(no subject)
Mir.
...I dislike money, jobs, and the fact that I need to obtain both of them.
I'm groggy. But it's my own fault. Going to bed at four and getting up eight and half hours later will do that to you. But it was worth it. Wasn't it?
Art: 1. Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.
2. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.
or is it
Art: An expression of creativity or imagination, or both.
or perhaps
Art: That which is made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind and/or spirit. There is no general agreed-upon definition of art, since defining the boundaries of "art" is subjective.
It is interesting that no one really knows what art is. And yet it plays such a large role in our society and is valued so highly. Someone last night asked me what my definition of art was. I couldn't think of a satisfactory answer--art, I guess, falls into all of the above categories-- but does that mean a piece of trash on the ground could be called art because it could possibly illicit an emotional response? I would say no. But it could be art, according to the last definition above. It just seems kind of silly.
Last night I, and a couple of friends, attended the 36 hour grand opening of the newly remodeled SAM (Seattle Art Museum) for free. It was quite an interesting experience. When we first walked in, we were greeted by throbbing music, a swarming crowd of people (some of them dancing), bright lights flashing above our heads, and a multitude of colors. It was was very new, very modern-- a 21st century greeting. Welcome to the new SAM. With new art. With new artists. Conveying new messages.
Up above us were suspended several white cars, and streaming out of each were cables with pulsing and flashing bright colored lights-- I hear the inspiration for these pieces were terrorists, car bombers. Indeed, the first level of the new SAM last night looked more like a rave, a hip club, some sort of dance party, rather than an art museum. But the modernness of it all served its purpose well-- I admit, I was excited, it was new, it was cool.
I wonder what artists 100, 500, years ago would've thought by such a display? They probably would've had a breakdown and run out of the building, quite alarmed by the throbbing, pulsing, loud noise and the flashing lights and the multitudes of people.
The new building is very beautiful-- new wooden floors, lights, art-- I liked the organization of the building. The first level up, one is fittingly greeted by the contemporary and modern art galleries. The pieces were well selected-- very interesting. I didn't recognize most of the names and there were more than several pieces done in the last 5-10 years. What would it be like to have your art in an art museum while you were still alive? Hmm.
From there you move into the American art galleries, and then Northwest art and Asian art (proper for Seattle). We stayed about two and half hours, I think, and even then we didn't finish seeing the whole first floor. It's an impressive collection and an impressive building.
Yesterday was so full of stuff. I went to Ballard with my friend Kari and we saw Cursive play a free in-store performance at Sonic Boom, and later in the day we saw Apostle of Hustle (which includes the guitarist from Broken Social Scene) play as well. I enjoyed their (Apostle of Hustle's) music quite a bit, although their music on myspace is not representative of their sound, at least in my opinion-- they sounded much better live. To my surprise and enjoyment, Tim Kasher played some old stuff as well as some new stuff-- I enjoyed hearing Making Friends and Acquaintances off of one of his early albums as well as The Recluse from the Ugly Organ. It seems to me that he is taking a cue from Sufjan Stevens-- he had flute, trumpet, and jingle bells added to some of his songs. It was quite surprising, but also enjoyable.
In between sets we went to Archie McPhees, which is one of the craziest stores I have ever been in. It is stuffed with random, odd, old, crazy, sometimes tacky, stuff-- everything from huge rubber crows, to build your own hut kits, to glass animal eyeballs, to Japanese candy. There were Narwhal vs. Unicorn battling kits (which exchangeable horns), hologram postcards, bouncy balls, urinals, and tin Soviet Union propaganda cards. There were plastic crucifixes, extra large yellow suits, rubber fish that squirt water, and gas masks for children. We spent probably an hour in there, and even still I don't think we saw everything. It was quite the store.
We also went to Cupcake Royale, a really cutesy gourmet cupcake shop, as well as a Scandinavian eaterie as well as some other cutesy stores. It was a great day.
After that was a rushed dinner and then some extensive NPR listening, which was extremely nice. Art museum fun followed into the early hours of the morning.
Oh, and on Friday night was the Emerson banquet, which was actually really really fun. Fantastic food, dancing, the best floor ever, and all that. Top notch.
So today shall be fully devoted to homework, applying for jobs, e-mailing professors, trying to get an advisor, and such un-pleasant things. But after a weekend such as this, it is to be expected.
...I dislike money, jobs, and the fact that I need to obtain both of them.
I'm groggy. But it's my own fault. Going to bed at four and getting up eight and half hours later will do that to you. But it was worth it. Wasn't it?
Art: 1. Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.
2. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.
or is it
Art: An expression of creativity or imagination, or both.
or perhaps
Art: That which is made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind and/or spirit. There is no general agreed-upon definition of art, since defining the boundaries of "art" is subjective.
It is interesting that no one really knows what art is. And yet it plays such a large role in our society and is valued so highly. Someone last night asked me what my definition of art was. I couldn't think of a satisfactory answer--art, I guess, falls into all of the above categories-- but does that mean a piece of trash on the ground could be called art because it could possibly illicit an emotional response? I would say no. But it could be art, according to the last definition above. It just seems kind of silly.
Last night I, and a couple of friends, attended the 36 hour grand opening of the newly remodeled SAM (Seattle Art Museum) for free. It was quite an interesting experience. When we first walked in, we were greeted by throbbing music, a swarming crowd of people (some of them dancing), bright lights flashing above our heads, and a multitude of colors. It was was very new, very modern-- a 21st century greeting. Welcome to the new SAM. With new art. With new artists. Conveying new messages.
Up above us were suspended several white cars, and streaming out of each were cables with pulsing and flashing bright colored lights-- I hear the inspiration for these pieces were terrorists, car bombers. Indeed, the first level of the new SAM last night looked more like a rave, a hip club, some sort of dance party, rather than an art museum. But the modernness of it all served its purpose well-- I admit, I was excited, it was new, it was cool.
I wonder what artists 100, 500, years ago would've thought by such a display? They probably would've had a breakdown and run out of the building, quite alarmed by the throbbing, pulsing, loud noise and the flashing lights and the multitudes of people.
The new building is very beautiful-- new wooden floors, lights, art-- I liked the organization of the building. The first level up, one is fittingly greeted by the contemporary and modern art galleries. The pieces were well selected-- very interesting. I didn't recognize most of the names and there were more than several pieces done in the last 5-10 years. What would it be like to have your art in an art museum while you were still alive? Hmm.
From there you move into the American art galleries, and then Northwest art and Asian art (proper for Seattle). We stayed about two and half hours, I think, and even then we didn't finish seeing the whole first floor. It's an impressive collection and an impressive building.
Yesterday was so full of stuff. I went to Ballard with my friend Kari and we saw Cursive play a free in-store performance at Sonic Boom, and later in the day we saw Apostle of Hustle (which includes the guitarist from Broken Social Scene) play as well. I enjoyed their (Apostle of Hustle's) music quite a bit, although their music on myspace is not representative of their sound, at least in my opinion-- they sounded much better live. To my surprise and enjoyment, Tim Kasher played some old stuff as well as some new stuff-- I enjoyed hearing Making Friends and Acquaintances off of one of his early albums as well as The Recluse from the Ugly Organ. It seems to me that he is taking a cue from Sufjan Stevens-- he had flute, trumpet, and jingle bells added to some of his songs. It was quite surprising, but also enjoyable.
In between sets we went to Archie McPhees, which is one of the craziest stores I have ever been in. It is stuffed with random, odd, old, crazy, sometimes tacky, stuff-- everything from huge rubber crows, to build your own hut kits, to glass animal eyeballs, to Japanese candy. There were Narwhal vs. Unicorn battling kits (which exchangeable horns), hologram postcards, bouncy balls, urinals, and tin Soviet Union propaganda cards. There were plastic crucifixes, extra large yellow suits, rubber fish that squirt water, and gas masks for children. We spent probably an hour in there, and even still I don't think we saw everything. It was quite the store.
We also went to Cupcake Royale, a really cutesy gourmet cupcake shop, as well as a Scandinavian eaterie as well as some other cutesy stores. It was a great day.
After that was a rushed dinner and then some extensive NPR listening, which was extremely nice. Art museum fun followed into the early hours of the morning.
Oh, and on Friday night was the Emerson banquet, which was actually really really fun. Fantastic food, dancing, the best floor ever, and all that. Top notch.
So today shall be fully devoted to homework, applying for jobs, e-mailing professors, trying to get an advisor, and such un-pleasant things. But after a weekend such as this, it is to be expected.