Undirected Blog #8

national gallery of art
roman aristocrats built lavish homes near mt. vesuvius
carol mattusch and barbara tampchin
climate, topography, summer homes built here
Augustus first of Roman Emperors, Julius Caesar
Bay of Naples
Villas 65,000 s.f. villa
glassware, blown and molded
silverware and tableware
wall paintings frescos great architectural constructs, painted directly on the wall
gardens
sculptures bronze and marble
hanging plants birdbaths
full olympic size pools, others ponds and fountains
Augustus wanted to build aqueduct which was how they all got water
outdoor scenes painted in the gardens Dionysus God of Theater
why would you need paintings of gardens in your gardens??? To establish status?
what happened in the gardens? philosophical discussions...
role of the dining room, triclineum
couches to recline on while eating
businessmen, Apollo patron of the 9 muses and liberal arts
Greek influence on Romans
through sculptures and statues and mosaics
Greek Personalities...ex: Alexander the Great, Homer
Greek myths, Trojan War
Augustus hired Virgil to write Iniad so that he could say he was related to the Trojans
Ruins of Pompeii first discovered
Discovered in pieces, people returned to Pompeii after Vesuvius
In modern times discovered in bits and pieces
18th century, well diggers found 3 whole sculptures at the bottom of a well
1748 on formal excavations

Undirected Blog #7

For this blog I plan on writing about my experience/non-experience voting in the recent election, and the article posted recently, "Going Out On A Limb With A Tree-Person Ratio."

I submitted my voter registration for a change of address with my university's Associated Students. A.S. said that they would submit all of the registration forms for its students. However, someone dropped the ball and many students were left out of the vote because of A.S.'s mistake. I am so dissappointed that I did not get to participate in the election, and that it was not my own fault. While I do support the Presidential outcome, I do not support the outcome of Proposition 8 and I wish I could have voted on that proposition even though I realize that the numbers don't (usually) lie, and my "no" vote wouldn't have changed anything.

Moving on to the tree-person ratio article... My hometown is Eureka, California and I have grown up surrounded by trees. Not just ordinary trees, beautiful, huge, and glorious Redwood Trees. I love what trees represent. The Redwoods that surround my house have always represented a kind of fortress or protection to me. They also seem wise because of all of the years it takes for them to get to such a large size. Trees see so much in the world and many of the trees I've lived near have been much much older than I am, and I love knowing that they have been in the world longer than I have, and may be in the world long after I'm gone.

I also wonder if I have reached my "quota" of tree-usage. I look around and the majority of what I own is somehow wood based, and I begin to wonder if I'm putting anything back in the world for the trees. This Arbor Day I think I will definitely be planting trees to make up for it. Also, I like that there is emphasis put on the fact that trees are renewable, unlike oil, and that we can put back what we have used if we are willing to.

Undirected Blog #6

I just realized that I did a blog before about Chapter 5 instead of Chapter 4, so I will be doing this blog about Chapter 4.

The culture of the Cycladic islands truly amazes me. I have said before how much I love Greek mythology, learning about the origin of Minotaurs and Cyclops was very interesting.

As always, the architecture is something that I find so compelling. I can not imagine the patience and motivation it would take to build things such as the Citadel at Mycenae. Our text says that the walls were rebuilt 3 times, and that the size of the city shows its importance. I

love that the drywall masonry was described as "cyclopean" because it was believed that only the giant Cyclops could have built the 25 foot thick and 30 foot high walls. Because I do not believe that Cyclops actually existed, I have to think that humans really did build these crazy walls with no where near the technology we have today. I think that it is fascinating that the best explanation people of the time when the city was built was a mythical creature.

Undirected Blog #5

This class is making me realize that I really do love all kinds of art. I have been using these undirected blogs as a way to discuss my favorite parts of each lesson, and I find myself saying the same things in each one. I love learning about Greek history, mythology, architecture, art, etc...

I think the most interesting parts of this chapter about the actual art are the contrasts and comparisons made about the representation of women and men. I find Greek and Roman mythology fascinating, and the statues and friezes made to glorify the deities are amazing.

I love to look at the strong, female godesses, and while the women in Ancient Greece had no real freedom and had to do whatever they were told by the males in their life, the godesses had a lot more room to move.

For example, the frieze called "Athena Attatcking the Giants" from the Great Altar at Pergamonon on page 162 of our textbook is a story of a female godess winning a battle with a giant male, she is being crowned with a victory wreath by the god, Nike.

I think the frieze is kind of ironic in that a woman is winning a battle with a male even though the women in this time period had no real rights.

Another thing that I find interesting about this chapter is the way the women are portrayed. I find the statues breathtaking. I spent this last summer in New York City, and I was able to go to all of the different major museums and actually saw some of the featured pieces in our text in real life. I love that the women look natural. Their breasts are not huge, their waists are not extremely small, they appear soft and fluid, and for the most part the women look "real."

A few examples:

Aphrodite de Melos

Aphrodite Torso Statue

Undirected Blog #4

I find Ancient Egypt to be one of the most interesting cultures to study. Their beliefs about death, their gods and goddesses, and their amazing pyramids and tombs all fascinate me.

The rituals surrounding the burial of Egyptian kings and queens is the part of Egyptian history that I find most interesting, but because that's not really what the curriculum of our class is about, I'll try and focus more on the art and detail inside the tombs. Prior to doing our homework, I had never heard of the Valley of Kings and Queens. All of the materials used by the artists of this time, from gold to shell, are so beautiful, and are still amazing works of art after thousand's of years. Learning about the death of King Tut was also new information for me, and the intricate burial he was given which helps explain how he died were very cool. The techniques used to figure out his cause of death are interesting as well because it really shows how we can use technology to explain the unexplained in history.

Undirected Blog #3

I was so excited when I realized that our next assignment was about the Near East. I am so amazed everytime that I learn something new about the cultures of the area. The architecture and sculptures are what interest me most. I find it hard to fathom how they were able to build such large and intricate dwellings, like the ziggurats of Sumer.

I am also fascinated by the development of writing. The change from pictographs to cuneiform is such a huge step forward, and it's hard for me to understand how the people of this time period were able to accomplish so much in the way of arts and culture so long ago.

My favorite visuals from our text this week were the reconstruction drawings of the different city-states. Once again, I can't believe how much these people accomplished with so little technology and no electric tools. I'm hoping to pursue a career in city planning, and it really makes me wonder how much planning these cities took, and how long it would have taken to complete them.

Living in one of these places would be quite the experience as well. It would be such a different way of life, so much slower than what I am used to. I would imagine there would be no such thing as immediate or instant, and it would take so much patience to complete a single project or task.

Undirected Blog #2

For this undirected blog, I thought I'd focus on my response to the Woman of Willendorf. I know that I recognize her, and because I've taken multiple art classes I wasn't surprised to see her, but what shocked me was the fact that I didn't actually know anything about her. After reading this article, I was so surprised that my other classes had neglected to teach anything about her.

To be perfectly honest, I find the statue a little grotesque. Probably because I'm used to our society's ideas of what is attractive and beautiful, and because this was probably a very unhealthy way to live when this statue was created, and also as it is today.

I also spent a lot of time considering the contrast between Botticelli's Venus and the Venus of Willendorf. I found I knew a lot more about Botticelli and his painting, and I wondered if that could possibly be because Botticelli's Venus is much more attractive to people in our society.