Fine Arts Vocab -
ashram - Hindu term for community
Bali - idyllic Indonesian island: warm surf, palms, white sand, cheap
wizened - old-looking
dysentery - amoebic illness; severe diarrhea, fever
symmetry - perfect balance
lushly - opulent, luxurious
sumptuous - opulent, luxurious
charisma - exceptional charm
empathy - sympathy
haggard - tired
luminosity - glowing with inner light
discreet - not revealing everything
feckless - ineffective
existential - each person gives their own life its meaning
sublime - highest possible pursuit
rapturous - tripping
beatifically - like a saint
1. Ansel Adams
2. view camera on tripod
3. map of Western states with principal mountain ranges (Sierra Navada
Range, Tetons, Rocky Mtns) identified on the map. (The pop-up
requirement was one intended as an in-class activity).
- Yosemite national park
- identify states, ranges, major cities
4. at least 3 sources (at bottom of page), informal citation: ex.,
National Geographic.com, Wikipedia.org, The Portfolios of Ansel Adams,
NY Graphic Society, 1981.
discussion vocab -
- mausoleum / ossified
- vibrant
- Lewis Norton, Jr, visionary
- Americana
- Frederick Remington, Charles Russell: kinetic sculpture
History of Photography
-Nicephore Niepce, French
- Louis Daguerre, French: Daguerreotype (Matthew Brady), metal plate
- Wm Henry Fox Talbot, British: callotypes
- precursor
- camera obscura ("room," "dark")
- pinhole camera
WC: the impact of the long-lived British Empire.
In the early 1920's, Richard W. Norton (1886-1940) became one of the
discoverers of the Rodessa Oil Field in north Louisiana, says the
foundation web site, Rwnaf.org.
Over time, Mr. Norton's wife and son began to amass a significant
collection of fine art. In 1946, to honor Mr. Norton and for the
benefit of the community, Richard W. Norton, Jr. (1919-1974) and his
mother, Mrs. Richard W. Norton (1886-1975) created the R.W. Norton Art
Foundation.
AArts reviews guidelines
1. Vivid opening. Describe an image you thought was one of the best
elements of the show. Write with color and vibe.
2. The overall impact or significance of the display or performance.
Ex: "The Graffiti show at Artspace attempts to broaden visitors' sense
of the definition of fine arts."
3. Principal elements of the event or display. Use detail from your
notes. Mention titles. Describe pieces.
4. Your evaluation: what you think was effective or appealing.
- Also, what you thought was difficult to understand or to like.
- Technical successes or problems.
- Philosophical approval or disagreements.
5. Names of people and / or groups responsible for the production.
6. Location, date(s). Ticket price.
7. Online source for more info.
8. Titling: snappy title, explanatory subtitle.
9. Third person voice at all times.
‘Rembrandt’ or ‘chiaroscuro’ lighting accentuates the focal point of
the composition by bathing it in light and surrounding the focal point
by darker recesses, says David Bennett.
The Italian word ‘chiaroscuro’ means light and dark, and the
alternative name of ‘Rembrandt’ lighting comes from the fact that he
created that lighting effect in a lot of his paintings and may be the
finest artist to have used the technique.
The contrast between light and dark areas also accentuates the
three-dimensional appearance of the subject.
This is traditional, timeless, lighting, says Belle Gerard. Your main
light is about 45 degrees to the right of center - and slightly above
your subject.
Kitsch (German) is a form of art that is considered an inferior,
tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of
art of recognised value, says Wikipedia.
Example: the statue of Marilyn Monroe, skirt in the air, in the
hallway at RW Norton.
The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may
be thought of as cultural icons[1] while making cheap mass-produced
objects that are unoriginal.
Kitsch also refers to the types of art that are aesthetically
deficient (whether or not being sentimental, glamorous, theatrical, or
creative) and that make creative gestures which merely imitate the
superficial appearances of art through repeated conventions and
formulae.
Excessive sentimentality often is associated with the term.
A handful of rules to explore:
a) Rule of thirds.
b) Get close.
c) Turn off the flash. Steady the camera. Use soft, natural light.
d) Shoot at or around sunset.
e) Use high or low POV.
African Americans are the best known of the participants in creating a
hot music at the turn of the century. The birth of jazz seems mostly
to have happened first in the port city of New Orleans.
But Af-Ams were joined in the creative act by Creole men.
Defining Creole:
1. Europeans born the new world: French or Spanish.
2. All peoples of the colonial era who were born in the new world
(Europe being the old world): Africans, indigenous peoples, Europeans.
And there was quite a bit of mixing between those groups.
Jazz musicians with the highest status in this American art form -
- Jellyroll Morton
- Joe King Oliver
- Louis Armstrong
- Fletcher Henderson
- Charlie Parker
- Edward Duke Ellington
- William Count Basie
- Benny Goodman
- Glenn Miller
- Lionel Hampton
- Charlie Christian
- Charlie Bird Parker
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Thelonius Monk
- Miles Davis
- John Coltrane
- Charles Mingus
- Billie Holiday
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Nat King Cole
- Herbie Hancock
- Wynton Marsalis
- George Gershwin, classical / jazz
- Leonard Bernstein, classical / jazz
From its beginnings in the early 20th century jazz has spawned a
variety of subgenres:
- New Orleans Dixieland dating from the early 1910s,
- big band-style swing from the 1930s and 1940s,
- bebop from the mid-1940s,
- Latin jazz fusions such as Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz,
- free jazz from the 1950s and 1960s,
- jazz fusion from the 1970s,
- acid jazz from the 1980s (which added funk and hip-hop influences), and
- Smooth and nujazz in the 1990s.
While jazz may be difficult to define, improvisation is clearly one of
its key elements.
a) side-lighted portraiture
b) S curve composition
c) sunset lighting
d) water reflection composition
e) geometry in nature
f) kinetic energy
1. African-Americans left to escape the discrimination and racial
segregation of late 19th century constitutions and Jim Crow laws.
2. The boll weevil infestation of Southern cotton fields in the late
1910s forced many sharecroppers and laborers to search for alternative
employment opportunities.
3. The enormous expansion of war industries created job openings for
blacks—not in the factories but in service jobs vacated by new factory
workers.
4. World War I and the Immigration Act of 1924 effectively put a halt
to the flow of European immigrants to the emerging industrial centers
of the Northeast and Midwest, causing shortages of workers in the
factories.
vocab -
exodus - mass exit
diaspora - ethnic mass migration
Fine arts / photography
1. According to RWNAF.org's Ansel Adams bio, the famous photographer
would probably agree with the title "landscape photographer." T / F
2. Adams was a tireless worker for the cause of a) Democratic issues
b) health foods c) impoverished people d) conservation.
3. The view camera used by photographers like Adams was unusual from
today's cameras in a) size of the film area b) possible length of
exposure c) resemblance to the camera obscura d) the image
produced.
4. One of these is not a mountain range: a) Tetons b) Sierra Nevada
c) Yosemite d) Rockies.
5. Chiaroscuro: a) painter's rich coloration b) deep light and dark
areas in an image c) dramatic portraiture d) side lighted image.
6. Developed an early form of photo on paper that he termed the
Callotype. a) Louis Daguerre b) William Henry Fox Talbot c)
Nicephore Niepce d) Auguste Lumiere.
7. Earliest of French pioneers in photography. a) Louis Daguerre b)
William Henry Fox Talbot c) Nicephore Niepce d) Auguste Lumiere.
8. British pioneer in photography. a) Louis Daguerre b) William Henry
Fox Talbot c) Nicephore Niepce d) Auguste Lumiere.
9. US Civil war photographer Matthew Brady used the type of
metal-plate photo developed by this French inventor. a) Louis Daguerre
b) William Henry Fox Talbot c) Nicephore Niepce d) Auguste Lumiere.
10. Camera obscura: the word "obscura" refers to a) darkened b) pin
hole aperture c) using natural light d) historic item.
11. Vibrant visionaries created a new mausoleum for the ossified of
the city. T / F
12. The Norton family's wealth was built upon success in a) banking
b) natural gas c) petroleum d) railroads.
13. Norton is perhaps best known for its Remingtons and Russells. They
are about a) wild west b) landscapes c) birds of America d) photo
realism.
14. To measure or judge a work: a) delineate b) describe c)
evaluate d) capture in detail.
15. Rembrandt lighting begins with side lighting but locates the light
source ahead of and slightly __ the subject. a) above b) below c)
behind d) aside.
16. Xanadu: a) hideaway b) cozy cave c) city in the sky d) palace.
17. Art-like pieces of work that present a pop image: a) art nouveau
b) bauhaus c) schlock d) kitsch.
1. No.
2. conservation
3. size of the film area
4. Yosemite
5. deep light and dark
6. Fox Talbot
7. Niepce
8. Fox Talbot
9. Daguerre
10. darkened
11. T
12. petroleum
13. wild west
14. evaluate
15. above
16. palace
17. kitsch
John William Coltrane (sometimes abbreviated "Trane"; September 23,
1926 – July 17, 1967[1]) was an American jazz saxophonist and
composer, says Wikipedia.
Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane
helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront
of free jazz.
He was prolific, organizing at least fifty recording sessions as a
leader during his recording career, and appeared as a sideman on many
other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist
Thelonious Monk.
general vocab -
ergonomics
incendiary
cerebral
visceral
Storyville, the fabled New Orleans red light district, is often
mentioned a s a birthplace of jazz.
Storyville was the red-light district of New Orleans, Louisiana, from
1897 through 1917, says Wikipedia.
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some
way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of
regularly spaced strong and weak beats in a meter (pulse).
More simply, syncopation is a general term for a disturbance or
interruption of the regular flow of rhythm; a placement of rhythmic
stresses or accents where they wouldn't normally occur.
Jazz quiz
1. First city of jazz: __ __.
2. Second city of Jazz (and of the US in general): __ .
3. Third city to which the fathers of jazz - such as Joe Oliver, Louis
Armstrong and Jellyroll Morton - relocated: __ __ .
4. Movement of impoverished black Americans from the farms of the Deep
South to urban centers of Upper Midwest and Northeast: a) diplomacy b)
dispora c) displacement d) dislocation .
5. Approximate date for the birth of jazz: a) 1800 b) 1850's c)
1900 d) 1920's.
6. Name given to the place in New Orleans where slaves gathered on
Sundays: a) river levees b) Ashanti circle c) Place Congo d) Vieux
Carre.
7. Louisiana term for people of mixed ethnic background, esp. a
mixture of French, Spanish, native American and Afro-Caribbean: __ .
8. Gens de couleur libre was a special ethnic category in NO. It
indicated a person who was African-American, yet not a slave. T / F
9. Another name for the historic French Quarter is Vieux Carre; it
means: a) Spanish Quarter b) Old Quarter c) French District d)
Slave Quarters .
10. A radical change in his instrument's shape was the signature of
bebop jazz artist Dizzy Gilespie. His instrumentwas the ____ .
11. Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and other jazzers offered vocal
improvisation with random vocables and syllables or without words at
all. This is called __ singing.
12. World War I and the Immigration Act of 1924 halted the flow of
European immigrants to the emerging industrial centers of the
Northeast and Midwest, causing shortages of workers in the factories
and openings for immigrating African-Americans. T / F
13. Chronological order of the development of jazz: a) Dixieland,
big band-style swing, bebop, Latin jazz, free jazz b) big band-style
swing, Dixieland, bebop, Latin jazz, free jazz c) bebop, Dixieland,
big band-style swing, Latin jazz, free jazz
14. In jazz the skilled performer will interpret a tune in very
individual ways, never playing the same composition exactly the same
way twice. Thus while jazz may be difficult to define, ______ is
clearly one of its key elements.
a) swing b) improvisation c) syncopation d) concentration.
1. New Orleans
2. Chicago
3. NYC (Harlem is not a city; it is a neighborhood in NYC)
4. diaspora
5. 1900
6. Place Congo, or Congo Square
7. Creole
8. T
9. Old Quarter
10. trumpet
11.scat
12. T
13. Dixieland, swing, bebop, etc
14. improvisation
Bas relief sculpture: the art of monuments, tombs and coins
A relief is a sculptured artwork where a modelled form is raised, or
in sunken-relief lowered, from a plane from which the main elements of
the composition project (or sink), says Wikipedia.
Reliefs are common throughout the world, for example on the walls of
monumental buildings. The frieze in the classical Corinthian order is
often enriched with bas-relief (low relief). Alto-relievo
(high-relief) may be seen in the pediments of classical temples, e.g.,
the Parthenon.
A bas-relief ("low relief", French pronunciation: [baʁəljɛf], from the
Italian basso rilievo) or low relief is the quality of an projecting
image where the overall depth is shallow. The background is very
compressed or completely flat, as on most coins, on which all images
are in low-relief.
The Eye of Horus (Wedjat)[1] (previously Wadjet and the Eye of the
Moon; and afterwards as The Eye of Ra) is an ancient Egyptian symbol
of protection and royal power from deities, in this case from Horus or
Ra, says Wikipedia.
Art-based reviews of Egyptian history
1. Old Kingdom
2. Heliopolis
3. Memphis
4. Sphinx
5. Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure
6. Queens' Pyramids
7. alabaster
8. Middle Kingdom
9. Thebes / Luxor
10. New Kingdom
11. Temple of Karnak
12. Hatshepsut
13. obelisks
14. pylons
15. Akhenaten
16. Valley of Kings
17. Tutankhamun
18. Ramses II
19. Abu Simbel
20. Alexander of Macedonia, 300 BC
21. Romans 30 BC
22. Scribes / literature
23. Kush
24. Alexandria
25. Rosetta stone
26. faience
27. jewelry
28. sandals
29. clothing
30. music & dance
31. cosmetics
32. glass
33. papyrus
34. gold
35. Tut's tomb
36. Horus and the Eye of Horus
A maquette (French word for scale model, sometimes referred to by the
Italian names plastico or modello) is a small scale model or rough
draft of an unfinished architectural work or a sculpture. An
equivalent term is bozzetto, from the Italian word that means
"sketch".
It is used to visualize and test shapes and ideas without incurring
the cost and effort of producing a full scale product. It is the
analogue of the painter's cartoon, modello, oil sketch or drawn
sketch.
Most important sites from the ancient map of Graecia -
Athens
Sparta
Peloponnesus peninsula
Olympia temple complex
Thebes
Delphi
Mt Olympus
Mycenae
Crete
Aegean Sea
Macedonia
Ilium
Troy
Lesbos
Ephesus
Greek excellence in architecture has touched the world in the almost 3
centuries following their 450 BCE Golden Era.
Pericles was sort of their George Washington. Pericles led the
Athenians in military success, in trading at sea and directed the
building of the Parthenon.
The temple of Athena Parthenos (parthenogenesis, "virgin birth")
is the largest of numerous temples atop the mesa called the Acropolis
(acro, "high," see acrophobia, "fear of heights"). It is one of the
few great cities named for a goddess.
The Doric columns (Ionic and Corinthian columns are more elaborate)
are topped by a decorative band called a frieze. Above the frieze is
the pediment, which represents the footing of the roof.
Inside was a 40-foot ivory and gold statue of Athena.
The relief sculptures in the pediment brought to life the struggle of
Athena and Poseidon. Those marble sculptures now reside in the British
Museum, London (and are referred to as the Elgin Marbles). The Greeks
are asking that the work be repatriated - brought back to its
fatherland. So far the English government has demurred.
Sparta, the great military state, was recognized as the overall leader
of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars.[2], says
Wikipedia.
Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens
during the Peloponnesian War,[3] from which it emerged victorious,
though at great cost.
Sparta maintained its political independence until 146 BC, when the
Romans conquered Greece.
Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and
constitution, which completely focused on military training and
excellence.
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural
group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured
in relation to one's own.
People of the following nations are known for their ethnocentrism:
Americans
French
Italians
Russians
Chinese
One form of ethnocentrism is nationalism. A certain amount of
nationalism is considered healthy. Radical nationalism may be
barbarous.
When Americans judge the swastika to be a symbol of evil Nazi
corruption, are they being ethnocentric? No. They're simply showing
their lack of education.
Ancient Greece
1. Crete
2. Mycenae
3. Sparta
4. Olympia
5. Olympic games
6. Archaic period
7. Classic period
8. Athens
9. Pericles
10. Homer
11. Sappho
12. symposium
13. Academy & Lyceum
14. Socrates
15. Plato
16. Aristotle
17. Sophists
18. Epicureans
19. Stoics
20. Greek drama
21. Greek amphitheater & stage
22. Herodotus
23. Aristophanes
24. Sophocles
25. Aristophanes
26. tragedy & comedy
27. Aesclepius
28. Alexander the Great
29. Hellenistic era
30. Roman empire / Greece
31. Greek Orthodox Church
32. Byzantine Empire
33. Greek cuisine
The olive is one of the plants most often cited in literature. In
Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus crawls beneath two shoots of olive that grow
from a single stock,[4] and in the Iliad, (XVII.53ff) is a metaphoric
description of a lone olive tree in the mountains, by a spring; the
Greeks observed that the olive rarely thrives at a distance from the
sea, which in Greece invariably means up mountain slopes.
Greek myth attributed to the primordial culture-hero Aristaeus the
understanding of olive husbandry, along with cheese-making and
bee-keeping.[5] Olive was one of the woods used to fashion the most
primitive Greek cult figures, called xoana, referring to their wooden
material; they were reverently preserved for centuries.[6] It was
purely a matter of local pride that the Athenians claimed that the
olive grew first in Athens.[7] In an archaic Athenian foundation myth,
Athena won the patronship of Attica from Poseidon with the gift of the
olive.
- hummus dip
- tzatziki dip
- dolmas (dolmades)
- mint tea
- pita bread
- olives
- olive oil
- feta cheese
- Greek salat (onions, lettuce, olives, etc)
- baba ghanoush dip
- moussaka (sim to lasagna)
- patitsio (sim to lasagna)
- baklava
- souvlaki (shish kebab)
- spanikopita (spinach pie)
- panini
- yogurt (natural flavor) with honey
- herbed, buttered boiled potato bites
- koulourakia - butter cookies w almonds
- espresso
The Minoans were primarily a mercantile people engaged in overseas
trade. Their culture, from 1700 BC onward, shows a high degree of
organization, says Wikipedia.
Objects of Minoan manufacture suggest there was a network of trade
with mainland Greece (notably Mycenae), Cyprus, Syria, Anatolia,
Egypt, Mesopotamia, and westward as far as the coast of Spain.
Minoan men wore loincloths and kilts. Women wore robes that had short
sleeves and layered flounced skirts. These were open to the navel
allowing their breasts to be left exposed, perhaps during ceremonial
occasions.[citation needed] Women also had the option of wearing a
strapless fitted bodice, the first fitted garments known in
history.[citation needed] The patterns on clothes emphasized
symmetrical geometric designs. It must be remembered that other forms
of dress may have been worn of which we have no record.
The Minoan religion focused on female deities, with females
officiating.[33] The statues of priestesses in Minoan culture and
frescoes showing men and women participating in the same sports such
as bull-leaping, lead some archaeologists to believe that men and
women held equal social status.
Jump to: navigation, search
The Bull-Leaping Fresco from the Great Palace at Knossos, Crete
The bull-leaper, an ivory figurine from the palace of Knossos, Crete.
The only complete surviving figure of a larger arrangement of figures.
This is the earliest three dimensional representation of the bull
leap. It is assumed that thin gold wires were used to suspend the
figure over a bull.
Bull-leaping is a motif of Middle Bronze Age figurative art, notably
of Minoan Crete, but also found in Hittite Anatolia, the Levant,
Bactria and the Indus Valley.[2]
It is often interpreted as a depiction of a ritual performed in
connection with bull worship. This ritual consists of an acrobatic
leap over a bull; when the leaper grasps the bull's horns, the bull
will violently jerk his head upwards giving the leaper the momentum
necessary to perform somersaults and other acrobatic tricks or stunts.
Bull leaping may have been a rite of passage for young men in Minoan
culture.
The Pantheon (from Greek, meaning "to every god") is a building in
Rome, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of
Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD.[2]
The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite
Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four
behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, notes Wikipedia,
under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to
the sky.
Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is
still the world's largest non-reinforced concrete dome.[4] The height
to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same,
43.3 metres (142 ft).[5] A rectangular structure links the portico
with the rotunda. It is one of the best preserved of all Roman
buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and
since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic
church informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda."[6]
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization
characterized by a republican form of government.
It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, says Wikipedia, c.
509 BC, and lasted 482 years until its subversion, through a series of
civil wars, into the Principate form of government and the Imperial
period.
The Roman Republic was governed by a complex constitution, which
centered on the principles of a separation of powers and checks and
balances. The evolution of the constitution was heavily influenced by
the struggle between the aristocracy (the patricians), and other
Romans who were not from famous families, the plebeians.
Early in its history, the republic was controlled by an aristocracy of
individuals who could trace their ancestry back to the early history
of the kingdom. Over time, the laws that allowed these individuals to
dominate the government were repealed, and the result was the
emergence of a new aristocracy which depended on the structure of
society, rather than the law, to maintain its dominance.
During the first two centuries, the Republic saw its territory expand
from central Italy to the entire Mediterranean world. In the next
century, Rome grew to dominate North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula,
Greece, and what is now southern France. During the last two centuries
of the Roman Republic, it grew to dominate the rest of modern France,
as well as much of the east. At this point, the republican political
machinery was replaced with imperialism.
The precise event which signalled the end of the Roman Republic and
the transition into the Roman Empire is a matter of interpretation.
Towards the end of the period a selection of Roman leaders came to so
dominate the political arena that they exceeded the limitations of the
Republic as a matter of course. Historians have variously proposed the
appointment of Julius Caesar as perpetual dictator in 44 BC, the
defeat of Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and the Roman
Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian (Augustus) under
the first settlement in 27 BC, as candidates for the defining pivotal
event ending the Republic.
Upon which nations did the Romans bestow their artistic models?
Consider their artistic products -
- Temples / to Jupiter, to Bacchus, etc
- Basilicas - center of courts, law
- Forum - center for discussion of issues of the day
- Roads and bridges - carrying goods and artistic design
- Amphitheaters (from the Greek model) / the Colosseum
- Public baths
- City planning - grid
- Stadiums (from the Greek)
- Aqueducts
- Mosaics
- Murals / frescoes
- Roman arch
- Roman tiles
- Toga
- Fountains
- Sculpture
In vino veritas is a Latin phrase that translates, “in wine [there is
the] truth", says Wikipedia.
The Roman Empire ingested and dispersed the art of the Mediterranean peoples.
Commit this map to thy study!
Venezia
Adriatic Sea
Florence (region of Tuscany), aka Firenze
Roma
- Pantheon
- Forum
- Baths of Trajan
- Basilica
- Temple(s)
- Thermae
Napoli / Bay of Naples
- Isle of Capri
- Vesuvius
- Pompeii
- Herculaneum
Sicily
Tunisia / continent of Africa
Mediterranean
Greece
Peloponnesus peninsula
Crete
Aegean Sea
Asia Minor / Turkey
Istanbul / Constantinople / Byzantium
Black Sea
Diaspora - dispersal / emigration of large group, such as
- Jewish diaspora from Palestine to Europe was partly propelled by
Roman occupation.
- Atlantic slave trade
- Native American "Trail of tears" forced diaspora
- Movement of Black Americans from Deep South to Midwest and NE states
in early 20th century
Cabaret -
A reviewer wrote, "On a historical level, a personal-story level, and
as pure entertainment "Cabaret" works perfectly. The scene is Berlin,
Germany, only two years before Hitler would come to total power. It is
the Berlin that Christopher Isherwood lived in and wrote about:
poverty, drug and alcohol escapism, criminals, sleazebags, fighting in
the streets, venereal disease, the prostitution of both sexes, the
desperation to escape through the film industry, the temporary escape
from the harshness of life in "naughty" nightclubs like The Kit Kat
Club, which encapsulates it all. It's a bad scene, and a good example
of, perhaps, why so many Germans felt in need of a Hitler. There's not
a single verbal reference to Hitler, and yet the presence of the
growing Nazi movement all around these decadent misfits is ever
present in this film. But you can't blame any of these apolitical
people for that. Liza Minelli and Michael York's characters are so
needy, so desperate just to find some personal happiness in life. They
can't be bothered with what's going on in the bigger picture. Except
for the Master Of Ceremonies at the Club: Joel Grey's character is a
semi-supernatural all-seeing character, mocking, seeming to somehow
know EXACTLY the further destruction Germany's headed for. His scary
all-knowing grinning face pops in regularly to remind us."
When Louis XIV was crowned his interest in dancing was strongly
supported and encouraged by Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin, (formerly
Mazarini), who assiste Louis XIV. The young king made his ballet debut
as a boy, but it was in 1653 as a teenager that he accomplished his
most memorable feat as a dancer. He performed a series of dances in Le
Ballet de la Nuit and for his final piece he appeared as Apollo, god
of the sun. Wearing a fancy golden Roman-cut corselet and a kilt of
golden rays he came to be known as the Sun King, says the-ballet.com.
Cardinal Mazarin promoted Italian influences in the French spectacle.
The ballet master he imported from Italy was Giovanni Baptista Lulli,
who was rechristened Jean Baptiste Lully for work in France. Lully
became one of the king's favorite dancers and rivaled the king as the
best dancer in France.
In 1661 Louis established the Académie Royale de Danse in a room of
the Louvre, the world's first ballet school.
Also in 1661 he attended a party put on by the finance minister to
show off his new home in the country. The entertainment was Molière's
ballet Les Fâcheaux which pleased the king to no end, although he
thought that the finance minister was a treasonous servant. As it
turned out, the finance minister was arrested, and the ballet master,
the home's architect, and the gardener were hired by the king.
The Sun King generously financed the royal court, notes Wikipedia, and
supported those who worked under him.
He brought the Académie Française under his patronage, and became its
"Protector". He allowed Classical French literature to flourish by
protecting such writers as Molière, Racine and La Fontaine, whose
works remain greatly influential to this day.
Louis also patronised the visual arts by funding and commissioning
various artists, such as Charles Le Brun, Pierre Mignard, Antoine
Coysevox and Hyacinthe Rigaud whose works became famous throughout
Europe. In music, composers and musicians, Lully, Chambonnières and
François Couperin thrived and influenced many others.
Through four main building campaigns, Louis converted a hunting lodge
built by Louis XIII into the spectacular Palace of Versailles. Louis
officially moved the royal court to Versailles on 6 May 1682.
Alvin Ailey, American modern dancer and choreographer, was born in
Rogers, Texas in 1931 and moved to Los Angeles, California at the age
of twelve. There, on a junior high school class trip to the Ballet
Russe de Monte Carlo, he fell in love with concert dance.
Inspired by performances of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and
classes with Lester Horton, Mr Ailey began his formal dance training.
It was with Mr. Horton, the founder of the first racially integrated
dance company in this country, that Mr. Ailey embarked on his
professional dance career.
After Horton's death in 1953, Mr. Ailey became the director of the
Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works. In
1954, he and his friend Carmen de Lavallade were invited to New York
to dance in the Broadway show, House of Flowers, by Truman Capote.
In New York, Mr. Ailey studied with many outstanding dance artists,
including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman and took
acting classes with Stella Adler. The versatile Ailey won a number of
acting roles, continued to choreograph and performed as a dancer.
In 1958, Mr. Ailey founded his own company, the Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theater.
Dance terms in ballet and modern are mostly derived from French, owing
to the influence of Louis XIV.
Arabesque [a-ra-BESK] One of the basic poses in ballet, arabesque
takes its name from a form of Moorish ornament. In ballet it is a
position of the body, in profile, supported on one leg, which can be
straight or demi-plié, with the other leg extended behind and at right
angles to it, and the arms held in various harmonious positions
creating the longest possible line from the fingertips to the toes.
Derrière [deh-RYEHR] Behind, back. This term may refer to a movement,
step or placing of a limb in back of the body. In reference to a
particular step, the addition of derrière implies that the working
foot is closed at the back.
Jeté, grand [grahn zhuh-TAV] Large jeté. In this step the legs are
thrown to 90 degrees with a corresponding high jump. It is done
forward to attitude croisée or effacée, and to all the arabesques. It
may also be done backward with the leg raised either croisé or effacé
devant. Grand jeté is always preceded by a preliminary movement such
as a glissade.
Pirouette [peer-WET] Whirl or spin. A complete turn of the body on one
foot, on point or demi-pointe.
Plié [plee-AY] Bent, bending. A bending of the knee or knees.
Sauté, sautée [soh-TAY] Jumped, jumping.
Dictators and Monarchs in the Arts / Fine Arts review / Trudeau
Please write the Word of the answer.
1. European city, location of the notably naughty Kit Kat Club. ____
2. Approximate era of the story of Cabaret: a) 1890's b) 1930's c)
1940's d) 1960's.
3. Cabaret takes place in the realm of "big-city poverty, drug and
alcohol escapism, criminals, sleazebags, fighting in the streets,
venereal disease, the prostitution of both sexes" and so on. The
French phrase for this non-bourgeois territory translates literally as
"half the world." It is the __ __.
4. "Bourgeois" refers to the values and social place of the a) upper
working class b) upper middle class c) wealthy class.
5. A cabaret is, more or less, a ____.
6. When a person is declining into a state of degeneracy or into the
state of losing their morals we say they are d___ .
7. In 1930's Germany a party called the Nationalist Socialist German
Worker's Party developed in the region around Munich. It was
popularly known as the __ party.
8. Art approved by the government during the Third Reich:
a) modern, abstract, stimulating b) traditional, realistic,
inspirational c) both the above.
9. Attitude toward art by the Third Reich: a) very important b) to be avoided
c) neutral.
10. The residence of Louis XIV and the preceding French kings in
Paris: the Palais du __.
11. The violent rebellion of the impoverished class in la France, the
French Revolution: a) 1689 b) 1718 c) 1776 d) 1789.
12. Southern European nation from which England, Germany and France
derive much of their influence in cuisine, entertainment, government
and art: __ .
13. Vaux le Vicomte: a splendid example of a 17 thcentury French __ .
14. Noblemen won favor with the king in court life at Versailles by
increasing their skill at __ .
15. As a teen, Louis XIV performed as a gilded Apollo in a famous
opera. He thereby acquired the nickname _ __ __, or,in English, _ _ __
.
16. The Greek words khorea,"to dance" and graphein, "to write," are
synthesized in the modern word __ .
17. The river that connects Paris with the North Sea - and the
Atlantic: a) Seine
b) Rhine c) Danube.
18.France is bordered by Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and a) Belgium
b) Netherlands c) Denmark.
19. Name the ancient Chinese-HIndu symbol for Good fortune that was
used by a short-lived European military regime in the late 20th
century: the __ .
20.The German word for Germany: __land.
21. This dancer was born in rural Texas and schooled in Los Angeles.
His creativity, however, flowered in NYC. He was __ __ .
Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 - September 14, 1927) was a dancer,
considered by many to be the creator of modern dance. Born in the
United States, she lived in Europe and the Soviet Union from the age
of 22 until her death at age 50. In the United States she was popular
only in New York, and then only later in her life[citation needed].
She performed to acclaim throughout Europe, claims Wikipedia.
In her dance school in Paris she rejected traditional ballet steps to
stress improvisation, emotion and the human form. Duncan believed that
classical ballet, with its strict rules of posture and formation, was
"ugly and against nature"; she gained a wide following.
Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky ( 1890 - 1950) was a Russian ballet
dancer and choreographer of Polish descent.
He grew to be celebrated for his virtuosity and for the depth and
intensity of his characterizations, says Wikipedia. He could perform
en pointe, a rare skill among male dancers at the time (Albright,
2004) and his ability to perform seemingly gravity-defying leaps was
also legendary.
A turning point for Nijinsky was his meeting Sergei Diaghilev, a
celebrated and highly innovative producer of ballet and opera as well
as art exhibitions, who concentrated on promoting Russian visual and
musical art abroad,[2] particularly in Paris.
A truffle (pronounced /ˈtrʌfəl/) is a fungi fruiting body that
develops underground and are usually found in close association with
trees.
Pâté is a mixture of ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable
paste. Common additions include vegetables, herbs, spices, and wine.
Probably Picasso's most famous work, Guernica is certainly the his
most powerful political statement, painted as an immediate reaction to
the Nazi's devastating casual bombing practice on the Basque town of
Guernica during Spanish Civil War.
Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon
individuals, particularly innocent civilians, says pablopicasso.org.
Probably Picasso's most famous work, Guernica is certainly the his
most powerful political statement, painted as an immediate reaction to
the Nazi's devastating casual bombing practice on the Basque town of
Guernica during Spanish Civil War.
Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon
individuals, particularly innocent civilians, says pablopicasso.org.
A review of the PIcasso bio -
1. Like Lennon & McCartney, Pablo Picasso was competitive with his
peers. He both worked with and in an effort to top fellows like:
a) Jackson Pollock b) Henri Matise c) Chuck Close d) Richard Serra.
2. Picasso would have served you a supper of a) tortellini b)
sauerkraut c) mughal curry d) paella.
3. The Spanish peninsula was occupied by the Romans and, later, by the
North African Moors. The peninsula is called a) Apulia b) Iberia
c) Anatolia d) Barcelona.
4. Seville, Cordova, Granada: these are the Moorish cities of Spain's
southern region. It is known as a) Andalusia b) Navarre c) Valencia d)
Aragon.
5. The region of Paris historically notable for pimps, eccentrics,
anarchists, students and artists: a) Bastille b) le Louvre c)
Montmartre d) Champs Elysees.
6. In stage production the Harlequin is the hungry, lecherous and acrobatic
a) buffoon b) protagonist c) antagonist d) heroine.
7. Which order of production is correct? a) opium>morphine>heroin b)
heroin>opium>morphine c) morphine>opium>heroin.
8. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon were a group of young women in a brothel
in a) Madrid b) Paris c) Barcelona d) Malaga.
9. We can see that Picasso saw himself as a shaman, an intermediary
between the human and spirit worlds, by his display of influence from
a) surrealism b) cubism c) Africa d) mythology.
10. Chinese influence in Paris: a) Lapin Agile b) Les Deux Magots c)
Harlequins d) opium.
11. This figure dwelled at the heart of the Cretan labyrinth: a)
Harlequin b) minotaur c) Alhambra d) Odysseus.
12. The Spanish Civil War featured a Fascist force versus an
anti-government rebel force. T / F
13. Gynophobia: a) fear of exercise b) fear of witches c) fear of
female physicians d) fear of women.
14. Exaggerated male attitude: a) machismo b) pacifism c) misogyny d) fascism.
15. Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Amish, Mennonites:
a) machismo b) pacifism c) misogyny d) fascism.
16. Mapping the life of Picasso: 1. Malaga 2. Barcelona 3. ___ 4.
Paris 17. Provence region and Cote d'Azur of France.
a) London b) Valencia c) Marseille d) Seville.
18. In Paris, one of Picasso's most frequent destinations was the
a) Louvre b) Tour Eiffel c) Notre Dame de Paris d) River Seine
Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor:
among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937), his portrayal of the German
bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.
This 1907 masterpiece by Picasso is the first great piece of cubist
art. The influence of African masks is obvious, especially in the two
figures on the right.
Notes from Wikipedia -
- Picasso was married twice and had four children by three women. He
had a never-ending series of lovers - ex. Dora Maar - in addition to
wives and principal mistresses.
-He was publicly a Communist - from the late 1940's. Yet one would
argue that he was apolitical: he remained neutral during World War I,
the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, refusing to fight for any
side or country.
- During the Second World War, Picasso remained in Paris while the
Germans occupied the city.
- After the war he became famous and wealthy (ex: the 1946
retrospective show at MoMa). He moved permanently to Provence, near
the Med. The last 12 years he lived in the small town of Mougins, near
the famous beach resort of Cannes.
- The climate is Mediterranean and the city enjoys 12 hours of
sunshine per day during summer (May to September), while in winter
(December to February) the weather is mild. Both seasons see a
relatively low rainfall and most rain is during October and November,
when 110 mm falls.
- Mougins has been frequented and inhabited by many artists and
celebrities, including Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Fernand Léger,
Francis Picabia, Man Ray, Yves Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian
Dior, Winston Churchill, Catherine Deneuve, Édith Piaf.
- The region of Mougins - Provence - has been home to artists such as
Henri Matisse,Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Auguste Renoir, Pierre
Bonnard and Claude Monet.
Misogyny and machismo - hatred of women and exaggerated sense of
maleness, were both part of the Spanish nature of Picasso.
Picasso quiz
1. Picasso was born in the Spanish city of a) Malaga b) Coruna c)
Madrid d) Barcelona.
2. He became an accomplished painter as a teen. T / F
3. He was from a notable region of Spain called a) Basque b) Alsace
c) Catalonia d) Andalusia.
4. Picasso's most-loved sport: a) futbol b) handball c) mountain
hiking d) bull fights.
5. He was born in poverty but was enormously successful as a painter. T / F
6. Picasso's Big Apple was a) Paris b) Madrid c) NYC d) London.
7. Picasso was a member of the group of European artists who called
themselves the surrealists. T / F
8. Picasso was a member of the group of European artists who called
themselves the fauvists (French: "savages"). T / F
9. Picasso was a member of the group of European artists who called
themselves the cubists. T / F
10. He felt most at home in the Spanish city of his teens: a) Malaga
b) Coruna c) Madrid d) Barcelona.
11. This Spanish painter touched Picasso more than the others:
a) El Greco b) Goya c) Velazquez d) Dali.
12. His lifelong friend and rival was the almost-equally famous
painter a) Henri Matisse b) Salvador Dali c) Vincent Van Gogh d) Jean
Renoir.
13. The Blue Period and the Rose Period paintings were part of his __
career. a) early b) late.
14. Picasso and other artists favored life in the __ section of Paris
in the early 1900's. a) Montmartre b) Bastille c) Champs d'Elysees d)
St Germain.
15. The famous river that flows through the heart of Paris: the __ .
a) Loire b) Thames c) Rhine d) Seine.
16. Two of the faces in Demoiselles d'Avignon reflected Picasso's
interest in the masks and sculptural art of the continent of __ .
a) Asia b) Africa c) Eastern Europe d) South America.
17. One of Picasso's earliest Parisian lovers, Eva Gouel / Marcelle
Humbert, died of __ . a) illness / cancer b) suicide c) murder d)
motorcycle crash.
18. For half of his adult life Picasso was married to the former
Russian ballerina, __ __. a) Olga Kohkalova b) Marie-Therese Walter
c) Dora Maar d) Francoise Gilot.
19. Claude and Paloma Picasso were the children born to the artist and
mistress __ __ . a) Olga Kohkalova b) Marie-Therese Walter c) Dora
Maar d) Francoise Gilot.
20. During WWII the city of Paris was occupied by the __ .
a) Russians b) English c) Germans d) Dutch.
21. The painting "Guernica" depicts the bombing of a Spanish village
by German bombers in 1937, during the ____ . a) WWI b) WWII c) Spanish
Civil War d) Spanish-American War.
22. The painting "Demoiselles d'Avignon" portrays a) French dancers
b) Spanish prostitutes c) African laundry workers d) the five muses.
23. In the last half of his life Picasso resided mostly in large
houses in the __ region. a) Ile de France b) Champagne c) Provence
d) Normandy.
24. Picasso loved the seaside region called the Riviera, or ___ .
a) Cote Basque b) Cote d'Azur c) Cote d'Ivoire d) Cote du Rhone.
25. Picasso was enormously productive of paintings, sketches, etchings
and sculptures during his life. He lived for __ decades. a) 5 b) 6 c)
7 d) 8 e) 9.
26. Picasso's image of a dove holding an olive branch was used by the
peace movement of the 1950's. It was also frequently displayed by the
a) Muslims b) Communists c) Fascists d) Nationalists.
27. After his early years as a painter and his adoption of the
revolutionary spirit of cubism, Picasso never returned to anything at
all realistic. T / F
1. Malaga 2. T 3. d Andalusia 4. d bull fights / corrida
5. F 6. a Paris 7. F 8. F 9. T 10. d Barcelona 11. a El Greco
12. a Henri Matisse 13. a early 14. a Montmartre 15. d Seine
16. b Africa 17. a cancer 18. a Olga 19. d Francoise Gilot
20. c Germans 21. c Span Civil War 22. b Span prostitutes
23. c Provence 24. b Cote d'Azur 25. 3 9 26. b Communists
27. F 28. F
No comments:
Post a Comment