I'm a junior majoring in Communications and going for a minor in Global Media Studies. I love art, watching and creating, and have a really big weakness for chocolate. And German tea, what they have is much better than ours.
Is any one else disappointed about the seemingly lack of original movies these days?
Sherlock Holmes and The Lovely Bones are both recent releases based off of books, and who can forget the popularity of the movie adaptations of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings? I’ll admit, I’ve seen the last two HP movies at the midnight release, complete with costume. And cult movies like Blade Runner? You can thank Philip K. Dick for writing the story it’s based on.
Graphic novels are also a primary source. V for Vendetta was based off one, as was 300. And let’s not get into the movies that come from superhero comics. Those have been produced by Hollywood since the late 70s.
I’m not saying this is a bad thing (I love Ironman, LotR will always be dear to my heart, and we’ll just skip over my obsession for Transformers, shall we?) but I’m simply saying I would love originality. What’s next, movies based on RPGs?
Actually, Prince of Persia is in the works.
I’ve never actually played Prince of Persia, so I can’t say anything about the game, but since we’re on a kick of bringing old school things into a new light, such as Star Trek, why can’t we do the same with games? Why not re-version classic arcade games, like Frogger?
Why not Pac-Man?
It’s got action, romance, guns, mystery, and a hip new look for a favorite figure from our childhood. What’s not to like? My roomie would be the first in line for this movie if it was real.
But me? I want a little more drama, a little more angst. Tetris seems to satisfy that for me.
And if none of these suit you, you can always chose Minesweeper.
But would these be amazing to watch? They would be able to reach out to the older generation, hoping to remind them of their childhood and draw in a new and younger audience. And it’s this timelessness that makes a movie a classic. Watch, in five years one of these will actually be made and land an Oscar nomination.
There are things that just seem to go together. You know, the word packages like ‘bouncing baby boy’ or ‘fire engine red’. They may be cliched, but they fit. So do peanut butter and chocolate, Batman and Robin, and snow days and sledding.
There are however things that are so odd you can’t help but pause, back step, stare, and then be forced to move along. Or sometimes you just ignore them, such as seeing your professor shopping at Meijer. Or your friend’s boyfriend wearing a French maid costume. There are the more mundane things too, like witnessing a guy baking or an athlete wearing a shirt proclaiming his love of the 80’s version of Transformers. Some things just don’t fit.
And yet, they still get forced together. Example A: CatDog. Â
There is so much information, both personal and other that suggest these two creatures, hyperactive poochies and chillaxing kitties, just don’t belong together. And yet in this cartoon they do. Not perfectly mind you, but it is a meshing of opposites that works.
Another thing you don’t often see is a combination of art and science.
The two come from completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Science is logical, structured. It has to follow rules and procedures. Art? Not so much. It is about emotions, free thinking, and a lack of restraints. The two even use different parts our brains!
And yet there is a definite link between the two. It has been shown that art programs in school results in better grades in the sciences and art is commonly used as a teaching tool. Learning your ABCs would have been much harder without the song to accompany it. And would you really have reached your current reading level if there had been a lack of pictures to keep you entertained when you first got introduced to books?
And don’t forget shows like the Magic School Bus! I never would have been interested in science if not for Ms. Frizzle and the rest of the class. Art was used to make science exciting, made children want to learn, and learn they did! Who doesn’t remember the songs (or at least the choruses) of School House Rock?
But now that we’re older, art isn’t used as a teaching tool. Well aside from those Screen Arts and Culture classes where you analyze culture concerns through movies. (All those vampire movies in the 80’s, fear of AIDS. Now? Wanting what is out of our reach. Hey! Avatar was about that too!) Seriously, power point lectures are boring. You’re lucky if you get to see an old sketch of some old dude. And very few even do that. Remember when you learned power point? The words effects and cool backgrounds was where it was at.
But maybe that’s not the case. Maybe, somewhere out there in the vast network of computers and people that is called the [insert booming voice] The Internet [/voice] someone, somewhere had come with with another way to tech us through art. I bring you, the Symphony of Science.
Wait no! Don’t run away with images of Yo-Yo Ma lecturing about sound vibration with a harp being plucked gently in the background in your head! This is modern stuff completely lacking in violins, harps, trumpets, or conductors. Instead consider John Boswell as a director.
Symphony of Science is an effort to deliver scientific knowledge in musical form. There are four songs, each with downloads and lyrics available on the website as well as the music videos. Each song is composed of the remixed quotes of scientists, from Carl Sagan, Jane Goodwell, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, put to the tune of electronic music. And each explores different subjects: astronomy, evolution, humanity, creation.
They also get stuck in your head, just like the songs you hear on the radio.
But more than that, they actually teach. Using images and phrases that wow you, make you pause and think. And the best part is that each song is understandable. There is no large amount of jargon to confuse you, only simple, eloquent thoughts that explain so much and also put you in your place.
But don’t just listen to me. Listen to Boswell’s songs yourself.
There are a lot of good things about living in Ann Arbor; the Arb, lots of sushi places, a wonderful public library, and a variety of venues for concerts and plays. There is something going on practically every day, campus sponsored or not, and that makes it really hard for me to go home for the holidays. My town has only three stop lights and only own business street. With no McDonald’s on it, which will really be a pain because I’ve gotten myself addicted to their eggnog shakes.
But the 24/7 MickeyD’s on Washtenaw is not my favorite part of Ann Arbor. I’m an art junkie; I love anything to do with all mediums from the rich sounds produced by a piano to the broad stokes of charcoal stick. And having not just an art program, but also music, dance, and theater programs at the University means the best thing of all.
Free art programs.
Come the end of the semester, Fall or Winter, many students have to perform and while some plays and dance recitals do require tickets there a good deal that do not. On Wednesday, the Michigan Mobile Phone Ensemble performed a concert using mobile phones as instruments and this past weekend also contained several showings of the play O Lovely Glowworm as a senior directing thesis. Saturday and Sunday were filled with student recitals, ranging from voice to piano to percussion.
Many of these events have already transpired, but there are still more coming up this week. Click here to see the schedule. On Monday, two students are giving a concert and the University Philharmonia Orchestra is playing in Hill Auditorium. And Thursday is also playing host to a couple of musical events.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wished that I had the money to see many of the programs that University sponsors. Now I don’t have an excuse to not go, and truthfully many of you don’t either. Everyone needs a study break. Plus who knows, that student violist you go to see might being the next classical music star. You should go to get their autograph, it’ll be worth something in seven years.
Yesterday, I ate my first snowflake of the season.
I figured it was about time. What I like the least about Michigan winters (at least on this side of the state) is that we always have the cold necessary for snow and then we never get it. I didn’t even get the chance to go sledding last year! And the first glorious snowfall I experienced this year did not even coat the ground.
Bound and determined to have some snow around here I gathered up my packet of printer paper and scissors and made my way downstairs into the living room and started folding and cutting. Only to realize that my great snowflake making skills simply produced giggles from my roommate and a mess on the carpet that will take forever to clean with the vacuum-whose-motor-is-smaller-than-my-camera.
But that’s fixed now and I bring you a Snowflake How-To:
1) Start with a square piece of paper. If you don’t have one, make one. Fold the sheet into a triangle. There should be some extra stuff hanging off the end. Just cut it off.
2) Fold into smaller triangles. The only limit is how many times you can fold the paper.
3) Start cutting random shapes into the sides of the triangle. If you want a hole in the middle of your snowflake, cut the tip off of the triangle where it doesn’t open.
4)Unfold the paper and congratulate yourself!
Variations:
If you want a more delicate snowflake, cut out a large chunk of the triangle’s center.
If you want a more rounded snowflake, cut off the end of the triangle so it’s curved.
Enjoy! Put them on your windows and doors, or even your roommate while they’re sleeping if you’re feeling a little too nice this holiday season. ^_~
And if you lack the paper, you can always make some online here.
There’s a lot of art out there; plays, concerts, gallery showings, cinemas, and even the natural beauty of the Arb. But as large as the variety of what to see it, there really is only one way to view it; with a friend. Or preferably more than one so you have help beating up the one person who fails to see the attractiveness of the main character.
While viewing art solo is something I have done on occasion, it just isn’t the same. I want to share the experience of a moving final act or the excitement of an action movie. Plus having an extra set of eyes can help determine just what that particular painting is supposed to be. (I’m guessing a pink elephant. What? It’s totally a vase of flowers. On it’s side.) Art just seems a whole lot more meaningful if the wonder of it is shared, if the adventure of finding that gallery is a joint venture.
Who doesn’t like to share? I’m always doing so with my own art. I admit I’m fishing for praise and self-worth half the time, but the other half is just so happy at creating something I have to share! Who hear hasn’t shared poetry that they’ve written, for that high school English class or other reason, with others? It enables more people to access the work. And as a self proclaimed budding artist I can’t think of anything more rewarding than knowing someone likes my work enough to share it.
So go out there, part take in something artsy this Thanksgiving weekend and drag someone with you. It could be your parent, younger sibling, or that friend from high school that you’ve lost touch with but ran into at the grocery store on a last minute panicked ‘My mom needs stuffing!’ run. Make some memories, share something beautiful, and live a full life.
Every time I hush my roomies up to hear the music and at times sing along they just roll their eyes and give those little knowing smiles that say “Okay Jenny, but just cuz we love you so much.”
I guess it would be understandable if I’m halting their conversions to hear the theme song for a good show, but it’s actually something that is…well not as accepted as a TV love.
I have a thing for car commercials. To get more specific, Lincoln car commercials. With the Cadillac as second place. I am so far gone I have not only downloaded the songs used in these 30 second shorts, but seeing as it is only one band who does the music for Lincoln I snagged all the songs done by them that I could.
I really am hopeless.
But there really is something beautiful and wondrous about those Lincoln commercials. I blame it on the fact that the cars are linked with something I have a fascination with, space. The cars are all displayed as space ships; a silver vehicle against a backdrop of stars and song lyrics talking about lift over. And after that incredible “Sexy Trek” movie that came out this summer who wouldn’t want to not only ride in, but control a space ship?
I guess the real artistic beauty here is the success of the ads for making us love them, if not the product (I come from a Ford family). I can’t think of anyone who cannot think of an ad they enjoy, whether it be the Mac ads or a billboard for McDonald’s reading “Our curfew is later than yours”. And fess up, I know you only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.
But very rarely are ads seen as an art form. Granted, they certainly are not hung up in art galleries but you can find them in museums. They are snapshots into the past cultures of America, from Rosie the Riveter to 80’s hair products. Most ad designers actually have a degree from some type of art program, most likely Graphic Design. Lots of work gets put in them and just like paintings or film they tell a story and make you feel a certain way, even if it is just that you now really want a Coke.
So while they don’t capture the beauty of nature or the essence of being human, ads do have a grasp on capitalism and the consumer culture that is a very big part of our lives. And isn’t art supposed to be something we can relate to for it to have meaning?
