with certainty. I am, broadly speaking, a Christian. I'm comfortable, or, rather, comfortably uncomfortable, with Jesus. But I see the same well reaching to deep spiritual waters in Islam and Hinduism and most other serious religions.
He makes a good point that everyone is different. Some of us may be Hindu, some of us christian and some of us islam. Is there a correct religion? Of course we all will form our own opinion of what is right and what isnt. But would we really know unless we were in that position. Its our human nature I think to assume that what we do personally is right. We cant help judge others sometimes. I think we all need to be more open to other beliefs. Because I am starting to think after ready Martels responses that everyone is right. We can all have our main religion, but why not open up our minds and reach out to others and see what they believe? How do we know that theyre wrong and that were right? I think it would just be easier if we broadened our range of thought and took in what the other religions had to offer. I think this would make us all better people. We would not critize only religions but people entirely. We would learn to accept everyone for their beliefs. I believe what Martel says when he says life is a mystery. I kind of like this because it lets us choose what we want to believe in and who we want to be. There is no real religion if you think about it. How do we know theres only one right way to believe? We are obviously influenced as kids to believe what our parents believe. But we also have the right to think differently if we want to. And I think that is the beauty about it all. Lets expirience all religions, and then maybe you can pick your main one based on expirience, not on influence from the people that surround you.
P3
What does this accomplish on a large scale? Art works slowly in forming the interior life of individuals. A person who feels for art has a rich inner life that will keep them rich no matter how much money they have in their bank account. The converse is true, too: a person who feels nothing for art will always be poor no matter if they're millionaires.
I feel very little for what many people call art and yet don’t feel poor. Of course Yann Martel wants people to need art, without people wanting what he thinks is art he would have no job. What is art? Art is purely opinion. Art is creating something significant. Over 800 books are published each day, which is more than a quarter million a year. So who says what is good and what is garbage? Ordinary people decide, and they tell others. Eventually, enough people like a book that it is considered great. There is a simple problem with this system, those who like something speak louder than those who don’t on such a small matter as a book. Many of my classmates didn’t like the book but just don’t want to say anything. Some have gone so far to say they like it in class just to go along with it. But, if Yann is so brilliant, have his other publications been successful? I believe the answer to that would be no. If he is so brilliant why have his other books not been equally successful? Did his other books not get into the hands of people who promote them? Was Life of Pi a fluke? Like I said before, if Life of Pi wasn’t an assignment I would not have read it. Clearly I am not very religious, but I do know enough about religion to disagree about three religions worshiped in harmony. Just as Tomer Hanuka said, the truth is we don’t need art to survive. I don’t need people telling me what things are art. I am perfectly capable of deciding what I think is significant. Often, artists can make their work seem better simply by charging. Because isn’t that the judge of good art, how much it cost? When it is a matter of opinion wouldn’t the more expensive piece be better? If you buy art it better make your inner life better because your bank account will be empty.
Period 3
I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success, etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.
I like how Yann Martel speaks in a very honest way, making himself known to us that he doesn’t even know if you can ever find your true self. Almost like your true calling. He writes but yet he is not sure if that is really what he wants from his life. I feel as if he can connect with all of us because since we have yet to really start our lives it is comforting knowing that even a well accomplished person doesn’t know if this is his true calling. I also liked how he described how he saw self, “like a river”. It shows that in life we must always be moving to find a new path in life and keep going. But however in 1984 Big Brother shows that he doesn’t want people to choose their own paths he doesn’t even want them moving. He wants the river to become stagnate so that people sort of die on the inside. That is the main reason why people have yet to revolute in 1984. Even though people know it is wrong how Big Brother is treating them they have lost the will to live. Lost the will to fight back for what they believe in they can’t even have a religion. Unlike Life of Pi, 1984 doesn’t use any type of religion in the novel. 1984 doesn’t want to give any hope of a better life, because if the people would want a better life the party might be no able to control the people. In Life of Pi religion was a huge role in how Pi lived. He always believed in some god which helped him survive on his journey through the ocean. I believe that they only reason Pi was able to be content is not because he had everything he wanted after when he was older but because he filled it with the love that only can come from another living life. In 1984 none of the people can ever be truly happy because they can’t even feel that love of another being. They are forbidden and told constantly it is a disgusting interaction between two people. Everyone is so miserable but in a way they don’t know what miserable is because most of them have never had that true happiness.
Period 3
"I grew up in Israel where the sun bleaches out the color out of everything, and early on got hooked on comics where, mostly for production reasons the colors where pumped to the max. I want to say it was escapism, but i had a terrific childhood. comics was exotic, the whole idea of superheros, visual icons, worlds within panels." Tomer Hanuka
I agree with Tomer Hanuka when he says that the whole idea of superheroes and visual icons is a form of escapism. When people in the world are having problems or rough times they want to turn their attention to something else that takes their mind off of what they are worried about or doesn’t make their situation seem as bad as their current situation. Superheroes and other inspirational people give people in tough situations hope that anything is possible and that there is a chance for things to get better. Comic books and superheroes can have the same effect on people as athletes and sports teams as well. When you hear a story about someone from a tiny farm town of one hundred people becoming a professional athlete it gives young kids from small farm towns around the world hope and a dream that some day they too could make it and turn into a professional athlete. The same goes from kids who grow up in rough neighborhoods, when they see someone make it out of the struggle and the gangs and violence they are given hope that it is possible for them to make it out. These types of athletes and figures not only affect young kids but they effect adults too, they are effected by them and cheer for them too because they know the effect that they have on their children and what they represent and that these people may not know that they are heroes but they really are. Sports teams can also have the effect of escapism no matter if it is a professional team, college team, or high school team. When good things happen it gives people hope that the good things happening to other people can happen to themselves too or they can just be a part of the success. Why else do you think that people always cheer for an underdog team who is playing a really good team? They want to see an unknown team or person who is like them succeed and take down someone who is bigger or stronger or more talented.
pd.5
"I grew up in Israel where the sun bleaches out the color out of everything, and early on got hooked on comics where, mostly for production reasons the colors where pumped to the max. I want to say it was escapism, but i had a terrific childhood. comics was exotic, the whole idea of superheros, visual icons, worlds within panels. But it was also seductive in reaction to a reality that existed under a threat that seeped into the daily routine through hourly news cast, and the knowledge that at some point before your twenties you will too join the cause. years later, when i started working as an editorial illustrator in NY I've gravitated towards scenes where everything is in place but is about to explode. the line work and setting is comics-esq, but the atmosphere is heavy, at times tragic.
PS: NY is so crime free." Tomer Hanuka
I chose a Tomer Hanuka quote because he was my personal favorite. His artwork is very sharp and colorful and portrayed Life of Pi very well because it relates to Martel's amazing imagery. I think that Hanuka is right about kids being able to escape with comic books. This goes for anyone not just kids in tough situations like those in Israel. It’s pretty amazing that he grew up in Israel but still believes that he had a good upbringing. I am sure that we can't even comprehend some of the things that he had to see growing up. It really shows you how easy we have it here in South Dakota. The fact that he says that New York City, a city with a fairly high crime rate, is "crime free" is scary. I think the reason kids are able to "hide" from their surroundings in comic books is because many times characters are like them. Batman for example loses his mom and dad at a young age, very comparable to an orphan growing up in Israel (minus the fact that he is a billionaire!). That is just one example of a character that a young kid could relate to. I never got into comic books but maybe that is because of my sheltered upbringing in South Dakota? Hanuka's artwork reflects his upbringing/country very well as far as the "constant threat of annihilation". He talks about his works as scenes "where everything is in place but is about to explode" this is exactly how I imagine Israel and how there is always that sense of danger/violence. His work is obviously a reflection of his home country and however good he thinks he might of had it he saw enough violence to affect his work. This goes for anyone though; everyone is affected by their surroundings where they grew up whether good or bad. I am not sure what kind of effect living in South Dakota would have on my writing, artwork etc. but I am sure it is different from others that grew up in other States, Countries, and Continents. Subconsciously your upbringing has a huge effect on the rest of your life in everything that you do.
From Kelli H.:Period 3
1.) I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life stricly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success, etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.
2.) I found this passage the most compelling to me because of the deep thinking that goes through your head when you read it. It brings your ideas to a whole new level of thinking when you are done reading it. It makes you question if you have found yourself yet or if you have gotten caught up in the material things. It shows that you have to work a little bit and be patient to find yourself sometime but the easy way out is to get caught up in the material things. You could choose to win the game or lose by going for the material things. The material things are thrown in to make you think deeper and make some important decisions that will help you lose yourself in the journey of finding your true self but will help in your journey in finding the material you. I like that they added the analogy into it because it fits well with the subject of finding the true self. When asking yourself the question if you have found yourself yet, it becomes very difficult to grasp.I had a hard time understanding what it actually meant to find yourself. I get in a sort of trance when trying to answer the question. At times I feel I have it all worked out, cruising on the highway with my true self coming out and then the next moment I am taking a detour leading to nowhere but failure and bringing me back to the journey again hoping to have some questions answered and some decisions made to make me the person I want to be not only to others but also to myself. I look at the detours as part of the plan to help me find my true self in the end. They may not be the easiest path to take but it becomes worth it in finding your self.
Period 1
This book deals with what is, in my opinion, the ultimate truth: that reality is what we make it, that perspective creates perception i.e. how one looks at things determines how one sees them. (Not much different from what the quantum physicists have been telling us in recent years.) So, once we reach the end of the book, the ball is obviously in our court, and we don’t just get to choose one of the two stories told to the investigators but much more than that. In my opinion, we get to create the meaning of it all, which is a relatively subtle way to plant the seed of a notion that we are the sole creators of our reality
This is an excerpt from Tomislav Torjanac blog when he talks about the Life of Pi and how each person perceives it. I think all things can have different meanings from one person to the next and can be completely opposite. This is important in life I think and everyone should be able to decide for themselves what they enjoy, love, hate, or what they want to do and no one should have to power to control that, especially the government. The idea of something being a Thought Crime in 1984 is absurd to me because simply enjoyments we have today could get you killed in that world. We need to be able to choose our own life paths and perceive things in our own way which will lead to differences, but they are needed. Torjanac says “we get to create the meaning of it all” and I agree with that and it can go hand and hand with reality and the world. WE get to not “them”. Live life doing what you want to do and enjoy, I can’t imagine being told to do anything else and have my thoughts be contained and banished from being expressed. If everyone would have the same perceptive on things the world would be super boring and in my opinion, not worth living in.
period 5
Where did that information come from? Why did I think religion and zoology would make a good mix? How did I think up a theme that reality is a story and we can choose our story and so why not pick “the better story”(the novel’s key words)? I could approximate answers. That India, where there are so many animals and religions, lent itself to such a story. That tensions simmering just below my level of consciousness were probably feverishly pushing me to come up with a story. But in truth I don’t know. It just happened. Some synapses in my brain started firing off and I came up with ideas that were not there a moment before. I now had a reason to be in India. Yann Martel
In terms of going to India it is debatable whether it is a good idea write a book about the countries different belief systems and the animals that would relate to Life of Pi. Now we all know his overall decision was the right choice, the book was very successful and its theories on its theology is very clever. How they compare the three different religions; Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. We see in the book how one boy contemplates on what the right decision should be; Pi was the only one who could make this decision since he is from India and that was amazing. Yann Martel knew that what people were fascinated with was the creatures on earth, and what happens after you die. He brought questions to what people normally don’t think about because they assume that they would not be in that particular position. Living with a tiger on a boat is just as important to read as that same boy wondering on what religion he should choose. Although the story is well regarded novel, there are some disappointing things about his overall choice when traveling to India. The ending of the Life of Pi plays into that factor. If Pi did stay on a boat with a Bengal tiger for over two hundred and twenty seven days, then the ending would support his theory. However if the tiger did end up being just Pi’s darker side then his theory on traveling to India was pointless. Now Yann Martel will never tell you what happened in the end of the story. He will agree to both sides just because the ending is up to us. If you ask me and think going to India was a good idea to write a novel on zoology and theology then I agree and Yann Martel definitely made the right choice. Again though, coming to India and deciding to write a novel on popular subject can be anyone’s opinion. If two people ask a question on what happened in the end of the book, and both have different opinions, he will agree to both sides and by doing so it intrigues the not only readers but everyone and that is what an author should do.
period 3
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions. (Hanuka)
I don't really agree with Tomer Hanuka's in that we can live without art. I believe that if we didn't have art our world would be somewhat like 1984, but I think still there is art in that book (such as the proles), it is just how you define art. I think we need art for what it does for us spiritually. We might be able to live in an environment with little emotions, but there will always be some form of art shown unless we are literally robots. Art is essential for a society to thrive and survive. Art is a kind of communication and everyone communicates at sometime in their life. We need art because it seperates us from different people, and tells us about a culture. It speaks to the past and the future of who we were and are, and who we ought to be. Without any sort of art we would be very tired and bored, and I don't believe a world would be able to live like that. When people create artwork I don't think it is about being rich and powerful, but about personal enrichment. I think when an artist creates his or her work they have a story to tell about what they believe or think. I agree with Hanuka in that art is random and chaotic because you never know what you will see if your going into an art gallery. You can see a simple piece of art that has one or two meanings to it, or you could see art that has hundreds of different meanings to it that you may or may not agree with. I thought it was kind of humorous how Hanuka said, "art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic" because that is exactly true. Sometimes art is just something that is a stress reliever after a hard day of work or after hearing about all the problems of the world today. I am going to have to disagree with Hanuka when he talks about that art effects us in an opposite meaning to the way religion does because I think religion and art effect us in similar ways. He said that art leaves us with questions, but religion leaves us with many questions too and that is why there is so many different religions. You believe in what you think about what religion is right just like many people have different meanings on one piece of artwork.
pd. 3
Why then, if the artists of these different art forms are just following rules, is their work so interesting to the viewer or audience? Often the theme is something we know, it reflects the experiences of the artist (in a novel something that happened to him, in music maybe a sound he heard in nature etc.) but he or she is communicating his viewpoint, surprising with his ideas, his story, his view of the world. We love to see and understand the thoughts and ideas of someone else. Maybe that is because we often feel unconnected and misunderstood, and ultimately alone in the world, in our head, in our life. Even the people we love do things we don’t understand, and often can’t understand us and our way of thinking.
I agree with everything Andrea has to say in this passage. Especially the part where she says we all feel misunderstood in a sense and ultimately alone. No matter how many friends you have, no matter how close you are to your family, you are just as alone as Pi on the boat. Family, friends, and paople in general are distractions from finding your true self. Now I'm not saying everyone should seclude themselves just to know who they really are, because the people in our lives help shape us. Andrea says that even the people we love do things that we don't understand. Nobody thinks exactly alike. People may have similar ideas, but no one can know what another is exactly thinking. We make over 1000 decisions a day, and over half of them aren't previously thought about, more automatic. These automatic decisions are still thought about and processed in your brain. So when people don't understand why you did something, it was a decision that only your brain will understand. Andrea also talks about artists following rules. Who ever said that when a kid gets a coloring page that it looks better when they stay in the lines? I personally always stayed in the lines, but who taught us that that was the right way to do it? The Big Brother of our society thought for us and made our decision.
pd. 3
the novel stands on it's own and is a complete and whole creation.
the illustrations are a personal interpretation/reaction to the text. i see them more as a companion piece, a subjective expression based on what i've experienced while reading the book.
being a visual person i enjoy exploring content though images, and hopefully this exploration can enrich another reader's experience as he/she contemplates their own correspondence with the story.
I agree with Mr. Hanuka. He says that the novel is a creation in itself, it is just the reader who has the ability to interpret it however he or she likes. Martel writes to how he sees things going on in his mind a describes them as such. We see details the way he describes them, but no one sees them exactly the same whether it be the shade of blue in the sky or the facial expressions of the character. I believe most good authors give you guidelines to start with, but let you fill in the blank spots so you have your own original version of the story. Mr. Hanuka says his art work is a campanion piece to the novel. I think that is a very accurate statement. He is sharing his interpretation of the story through his art. This gives people an idea of what he sees when he reads the novel. I can't think of a better way to paint a picture in someones head better than actually making a picture, otherwise they can still interpret the image based on the small details you give them and then they fill in the blanks by themselves. He says he hopes his work can enrich others with the ideas and visions he has. I agree, when i look at the painting of Richard Parker roaring over Pi it makes me look at why things are certain colors like why is the sky orange. Does it represent the fire in his soul or is it simply a sunset, and why is Pi's shadow placed on richard parker? Is it because Pi is Richard Parker, and it is made to look like Pi is inside of Richard? There are many things you can learn from looking at art. It can make you look at the way you interpret something and make you question yourself, or it can solidify the thoughts you already had. It is a great way for us to learn about something, including ourself.
pd. 3
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I could not agree more with tomer hanuka. No one needs anything but the essentials to survive, but we still do things like create art and pictures to keep our lives intersting and keep them from fusing out into a dismal nothing that we can not tell the difference if we are doing something for porpous or pleasure. I am just like tomer, kinda, in the sense that i need some form of art, mine just happens to be drumming and music. I would go absoultely crazy if it was not able to create a beat or a tune or some form of a peice of music. It would be one thing to not be able to create music but it would be a whole nother hell if i could not listen to anything musical. Music is an escape for me. im always finding new music which is always helping me create new music. and we are totally effected by what we see in our day to day basis and that will effect you on how you could interpuret a song or any form of art. I have listened to a song 5 different time and each time i lisened to that song i took it differently. just like someone could take one of tomer's paintings differently. It all would depend on how that person is looking at it that day. which is another great thing about any form of art. it can be taken hundereds of different ways. it would just all change on how that person is looking at it, or how they are feeling that day, because people will try to relate anything to themselves, paintings, pictures, poems, songs. it really does not matter. give a person a form of art, and if they really wanted to, they could relate themselves to that one peice of art in some way or another. It is human to attach yourself to something. and you can not always find something to attach yourself to. so why not create something to attach to. so in a sense some people could need art to survive. to do nothing but attach themselves to it and see if other people will feel the same that they do. but that is just how i look at the whole art deal.
Fiction is the last great laboratory in which alternate realities can be explored. Fiction is the great democracy of ideas in which every idea, even the craziest, can have their vote. You try in fiction what you don't want to do, should not do, in reality. Fiction is where the mind is at its widest and largest. You, all of you, should, your whole life, always be reading a book. You don't have to read quickly. But you should always be reading. That way you mind will stay alive.
Martel has a very good point here as he talks about fiction. Fiction gives us the chance to escape our minds and get into our own world. If people get into the stories they read their imaginations expand and we think about the impossible becoming possible. It's interesting though, Martel mentions that he is writer not a reader. Yet, he is telling us to always be reading a book to keep our minds open. I think he says this because since he is an author he has his own way of expanding his mind. It is important for us to always look outside of the box and to step out of reality every once in a while. We are all so busy with everything we sometimes forget that there is a world out there full of surprises that have yet to be found. Keeping your mind alive, to me, means to be happier and for you to also feel "alive". For instance, if I am feeling bored I will read online or read a book. It gets you thinking about not only what you are reading but also about endless possibilities. Everyone has their own ideas when they are reading a book and everyone interprets things differently. I definitely agree with Martel when he says fiction is when the mind is at his widest and largest because nothing else expands you mind the way books do. I believe the slower you read the novel or book the better you understand and interpret it which also gives you the chance to imagine more. I am not much of a reader but I do believe that Martel's facts are true. I believe I should read more to help keep my mind open to things in my own life.
I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success, etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating
I really like this explanation of finding yourself and the way it makes you think about it in your own situation. most people think to themselves oh yeah i definitely found me true self. this is totally me. when in all actuality they are just being the way they are simply because of peer pressure or popularity and trying to fit it and come to find out that that isn't actually who they are and they may not agree with what they were doing before 'to be themselves'. i personally do not think i could sit and be honest with myself and say that i have found myself. thats not to say that i am not happy, because i am.. but i think there is more to me than what i have discovered so far in these 18 years. it is soooo easy now days and anytime for that matter to get caught up in material things. by getting sucked in by these material products you are just slowing yourself down to finding your true self. people find satisfaction in buying things to make themselves better or cooler and in return think they are getting closer to being themselves. i like that he is not afraid as an adult to admit that even he hasn't found him true self. it shows the self respect he has and honesty with his readers. he also realizes that art and religion can be a huge part of peoples everyday lives without being too overwhelming. people everywhere are drawn in and mezmorized by art whether they kno it or not. art is a part of everyones lives whether it is painting, photography, music, sculpting, or even dance. all forms of art are ways for people to express themselves. some people do not want to release their emotions by talking it out to someone but would rather prefer to take a paint brush and paint what they are feeling. it is cool that everyone can look at a piece of art work and understand and relate to it in completly different ways than the next person to look at it. that is what makes art so interesting and a huge part of everyones lives.
P.3
I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success,etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating. -Yann Martel
I agree with Yann, when he says he hasn't found his true self. I think that everyone goes through life trying to find things that can define them, but life changes. It is so hard to find your true self because you change who you are constantly, to fit different parts of your life. Being only one thing leads to a boring life. I don't think we are ever meant to find out who we truly are because we need to be able to discover different things about ourselves everyday. When you see different things in yourself everyday, you make for an exciting and eventful life. Yann says a materialistic life is defeating and unsatisfying, which is completely true. If you live a life where all you are trying to do is get the next best thing and be the richest, you have accomplished nothing. When you look back on your life, you have nothing to show but a lump of money and stationary objects. But someone who goes out and enjoys the simplest things in life are the ones who are the richest. When you discover happiness, love, faith, and know what it feels like to give everything you have to those worse off than you, you have truly lived the BEST life. Someone who has gone through life with everything given to them, and lives the life of luxury, has never truly felt satisfied. They don’t know what it is like to work so hard for something you believe in, or volunteering your life to save others even though you don’t get a salary in return. The ones who do, are the ones that go to bed every night completely satisfied with their life. When Yann says defeated, I think he means you have defeated yourself. When you define who you are by materialistic things, you defeat the purpose in life. You are in a sense giving up on your self. So we shouldn’t go through life trying to find ourselves and gain the highest standings, but discover parts of our lives that we never want to forget. We need to use all of our gifts to the best of our ability and enjoy what little time we have.
P.3
I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success,etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating. -Yann Martel
I agree completely with Yann Martel, because im not sure if i have even found my true self. Life would be nothing if everyone knew what there true self consisted of. If i knew what i was going to do from day to day and how i was going to approach things, life would be boring. I like living my life, not knowing what tomorrow is going to bring, and living it by my first instincts. The simile, saying life is like a river, is totally believable and so true! Even though life can bring good and bad things, everyone still needs to move on, the river is not just going to stop running. If life is centered strictly on the material things, your life is going to go no where. Life is not all about money or the things you have. Some of the most happiest people in this world, are the people with something to cover their head. Also, some of the sweetest and kindest hearts are the ones who don't have massive amounts of money. I think money and wealth only leads to people thinking they are way better then everyone. So, if everyone was rich, the whole world would be stuck up, or simply focused on their one lives. Now, money can be a good thing, if it is used in the right way. Donating, and helping others is a way money can be great! I think art and religion are both very important to have in our society. They both do not have to be expanded so far, just simply known. Art can describe so many different things, it just all about the attitude of the person. Also, i think when people really look into art work, they can find things that the artist never even intended. I think life needs to be lived to the fullest. People need to live their lives with the mind set saying "i need to give back". Also, i think when everything is given to you, and you do not have to work for it at all, people have not lived the right life. Just like my paper i wrote on the movie, The Ultimate Gift.
(Martel)
I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success,etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.
I completely agree with Martel's metaphor that the self is like a river. Martel stated that his riverbed consists of art and religion where as I feel that my riverbed consists of sports and school. Throughout my 18 years of life I feel the majority of my memories and things I have learned from involve sports and school. I have learned many valuable things while being affiliated with sports such as using teamwork and how hard work usually pays off. Sports can throw so many different challenges and obsticles at you and you have to find ways to overcome them and proceed. That is why sports are so important to so many people because they are the way they are from what they have learned in sports. School is also part of my riverbed because throughout my life so far I have learned a lot from school and it has helped me become who I am today. Family and friends also have a big influence your "self" because you spend so much time with them and look up to them to guide you down the right path. I also agree with Martel when he says that the self needs to constantly be in motion otherwise it will stagnate. I agree with this because I always have to be trying new things where it be a type of food, or changing my schedule a little bit, or going to new places. If you keep doing the same monotonous things day in and day out your life will stagnate and become dull and unenjoyable. I do not think that life can be fully explored or grasped in any of life's perspectives. I do not believe that one can experience enough activities in one lifetime to understand all the joys and struggles of life.
tina L.
pd. 1
Life of Pi is a first-person narrative, so I decided to paint all the illustrations from Pi’s perspective. Aside from the idea of involving the reader more on a visual scale, my intention was not to affect his/her own image of Pi, so we never get to see Pi’s face -- all we see are his hands and feet. I thought this device was appropriate because Mr. Martel never described Pi. In his words: “It’s irrelevant what Pi looks like, as it is irrelevant how any of us looks like”. To put it another way, I tried to add another dimension to the story, to broaden its reach, to complement it, but never to compete with it. Mr. Martel is fond of saying that illustrations add to a book what music adds to opera, and I agree with him. I see the illustrations as an extension of the words, as the idea behind words, expressed.
I agree. Using your imagination is key! Using your own point of perspective is also a great point. We can see what Pi sees and feel what he might be feeling in that point of view. Getting to know what a character feels is part of your imagination. You can really get "into" a book by feeling what the character is feeling or what the character's view is. It's like being there next to him! I'm not sure on what she means by, ". . . compete with it." Compete with our imagination of Pi? I don't know. I do like that fact that some writers don't describe their characters or describe them very little. You can use your imagination and perspective on broader scale! I also like first person perspectives. You get to be in someone else's shoes! Seeing things not seen before! You are the character! You are doing and saying what the character is saying or doing! You are intimite with the character. (Don't know if I spelled that right)? It stretches the faberic of your mind to a fine point.
pd. 3
“I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success,etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.” --Yann Martel
I agree with Martel. To find your true self is a difficult thing. I am sure that I have not found my true self yet, and I am not sure that I will ever find my “true” self. But what is truly our “true self”? Every one changes around different people, in different places, and in different situations. I know when I’m with my school friends I act different than when I am with my family or even my church friends. I am more willing to be open with my best friends than with my acquaintances. Life to some people is motivated by family, others by religion, money, fame, or power. People try hard to become who they want to be, but they don’t become who they need to be. They need to stand up for what they believe and not just jump on the bandwagon. Life without a purpose is as Yann Martel says “unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.” A person with no purpose is useless to the society as a whole. By not becoming involved, you don’t continue to becoming more knowledgeable. By not becoming more knowledgeable you also become more unintelligent, because in our world of technology, each day more things are discovered. If we continue to become more unintelligent we will become more like the society in 1984. We will become more dependent on others, and will eventually become ruled in all aspects of our life. By studying art and religion, we become thought criminals. If we are thought criminals we will continue to become more knowledgeable, making us more aware of what is going on around us, also making us in control of what happens to us. Finding our true self may also be found in art or religion. Our “true self” may change each day, but all that matters is that we become what we truly want and need to be. If we need to be a strong leader, then we must step up and become that leader. If we want to be a strong contributer to our society than we must strive to become that person we want to become.
prd 5
Yes, I am concerned about the nature of reality, about what we see when we look out. I was good at school and what school in a modern Western society taught me to be is reasonable. Nothing wrong with that--within limits. Rationality is a very powerful tool. It got Neil Armstrong on the moon and it made the computer I'm using right now in Portugal to reply to you in South Dakota. Amazing, simply amazing what we've done with rationality. But there are limits to what reason can give us.
I agree with Yann Martel on his reply. Reason has made it possible for humans to be the dominate species on this earth. Reason made everything from the wheel to the internet. But it is true that reason and rationality have limits where stories of fiction have none. When reading fiction the reader is capable of defying the laws of the natural world when in reality it isnt possible. Thats one of the appealing things about fiction. You are not tide to reality. Its possible to escape to your own world the author has help create with you and let loose. Where as with reason you are limited to what is physically possible. There is no doubt that reason is a good thing and a useful thing. But that imagination element is always enticing to people. A lot of the time the impossible and possible can exist at the same time. Or the believable and the unbelievable. For example a totally believable thing is a ship sinking and a person being stranded on a life boat. An unbelievable thing is that same person surviving on that life boat for 227 days with a tiger. I think because such an unbelievable thing can become some what possible is because it is paired with a completely logical circumstance. I think thats what makes Yann Martel's book so enjoyable and I did find it to be a very enjoyable book. He combines logical and illogical to create a fascinating story. The great thing about the book is he doesnt tell you what is the real story. The completely logical ending where the animals are replaced with people with similar characteristics or the seemingly impossible story of survival with wild animals including Richard Parker. I find myself believing the the more plausible situation but cant help but feel that the story with Richard Parker is some how possible. Of the two, I hope the one with the animals is true and thats what Im going to believe because Yann Martel gave me that option to percieve this book the way I want to.
P. 3
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I agree with Tomer Hanuka in that we definitely do not need art to survive, but it clearly makes things interesting. We would probably agree that drawings, paintings, and sculptures are all forms of art. You may argue that they have no meaning and they are boring to construct and look at, but if we consider music and films to be art, which I believe they are, then the perspective of art drastically changes. I would consider films and music to be art because as Tomer says, "art uses elements from life." In countless films and songs elements from real life are distributed in, whether it is a film that is "based on a true story," portraying the real life/actual events that occurred during a certain time in history, or in a song when the "artist" writes about his or her personal experiences. I would say that without art the United States would not just be a boring place to live, but it is what keeps this country running. From the millions and billions of dollars that are spent on advertising, hoping someone will be affect enough to spend money on something that will eventually help the United States, because it is taxed. You could probably go as far as saying that the US government itself is a form of art. There is none other like it in the world, and during its relatively short existence, (based on the history of the world) it is more than likely the most successful form of government of all time. You could even say that the computer used to type this blog is art, because not many people know how to build them, there are different styles, and in many countries, very few have seen, or know how to use them. Tomer in my opinion hits it on the head when he says, "art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic." Basically, through art we can help explain why things are the way they are, and it makes the absurd and mysterious things believable.
pd 5
Fiction is the last great laboratory in which alternate realities can be explored. Fiction is the great democracy of ideas in which every idea, even the craziest, can have their vote. You try in fiction what you don't want to do, should not do, in reality. Fiction is where the mind is at its widest and largest. You, all of you, should, your whole life, always be reading a book. You don't have to read quickly. But you should always be reading. That way you mind will stay alive.
This statement, by Yann Martel, I believe to be true to a huge extent. When you read fiction your mind has room to grow and expand because you have the option to think and imagine things that do not happen in everyday life. Fiction is like that area where any thing can happen and your mind can wonder into a vast universe. Also like Martel said, in fiction you get to try things that in reality you might not have the guts to do and can view a conclusion to a situation that you think of. Furthermore, by reading these fiction books, you get an idea of some thing else that you can imagine and ponder about. Another thing he mentioned is that in fiction, all ideas even the craziest get their vote by every mind. I believe this because it is true that they get a vote. In reality or nonfiction, you can see something as being true or pluasible. To that you can even see it as a fake and then it really is not nonfiction anymore. So then a nonfiction story either gets proved or disproved. In fiction however, you know that it is not a real story and therefore can not disprove it as ever happening. Plus with every nonfiction art you look at and read, that gives you an idea of your own nonfiction to test and fantasize about. I like that he said that you do not have to read fast either, because not everyone reads fast and some parts seem really interesting so you read them closer. Everyone has their own pace at which they read and every book is read at a different pace. Some seem fast and filled with intense action and some are cliff hangers that make you wonder. Either way it is good to keep your mind going and to keep creativity alive.
We love to see and understand the thoughts and ideas of someone else. Maybe that is because we often feel unconnected and misunderstood, and ultimately alone in the world, in our head, in our life. Even the people we love do things we don’t understand, and often can’t understand us and our way of thinking.
I totally agree with Andrea Offerman when she says that. I think that it is very important to look at artwork once and a while because every person that looks at a piece of art, will perceive it differently. Some may see a painting one way, and then there may be others that see it a completely opposite way. I think artists do have a meaning to thier art when they creat it, but I think that they dont tell anybody because they want it left open for interpretation. I think that is the whole point of art: to be able to see it however you want to and to stimulate your brain to think. I also agree that people we love do things we often don't understand, and that goes back to when we talked about individuality. I know that I have some relatives that are not willing to accept any other opinion or thoughts on some topics if were in a group discussion. They are completely closed-minded and wont allow any other thoughts other than their own. That drives me crazy because I feel like the thoughts that I might have to offer are right, and valuable too. No matter where you go, there will always be people that think the complete opposite of what you think. That's because were ALLOWED to think our own thoughts and even to express them if we so wish to do so. Not everybody will understand where you are coming from on all things, but you also have to be open-minded to other people's point of view too. Art is definitely a thing that sparks conversation and controversey. One person sees it one way, another person sees it another way, and they could really care less what the other person sees. I think that having some controversery in our lives is healthy because it keeps our brains from getting rusty, so looking at art is ultimately a great idea, and I think that Andrea Offerman would agree with me on that.
Period 5
Q:
I hope readers, when confronted with this choice of realities in Life of Pi, this choice between the story with animals and the story without animals, will not just jump to the factually easiest story. I hope they will see that reality is a co-creation, a matter of perception. But that's up to each reader. Some people can make leaps of faith, others are more hesitant.
A:
I can completely agree with the statments he makes in this comment. We all see the world how we want to see it, people who have a negative attitude will most likely have more bad days than good ones as opposed to someone who has a posotive outlook of life. Every person chooses how to interpret things just like readers of this book are constantly being forced to interpret at think about things they may be unsure of. Making my own decision about how i want to interpret the book makes the book seem so much more important to me because i can apply all the aspects he talks about and how i interpret them to my life and how i want to live it. When we can apply books to our lives like that i think that our lives change with each book because each single one has such an impact on us because of the personal importance it has to us. Not only people who like religion can like this book, so can people who like zoology or adventure stories. It seems to me that each person can choose their own theme of the book as well. Some people who read this book may say its a religious story while others say its a story of survival of the fittest, and yet another person may say its about the co existance of humans and animals. This book is 100% personal interpretation. We are not even faced with simply realistic beliefs. You can believe that both stories were true, that one was true, or that neither were true. This book makes you question yourself and question the things that you choose to believe, whether it be your religion or the story that Pi tells. You can not read this book without making a decision.
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions. (Tomer Hanuka)
I totally agree with Tomer Hanuka. Art is not food water or shelter but yet it seems to be essential in other ways. Life would be so bland without art. Whether it be movies, plays, music or paintings, art adds much more variety to our lives than we would have without it. Art really does seem to bring our lives from chaos into focus. It may be a song that reminds us of what is actually important or it may be a movie that causes us to look at our own life from a different perspective. Art shows us meaning that we simply cannot get from any other sources. By looking at a piece of art we can either buy the meaning that the creator gave it or we can create or own meaning, and then apply it to our own lives. This is why art is so elevating to both the mind and the spirit. It does not tell us how to think or what to think but rather it leaves an open end for us to fill in. We can take from it what we want and leave the rest. One day we might feel totally different from the next day and therefore we get very different experiences from that art. Life can get very boring sometimes, very monotonous and repeated. If we stop and enjoy somebodies creation through art we can definitely elevate ourselves and invigorate our being. The ability for us to stop and take in a piece of art is essential to the revival of our mind and soul. I also definitely agree that art gives us questions. There is absolutely nothing in this world that raises as many questions, controversies, and blurred lines as art does. There are no solid answers or set in stone meanings given to any particular piece of art. However this is why art is so beautiful. There is not a right answer because everyone is right. Everyone creates their own meaning and takes from art what they want. Unlike a math problem where there are many wrong answers and only one right answer art has infinite right answers. Taking in art also probably promotes thought crime more than any other activity on earth. If you are doing math, and you know the process, you can kind of go through the steps of that problem without thinking about it to intently. When you are analyzing art however you must be constantly aware and contemplating how that piece of art applies to your life. This is a major thought crime.
pd 7
A modern Western society taught me to be reasonable. Nothing wrong with that--within limits. Rationality is a very powerful tool. But there are limits to what reason can give us. It can't give us meaning. So it's not a question of "real vs. not real", but "what is real?" Most people choose to see the factual in the real--that's the easiest thing to see if you're taught to be rational. But in my experience, that makes for an empty life. It's better to delve deeper in the real until you find mystery.
Wow! This response to our question really ties into 1984 plot/them. To this day reason has given us what we call answers. It has developed "right and wrong" ideas in our minds because of factual proof to back it up. We endlessly search to find the reason why we are here to the reason there is cancer. We ponder everyday things like why me. We are taught in school everyday to not just take an answer, but question it with the question why because with every answer there must be some reason behind it. Yann Martell is more than right when he says that with being rational the easiest thing to do is to make things real because of factual evidence. Everyday when we search for answers we look for factual evidence/reason behind it, but are never taught to open our eyes to the unreal or the non reasonable side. Complete nonsense to us is not probable because there is no evidence behind it. We want factual proof in everything! If you don't have factual proof to back yourself up your seen as a crazy human, but in reality your just not using reason. Maybe there is no reason behind anything and we only search to find reason to satisfy the want to understand and interpret everything. When you try to forget reason your mind begins to soar! Martell is right in saying that by living a life of reason is living an empty life. In only using reason and evidence your never digging deep into mystery. Mystery is where anything can happen because of any reason. It is by far more exciting than factual reality. So maybe we should as humans quit trying to be so reasonable and start to question things that we haven't before and dig deeper into the unknown.
To tie this into the novel 1984, the citizens are no longer allowed to use reason to allow their minds to wander. They only have facts, made-up facts, and that is it! There minds are never allowed to ask why because all that they have is factual reason to back anything and everything that happens. If you begin to question things and ponder you are vaporized! So maybe we should question our government. They give us so many reasonable things to not doubt them and to trust them, but if we forget reason maybe we'll find out they are merely the same as 1984!
Fiction is the last great laboratory in which alternate realities can be explored. Fiction is the great democracy of ideas in which every idea, even the craziest, can have their vote. You try in fiction what you don't want to do, should not do, in reality. Fiction is where the mind is at its widest and largest. You, all of you, should, your whole life, always be reading a book. You don't have to read quickly. But you should always be reading. That way you mind will stay alive.
I agree with Yann Martel when he says that fiction is the great laboratory. With the power of fiction you can create anything and make anything possible. This keeps our minds open and alive. Without fiction and creativity our lives would be dull and grey just like in 1984. The party understood the power of fiction, d and that’s why they started the ministry of truth, to control and change what people have written in order to make it fit their agenda. Fiction helps us look past normal logic and believe in something more. Problems that plague our world have tried to be solved with normal logical thinking, this hasn’t worked. Solutions to our problems now and in the future lie in areas that we have not yet explored. How is anything going to be solved if every person thought the same way? The same solution would be tried and failed a thousand times over. In a way that is what is happening not only in our country but internationally as well. Back before the American Revolution monarchies was the only conceivable and reasonable solution to the problem of governing. Democracies had been tried and failed up until this point to but our founding fathers pushed that aside and decide to explore the unknown and seek something better. I also agree when Yann Martel says that “fiction is the great democracy of ideas in which every idea … can have their vote.” I really like this comparison it is original and true. In our democracy every person has the right to vote and their vote counts just as much as the next person no matter how crazy or uneducated they are. Fiction is similar to this; any story is believable, even if it is a sixteen year old boy lost out in the middle of the ocean for 280 some days with a tiger aboard. fiction is extremely important, it teaches us how to think, how to look deeper and analyze what we see and feel. Fiction opens our minds and forces us to think beyond logic.
Period 1
(Martel)
I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success,etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.
I agree with what Yann Martel is saying in the response because material things only get you through this material life but the most important thing is where you go after death. I think how Martel says "life is graspable" is true, you can find your true self if you just take a step back and appreciate things the natural things the world has to offer. So many people are wrapped up on money it is important yes, but not to a point where that is all your thinking about in your life. Some say money is the root of all evil; it drives man to do stupid things and I think they're right. Martel is a very wise man and im sure one can learn alot by shadowing him. I feel that Yann writing this book has opened his eyes to new things, experiences, and controversys(sp?). With him toying with the idea of a man having not two but three religions is daring and his acidic island part of the book really makes the reader question themselves.
pd. 1st
Life of Pi is a first-person narrative, so I decided to paint all the illustrations from Pi’s perspective. Aside from the idea of involving the reader more on a visual scale, my intention was not to affect his/her own image of Pi, so we never get to see Pi’s face -- all we see are his hands and feet. I thought this device was appropriate because Mr. Martel never described Pi. In his words: “It’s irrelevant what Pi looks like, as it is irrelevant how any of us looks like”. To put it another way, I tried to add another dimension to the story, to broaden its reach, to complement it, but never to compete with it. Mr. Martel is fond of saying that illustrations add to a book what music adds to opera, and I agree with him. I see the illustrations as an extension of the words, as the idea behind words, expressed.
I agree with Torjanac's perspective on how he painted Life of Pi. you don't ever see Pi's face or have it described to you so shouldn't the picture the artist draws be from a first person view of Pi looking at Richard Parker and seeing how big he appears from Pi's view. The painting makes the viewer/reader feel more like Pi and feel what it would be like to deal with a bengal tiger and the ocean for 227 days. Martel wanted the picture to be an extension to the book in first person like how he wrote about Pi in first person so we always know how PI was feeling or what he was thinking. The picture wouldn't have made sense to draw as showing pi with richard parker because in the story you are pi and know what he feels and thinks. I like how he shows pi as small and weak next to richard parker yet he has to feed him and has him tamed waiting for his meal even though richard parker could eat pi at any moment.
I believe that we perceive writing and images on different levels. When we read we are decoding abstract signs into meaning. When we see an image the understanding is instantaneous, the information is received much easier. Also, images can touch us more directly than a written story, and help us to dive into the story and feel that we are a part of it.
I agree with what Andrea says because we all look at things differently. If someone who has bad associations with guns sees a gun in artwork a movie or even a book they will associate it with different memories and feelings. Which also make us decode the abstract signs she talks about. Our initial thought is different than what we think about for a longer amount of time. When we see Images they have a stronger impact I think because it creates a picture and visuals for us. Although we can create visuals when we read it is stronger when we see them for ourselves. This along with the story helps us decode what we feel. Since we see it we can feel like we are apart of the picture. And then we more closely connected to the book. I believe each person is very different when it comes to decoding. Experiences are the main thing that shapes our personality. And by experiencing artwork related to books they affect our personality. I think that after we read books that have a great impact on us they make us look at some things differently. For example, I don’t think I will ever look at a tiger the same way after reading life of pi. It’s the double meaning that really made me think in life of pi. I like how Andrea says the images help us dive into the story. It makes it sound like we become engulfed in the meaning. Which is exactly what we do when we become interested… we become engulfed.
From Casey N, before due date/time:“I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success,etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.” --Yann Martel
I love this explanation of how to find yourself. When you look at your own life situations, it can open your eyes and make you realize that the material things do not matter. What truly maters are the small simple things and your family; people who truly care about you and love you. Like Martel said, you do not need to sit in front of the Monalisa and listen to classical music to find yourself. Finding yourself is knowing who you are and what and who you really need in your life. I believe you need some kind of religion in your life. Whether it is Christianity or Atheism, you at least have a base of where your beliefs come in place that makes you who you are. Everywhere you go, you leave a piece of you. This is what I think the riverbed is. It is like leaving a piece of you there, but not physically. It is like an emotional state of being that you leave everywhere. No one can tell you who you are or who you should be and what to do. Everything you do is your choice. If you let people walk all over you, then you have not found yourself. Money defeats the purpose of life. You can have all the money in the world, but then you basically end up buying your significant other love. It defeats the purpose of a true relationship with a loved one or anyone in your family. “Life is a chance to grow a soul” said by A. Powell Davies. This goes with Martels explanation. . I do not think you can completely find yourself. It is a gradual process that continues throughout your whole life. When you get into high school and college is when you really start coming into your own. You are opened up to peer pressure and whether you give into it our not is how you find yourself. You can say no to your friends when it comes to drinking, but that is how you can really come into your own. So many kids get put into popularity and get caught up in it and end up getting big heads and an enormous ego. I do not think you can completely find yourself.
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I agree with this statement. We don't need art to survive. It does not keep us health or give us food and water. What it does do is help us to understand things in life. As Tomer Hanuka says it is to keep our lives interesting. Art also keeps us questioning about our emotions and life lessons i think. If we did not have art our world would be like 1984...No expressions or self thinking. Art lets us create our own meaning to situations.
Period 7
The human mind loves rhythm and order, and it is not surprising that all of the above mentioned forms of art have over the years developed a set of rules that are pleasing to the human mind, e.g. different keys for music, compositional rules like the golden section for painting, the story arc for novels. Also, rhythm and a sense of order seem...
These words by Andrea Offermann are very true. Throughout the history of the world people have been entertaining us (William Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, JK Rowling) with patterns of rhythm and order. Andrea Offermann's ability to follow these sets of rules, in her artwork, is the reason that she has become such a well-known artist. Life of Pi follows one of the rules of writing (that's why it is such a great book). It has a main character, a storyline, and an ending (which actually occurs in the beginning of the book). If a book where about random things and places with no order or reason for anything to be happening, then no one would read it. Life of Pi has a detailed storyline with a huge (and fun) twist in the end. The reader can almost believe the storyteller throughout the entire novel. The ability of Yann Martel to write so well, using the rules that the human mind likes, is the cause for this book being so popular and an award winner. He is able, as an author, to create an environment that stimulates our minds. Authors, like Yann, also has the ability to change our perceptions of reality. We begin to wonder, "What if is really is possible to live on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger?" Or, in the case of 1984, "How could people ever allow themselves to be controlled and monitored so closely?" Maybe George Orwell changed the future of his world, just by writing in the pattern that the mind likes.
Nick P. Per.5
The truth is we don't need art to survive, but it keeps things interesting.
Life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organizes them into structures that elevate the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. The list keeps evolving. Art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
It effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. It gives us questions.
I found Tomer Hanuka's answer to why art is important in life quite insightful. I agree that life is often chaotic and randomn, which is where art comes in. It elevates our minds and keeps them consatantly stimulated. I firmly believe that any one person could find a piece of art that relates to them. While Tomer says art is not needed to survive, I respectively disagree. While you could argue that to "survive" all a human needs is food and water, I believe every life needs substance, something to make that human an individual. In a sense, everything in the world is a piece of art. Forgive me if I sound cheesy, but everytime I go outside i'm surrounded by art. Every piece of nature has it's own color, it's own texture. A sunny day makes me feel better than a cloudy one. Anything and everything has an effect on ones' emotions. Although art isn't needed to "survive", it is needed to thrive. I also respectively disagree with the last two sentences "It effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. It gives us questions". If anything gives us questions, it's religion. We question religion everyday, when faced with difficult situations folks will turn to religion and to their God for help and when that difficult situation worsens the first thing they question is their God. Why did this happen? Where were you? Nothing is questioned more than religion. My respects to Tomer, I enjoy his perceptions.
(Tomar)
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I agree with Tomer Hanuka and what he says here. Life is really chaotic, especially this last month of the senior year. And sometimes in order to just stop and breath, you need to look at something, like art, that can help you relate to what's going on in your life. And by looking at this art, or by listening to it, one can relate to it and thus help reorganize their life back on track and not live such a random and chaotic lifestyle. Also, art is so important to life because it helps us be thoughtcriminals, and not just comfortable, dumb, ignorant human beings. Studying art or just relating to it, helps us become better thinkers and people, because honestly, some paintings just don't make sense to us. So art helps us ask questions about life, which in the long run, it will make us become better people and will ultimately help us stay thoughtcriminals. But by no means is art essential to life. Anyone can survive without art, but that would be a pretty boring life. A life that doesn't test one's comfort zone is a dull life. I couldn't imagine a life where I would go to work, come home, eat supper, watch TV, and then go to bed - every day. I would probably go insane. I need variety in my life, and I also need something or someone to challenge my thinking. And I agree with Tomar that art can challenge you and make you ask questions. It can make your life so much intersting, and less chaotic and random. Without art, we wouldn't be able to see the many sides of a topic or issue; we would only see one side, and that side would be Big Brother's side. Without art, there would be no meaning, and we would all just be confused and comfortable without any stimulation to our brains.
Pd. 1
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
-T. Hanuka
I agree with Hanuka’s statement of life being random and chaotic. Life is the hardest thing an animal has to live through. Life has climaxes, resolutions, conflicts, depth, and challenges. In order for someone to express what life is really like to another being, the artwork has to be a little confusing. No one goes through the same experiences as another. So when a person looks at an art piece they take what they have lived through and try to compare it to what that particular artist is trying to express. I also agree with the statement that art is evolving. Like any animal, art is, in a way, is alive. It has to challenge what is happening in the present and has to over come challenges in the future in order to stay alive. It changes with the times and modern styles that is need to keep it from going extinct. Finding mean in ones life is probably the scariest and most difficult thing to understand. One person can be naive about their whole life and not understand that are about 6.3 billon other people leaving on the same planet. Others think that we are useless beings because we are only here for a short amount of time. If you are only here for a short amount of time, wouldn’t you like to make the best of that little time? Exploring the possible ways to make your life meaning full and remembered can be hard but worth the life time effort. Like religion art is something to believe in. Unlike religion, art is not something that gives you definite answers to why things are happening. Like Hanuka says, “art gives us questions.” Art is not meant to be straight forward and definite. It is supposed to go out side our comfort zones and out side the box to help us better understand what we are thinking. Having questions about anything just means that you are curious and wish to explore more on the subject. If you have trouble understanding an artist or art piece, go and explore why this artist is doing what he is and how he did it. In the end, you will become a wiser person.
Pd 1
"All of the above are expressions of our human experiences and our need to communicate, inspire, move and enlighten. All these forms of art are tools to reach out to another human being, express the message of the artist and touch the audience on different levels of perception. Rather than just communicating a message these forms of art translate the message into a form of order, a musical score, a composed painting, or photograph, a sculpture, that reaches not only the mind but also the soul of the audience."
I completely agree with Andrea Offermann’s comment. Artist or composer does try to communicate a message to the viewer either by seeing a piece of art or by listening to a song. This book has inspired artists all over to communicate their perspective on it. Sometimes by just simply telling someone your opinion, it is better to show it and affects the viewer or listener even more. There are many different ways to communicate your emotions, beliefs, insights, etc. The experiences each individual go through also highly relate to their opinion. Experiences throughout one’s life shape a person into who they become. It is one thing to listen and read about one’s experiences and a whole other to actually go through them. I could not even imagine a life without music, art, reading, or movies. In my opinion we need them. We need these forms of communication for others to get their message out in different ways. Without communication and expressions of human experiences life just wouldn’t be the same. Every individual has an opinion and instead of directly voicing it they are able to indirectly show it or write it. They let the reader perceive their own opinion of it and have their own creative thought. Everyone should have the ability to openly think and create their own ideas on any subject. Anyone can openly express themselves and get their message out in many ways. If this right was one day taken from us, the world would come to an end. If we did not have art, movies, music, or books our lives and thoughts and opinions would be pointless. I need art, movies, music, and books to express myself and learn from. They have all shaped me and help create my opinion on many subjects. They let me think for myself and also let me express myself. The experiences presented by individuals through all these help me with my own thought.
“Backwards because I wanted it to be established right from the start that Pi survives--because, in a sense, with the right attitude, we never die. And I told the story in a first-person fashion because I wanted to get inside Pi's head. I wanted the reader to settle inside Pi's head and see things the way you might if you are a passenger in the front seat of a car. I wanted the I of Life of Pi to be the I of the reader. A third person voice would have been exterior, looking at Pi like some rat in an experiment.”
I chose this excerpt by Yann Martel because I completely agree with the way he wrote his book “life of Pi”. I like the technique of writing it “backwards” to show the reader that he does survive so we aren’t as focused on getting to the end to find out if he survives. We know right from the start that he does, so we can enjoy the book more and actually read it instead of skimming it just to get to the end. However, knowing in the beginning that he survives is kind of a let down. It adds to the suspense not knowing what happens to him. I like that Yann told the story in first person point of view. It does allow us to get into Pi’s head and to feel what he is feeling. To have Pi himself telling the story, it’s a lot easier to understand what he is feeling and to get a picture in your head of what is going on around him. When he says that third person would be like looking at Pi like a rat in an experiment, I agree and disagree with that statement. I do think if it was told in third person, we wouldn’t be as connected to Pi but it still would have been a good story. This story is so bizarre and different that anyone would enjoy reading it no matter what view it’s told from. First person point of view would be the best, so we can see what Pi is really seeing and feel what Pi is really feeling. Third person would be like watching a rat, listening to someone else tell Pi’s story wouldn’t make it as real to the reader. Yann wanting the I of life of Pi to be the I of the reader makes sense to me. It takes a really great writer to be able to put the reader in the story. Yann Martel is a great writer and I think his work is very admirable. Life of Pi is an interesting story line and it has a great twist at the end. I loved it.
What does this accomplish on a large scale? Art works slowly in forming the interior life of individuals. A person who feels for art has a rich inner life that will keep them rich no matter how much money they have in their bank account. The converse is true, too: a person who feels nothing for art will always be poor no matter if they're millionaires.
My legacy? Art is a gift to the world. The artist gives for nothing. What readers do with my books is the concern of readers, not mine. I give; it's up to others to see whether they want to take
I like this statement because it shows that you have a menu to choose from which is what I like from a book because it lets you think for yourself and you can add your own personal twist onto what you think of the book. He is saying that the book isnt cut and dry that it could mean something different to every person who has ever read the book. A good author gives you a menu to choose from which is why the book is more art and not literature.
3rd
The truth is we don't need art to survive, but it keeps things interesting.
Life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organizes them into structures that elevate the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. The list keeps evolving. Art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
It effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. It gives us questions.
I find Tomer Hanuka’s view on art very insightful. I, along with other people, don’t see that art is essential or is it active in of our everyday life, but random spurts of art can help see things in different ways and helps us better understand other peoples viewpoints. In some weird way certain settings can make you see things differently. For example, I am more likely to be in a bad mood on a cold, gloomy day and will likely be easier to piss off than I would on a beautiful sunny day when I can enjoy the weather and go fishing.
Per 3
I grew up in Israel where the sun bleaches out the color out of everything, and early on got hooked on comics where, mostly for production reasons the colors where pumped to the max. I want to say it was escapism, but i had a terrific childhood. comics was exotic, the whole idea of superheros, visual icons, worlds within panels.
This statement by Mr. Hanuka is very idealistic. We grow up in our own bland version of sun bleached lives. We all look for something to idolize and have hope in, or just to make our lives more interesting. Heroes and heroines are more important to us than we consider them to be. They teach us lessons in courage and sacrifice. Direct us on paths of justice and morality and show us the consequences of evil. Comic books, novels, and movies are all great sources of heroes, but we can find heroes all around us: the everyday man that does what he can when he can; the soldier who saves a village; the doctor curing the ill; the teacher planting the seeds of knowledge and curiosity. These people are the heroes we do not see in colorful comic books but are in our lives each and everyday, protecting and defending us. Superman and batman are great, they are wonderful for the day-dreams and what ifs, but the real heroes are all around us.
“Worlds within panels” is another ideal that makes people hope for better. Our world is not perfect, but it is not too bad either. For every bad person there are a dozen more that are willing to do right. Our own self being prevents us, for the most part, for harming each other. The only time we ever do bad thing to each other is when we do it out of necessity or just out of impulse, but as people we do have the wonderful gift of free will. We choose our paths and reap the consequences good or bad. The maliciousness of human nature is easy over shadowed by our potential for good. Then again, most who do charity and other things of benevolent nature have their own personal gains in mind: publicity, favors, money, and other things. We do not think about we reward we help a person with a door or hold the elevator for a stranger; we just do it out of human nature. This potential for good that we all share, if used with out personal agendas, will make the wonderful worlds in panels a reality.
Period 3
“I tried to strike a balance between creating a conceptual and a realistic image. The illustration describes Pi's experience growing up in a zoo, and although it's a literal depiction to a degree, the compressed space and mishmash of animals emphasizes the wonder and magic of young Pi's experience. In general, when I illustrate animals, I like to show something of their realistic appearance, but their personality and energy as well.”
-Joanna Barnum
I think it’s really fitting how she perceives her illustration of Life of Pi. She grasps the concept of how the entire story isn’t set out to show you how it was and leaving you with one thought in the end. The book lets you decide, as does her illustration. Her mishmash of the animals not only emphasizes the “wonder and magic of young Pi’s experience,” but it also foreshadowing you to the events that will come. At first glance before reading the novel, the reader could assume it’s about animals, and not much else from it. They will later learn that this “mishmash” could represent reader’s depiction between humans vs. animals. Her using the words “compressed space” is pretty evident. Pi is compressed in his life throughout the entire novel. He’s compressed as a child in the sense that, he had been attempted to force only one of the three religions he practiced upon him. He was compressed as teen being forced to move to Canada. He was also, obviously, compressed on a small lifeboat for 227 days either alone, or with a tiger named Richard Parker. You decide for yourself.
I completely agree with Barnum’s impression of the novel, but she could also take her impression so much further. Her illustration gives off much more than beyond what she thinks. Did you notice that none of the animals in her illustration are animals involved in Pi’s 227 day journey? This could be her way of showing that she believed the ‘Human Version.’ She could have taken the easy way out and put people on it, (like Pi’s mother, brother, the cook, etc.) But maybe she still wanted to make us think, even though her thought was already provided. Maybe her illustration wasn’t chosen because it shows her bias.
Regardless of whether or not the author’s choice of human vs. animals is present in her illustration, the illustration was beautifully depicted from the novel. Her thought, effort, and time shows through it.
prd. 5
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I agree with this statement because we really dont need art to survive but it makes it easier. Art doesnt really make me question anything .. but i guess i could see where it comes from .. it makes me question where in there mind they got the idea. but i dont agree with the religion statement because religion makes me question things and my own mind. art helps us to better understand our 'time' like everything that is going on around us and the past also.
p.5
I think art and literature have always been connected, from the earliest attempts to write down a story. One could almost say that in the beginning they were one, if you look at old cave paintings and Egyptian writing. With the evolvement of writing techniques the signs became much more abstract and the writing we are using now is much removed from the image it describes. Still, if you look at Chinese handwriting, you can still see the remains of the original image in the lines.
I also think that art and literature are connected. Back in the caveman days they didn't write stories, they drew stories. I think you can better understand stories that are told with pictures, because the pictures help tell the story and explain it better. Kind of spices the story up a little bit. That is also probabaly why there are more pictures in kid's books because it helps them understand the book better. Because we're older we're capabale of comprehending a story without looking at pictures. Pictures can also help in foreshadowing. For example on Tomer Hanuka's painting with the tiger and then Pi walking in front of it with a fish. Everything is orange, and you see that Pi's shadow is casted on Richard Parker and later in the story you find out that Richard Parker is just the angry, savage version of Pi.
Mr. C on skyward it says i am missing this blog exercise?
nevermind. =] thanks.
You did a wonderful job, Tanya. Erudite, aware, polished, wise, clever, probing, revealing...
I can remember only a single incident of creating art based on my childhood, and at that it was based on what it FELT like being there rather than the way it actually looked like. that is the key for me-- if i can connect to an emotional truth within the narrative it propels the creative process. the work i'm creating is always story based.
He says how it FELT, because it is pretty impossible to remember your childhood because every year that passes is another that adds onto your life, which gets filled up with memories very quickly because old memories get erased and new ones get written, like newspapers, recycled by the brain, taken out like trash by the garbage man to be thrown into a landfill of memories. The only other memories that i keep close are ones that scare me, like deja vu. it happens to me all the time, like i have been here before and no lie, i stop in my tracks and sometimes go into shock, for the fact that it is that scary because how could you be somewhere without knowing where you are subconciously, or in a dream. it is like being in a car accident where you forgot all about it because you were injured so badly, once you go back, you feel an eery ghostlike complex that scares the living crap out of me.
I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success,etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.
I agree with Mr. Martel on this quote. Life is a bizarre thing if you think about it. We don't know our future and we don't have all of the control in what we do and say. Our parents may play a part in it or the economy. It really all depends on education, who you know, and luck, (or winning the genetic lottery and you can model for the rest of your life). You only have your past and have to learn how to become a better person from that. This is where I feel religion comes into play. People look to higher power to help them get through tough times and be stronger spiritually, mentally, and physically. That is why people worship, pray, ask for forgiveness, and take part in there customs. In a way it is another family to belong to and turn to when times get rough. You can have people pray for family members, friends, or even yourself at a church sermon which is maybe what we really need. We can combine this with art which have lots of different meaning to the world and different forms. Art is whatever you believe it is. I am not a big fan of paintings but I love music and think it is the greatest thing. Martial arts can be consider and art to me because it takes discipline, time, and practice before you become a master at it. So with this maybe the UFC is not a bunch of people trying to bash each others brains in but an art form with two people competing to be better. All the fans enjoy it and show there respect by attending. The fighters devote their lives to their career even though they are short careers, but maybe rewarded with satisfaction. Life is simple, make the best of what you can when you can and never forget where you came from. If you become somebody rich and you are a good person and kind there is nothing wrong with that.
Often the theme is something we know, it reflects the experiences of the artist but he or she is communicating his viewpoint, surprising with his ideas, his story, his view of the world.
We love to see and understand the thoughts and ideas of someone else. Maybe that is because we often feel unconnected and misunderstood, and ultimately alone in the world, in our head, in our life. Even the people we love do things we don’t understand, and often can’t understand us and our way of thinking.
Andrea Offerman's insight attracts my thoughts on life. Not only do I want to surround myself with the best people I can, I also want to
learn from them to better myself. I agree with her thoughts and feelings relating to artists and how they create their best writing. Everyone loves to be in a comfortable setting and prefer things that are familiar to them. So, that's the technique Andrea chooses to use. She interacts her writing in ways that are relevant to her life. She believes in telling of her life experiences to appeal to her viewers. This way anyone can compare her story to their own and maybe experience life in a different way. I can relate to this. I want to live my best life and will listen to any advice I can get to keep it strong and fulfilling. To do this I like to flip through magazines and explore the internet to read up on articles such as “How to be Happy” and “How to Live Your Best Life.” Any insight I can obtain from psychologists or experts of any kind will enlighten my perspective in life. Learning to expand my faith and exuberance can only help me discover this sense of emptiness inside of me. I am at a point where I’ve felt as though I’m losing my purpose in life as sports have disappeared from my life and I’ll be soon be experiencing a turning point going off to college in the fall. I will feel alone and that’s what I’m afraid of. But as Andrea Offerman states, we love seeing and hearing others thoughts and ideas so that we can relate and dive into a comfort zone to know that someone else is feeling the way we do. We tend to feel mistaken or secluded sometimes in this immense world of ours. Grasping onto something we know and learning to comprehend it sparks our interest. But it’s easy to wonder why the ones we love can sometimes do the unexpected to us and may not completely understand us. Our thinking is our own. We can do whatever we want with it. Thought crime is despicable. Everyone deserves to think, love, and discover. Understanding each other can be a chore, but being open to each other thoughts stimulates our intuition and the way we approach and carry out our everyday lives. Andrea’s art does this effectively for everyone to encounter.
Jake Edwards
Pd.1
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I agree with the fact that we do not need art to survive, all we really need is food and water. Art keeps things interesting with music, books, pictures, and movies, without art things would be very dull and grey. Pictures bring up memories and remind us of the past, and how things were. What would we do without pictures? It sure would be weird not being able to look back and be able to see the history and memories but it is not a necessity to live. Books keep us intelligent with facts and other non-fiction stories that keep our minds always thinking outside of the box, like the book that we recently read “Life of Pie”, it basically tells us that we need to keep an open mind to understand why people do things. Music shows character in people and expresses our emotions. Movies let us reflect back on how we act and most of them keep the physiological part of us in line by showing us the good and bad things we do. Art uses elements from life to make structures and gives us spirit by explaining how things are, or why things happen. It lets us agree or disagree with things and that lets us know why you like a certain type of art. All art shows us who we are. For example you are not going to see a gangster from the “hood” listening to some country music. They will be listening to their own kind of music which is rap, but there will be some exceptions for people that like music for its beat or sound, not the lyrics. I will bet you if you went to the movie “Gran Torino” that you did not see a single Vietnamese person there because they do not agree with the movie making fun of them. All art does is explain who you are, and without it would be might hard to express yourself.
period 3
The truth is we don't need art to survive. But it keeps things interesting.
Life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. The list keeps evolving. Art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
It effects us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. It give us questions.
Tomar Hanuka
I don't agree with this. Art is essential to survival. It is one of the things that seperates human beings from savage animals. The whole point of art is to capture or inspire deeper meaning, drive, emotion, etc. And without these vitals, life is pointless. There are countless examples of this. Take children who have been isolated for a long time. They survived, they had food and water. They aren't sick. But their minds are crippled. They had everything their bodies needed, but what made them human seemed to be gone. Another could be the book Hatchet by Gary Paulson. The boy eventually is able to survive on his own, but it isn't enough for him. He explores, looks for new things, counts the passage of time, and tries to get rescued. I think art is very essential to survival because it keeps the human spirit alive. Call it being a thought criminal, or being an individual, but whatever it is people need it. It helps keep us human.
1st Period
Why do you think we need art; how would the world be different without art?
The truth is we don't need art to survive. But it keeps things interesting.
Life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. The list keeps evolving. Art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
It effected us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. It gave us questions.
I know we don’t need art to physically survive, but mentally I believe we do. If I couldn’t think artistically, I don’t think I would have much of a life at all, not one I would necessarily want to lead anyway. Our entire human culture has been fairly art based from the beginning, from cave paintings, to the pyramids, to early plays, etc. Without art life would be so dull, that life I think wouldn’t be worth living, as if happiness would be thrown of the window. Art provides inspiration, new ideas, discussion topics, it is a pass time. Art is involved with everything, the way we dress is artistic, the music we listen to is artistic, the way people cut their hair is also artistic, and if that was to be taken all away, it would be a lot like 1984. Art keeps your mind moving, without it you can’t really be living. Thought crime keeps life worth living, in a world where our thoughts are managed and controlled, we would be nothing more than robots.
Period 1
Art works slowly in forming the interior life of individuals. A person who feels for art has a rich inner life that will keep them rich no matter how much money they have in their bank account. The converse is true, too: a person who feels nothing for art will always be poor no matter if they're millionaires. Art is a gift to the world.
I agree with Yann Martel that art makes a great impact on people’s lives. If people don’t have any feeling when they see a photo of someone being killed in war, we know something is wrong, for example. The person that has no feeling will never amount to anything in life. There will be no love, no hope because how can a person have those feelings if there is nothing to feel? People with a dream for a career or for anything in their future can’t feel the urge to accomplish those hopes and dreams. Certain people look at art and think different things, whether it’s a good feeling or a bad feeling its still a feeling. There are people, though, that look at a picture and don’t see anything at all, they just see a bunch of lines thrown together to form a picture. What a lot of people don’t see is that there is meaning behind every photo and every painting. The artist of all different types of art has SOMETHING on their mind that they need to get out so they put it on paper or film. I think everyone needs to appreciate art at some point in their lives. They will feel a new sense of respect for the person or even for life in general. Historical art in my mind is exceptionally inspiring. Seeing how people lived way before our time and trying to find the hidden messages gets my mind working and makes me feel more accomplished when I discover something new about it. My favorite thing in the world though, is being the artist. I can’t draw or paint but I capture the moment on my camera. Finding the best lighting and best placement of something to create beauty makes me want to do more and more until I have accomplished what I set out to do. This gives me encouragement, happiness, and respect for my surroundings. I would rather be a poor girl living on the street that appreciates art and even life, than be a millionaire that doesn’t feel anything when I see the Mona Lisa in Paris.
Matt K
1st period
-the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions. (T. Hanuka)-
It is exactly as Hanuka says, when you think of art the most it does is to intice someone to be more imaginative with all aspects of their life. Whether it be painting, drawing, singing, dancing, so on and so forth. But without it life can be dull, simple and just plain out uninteresting. We as humans want to feel excitement in our lives, maybe not all the time but most of the time. A chilling sense of feeling that occurs when your art is being viewed and awknowledged. Its almost a type of spiritual art that transends reality (fantasy art). Art itself can be developed from past experiences, life, the imagination, and the soul. Does art influence life or vise versa? That question itself is targeted toward individual people and their personal opinions. It is not a question that can completely be answered but as T. Hanuka has said, " Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning." Art is the foundation for creativity and I believe that it is necessary to have to keep us sane in this hap-hazzardous lifestyle and society we live in as of today.
adding to my comment:
Art is a form of communication. It is what makes life interesting and gives it color. Art expresses people for who they are. When artists paint, or write music they are expressing themselves.They all have a different style that expresses emotion. Same with the viewers and listeners, they may like something that someone else may not like. It's like it speaks to them or relates to them in some way. I read an article about how people draw art because it can take them away from reality into a new world. They can dream and have fantasies. An Imagination. Making dreams come true that may never come true in the real world. It is both real and unreal.
Pd. 5
The truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I completely agree with Hanuka on this topic that we don’t need art to survive, but that it keeps things interesting and mixes things up a bit. We only make art to express how we feel about things and to show what influences our lives. Art is cool and to some extent necessary because we can look back on art from the past to show what their lives were like and what influenced them, so once we are gone our art will still be around for a long time too so the next generation of people can see it and tell what we were like. Art does help us to find meaning in our lives to because you spend a lot of time and put a lot of effort into a piece of art, maybe just because you do it for fun, but probably more because it has meaning and you want to show the rest of the world it.
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I agree with this statement completely. Without art we would not die but with art it is much easier to survive. Without art we would have no music, paintings, photography or anything. That is some peoples lives. Without music some people say they would die. Although that is a figure or speech but music is how some people live. Without it we cannot function. What would we do when we drive. There would be nothing to do. We would have no way to relate to each other on some topics or no concerts or shows to go to. Life would be soo boring. No art gallery shows and no way to relate to paintings. So many people express themselves through art and we would have no way to let those emotions out. Is our life surrounded by art or do we live our lives the way we do because of art. Some people are so influenced by artists they change their lives just to be like that person. Hence rappers influencing kids of doing bad through their art rapping. These kids want to be so much like the rapper they'll rob gas stations just because it says it in the songs. WHo knows what some people would be like if they never listened to rap. We would have no art institutes to go to school. ART IS OUR LIVES. Everything we do is basically surrounded by it and nobody can deny that. Yeah if art wasn't here we could all live without it because we wouldn't know any better but we would all probably be very bored or have no personalities at all. Maybe i am over reacting but i know if i didn't have any music or had no way of grouping with people because of the music we listen to it life would be completely different. Think of rappers hanging out with country singers and maybe they wouldn't even if it still wasn't for music due to their completely different up raising but without music maybe this would be not eye opening for people to see happening. IF we truely look at it our world wouldn't be as controversal as it is without art. No photography we would have no pictures no way to express how we feel or to show people what we have been up to yeah maybe just taking regular pictures isn't art but senior pictures and family portraits are art. Without all this art are lives would be much like 1984 with no opinions or no way to think of how to express ourselves
pd.5
I think art and literature have always been connected, from the earliest attempts to write down a story. One could almost say that in the beginning they were one, if you look at old cave paintings and Egyptian writing. With the evolvement of writing techniques the signs became much more abstract and the writing we are using now is much removed from the image it describes. Still, if you look at Chinese handwriting, you can still see the remains of the original image in the lines.
I think that art and literature are connected also. They are both trying to do the same thing, make you think. Whether it is with words or with paint, you still think about what the story or painting (any other art form) is trying to say or make you think about. In Tomar Hanuka’s art, he is not just trying to just entertain you, he is trying to make you think about how his art relates to the story. His art can also tell you part of the story just by looking at them. Art is still very much a part of language. Like Mr. Martell said, a lot of Asian languages still use art for words. And way back when in the cave man days they had no form of written language, they used art to convey what they saw and experienced into some thing others could see and understand. Art now is still very much like that. Tomar Haunka’s art about the book is what he saw when he read the book, and he is sharing what he saw into art and making it some thing the we can all see and understand. His art might have a lot more hidden meanings and be more interesting but it is the same ideal as the cave men. Mr. Martell is making art also, but with words, not paint. Martell still makes you see things but he allows you to be the artist. He allows you to make his words into your own art and understand it the way you want to. Martell also has hidden meanings just like Tomar Haunka, his meanings can be taken anyway you would like to.
Pd 5
Why do you think we need art; how would the world be different without art?
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I agree. Art is not necessary for anyone to survive. I think that the world does not need art, I believe that is a waste of time. It does look nice but we could definitely live without it. I do not agree that it helps us process and find a meaning in existence. It helps us to understand things and look at things differently. Art can make our lives more exciting by making things less bland. If you say that movies, music, pictures that you take with a camera are art and even the shows you watch on the tv, then it is a completely different story. I do not like paintings or sculptures, I think they are a waste of time. Music and movies are a huge part of my life, I do not think there is a single day that I do not watch a little bit of tv. Everybody translates art differently, to one person it could be horrible and pointless and to another it could be amazing and is a major part of their life. That is the thing about art, it can be seen in so many different ways. Some people do need art for them to “survive” because they are too attached to it.
Said by Erin Sudbeck
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I agree with this we don’t need art to survive but we want art it seems to be apart of everyone’s lives. Whether if you are making the art, observing the art, or buying the art we all love or at least like art. Art is every where you go on the streets, in homes, buildings, books, or magazines it’s every where. We just simply want art. Art can be many things just be decoration or be something meaningful. Art express life a way the artist views life through their eyes then a buyer sees the art and thinks the same. Or a viewer looks at the art that the artist made and wonder. Just simply wonder about that artwork and maybe the viewer sees something different. That’s one great thing about art it doesn’t have to be the same to everyone it can be completely different to everyone. Art in a way is like a mystery a mystery that will never be solved. The reason why I say this is because sometimes art is made and has no explanation behind it. Then someone loves and buys that art and thinks this about and to the artist it was really nothing. Art is expressed to people in different ways. Art is something that doesn’t need to be explained it just is what it is. Art gives some different aspect of life it make us see everything through a different eye. WE love art its part of our life that people would never want to give up. Like I have said before it is everything and in everything without life would be boring and dull. The reason why is because art gives life and color to our life. Just think of what it would be like without art. It would be hard to express things about you because we express ourselves through art. For example our clothes if we didn’t have art all of our clothes would have no expression to them we would all have dull boring clothes. Another great example would be our bedrooms. Our bedrooms have a lot of artwork in them and our bedrooms are all different. Also how about our music? Music is art and we all listen to music and different music. So without art life would be dull art expresses our life in many ways
Pd. 3
the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions.
I agree, art is only an incentive to life that people get to enjoy. Without art, we wouldn’t have music, color, movies, and some books. Without art, life would be dull and boring to people mind’s, art often brings and builds character to people’s life. Art is also a way for people to express their inner thoughts and opinions. Often, art is a way for people to deal with their problems and let out their feelings instead of building up all their feelings before they “explode”. Like Tomar said, “life is often random and chaotic”, art can help sooth people by letting them express their emotions out. Art can help ease a person’s spirits to help make life less chaotic. Or just the opposite, art could make life more chaotic by offending someone which then would cause more stress and anger. In my opinion, art is very expressive and helps sooth the soul and release some of the chaos people encounter in the world. Art and religion can go hand in hand, giving people questions or makes them wonder about life in general. In a sense, religion can be a form of artwork. People use religion to express themselves, or express individuality, just like artwork can. Therefore I would have to disagree somewhat that art and religion can effect us in different ways, it can, but I also think it effects us similar. Both art and religion make us think, think about what is truly the right answer or how this can effect us in life. Religion and art can give people a deeper meaning, a deeper meaning in the sense of how some individual can express themselves. Religion and art help form individuality.
Pd.5
The truth is we don't need art to survive. But it keeps things interesting. Life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. Art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic. It effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. It give us questions.
I agree with this artist when he says we do not need art to surive, but art is interesting. I agree with this quote compeletly. I love art, especially wildlife art, like paintings and such. You see art everywhere you go, streets, like downtown sioux falls where there is statues of art and others. Art is a wonderful thing that expresses emotion, deffinitely the mood your in. Like the artist said life is chaotic and random and so is painting and times. You might be doodling and you end up making or creating a good idea for a good painting later on when the picure comes into view. Art diffinetly uses elements from life, like Jason Spies who won the last duck stamp art. He uses elements from other hunting pictures, he looks at pictures he takes and then makes them into photographs for art pictures. Or he takes mental pictures, elements, and keeps them in mind and creates a picture. Art does gives us questions at times, you might be looking at a piece of art and think what is that figure, and it would be something you should know, but it takes a few minutes to figure out what is all in the painting. That is why art is so wonderful. Some people only like certain kinds of pieces of art, art is expressed to different people in a different way. Everybody has their own favorite paintings. For example, I love hunting art especially from Mark Anderson, he has lovely paintings that look like your there or looking into the picture like your there hunting. Everybody has a different view for art.
pd 5
I'm not sure I've found my true self. The self is like a river: it must always be in motion otherwise it stagnates. That said, the my riverbed, what my being runs over, is pebbled with notions about art and religion. I think life is fully graspable, fully explored, only in the language of art and religions. I define both those terms broadly. I don't mean staring at a Picasso painting while listening to Mozart, or living in a cell reading the Bible all day long. To each what is art and what is religion. Both should bring transcendence. A life strictly concerned with material matters--money, commerce, success,etc--is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.
I agree with what Martel said. I do not sure who I am. I like Martel’s words “The self is like a river.” I agree with that because I thought I found my true self but sometime it is not my true self, it is changed. Also it is harder for me to find my true self where I can not to be who I want to be. The self is mystery to everyone. There are so many things that are mystery that needs to find. I planning to make the lists to do for this summer to find more hobbies for me also I can learn more my true self during to try the things. I disagree with “only in the language art and religions” because life can be explores in many different ways, not only arts and religion. “Both should bring transcendence” I do not thinks only arts and religion, it can be everything. I agree with “A life strictly concerned with material matters—money, commerce, success, etc.—is unsatisfying and, ultimately, defeating.” I am agrees with this except success. The money do not makes you feels satisfy and happier. When you earn more money, you will want more and more till there is no more. It is for the selfish and evil… Success does make you feels good and proud to be successful. But only if you selfish to do things and successful with the other people to be unsuccessful that is kind unsatisfying and selfish. No one will be so satisfy with what they have because they just want more and more—new technology, new and best kind cars, computers, cell phones, and go on. There is no line for where to stop.
(Tomer Hanuka)
I grew up in Israel where the sun bleaches out the color out of everything, and early on got hooked on comics where, mostly for production reasons the colors where pumped to the max. I want to say it was escapism, but i had a terrific childhood. comics was exotic, the whole idea of superheros, visual icons, worlds within panels. But it was also seductive in reaction to a reality that existed under a threat that seeped into the daily routine through hourly news cast, and the knowledge that at some point before your twenties you will too join the cause. years later, when i started working as an editorial illustrator in NY I've gravitated towards scenes where everything is in place but is about to explode. the line work and setting is comics-esq, but the atmosphere is heavy, at times tragic.
PS: NY is so crime free.
-First of all, i enjoy his some of his work the most out of all the artists we have "studied". It's different, and much more colorful. I think the large quantities of color come from the comic books he read as a child. It seems like comic books were an escape for him, and by illustrating the way he does, he can sort of relive his past in Israel.
I haven't ever been to Israel, but from my general stereotype it is likely very desert-like, hot, and not so refreshing. I could be wrong, and probably am, but this is my take. Compared to the nicer parts of America that we are all familiar with, his description of Israel makes it seem like a colorless, heat stroked land of boring. By reading comics, he could escape this. He could run along side with batman in fictional cities with cool breezes, shade, and color.
TJ P
P.7
(pertaining to a question that asked, "why do you need art?")
"the truth is we don't need art to survive. but it keeps things interesting.
life is often random and chaotic. Art uses elements from life and re-organize them into structures that elevates the spirit through meaning, identification, pure esthetics and other channels. the list keeps evolving. art helps us process and find meaning in an existence that can get pretty cryptic.
it effect us in an opposite manner to the way religion does. it give us questions."
As a member of the class that asked this question, I can say we should have worded it differently. I like his response, but i wish he would have touched on why we HAVE art. It's true it does keep things interesting. For kids, art is what makes them get into books. All the picture books that use bright colors and cool shapes and characters aren't on accident. Art is everything around us. The American Flag that is in our class rooms to the wood finish on every door in this school. All of it is made artistically. In all of Hanuka's work, he puts every aspect into artistic detail. From the colors, outlines, type of paint, or perspective, it all is taken into effect. I know for myself, I would not be able to survive without art. Art gives me an identity, it "molds" me into who I am. Without music or theatre, I know my life would not be what it is today. Art is defined as the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. So what is ordinary significance? I can't see anything that would fall into that category, so I guess everything is art. This makes total sense to me because I think if we try hard enough, we can see the beauty in everthing. Even Packers and Bears jerseys are beautiful (as much as that pains me to say). I think if people looked at everything this way, we would find an easier way of life. I think part of human's downfall is being to literal sometime. Someone can look at a Picaso painting and just think of it as a colorful headache, but if they really look at it and see it from a different angle, they can appreciate it for what it really is. Although art is not needed in the world, we would greatly suffer without it.
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