Entry 22: Should Art Entertain?

  The subject of art being entertainment is tricky. It goes back to that difficult question of whether or not video games are art. From my earlier post my thoughts are clear on that subject. This can extend to so many more things like amusement parks, comics, and cartoons. I am going to focus on the last one, basing my examples on my favorite show: Avatar the Last Airbender.

  There is nothing wrong with mixing art and entertainment.The people that sit down and illustrate their characters for cartoons or comic books consider themselves artists. They are using the elements of art to make something that is impact full to both themselves and the audience. The line is blurred when you put that art into a TV show or comic, because then it is considered mass culture. The question arises: Is it art or mass culture? 

 The Last Airbender is a cartoon that aired on Nickelodeon for three seasons. It is a show available to all ages as it has more mature themes for adult viewers. It is the perfect example of the controversy of art and entertainment. I , for one, believe that it is art, because the process that goes into making each scene is the same one that any artist would go through. 

 Someone actually drew this for the episode. Their thoughts being the same as any artists. They took the placement of the crystals, and the people into consideration. The scale and balance is a big factor as well as the color choice. This scene creates a sense of peace. It is also connected with the dialogue, because whats going on fits perfectly with what is being said. 

  

 This scene is a devastating one as we see one of the characters fall into insanity with a mirage of her mom watching through the mirror. I included this to show everything you can get out of one scene. We could easily put this up in the lecture and analysis it just like we would any other work of art. Once again everything has a purpose in creating this feeling of despair and lost hope. 

This ,as well as other cartoons, blurs the line between art, visual culture, and entertainment. It does this because everything in the show is carefully crafted artwork designed to elicit some sort of feeling from the audience. When the artwork is put in TV format that is rated based on viewership, it makes things complicated. My opinion is that the process is still art, so no matter the format of presentation it should still be considered as such. Even if something fits into the category of mass culture, it can still be art. 

Entry 21: Art and the Environment

This dump truck has grass, weeds, and flowers growing within and around it. There was not much manipulation, for the truck was parked and nature grew all around it. Without nature there would just be a random truck sitting there. The environment at which the truck was placed is what makes it art. The weeds growing in the truck reminds me of something you would see in a apocalyptic movie. A movie where all of our man-made creations fail and nature takes over. This artwork could symbolize the idea that we can never control nature. 

This second work required much more manipulation from humans. In contrast to the first work, this shows a control over nature. The metal beams around the entangled rock makes it look as though nature is a prisoner to our man-made creations. This may be calling us to stop out attempts to control the environment. All the rocks used in this piece were moved from another location and placed in specific spots. The piece would not work without the use of its environment.  

Entry 20: Flowers

The flowers on the left is how I would usually draw them. They are more structured with lines and one color for each section. The flowers on the left show what I learned in class. We studied impressionism, which is when artists capture their images without details but with bold colors. They always paint the colors not the things. In the right picture there are no lines and multiple shades of a color on each flower. There is also some use of stippling on the right version, which is when small spots of bright color is shown.

Entry 19: My Body

This is artwork depicts the Tabernacle, which is where God would dwell in the Old Testament. In the New Testament all of our bodies became the temple of the Holy Spirit. That's how I see my body, a temple. Since the Holy Spirit lives within us, we have to take care of our bodies. Something that I fail at sometimes. It's difficult to view ,not only, my body but everyone else's body as temples.

Entry 18: Chuck Close's Fanny

     

I chose Chuck Close's Fanny, because it does something that few other portraits have done. It does not show an idealized self or inner personality. It is is meant to be realistic and showcase all of the detailed features of an older women. This may be trying to teach a lesson. It's the idea that we should not try to hide our true self (like the other portraits) but embrace it. The work invites judgement as we can not help but discuss the unflattering features. Yet, the women seems unmoved. This is an example of how we should stop worrying about what everyone else is thinking. This piece impacted me, because that is something that I am struggling with. What I took from this portrait was a beneficial lesson that can change the way I think. 

Entry 17: My Idealized Identity

When I brainstormed about my ideal identity, I was thinking about my character traits. This includes being, calm, compassionate, and strong. The second thought that came to my mind was: what would I be known for? That's when I realized that ,ideally, I would like to serve people. The main point being serving other people, not myself. Of course, this is an idealized identity because everyone has that feeling that they need to take care of themselves. To symbolize both my character traits, and what I want to be known for, I thought of a waterfall. Water is calm, and strong, and beneficial for all of us. In other words it serves us. My idealized identity would be someone that is calm, strong, and compassionate who also serves everyone around him. Water is a way to abstractly symbolize that ideal identity.

Entry 16: Propaganda at UNT

  This huge eagle statue made of balloons is situated in the student union for all to see. It showcases a more extravagant version of UNT propaganda. It mixes well with UNT's slogan of creativity. This is, of course, replicating the UNT mascot, Scrappy, but this replication could have been done in a easier way. The statue made of balloons is just an example of how creative UNT is. The people taking their tour through the union will get the message that UNT is a place of creativity. This idea is communicated through making something in a way that no one else could think of.