See project on Bosch and Bruegel below . . .

Magnet fine arts / Pieter Bruegel's The Triumph of Death and The Tower of Babel
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Pieter Bruegel (Brueghel) the Elder 1525 - 1569) was a Flemish Renaissance painter and printmaker known for his landscapes and peasant scenes, says Wikipedia.

The most obvious influence on his art is the older Dutch master Hieronymus Bosch, particularly in Bruegel's early "demonological" paintings such as The Triumph of Death and Dulle Griet (Mad Meg).

The Triumph of Death shows a panorama of army of skeletons wreaking havoc across a blackened, desolate landscape. Fires burn in the distance, and the sea is littered with shipwrecks. A few leafless trees stud hills otherwise bare of vegetation; fish lie rotting on the shores of a corpse-choked pond. In this setting, legions of skeletons advance on the living, who either flee in terror or try in vain to fight back.

The painting shows aspects of everyday life in the mid-sixteenth century. Clothes are clearly depicted, as are pastimes such as playing cards and backgammon. It shows objects such as musical instruments, an early mechanical clock, scenes including a funeral service, and various methods of execution, including the breaking wheel, the gallows, and the headsman.

Bruegel's depiction of the architecture of the tower, with its numerous arches and other examples of Roman engineering, is deliberately reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum,[3] which Christians of the time saw as both a symbol of hubris and persecution.

The tower was seen as an example of pride punished.

Senior semester exam alternative: Two Masks video project

Pieter Brueghel the Younger - Portrait of a farmer
Originally uploaded by trudeau

The Two Masks video project is an homage to the work of Renaissance masters Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel.

This is a portfolio exam project. We are trying to rise above the misery and tedium brought on by orthodox exams.

In keeping with Fine Arts class attempts to memorialize great works by bringing them to life - to make them a memorable part of our lives - students will create a Renaissance Dance video production that meets the following criteria . . .

a) All students will produce 2 masks - a frontal or three-quarters portrait of a Renaissance-era person and one of a skull - that fill out the space on a standard 8.5X11 sheet.
b) Portraits may be printed out from a Google image search of Renaissance-era portraits. But sheet must be glued to a cardboard or card stock backing so that the image may be used as a quasi-mask without collapsing.
b) Skull and portrait must be printed so that they fill out the space, almost touching the edge of the page at top, bottom and sides. Cite the source - Not google images - on back.
c) Video will show you dancing a simple shuffle-stamp-turn-hop-hop step called a "Canario," as shown in "The Majesty of Renaissance Dance," Youtube.com. Go to 3:01 to see the "Canario" section. We will dance a simple form of the steps you see.
d) Simple costumes. The video will focus on the feet and the masks.
e) Females in long skirt or dress (borrow one!), white socks and dark flat shoes.
f) Males in long-sleeve white shirts, dark shorts, white socks, dark leather shoes.
g) We will rehearse next class and shoot at the end of the following class.

The background is that both Bosch and Bruegel pursued the theme of mortality. On one hand is the joy of dance, music and courtship. The dance will begin with everyone holding the mask of the portrait over their face. Life seems lovely and joyous - see Bruegel's "The Wedding Dance," 1566. See the cavorting figures in Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights."

After 3 repetitions of the shuffle-stamp-hop-turn pattern, students will drop the portrait and raise the skull. After 3 additional repetitions, the lines of dancers will form a group and stare stoically at the camera from behind their skulls.

Bosch believed that death would bring human souls to a difficult state called "Hell." Bruegel was also mordant as he addressed mortality in "The Tower of Babel," and showed viewers a Danse Macabre in "The Triumph of Death."

Epic sin and salvation, in explicit detail: The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch

Fine arts / Bosch
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Among the best-known scenes from this triptych are the following:

- The painting shows Adam waking from a deep sleep to find God holding Eve by her wrist and giving the sign of his blessing to their union, says Wikipedia. God is younger-looking than on the outer panels, blue-eyed and with golden curls. Adam is touching God's hem with his feet.

- In the center panel: Fantastic creatures mingle with the real; otherwise ordinary fruits appear engorged to a gigantic size. The figures are engaged in diverse amorous sports and activities, both in couples and in groups. Gibson describes them as behaving "overtly and without shame."
The two outer springs also contain both men and women cavorting with abandon. Around them, birds infest the water while winged fish crawl on land. Humans inhabit giant shells. All are surrounded by over-sized fruit pods and eggshells, and both humans and animals feast on strawberries and cherries.

- In the Hell panel: cities are on fire in the background; war, torture chambers, infernal taverns, and demons are in the midground; and mutated animals feeding on human flesh are in the foreground.[50] The nakedness of the human figures has lost all its eroticism, and figures now attempt to cover their genitalia and breasts with their hands.
The tree-man's torso is formed from a broken eggshell, and the supporting trunk has thorn-like branches which pierce the fragile body.
Also: a gigantic bird-headed monster feasting on human corpses, which he excretes through a cavity below him,[50] into the transparent chamber pot on which he sits.[54] The monster is sometimes referred to as the "Prince of Hell."
And a pair of human ears brandishing a blade.

Become a modern-day art patron for 10 bucks: Kickstarter.com and Indiegogo.com

DSC09403
Originally uploaded by trudeau

See painter Michael Shapcott's success on Kickstarter or go to his site: http://michael-shapcott.com/blog/.

Crowdsourcing of funds for artistic projects: it's an encouraging development for painters, dancers, authors, filmmakers, etc.

Misspelled above is Indiegogo.com.

Hieronymus Bosch: sex and psychedelic dreams in the year 1500 CE

Hieronymus Bosch
Originally uploaded by rocor

Moralist or heretic? The explicit sexual activity and fantastical animal and plant life presented by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch was far beyond the work being presented by any of his contemporaries.

"His work is known for its use of fantastic imagery to illustrate moral and religious concepts and narratives," says Wikipedia.

But was it for the sake of moral education? Writing that might explain his intent or the reception accorded the work is non-existent. "He left behind no letters or diaries. Nothing is known of his personality or his thoughts on the meaning of his art."

It is known that he became a popular painter in his lifetime and often received commissions from abroad. In 1488 he joined the highly respected Brotherhood of Our Lady, an arch-conservative religious group.

The oil on panel tritych called The Garden of Earthly Delights is his masterwork. It depicts paradise, with Adam and Eve and many wondrous animals on the left panel, the earthly delights with numerous nude figures and tremendous fruit and birds on the middle panel, and hell with depictions of fantastic punishments of the various types of sinners on the right panel.

In recent decades, scholars have accepted that his art reflects the orthodox religious belief systems of his age.[citation needed] His depictions of sinful humanity, his conceptions of Heaven and Hell are now seen as consistent with those of late medieval didactic literature and sermons.

David Mamet and Jan van Eyck

Magnet fine arts: David Mamet and Jan van Eyck
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Fraud of the era: NY investor Bernie Madoff

Bernie Madoff by Yan Pei-Ming at San Francisco Art Institute - 159
Originally uploaded by Steve Rhodes

In relating the Glengarry story and the culpability of Mitch and Murray, this class notes the crimes of the infamous Bernie Madoff.

Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff (1938) is a former American businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier, says Wikipedia.

He is the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered to be the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.[4]

In March 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies and admitted to turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars. He is serving a sentence of 150 years.

The amount missing from client accounts, including fabricated gains, was almost $65 billion.

On December 10, 2008, Madoff's sons told authorities that their father had confessed to them that the asset management unit of his firm was a massive Ponzi scheme, and quoted him as describing it as "one big lie."[18][19][20] The following day, FBI agents arrested Madoff and charged him with securities fraud.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had previously conducted investigations into Madoff's business practices, but did not uncover the massive fraud.

Since Madoff's arrest, the SEC has been criticized for its lack of financial expertise and lack of due diligence, despite having received complaints from Harry Markopolos and others for almost a decade. The SEC's Inspector General, H. David Kotz, found that since 1992, there were six botched investigations of Madoff by the SEC, either through incompetent staff work or neglecting allegations of financial experts and whistle-blowers.

Madoff apologized to his victims, saying, "I have left a legacy of shame, as some of my victims have pointed out, to my family and my grandchildren. This is something I will live in for the rest of my life. I'm sorry." He added, "I know that doesn't help you," after his victims recommended to the judge that he receive a life sentence. Chin had not received any mitigating letters from friends or family testifying to Madoff's good deeds. "The absence of such support is telling," he said.

On the morning of December 11, 2010—exactly two years after Bernard's arrest—his son Mark was found dead in his New York City apartment. The city medical examiner ruled the cause of death as suicide by hanging.[114][115][116]

Arnolfini Wedding by Jan van Eyck: detail enabled by use of oil paints as oppsed to tempera

Arnolfini_Wedding_Mirror_Maxed
Originally uploaded by ARH 500

Today's technique of oil painting was established circa 1410 by Jan van Eyck, says Wikipedia.

Though van Eyck was not the first to use oil paint, he was the first artist to have produced a siccative oil mixture which could be used to combine mineral pigments. Van Eyck’s mixture may have consisted of piled glass, calcined bones, and mineral pigments boiled in linseed oil until reaching a viscous state. Or he may have simply used Sun-thickened oils (slightly oxidized by Sun exposure). He left no written statement.

Antonello da Messina later improved oil paint: he added lead (II) oxide. The new mixture had a honey-like consistency and increased drying properties. This mixture was known as oglio cotto—"cooked oil."

Leonardo da Vinci later improved these techniques by cooking the mixture at a very low temperature and adding 5 to 10% beeswax, which prevented darkening of the paint. Giorgione, Titian, and Tintoretto each may have altered this recipe for their own purposes.

The advantage of the slow-drying quality of oil paint is that an artist can develop a painting leisurely.

Earlier media such as egg tempera dried quickly, which prevented the artist from making changes or corrections. With oil-based paints, revising was comparatively easy. The disadvantage is that a painting might take months or years to finish, which might disappoint an anxious patron. Oil paints also blend well with each other, making subtle variations of color possible as well as more easily creating details of light and shadow.

Oil paints can be diluted with turpentine or other thinning agents which allowed an artist to build a painting in layers, however, such agents are highly flammable and the danger of a studio fire was always present.

Another danger to artists as they mix their paints is the toxicity of the pigments - ex: lead, now most often replaced by less toxic zinc and titanium, and the red to yellow cadmium pigments.

Like the bosses Mitch and Murray in Glengarry Glen Ross, the management of Walmart is found deficient in ethics

Gabino Cué, Inauguración de las tiendas Walmart y Suburbia, Oaxaca
Originally uploaded by Gabino Cué Monteagudo

In David Mamet's drama, Glengarry Glen Ross, the tangible bad guys are the hapless tricksters Ricky Roma, Shelley Levene, Dave Moss and Aaronow.

Not specifically blamed are the uber bad guys: Mitch and Murray. Heartless business owners Mitch and Murray are oft mentioned but never seen. Mamet wants us to find them and evaluate their role as a by-product of our independent thinking.

They covertly push and bless the salesmen's misadventures.

The leads supplied by Mitch and Murray in this phase of the company's program are worthless. Yet the office men are told to sell as though the leads were fresh and promising. That squeezes the salesmen into a do-or-die position. Desperate to hold on to their jobs, the men resort to using full-on deception. The ends seem to justify their corrupt means.

In the same way the Walmart organization has been accused by the NY Times of serious wrong-doing and cover-up.

Please read the article "Vast Mexico Bribery Case Hushed Up by Wal-Mart After Top-Level Struggle."

Says the NY Times, "Confronted with evidence of widespread corruption in Mexico, top Wal-Mart executives focused more on damage control than on rooting out wrongdoing."

Mamet's 'Glengarry:' The art of persuasion and ethics

Magnet fine arts Glengarry
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Eschew obfuscation - the ironic message is "do not attempt to confuse."

Offer an example of ethical behavior and the ethical grey area between ethical and non-ethical behavior: would it be copying someone else's homework? For many students the answer is "That is definitely a grey area."

See quotes from Glengarry at imdb.com.
See satirical videos under Glengarry Parody at youtube.com.

Sales and communications and ethics: Glengarry Glen Ross

Al Pacino dressed up by Vacca
Originally uploaded by laurentbourrelly

1. Author of Glengarry Glen Ross: a) Edward Albee b) David Mamet c) Samuel Beckett d) Arthur Miller.
2. In Glengarry Glen Ross - GGR - the sales team has been given a challenge. First prize is a Cadillac, second is a set of steak knives and third is
a) better leads b) dismissal c) a transfer d) a certificate of appreciation.
3. The Mamet play and movie which addresses the relationship between male professor and female college student: a) Oleanna b) American Buffalo c) Zoo Story d) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
4. The salesmen in GGR are supplied with names and phone numbers of potential clients. These are called a) leads b) sits c) pigeons d) closers.
5. The salesmen in GGR are told to get an appointment to have a face-to-face meeting with their clients. These are called a) leads b) sits c) pigeons d) closers.
6. The salesmen in GGR are told that they're losers. It is an attempt to fire them up so they will become successes, or __ . a) leaders b) sitters c) pigeons d) closers.
7. The Blake character lectures the sales office on basic techniques, such as "A-B-C: Always be ___ . " a) coping b) closing
c) classy d) careful.
8. The salesmen in GGR do their best not to use underhanded or dishonest techniques in their sales efforts. T / F
9. A real estate company across the street seems like enticing work to 2 of the salesmen in GGR. The company is run by Jerry Graff and is notable because their leads are based on a list of well-paid professionals, a group of __ . a) doctors
b) nurses c) lawyers d) financial advisers.

Silver-tongued salesmen who have lost their ethical center: David Mamet's play, Glengarry Glen Ross

Cheap Flights To Florida - Golf 3
Originally uploaded by Cheap Flights To Florida

Glengarry Glen Ross shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts -- from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation, and burglary -- to sell undesirable real estate to unwilling prospective buyers.

The play draws partly on Mamet's experiences of life in a Chicago real estate office, where he worked briefly in the late 1960s, says Wikipeida. The title of the play comes from the names of two of the real estate developments being peddled by the salesmen characters, Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms.[1]

Characters -
Richard "Ricky" Roma
The most successful salesman in the office. Although Roma seems to think of himself as a latter day cowboy and regards his ability to make a sale as a sign of his virility, he admits himself it is all luck. He is ruthless, dishonest, and immoral, but succeeds because he has a talent for figuring out a client's weaknesses and crafting a pitch that will exploit those weaknesses. He is a smooth talker and often speaks in grand, poetic soliloquies.

Shelley "The Machine" Levene
An older salesman, a once-successful salesman who has fallen on hard times and has not closed a big deal in a long time. He has a sick daughter and needs money desperately, which is why he is constantly begging Williamson for some promising sales leads.

James Lingk
A timid, middle-aged man who becomes Roma's latest client. Lingk is easily manipulated and finds Roma highly charismatic.

John Williamson
The office manager. The salesmen despise Williamson and look down on him, but need him desperately because he's the one who hands out the sales leads.

George Aaronow
An aging salesman with low self-esteem who lacks confidence and hope. A follower who lacks the ability to stand on his own.

Dave Moss
A big-mouthed salesman with big dreams and schemes. Moss resents Williamson, Mitch, and Murray for putting such pressure on him and plans to strike back at them by stealing all their best sales leads and selling them to a competitor. Moss sees Aaronow as a potential accomplice.

The play is noteworthy for the flow of persuasive patter of the salesmen characters, who spend much time trying to convince customers, the oily office manager, and even each other to give them what they want: down payments for real estate, access to valuable sales leads, and even co-operation in conspiracies. The play also shocked audiences with its (for the time) raw language, with its roughly 150 uses of the word "fuck" or variations (an average of once every 40 seconds of stage time).

Critics explain their appreciation for Glengarry

hospital set in progress
Originally uploaded by jasoneppink

Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers wrote, "The pleasure of this unique film comes in watching superb actors dine on Mamet's pungent language like the feast it is".[13] Roger Ebert's review in the Chicago Sun-Times said, "Mamet's dialogue has a kind of logic, a cadence, that allows people to arrive in triumph at the ends of sentences we could not possibly have imagined. There is great energy in it. You can see the joy with which these actors get their teeth into these great lines, after living through movies in which flat dialogue serves only to advance the story".[14]

Newsweek's Jack Kroll praised Alec Baldwin's performance: "Baldwin is sleekly sinister in the role of Blake, a troubleshooter caned in to shake up the salesmen. He shakes them up, all right, but this character (not in the original play) also shakes up the movie's toned balance with his sheer noise and scatological fury".[15]

In his review for The New York Times, Vincent Canby praised, "the utterly demonic skill with which these foulmouthed characters carve one another up in futile attempts to stave off disaster. It's also because of the breathtaking wizardry with which Mr. Mamet and Mr. Foley have made a vivid, living film that preserves the claustrophobic nature of the original stage work".[16]

Playwright David Mamet and Glengarry Glen Ross

Fine arts Magnet Glengarry Glen Ross
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Please see more below.

Award-winning, cutting edge playwright David Mamet

206 - Jul 25th
Originally uploaded by 5Mae

David Alan Mamet (1947) is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.

Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984).

He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for The Verdict (1982) and Wag the Dog (1997).

Mamet's style of writing dialogue, marked by a cynical, street-smart edge, precisely crafted for effect, is so distinctive that it has come to be called Mamet speak.[14] He often uses italics and quotation marks to highlight particular words and to draw attention to his characters' frequent manipulation and deceitful use of language. His characters frequently interrupt one another, their sentences trail off unfinished, and their dialogue overlaps. Mamet himself has criticized his (and other writers') tendency to write "pretty" at the expense of sound, logical plots.[15]

When asked how he developed his style for writing dialogue, Mamet said, "In my family, in the days prior to television, we liked to while away the evenings by making ourselves miserable, based solely on our ability to speak the language viciously. That's probably where my ability was honed."[16]

One classic instance of Mamet's dialogue style can be found in Glengarry Glen Ross, in which two down-on-their-luck real estate salesmen are considering breaking into their employer's office to steal a list of good sales leads. George Aaronow and Dave Moss equivocate on the meaning of "talk" and "speak," turning language and meaning to deceptive purposes:

Moss No. What do you mean? Have I talked to him about this [Pause]
Aaronow Yes. I mean are you actually talking about this, or are we just...
Moss No, we're just...
Aaronow We're just "talking" about it.
Moss We're just speaking about it. [Pause] As an idea.
Aaronow As an idea.
Moss Yes.
Aaronow We're not actually talking about it.
Moss No.
Aaronow Talking about it as a...
Moss No.
Aaronow As a robbery.
Moss As a "robbery?" No.

Mamet dedicated Glengarry Glen Ross to Harold Pinter, who was instrumental in its being first staged at the Royal National Theatre, (London) in 1983, and whom Mamet has acknowledged as an influence on its success, and on his other work.[17] "Harold Pinter, recently from his repose, indicated that any perceived relation between himself and the new-found Mamet are extremely remote - related more to emotiveness than to any philosophical or spiritual thought. Gasping for breath after a strenuous metaphysical workout, Mr. Pinter only stated 'This Mamet has split open the pig - he is ready to gourge [sic]'.

Oleanna is a two-character play by David Mamet, about the power struggle between a university professor and one of his female students, who accuses him of sexual exploitation and, by doing so, spoils his chances of being accorded tenure. The play's title, taken from a folk song, refers to a 19th-century escapist vision of utopia.[1][2] This was later adapted to a movie with same name by Mamet.

Minimalist, absurdist, avant-garde, tragicomic play, "Waiting for Godot:" Irish playwright Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett
Originally uploaded by ReefRaff

Samuel B. Beckett (1906 – 1989) was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet who lived in France for most of his adult life, says Wikipedia. He wrote in both English and French.

His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.

Beckett is widely regarded as among the most influential writers of the 20th century.[2] He was strongly influenced by Irish novelist James Joyce, author of novels Ulysses (1922) and Finnegan's Wake (1939) - notable for their stream-of-consciousness prose.

He is one of the key writers in the "Theatre of the Absurd". His work became increasingly minimalist in his later career.

In his play Waiting for Godot (1953; originally "En Attendant Godot," en Francais) a critic wrote that Beckett "has achieved a theoretical impossibility—a play in which nothing happens, that yet keeps audiences glued to their seats. What's more, since the second act is a subtly different reprise of the first, he has written a play in which nothing happens, twice."[20]

Broadly speaking, Godot and plays such as "Krapp's Last Tape" deal with the subject of despair and the will to survive in spite of that despair, in the face of an uncomprehending and incomprehensible world.

Beckett's work represents the most sustained attack on the realist tradition. He opened up the possibility of theatre and fiction that dispense with conventional plot, time and place in order to focus on essential components of the human condition.

In 1969 Beckett heard that he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Anticipating that her intensely private husband would be saddled with fame from that moment on, Suzanne called the award a "catastrophe".[23] In true ascetic fashion, he gave away all of the prize money.

Who won: George or Martha? Albee or Warhol?

Richard Burton
Originally uploaded by Truus, Bob & Jan too!

Choose one of these essays -

Based on 3 quotes from each of the major characters in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? write a comparison essay on George and Martha.

Based on 3 titles and quotes, compare Warhol and Albee as cultural forces. Try to control your tendency to write marvelous generalities. Base your judgments on the quotes, not upon sweeping overviews.

12 pts; due Th. Typed.
No more than one page. No less than a half page.

Quotes: Who's Afraid of Virginia WQoolf?

Edward-lo-res
Originally uploaded by mikecontiphotos

Who's Afraid . . .

- a hysterical pregnancy
- "I'll have a Bergin. Bergin and water." A grand amusement.
- Boy killed his mother and his father.
- In an asylum for 30 years. Not uttering a word.
- This isn't a novel at all. It happened to me.
- Martha: a cyclops.
- Accommodation, adjustment. Clean up the mess I've made.
- I best she has money, too. To compensate.
- He spent God's money. He saved his own.
- Plow a few pertinent wives. That's the way to power.
- There's quicksand here and you'll be dragged down before you know it.
- You tried to *communicate.* That's touching.
- Tried to publish a book and daddy wouldn't let him.
- I like to dance and you don't want me to.
- Humiliate the host.
- Hump the hostess.
- Portrait of a man drowning.
- I love familiar stories. They're the best.
- I regret everything.
- You can stand it. You married me for it.
- I tried with you, baby. I really tried.
- Snap!
- I wear the pants because someone has to.
- Total war? Total.
- I don't want any children.
- 'Tis the refuge we take when the unreality of the world sits too heavy on our tiny heads.
- To you, everybody is a flop.
- I'm the earth mother.
- I disgust me.
- The only person in my life who has made me happy. Who is good to me. Whom I revile. Who quickly learns the rules. Who can make me happy and I do not wish to be happy. Who has made the hideous mistake of loving me. I must be punished for it.
- George and Martha: sad, sad, sad.
- Which is it: houseboy or stallion?
- Truth or illusion. Who knows the difference?
- We must carry on as though we did.
- Bringing up baby.
- When you get through the skin and muscles and get to the bone. There's more. The marrow.
- All truth being relative.
- A drowning man takes down those nearest.
- You can't decide these things by yourself.

Perusing several critics' insights: a raft of reviews of "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

Elizabeth Taylor
Originally uploaded by Pin-up Magazines

"You are cordially invited to George and Martha's for an evening of fun and games." Thus read the ad copy for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, which in 1966 went farther than any previous big-studio film in its use of profanity and sexual implication, says Rottentomatoes.com.

George (Richard Burton) is an alcoholic college professor; Martha (Oscar-winner Elizabeth Taylor) is his virago of a wife. George and Martha know just how to push each other's buttons, with George having a special advantage: he need only mention the couple's son to send Martha into orbit. This evening, the couple's guests are Nick (George Segal), a junior professor, and Honey (Sandy Dennis), Nick's child-like wife. After an evening of sadistic (and sometimes perversely hilarious) "fun and games," the truth about George and Martha's son comes to light.

Thanks to the box-office clout of stars Taylor and Burton, not to mention the titilation factor of hearing all those naughty words on the big screen, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf was a hit, and it won 5 Oscars, including awards for Taylor and Dennis, though it lost Best Picture to A Man for All Seasons.

See a range of views at Rottentomatoes.com.

Virginia Woolf and "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf"

Fine arts Magnet Virginia Woolf
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Adeline Virginia Woolf (1882 –1941) was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories. She is regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century, says Wikipedia.

Edward Franklin Albee III (1928) is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story (1958), The Sandbox (1959), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962). His works are considered well-crafted, often unsympathetic examinations of the modern condition. His early works reflect a mastery and Americanization of the Theatre of the Absurd.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won both the 1963 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1962–63 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. Its stars won the 1963 Tony Awards for Best Actor and Actress as well. It was also selected for the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Drama by that award's drama jury. However, the award's advisory board—the trustees of Columbia University—objected to the play's then-controversial use of profanity and sexual themes, and overruled the award's advisory committee, awarding no Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1963.

In this scathing satire of modern marriage, the border between fiction and reality is continually challenged. The play ends with Martha answering the titular question of who is afraid to live their life free of illusions with, "I am, George, I am." Implicitly, exposure is something everyone fears: façade (be it social or psychological), although damaging, provides a comfort.

Quotes and vocab -
- "What a dump."
- You never DO anything."
- "Braying at everyone . . . "
- "Are you sulking?"
- "You make me puke."
- "I like your anger. That's what I like about you the most."
- "I can drink you under the g*dd*mned table."
- If you existed, I'd divorce you."
- "Unless you're carrying on like a hyena, you're not having fun."
- euphemism
- "Dashed hopes; good intentions."
- "Good, better, best, bested."
- Rearranging the chromosomes. Making everyone the same."
- "The ants will take over the world."
- "I hope that was an empty bottle. You can't afford to waste a bottle of liquor on an associate professor's salary."

Investigate the differences between the early 60's and the late 60's

Fine arts Magnet / 60's
Originally uploaded by trudeau

The 60's was a divided decade. The early 60's was an extension of the 50's.

The one notable sign of growth in the early 60's was the Civil Rights Movement. See 1963, when some 200,000 people gathered in Wash, DC, and heard Martin Luther King, Jr's "I have a dream speech." Embattled members of the fight against racism struggled for every inch of the gains that could be made.

By 1967, though, a cultural upheaval was underway in the arts and mainstream society.

The poetry and sonic experimentation of the Sgt Pepper's album hit the world in 1967. It opened a door for a new era in fine arts.