Bromley Mission School

On November 7th I went to Liberia with a few churches from northern Virginia. On the mission trip our group brought school supplies, clothing, food, and improved facilities to Bromley Mission School. The school is a girls boarding school and has about 187 students. I enjoyed my trip greatly, and appreciated meeting and spending time with the girls.  You can see photos of my trip here

Smoking, Wrestling, and High Fives

I participated in two performances today as well as help instruct my own. The first performance I did was Jake's. His activity was for me and a partner (Jill) to go through the steps of smoking a cigarette. Jake wrote out each step from lighting to the disposal. I enjoyed this activity even though it was simple. 

The next performance I was involved in was Thiana's. Her performance piece involved two partners linking arms. After linking each person had to pull as hard as they could until one of the participants gave up. This activity was 

about strength and was more of a competition. My partner was Chul for this performance which was a good match I thought, and the whole experience was fun but eventually came to a draw.

My interactive performance required two people to perform. The partners had to stand about 10 feet apart and walk towards each other to give a high five. Once the first high five was given the two participants had to follow through and low five behind the back. This results in a continuous motion of high fives. This motion was to be repeated until perfected. I thought my performance worked for the assignment and was performed correctly. 

The interactive performances were a new form of art that I have not experimented with before. This class activity not only made class interesting but gave me a better sense of what the artists were doing in that time.  

Fluxus

Fluxus is a network of artists and designers known for using multiple types of media and using new or different ways of making art. Fluxus got its start in the mid to late 1950's from the experimental music of John Cage. George Maciunas was influenced by John Cage's ideas, especially in the idea of chance in art. There was a class taught by Cage called Experimental Composition at the New School of Social Research in New York City. Fluxus was more interested in simplicity a do it yourself way of thinking. A popular type of Fluxus art is called Fluxkits. These kits were a combination of games, printed cards, and ideas that are then organized in a wooden box. This one type of art was created by George Maciunas. Later in the Fluxus movement many members started to explore poetry, performance pieces, and experimental music and film. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluxus

Introduction to Performance Art

The activity that we had to participate in was about a visual connection between two people. Thiana and I both had mirrors that we held in front of our faces and looked back at each other. I had to make a funny face and Thiana had to repeat the face. After she repeated the face I made we both had to take a step away from each other. We became farther and farther away from each other and it became harder to see each others faces. This performance piece was a simple but fun introduction to performance art. 

Logos

Olympic Games Logo

I think that this logo is a great logo for such an event. It is simple and recognizable at a glance, both important in a logo. This logo also has meaning. The circles color represent the five parts of the world that participate in Olympic Games. The interlocking rings represent those five parts coming together to play in such an event. 

www.savetibet.org/news/newsitem.php?id=908, 

February 7, 2006

The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even

This work of art is so complex and amazed me how much of a story Duchamp put into it. I do like the abstractness of the piece and how that juxtaposes how the piece has such a deep story. When I first saw the mechanical structure at the bottom of the piece I was confused and unsure of its meaning. After reading the notes that Duchamp wrote I started to understand the basics of his thought process but still found his ideas to be confusing. Marcel Duchamp has a great imagination to think of such a machine. When studying the top of the piece, I found the three squares and the shape surrounding them very interesting. The shapes and composition of the piece I like a lot and think work well as a complete work. It was only once I looked at the notes that I realized the sexuality of "The Bride". I find this to be interesting but not completely necessary.  Even though this work has so much personal meaning to Duchamp I think that people can enjoy it without know the back story. Overall I enjoy The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even. The composition flows and the colors work as great piece of abstract art. 

Patterns

A pattern can be described as a repeating shape or decretive design. Patterns are found on all types of materials including fabric, tile, wallpaper, and even sides of buildings. Islamic art has great examples of pattern. Throughout their architecture intricate patterns are painted on the buildings. Islamic patterns are very colorful and have small details that make the patterns interesting. In tile patterns there are a lot of geometric shapes. In fabric patterns there is a majority of wavy or more organic designs. Wallpaper or wall designs tend to have a lot of line patterns. Islamic architecture is the most interesting to me. The intricate patterns show how much time and thought was put in to each building.