How to Be Immortal

  Look at the image in this post and think- "Who was this person?" Why is his portrait still being seen throughout history? Who was  Salvador Dali?  Art has made him immortal. His own art and images of him have brought him lasting renown. How would you choose to be immortalized in art? As a statue? In a painting? In a photograph? What would your image look like? What would it say to people in the future who might see it?

"You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements".- Norman Douglas

I read this quote by Norman Douglas today and got to thinking. What do advertisements in our U.S. culture say? What do they entice us to buy? To strive for? To desire?
Close your eyes and think of the first advertisement that comes to your mind, What is the product it advertises? What makes you remember it? Does it make you want something? If you look deeply, what is the product in the advertisement promising you? Youth? Strength? Success? 

What is the role of the artist in our world?

  What do you think the role of artists is in our world today?  Write 3 roles you think artists can play in our society and describe why you think they are important.

What do we want as a society?

   My Drawing One class is working on a response to letters we received from teenagers who are presently serving life sentences in prison. Some of these persons are guilty of a violent crime, some were hit with Califronia's 3 strikes law and some may have been imprisoned unjustly. All were under 19 at the time of the crimes commited.
    We asked ourselves if life in prison with little chance of parole was the Christlike response to these young people's situations.... most of those incarcerated come from abusive, poor, and uneducated families. Many had poor representation. Most are children of color.
      Perhaps the crime started way back when these teenagers were little- when we as a society failed to reach out to help them grow in health, education and welfare.
      Is imprisoning youth for life the answer to a more peaceful society? Or is the making of a peaceful society to be had in a more constructive way? We are making art postcards to send to these youth to let them know that they are not forgotten as they serve their time in prison. Can you think of other artistic responses to the problem of harsh sentencing of youth?

"Freedom is not a gift but a conquest"- Paulo Friere

Just read this quote by educational thinker, Paulo Friere. Friere, who grew up in poverty in Brazil, has spent his life thinking and writing about how education can truly bring equality, democracy and freedom to all people.
He talk about how people in poverty need to fight for equality of opportunity  and that educators need to teach critical thinking so that everyone can really think about and question the status quo. Throughout history, artists have been at the forefront of fighting for freedom and equality. How can schools improve or increase arts instruction for students in order for our society to have image makers who care about injustices?

GOT MY EYE ON YOU

  A new sculpture is getting attention in the city of Chicago. It is a  30 ft. high GIANT EYEBALL, complete with colorful iris and realistic red veins. It was made by artist, Tony Tasset and can be seen in Pritzer Park.
 It is big, but is it art? Write a few sentences about why you do or why you don't think it is art.

Myths and Money

     For centuries, humans have tried to make sense of their existence on earth through the use of myth.  Ancient Greek myths such as the story of Persephone gave the Greeks a way to think about the phenomenon of the changing seasons. The many gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology embodied the many attributes of humankind-- speed (Mercury), power (Zeus), love of home and hearth (Hestia), romantic love (Aphrodite) etc.
    In modern times, advertisers create many ad campaigns based on images that are inspired by myth. Can you think of any?  Try to name a product and or advertisement that gets an underlying power from ancient myth. Gods, goddesses, pegasus, the minotaur, centaurs--what comes to mind?  You can include myths from Norse culture, Native American culture or other historic mythologies.
    See if you can describe an ad or product that uses this kind of imagery.
 Example #1- What myth does the U.S.C. football team invoke for it's identity?
 Example #2- What Norse myth is the mascot for Travelocity?
 Now you name one!!

How About No More War?

      On a website called costofthewar.com, we can  read that the war in Afghanistan has cost more that 800,000,000,000 dollars. That's eight hundred billion (with a B) dollars. In a comment by Steven O. in response to my Blogpost, Patriotic Art, Steven imagined a conceptual artwork that would utilize 800 billion bullets- one for each dollar spent-  built into a pyramid.  Supposing the actual size of a standard issue M-16 rifle bullet, a solid pyramid would be as big as the Pyramid at Giza in Egypt.  What have we as a society built?
    My question for today's blogpost is, "How can artists be peacemakers in our world?"
What images, sculptures, installations or activities can be made that could move our society to a more rational response to danger, alienation and fear?
    Think and imagine an artistic response to the theme IMAGINE PEACE. Describe your artwork. Questions you can ask yourself might be, "What kind of image would have a strong impact on the viewer?" How can my work be visually poetic? How can I make something memorable?