This Week

1/26/10- What is Art?

Art is really anything that someone decides to call art, whether that be the creator or the viewer. It does not have to have a message or comment on society, and it does not have to be art to more than one person. It also can lack a creator. Nature, for example, could be considered circumstantial art. It is just there. Art is a blank canvas, a piano concerto, a math equation and the Mona Lisa.

What is good art?

In my opinion, good art should have a message, and must have taken sometime to create. A blank canvas, or one painted one color, is not art. It should take effort and thought on the part of the artist and create a visually or auditory interesting product. Things that are not traditionally art, math or a sport, are not truly art in my mind because they are being performed for another reason than to express the feelings of the creator and their attempts to influence society. However, they can still act artfully and be very good at their chosen actions, leading to their comparison to a beautiful art piece. A good art piece should truly take effort and influence society with its imagery.

1/29/10- I saw Avatar…again… and I loved it. While the plot could be considered uninspired, it mimics some of the oldest most beloved stories of all time and comes together to create a technical masterpiece. After watching the amazing adventure through the planet Pandora and meeting the many inhabitants my friends and I have been experiencing what we call the “Pandora Effect.” Basically, the real world cannot compare to the amazing planet in the movie. This effect could only be achieved because the world of Pandora was so well thought-out and incredibly realistic, making it seem plausible but not attainable. Not having our own avatars and not being able to run through a bio-phosphorescent forest whenever we want made us want to travel back to Pandora at every chance we got, which is probably why Jeff saw it 8 times. Kudos to James Cameron for making us believe and envy a world that doesn’t exist.