School of Athens

How can art be a mirror of the society?


During the Middle Ages, no artists has used a secular topic for their painting, or used techniques that the Renaissance painters have used, such as linear perspective, shade and light, foreshortening, focusing on backgrounds, using a secular topic, and many more. It can be seen that paintings depend on artist’s knowledge, and artist’s knowledge depend on the dynasty or the time they were living in, and how much that time of age is developed in certain techniques, knowledge, methods, etc. Additionally, art shows the current situation the artist was living in. Such as ingredients that were used in the painting, the mood, the focal point, and many more are hints of the art piece of what it is trying to show. Also, paintings such as the 'school of Athens,' by looking at the picture, the viewers can infer than during the time that Raphael painted this piece, many scientists, philosophers were born and how they tried to seek science and facts.






If I were an individual in the painting ‘The School of Athens’, I would be Heraclitus, which is the man that is leaning on a desk in the bottom middle side of the painting. Heraclitus was a Greek philosopher that criticized predecessors for their failure and to see the unity in their failure. He and I are similar in ways that we both criticize others for their failures to encourage them to see their failure as an experience and not to make the same mistakes again. Additionally, Heraclitus is known for being logical and sending out theories of his own, such as ‘opposites are identical,’ ‘everything is and is not at the same time,’ etc. Similar to Heraclitus, I also reveal my ideas and theories that I think are true to other and seek only logical and scientific facts rather than superstitions and beliefs.

Leornado Da Vinci, A True Renaissance Man

"Renaissance" means 'rebirth.' The rebirth refers to arts, architecture, and attitude of artists and scientists toward new knowledge and ancient methods. During the Renaissance, the church had most of the power, and the church refused to share knowledge to any others in fear if people starts to think scientifically and logically instead of gods and spirituality which will cause them to loose faith and power. Da Vinci was one of the men and a major one that caused this 'rebirth' during this era. He made alot of masterpieces and beautiful artwork, additionally, weapons and tools that used science and were made logically. He was a stepping stone in the Renaissance to science and was a true Renaissance man by practicing the 'rebirth.'



http://991.com/newGallery/The-Children-Rebirth-330512.jpg

Messy Room-"Do I Have the Rights?"

Messy Room by Shel Silverstein
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!His underwear is hanging on the lamp.His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.His workbook is wedged in the window,His sweater's been thrown on the floor.His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.His books are all jammed in the closet,His vest has been left in the hall.A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.ll.Whosever room this is should be ashamed!ll.Whosever room this is should be ashamed!Donald or Robert or Willie or‐‐ll.Whosever room this is should be ashamed!Donald or Robert or Willie or‐‐Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,ll.Whosever room this is should be ashamed!Donald or Robert or Willie or‐‐Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,I knew it looked familiar!

The poem is about a person that blames another even though he isn’t any good himself. Shel Silverstein made his opinion clear in a very amusing way. The statements that are in his poem are very often mentioned in our daily lives, and we are familiar with it. The person that usually hears “Tidy up your room,” are kids and teenagers and the person that usually says it are our mothers who naturally has the right to say that since they’re all tidied up first before scolding someone because of their mistakes. However, hilariously, Shel mentioned a “foolish” person that distinguishes the looks of a room, not knowing that it is actually his or her own. She Silverstein is trying to claim to all that before scolding another, think before acting, “Do I have the right to say something to this person? Am I appropriate for a model for that person’s mistakes?”

Faith's colours

Gerhard Richter, Passage

Faith shatters between two friends
The pure white silk it wore dyes into dark raven
Never to let go of one’s heart


In the novel Alchemist, the protagonist, Santiago gets robbed during his journey by the one which he believed was his friend. His faith was shattered into pieces by the moment he decided to believe him. If the faith between the two friend’s first colour was pure white, because of the betrayal, it would have turned into dark raven. Normally, the colour white refers to pureness and cleanness; however, colours like dark raven refer to betrayal, hatred, sorrow, loneliness, and death. Santiago’s heart to his friend was pure and it could be seen as he waited for the man to appear for quite a long time, saying to himself that “his friend is lost and will also be finding for him.” However, no matter how he held on to his faith, he couldn’t resist the truth forever. His faith and heart turned into black towards the friend and would never fade until someone else appears with sincere trust towards him.

Sanguine:A tool for brightness

* Pierre Bonnard, Dining Room on the Garden

Yoon‐Jo, Park
Hum.Pink
Ms. Smith

A Model for Our Lives


“Well, I’d like to see their land, and see how they live.”(Coelho 9)
Santiago, the protagonist in the novel ‘The Alchemist,’ is a boy who seeks to travel, and the destiny of his is also to travel. Santiago’s parents wanted him to become a priest, but he insisted and became a shepherd for his nature was to be free and soar around the region. He starts to have weird dreams continuously and realizes that it’s a sign from the gods to admit his destiny and seek places that he has never known. Santiago’s characteristic could be described as courageous, adventurous, and wise.

“When ever he could, he sought out a new road to travel.”(Coelho 10)
When Santiago first figured out that he was fated to travel to a new land that he had never known before, he didn’t hesitate because of fear but because of the woman he loved and the life he had already achieved in Andalusia. Normally, it takes great courage to decide to travel alone without any aids at first. Additionally about the Alchemist. The first impression of the Alchemist was a fearful, dangerous character. He pointed his sword to Santiago driving him to the edge asking questions that only someone that understands certain omens from the god can answer. However, Santiago didn’t show his fear to the Alchemist and claimed everything that he knew without hesitation. Even at the most dangerous moment of his life, Santiago managed to put himself together and this kind of acts of Santiago is indeed courageous. By being courageous, he was able to overcome many obstacles during his journey.

“Because I like to travel.” (Coelho 21)
That was what Santiago replied to Melchizedek when he asked why he became a shepherd. He was adventurous, and because he liked to travel, he could make his decision soon after he received his destiny. If not, he could’ve hesitated to decide whether he would go for weeks and months, or even worse, refuse the call to the adventure. It was his dream to travel around the world and know stuff that he didn’t know about. He wanted to understand how the others lived and seek through out the parts of the world he didn’t know. Because it was his dream, he could still go forward even though he faced many obstacles during his journey.

“I have watched the caravan as it crossed the desert. The caravan and the desert speak the same language, and it’s for that reason that the desert allows the crossing.”(Coelho 75) When Santiago first set up his foot to begin his journey, he was helpless and completely blank about the language of the world, soul of the world, or even how the region Africa was like. After spending several months in Africa, he widened his knowledge about the world shockingly swiftly. Santiago was able to understand the soul and language of the world and could even stand out phrases that proves that he is worthy of receiving the destiny. Not only he understood the soul and language of the world, but he was accepted by the Alchemist who can be referred as one of the wisest man around and was pointed as his apprentice. Of course he did have some help around but mainly he ended up solving his own problems on his own by using his own wisdom.

Santiago is truly appropriate character for a protagonist who is seeking his goal and achieving it. By being courageous, adventurous and wise he could accomplish his goal to seek the treasure and by being responsible he could win Fatima’s love and earn a new life with a lover. Paulo Coelho made Santiago a model for our lives. Santiago is a type of character will all the aspects of people would like. Not giving up on goals, being courageous and responsible. Coelho would've liked to show the readers of his book how people can be shown if they have certain characteristics like Santiago and to tell them to not give up even in the most dangerous lethal situation they could get and eventually, you will end up with fortune.

Sanguine: An tool for brightenss

Being sanguine is an essential characteristic for seeking destiny. You can’t always say that everything will turn out easily and smooth. Sometimes there will be challenges and obstacles that will put me to despair or depress me badly. If someone seeking his destiny is sanguine, he will easily be able to overcome the depression of failing and be able to set up foot and challenge himself again to his destiny. I am generally a sanguine person. I easily forget sadness and become cheerful again such as I don't get frustrated or sad about conflicts with other people or with something that irritates me so bad such as getting low scores or getting scolded by teachers. I quickly get over the frustration and try again to approve meyself to other and by this I was able to achieve quite a few goals with my sanguine characteristic. However, being sanguine is not always appropriate. Being sanguine continuously could easily be thought as ‘stupid.’ Being sanguine acquires consideration every time.

Responsibility: A Vital Morality

I believe in responsibility.


image/http://runningthroughrain.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/global-responsibility.jpg

I chose this image because the hand has responsibility to protect and hold the Earth. Also, if we keep the most basic morality the Earth could be kept clean and safe.

Cassiopeia

Matt around the world

Matt did a wonderful job on showing his idea that the world is connected. When I first saw the video clip, I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. I could only see a man dancing weird and awkwardly all around the world, and in the end, people started to join him. I briefly got the idea when I saw the video clip thrice but I was still confused. ‘Is he trying to show that all people are the same? Or is he trying to infer that everyone feels the same way?’ After a few minutes, I finally realized all these things that I was thinking about can be considered as one word, ‘connected.’

Nobody in the world is same with another. Everyone has their own characteristics, race, skin color, looks, personalities, etc. Despite of that, we all have the same heart to feel and emotions to be understood. Matt said in his essay ‘Here's what I can report back: People want to feel connected to each other. They want to be heard and seen, and they're curious to hear and see others from places far away.’ That part really touched me. Everyone is curious about people that they don’t know about. He danced with people that he didn’t know well. They were different race, and didn’t even speak the same language with him. However, he ignored all of those differences and only thought about the fact that they and he is connected. They could dance together, and now that video clip has been watched by more then million people in the world, giving the others to think about the feeling that he got by his experience.

A Gem Covered In Dirt

I realized that still most people judge people by their appearance. Susan Boyle had a dream to become a singer. When she first approached and claimed about her dream, everyone, even the judges laughed at her. I, too also thought ‘Oh my gosh, how could she even think of coming out to the stage with a face like that? She looks to old and heavy. She won’t even be able to pass the first round.’ Susan Boyle will also have known why the people laughed at her. But, she didn’t look disappointed. She kept her foot above the stage rather running away. When she started to sing everyone’s jaw opened with astonishment and surprise. Her voice was beautiful and magnificient. It made me ashamed and embarrassed by not noticing and respecting her talents.

Everyone always think that ‘every people have the same right, and pride to themselves’, but hardly everyone think of that when they come to a situation when they think that they are better than someone else. Such as nationality, age, skin color, wealth and even appearance. And they think just because of a tiny detail about them, they tend to ignore or look down upon anything about them. We need to stop judging people and look inside of them whether to check they are truly low-lives and deserved to be looked down upon.

The poem ‘Dream Keeper’ kind of links to Susan. The poem is saying ‘bring me all of your dreams….’ to the readers like a god or a consciousness. Everybody becomes nervous to stand upon a stage with a crowd so large at their first time. But, some people win that feeling by keep on telling themselves something hopeful after they can overcome this obstacle. Personally, I have high pride, and if someone laughed at me because of being on stage, I could’ve threw the mike away and shout in front of him no matter if it’s on air or not. However, Susan just went over it, and even kept on entertaining the audience. It was her dream for her life so she wouldn’t just send this opportunity.

The similar thing happened to Paul Potts, the 2007 winner. He was fat and unattractive very similar to Susan Boyle. He was a salesman, and when he said he wanted to do opera, everyone laughed the same. However, he was very, very talented. Seeing Paul and Susan, we need to realize that no one has the right to judge people but everyone has the right to become whatever they want.

Cassiopeia

I am…



I am a wave crashing rocks from the sea
Smooth but powerful enough to break huge rocks
Into tiny pebbles

I am a hug, warm as a blanket in a frosty winter night
That makes people comfortable and loved

I am a maze scribbled with dark green branches
Complicated, twirled and unknowable

I am the rising sun above the blue sea
Hope for the ones that love me

I am the bloody ocean of roses
that symbolizes
Passion and beauty


I am Cassiopeia dazzling and radiant
Always shining in the sky
Protecting the five that I love

I chose the image 'dusk' because although I can be
greyish and dusky like the background, I am
also red and passionate.
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/show-full/piece/?search=Dusk&page=&f=Title&object=59.1544