Wednesday, January 18, 2012


The Pre-human in the Human Summary

            "The Pre-Human in the Human" is a piece written by Charles Darwin that reflects on the conclusions to his findings on human ancestry to bolster his argument against the inevitable backlash towards his research. This sample from "The Descent of man" points out that humans are similar to animals and in his stance defends that idea as something not to be ashamed of. He begins by laying out the basic idea of his findings tracing back the human evolutionary lineage all the way back to early marine vertebrates "man is descended from some lowly organized form". Darwin recalls his first encounter with the Fuegians elaborating on their savagery and barbaric nature. Throughout history civilizations have tried to distance themselves from barbarians. Barbarian being a Greek term for uncivilized. The reality that Darwin tries to connect is the fact that,  not only are we related to barbarian tribes, who are human, but we are also related to non human species as well. Darwin describes a "heroic monkey" who saved his keeper, a baboon who saved his comrade pointing out amazingly human qualities in animals. He found those animals more relatable than humans who commit atrocities daily. Some of the atrocities he mentions directly single out the church, drawing a comparison to the aforementioned Fuegian savages. Darwin puts into perspective the whole of human development "having thus risen, instead of having been aboriginally placed there" as a hopeful look to future development of humankind. He ends on a more humble note pointing out that despite mans "noble qualities" and profound intelligence, that we are still human and bear the mark of our ancestry.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Modernism




Just in case anybody needs it.

Class Notes (Wk 11)

Germany reunited in 1871, due to merging and centralizing of industry
Bauhaus: bau meaning building, haus being house. meaning house building. OH REARRY?
consistently organized
Dessau
Berlin
bauhutte - building hut. lol.
germany became a republic
Walter Groplus 1883-1979
wanted the Bauhaus wanted modernist design, even though the town was conservative
Johannes Itten 1886-1967
left Bauhaus in 1992
Marianne Brandt 1893-1983
Coffee Pot Design
Weimar
Haus an Horn
Hannes Meyer
Ludwig Mies der Rohe
"Inside the Bauhaus"

Errr... very incomplete notes. But maybe if we combine the powers of all our notes we will get an ultimate collection of notes. Or something. .-.

Class Notes (Wk 10)

DADA
Switzerland was a popular retreat during WWI,
because it was a neutral country
German, Italian, French speaking

Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich:
Founders:
Hugo Ball, Emmi Hennings, Tristan Tzara
Marcel Ianco, Hans (jean) Arp, Sophie
Tauber Arp

(artists below are mostly collage artists)
Raoul Hausmann, 1886-1971
Men Are Angels and They Live In Heaven, 1919
The Art Critic, 1919
the art critic. powerful, makes or breaks careers
as indicated by the large pencil he holds
unnatural, like a zombie, sick
ABCD Self Portrait, 1922/23
Tatlin at Home, 1920
Hannah Hoch, 1889-1978
Cut with a Kitchen Knife
Pretty Girls, 1919
Dada Dolls, (mixed materials) 1920
The Tire Travels around the World, 1920
Kurl Schqitters 1887-1949
Merz Picture, 1920s

what is "Theosophy?"

Class Notes (Wk 9)

Brain/String Theory
Look at "the Dimensions Explained" on Youtube


Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
cubism
Portrait of Ambroise Vollard, 1910
Portrait of Kahnwieler

Italian Futurists
Giacomo Balla 1871-1958
Street Lamp, 1908

Class Notes (Wk 7)

First Chapter of "Mrs. Dalloway"
no longer addressed as Clarissa, rather as Mrs. Dalloway
Mrs. Dalloway,
favoring reliability and fitting within the current social bracket,
meeting social standards and expectations, in contrast to
Peter Walsh, ex-lover, enigmatic and adventurous, out of the box, "poetic"
Mrs. Dalloway questions her current place in life ie. her husband choice
why did Woolf choose a upper class woman as her protagonist?
wanting to focus on psychological issues of someone of that status, without worries, but with many options

The New Associaiton of Artists
"The Spiritual" - higher concept, superseding materiality of life, dematerialization
high and strong colors
color blue was representation of dematerialization, of sky which was not material
Alexej von Jawlensky, (1864-1941)
Girl in Grey Apron, 1909
Helen in Dark Blue Turban
Autumn Landscape with Boats, 1908
Vassily Kadinsky (1866-1944)
Murnau. A Village Street, 1908
Murnau. The Garden, 1908
Mountain, 1908
Composition II, 1909-10
Improvisation No. 11, 1911
The Blue Rider + Variations
Framz Marc (1990-1916)
Blue Horses, 1911

Class Notes (Wk 6)

"Degenerate Art"

Hilter called modern artists degenerates, and vowed to eliminate them.
claustrophobic effect
graffiti over, behind around, criticizing the art
Adolf Hitler was rejected and not recognized as an artist
wanted to represent the world "as it really is"
modern art painted what was underneath what we see in the world
expressionists wanted to go beyond impressionism
inner world, psychological landscapes