Picasso's "Garcon A La Pipe"

The article "Picasso Breaks record at Auction" on CNN .com published in May 2004 talks about how a Picasso painting of his early days in Paris, "Boy with a Pipe" ("Garcon a la pipe") has broken the all time record sales at Sotheby's in New York. It sold for a whopping $104.1 million dollars to an anonymous bidder. The price easily beat the previous holder of the title, van Gogh's "The Portrait of Dr Gachet" which sold for $82.5 million in 1990's at Christie's auction.
This article discusses one of the masters of the avant garde masters that we've studied in class. Pablo Picasso is one of the most famous and influential artists of the 2oth century. He created thousands of works in different mediums and has changed modern art more than any other painter. He also created cubism with Georges Braques, another artist. Cubism's key concept is that an object's essence can be captured by showing it from multiple points of view simultaneously. Although a very short lived movement, it influenced 20th century art immensely(www.artcyclopeida.com). Some of his paintings include Les demoiselles D'Avignon, which we saw in class as an example of avant garde art, and his most famous work of art Guernica, which described the horrors of World war II ( the bombing of the hamlet of Guernica).

Sources:

Picasso Breaks record at Auction. Retrieved Dec 15th 2004 from www.cnn.com

Cubism. Retrieved December 15 2004 from http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/cubism.html

Blogger Boom !

The article "Microsoft joins the blogging world" on CNN.com, published on the 3rd of december 2004, talks about Microsoft becoming the latest company to join the blogging revolution by setting up web spaces. Web spaces allow people to share online pictures, lists of favorite songs, etc. Other companies such as Google and AOL have already provided joined in the blogger revolution in 2003. The article then goes into detail about the company's new blogger service and it's features, including passwords for certain people to enter the person's blog.
This article relates to our course in many ways. The first and most obvious one is that I am writing this in my weblog as a course requirement. The second one is that weblogs are fast becoming an important tool of mass media. As mentioned by Drezner and Farrell, weblogs are rapidly becoming more influential as they affect media coverage. They do indeed have the potential to change governments as well as changing people's way of thought. The blogger also relates to this course as it is part of the Information Highway which we are living in now, along with the computer and internet.

"Incredibly" Real Computer Animation !

The article "How to Become Incredibles", posted on CNN.com on November 8th 2004 discussed the newest Disney- Pixar computer animated movie "The Incredibles". This movie is about a dysfunctional family of superheroes, and looks at superhero movies and spy movies in a very lighthearted comedic way.
This article can relate to our course in many ways. First of all, computer animation itself was a result as well as an innovation in the Information Highway that we currently are living through. Disney has profited much from the Information Highway with the production of box office computer animated hits such as "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story".
Another factor that makes this article relevant to our course is the technique through which computer animation is made. The artists at Pixar studios use 3D blueprints to build the characters as well as their backgrounds. These are quite similar to and are influenced by the blueprints that Paulo Uccello drew at the beginning of the Perspective Age, the age which has, more than any other, affected our way of life.
On a sad note, the article also relates to the means through which we strive to achieve reality. Since computer 3D animation better depicts reality than hand drawn animation, as seen in "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo", it has led to the slow death of hand drawn 2D animation. This resembles the invention of photography which did away with painters trying to achieve reality by painting. Although I like computer animation, I find the fact that hand animation is dying quite sad. Despite the fact that 3D computer animation is closer to reality, it lacks the fluid movement and the artistry of hand drawn 2D animation, as well as it's timelessness. In ten years, computer animation will probably be so much better than computer animation now that people will actually find older computer animated movies quite backwards. But when we watch a Disney classic like "Fantasia" it is flawless and looks brand new, despite the fact that it was made in 1940.

Sources:

(2004)How to become Incredibles. Retrieved November 30, 2004 from
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/08/film.the.incredibles.ap/index.html

Mobile Madness

An interesting article that corresponded to the topics in our MCM 102 course is one that I found on the BBC news website. It is entitled Camera Phones are “must haves”, and it discusses the recent craze for camera phones. It compares camera qualities of different regions of the world, as well as a comparison of past and present phones. They also discuss how an art show will be held to view photographs taken on camera phones. The article even talks briefly about the ethical issues concerning camera phones, including their misuse. This article relates to the course in that it could be applied to many of the shared characteristics of an information revolution mentioned by Irving Fang. The cell phone itself, and in particular the camera phones could be considered a part of the Information Highway, the most recent Information Revolution.
One of the characteristics of an information revolution is that the new medium created replaces the older mass medium used. In this case, the cellular phone has replaced not one, but several mass media, such as phone booths, letters and more recently, cameras. If one wants to write a message to someone in another country, he could SMS him. If the same person wanted to take a photograph, he/she could take out his mobile phone and snap a picture in the same instant. A person could phone someone on the other side of the world while walking in a street and going about his daily business.
Another characteristic that is seen in the evolution of mobile phones was that they occurred in a time of great social and political change. The second half of the Twentieth Century has seen great changes, in governments, in technology, in everything. Since the concept of the cellular phone was created in the late 40’s, and work began on it since, the cellular phone evolution has gone through two Information Revolutions, the Tool Shed Home Communication as well as the information Highway we are still experiencing today.
Fang also mentions that the outcome of all information revolutions is that they lead to less physical effort to reach a goal. This is evident in the Information Revolution we are experiencing today, especially in mobile phones. One does not have to get up to walk to the living room phone, or even walk to the nearest phone booth in the street to make a call, or even to the Telecommunications center to make a long distance call. I remember when my mom and I used to go to the Telecommunications Center back in the 80’s to call up my relatives in Egypt. It was a hassle and I thank God that now we have mobiles. However, this could be disadvantageous, since the lack of physical effort could be disastrous to our health.

(2004).Camera phones are 'must-haves'.Retrieved October 28, 2004 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3955063.stm

Bellis, M (ND).Selling The Cell Phone. Retrieved October 28, 2004 from http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa070899.htm

"Scream" If you find the Painting!

One of the stories that i had been following for the last two months is the theft of Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream", from the Edward Much Museum in Norway. An article that i had read recently on cnn.com, Police 'closing in' on Scream robbers, states that Norway police are closing in on the two gunmen who escaped with one of the world's most famous paintings. They are trying to establish a link between the getaway car, a Black Audi, and the culprits. I
The Scream is a perfect example of how Europe moved towards abstract art in the 20th century in terms of painting. The picture is far from real. It looks hazy and gives a very surreal feeling, as if it is an image in one's mind. I think it was a forerunner to Twentieth century abstract art.
This picture is very symbolic, and anyone could relate to it. The picture depicts a very basic human emotion or state of mind; fear. I remember the first time I saw this painting I felt a chill running up my spine. The red sky, the person's face, the eyes, the gaping mouth, the hands slapped to the face. It even shows that the expression of fear ( eyes, hand, face ) is universal. It's the same everywhere. I also think that this painting reflected the mood at the time, as this painting was completed in 1893, 7 years away from a new century( The Scream, 1893). There must have been a certain feeling of worry about the coming century. We have also experienced this before Y2K.
The painting is also a prime example of Expressionist art, art that tried to depict human emotions. Expressionism itself was based on African art ( Overview of Expressionist Art), which is less realistic, more holistic and more characteristic of an aural culture. this could also signify the gradual movement of Europe to a more auralculture, or at least the incorporation of aural culture amidst it's predominantly literate one.
All these factors make it an icon of not only the Expressionist Movement, or of Europes gradual move away from realism in painting, but also of human emotion.

Sources used :

(2001, Oct 15). Police "Closing in" on Scream Robbers. Retrieved Oct 21, 2004 from http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/10/15/crime.art.munch.dc.reut/index.html

(1998)The Scream, 1893. Retrieved October 21,2004 from http://www.museumsnett.no/nasjonalgalleriet/munch/eng/innhold/ngm00939.html

Overview Of Expressionist Art. Retrieved Octiber 21, 2004 from http://www.fine-arts-prints.net/expressionistart.htm

Blistering Barnacles! Boy Reporter Turned 75 !!

An article that aroused my interest on BBC.com was “Boy Reporter Still a Global Hero” by Stephen Dowling. The article is referring to Tintin, the famous cartoon character created by Belgian artist Georges Remi, aka Hergé. The article discusses how 75 years after his creation, Tintin continues to sell millions of books a year. He continues by talking about the events throughout 2004 that will commemorate the anniversary, including an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in London. Throughout the article, he adds some interesting facts about the character and his creator.
The subject of Tintin relates to many topics that we talked about in class. First of all Tintin was part of the Entertainment Revolution that occurred in the period between the late 19th and early 20th century. Tintin was one of the earliest comic books to be made as it was started in 1929. It was also the first of the Franco Belgian Bande Desinee genre to be created. Belgium now is probably Europe’s leading comic book producer and it would not have been so without Tintins’ immense popularity.
Tintin and his adventures are all icons, not just of cartoon art, but also of the Twentieth century. I simply wouldn’t find space to write all that I learned from Herge on what happened in the decades that I did not live myself. Hergés’ books depicted the events and the moods of the day. Tintin in the Congo, which was made in the thirties, depicted Colonialism which was going on at the time. Congo itself was a Belgian province. Tintin in America, drawn a year later, shows Tintin fighting Al Capone and the Chicago mob, as those days were the days of Organized Crime and the Prohibition. The Moon books published in the late Fifties, describe the Space Race that was going on at the time between the world’s superpowers. Even the means by which Tintin traveled the world are a reflection of what means of travel were popular at the time. From the late Twenties through the mid Forties, Tintin traveled by boat. Tintin used planes from then on, and in Hergé’s last installment of the Tintin series in 1976, Tintin and friends are seen getting on board a Boeing and leaving for home.
Another reason why I found this article relevant to our topic was due to a particular detail mentioned in it. The author was quoting Michael Farr, a Tintin fan who wrote a book called “Tintin; the Complete Companion”, which I had read myself, also being a Tintin fan. Michael Farr mentions in his book that “He [Hergé] was a real stickler for detail. All the details and background he really labored over.” When I read Michael Farr’s book, it had many images of newspaper clippings that Hergé used to model his backgrounds and characters on. These pictures included everything from the popular cars at the time, exotic locations, uniforms, machines and even drawings of the moon. Next to those images were Hergé s’ comic art based on the clippings. Both looked identical. The realism in the art was astonishing, and the perspective perfect. From the many books I have read on Hergé, I know that he was a perfectionist and paid a great attention to detail. Some of the backgrounds in his comics were amazingly real. He even used to redraw the same comic over again (more than once) to try and make the comic as close to real life as possible. I actually own an older and a later version of the same Tintin comic book. Hergé s’ emphasis on perspective and realism in his art reflects the European obsession with realism and how Europe dealt with its19th century crisis of realism in art. Europe places a great importance on art being as close to real life as possible. Even I prefer realism to abstract art. This is partly due to Hergé s’ influence on me as a child. To conclude, Hergé s’ work is not only a perfect example of the Crisis of Realism in modern art, but also a perfect icon of 20th Century politics, history and issues.

Sources Used:

Dowling, S (2004, Jan 9). Boy reporter still a global hero. Retrieved October 10, 2004 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3382633.stm

Farr, M (2002). Tintin; the Complete Companion. London: John Murray.

Music Finally Allowed

The article I chose is entitled “Iran decides Cat Stevens is Good and Jacko is Bad”, published in the Gulf News on Thursday Sept 2nd 2004. It says that Iran’s regime has allowed the importation of all music by Cat Stevens, the British folk rock singer of the early 70’s who converted to Islam in 1977. They have released an album on September 20th. It features 75 of his songs and includes Persian translations of his songs, as well as a biography. Iran has a ban on all imported foreign CD’s. They made an exception to Cat Stevens, now Yusuf Islam, because he is a Muslim. Other music is not allowed to be imported to Iran, such as Michael Jackson.
This article has much to do with the topics covered in class. One of these is the shared characteristics of an information revolution or the emergence of a certain mass medium. The shared characteristic that relates to this topic more than any other one, is that changes in communication encounter opposition from those who for political and financial reasons dislike the changes taking place (Fang, xix). Iran is run by a strict Islamic Government, and Western music which consists of or conveys many Western mores, is seen as a threat by them, as it could unravel the fabric of their society. Western music, of today and of the recent decades, encourages individuality and freedom of thought and expression. The strict Islamic Government does not want to be questioned about it’s strict rules, and exposure to Western music may lead to just that. Recently, I was discussing this issue with an Iranian friend of mine who has lived in Iran all of his life. He told me that even music by pre- revolution Iranian singers like Googoosh, whose songs discussed themes such as love, are also banned. The Iranian government is so strict because it perceives media as a threat to its’ way of life. I can understand why media is a threat, especially music. I myself, have listened to music ever since I was a boy, and it has always made me think and ask and inquire, and even rebel.
The Iranian government may also be trying to promote Cat Stevens as a cultural icon. To them, he is probably an icon because he represents the hard struggle of faith in a world filled with corruption and vice. I attended the lecture that Yusuf Islam gave when he came to AUS last year, and he talked about how hard it was to convert and to be a pious person. He talked about how living in the 60’s and 70’s as a rock star was very sinful. His leaving behind all worldly possessions and fame to pursue a life or religious fulfillment is one of the values that Iran may be trying to encourage. Cat Stevens himself is also a Western cultural icon for two reasons; his early songs promoted peace and love, a theme valued by the youth of the 60’s and 70’s, and for his conversion to Islam. It represents how the West lost all touch with religion, and how he was confused and trying to find something to believe in, in a time and place where religion was thrown aside. His conversion shows us how the Western society lacked religion and how many people, including celebrities have turned to Eastern societies for spiritual enlightenment.

Bibliography

Fang, I.(1997). A History of Mass Communication; Six Information Revolutions. Boston: Focal Press