Stage Door Blog

1. So Long, Farewell @ 0:16
 The use of the lights and stage balances the scene with the stairwell. The stairs serve as a great focal point for the scene as well as practical. The actors managed to all remain on stage while singing but not take away from the solos of the other performers. The stairs also served as a visual direction for the choreography as the children slowly proceeded to the stairs from left to right.
2. Anything Goes @ 2:16
The double stairs and the inset doors made the set have visual depth and symmetric quality. The rounded windows makes the audience understand that the event is taking place on a boat. The tiled floor also adds detail to the scene to add complexity to the scene because without it the scene would be entirely too plain.
@2:30 the introduction of the shadowed balcony adds to the grandeur of  the ship and the complexity of the environment.
3. I rather be Blue @ 0:44
The use of lights to frame the windows gives the stage the look of a stage/theater. The fact that Barbara Streisand is on skates is an interesting element to the set. The fact she manages to convey her nervousness by shifting her skates to make it seem as if she is uncomfortable adds to the meaning of the song, as she becomes comfortable the skates add to the performance by making all her moves appear graceful and effortless. The way the spotlight movement and her movement are flowing give the performance a really well planned out vibe.
4. Supercalifragilisticexpiladocious
The tilted camera shooting style adds to the playfulness of the song and the performance as well as the rounded edged rectangles in the background. The whimsical curve in the center of the stage (1:52) with the hands of the performers up adds a sense of playfulness and shows the general fun nature of the song. The color choice of the set also makes the song more delightful.
5. Younger than Springtime @0:15
Leading lines of the shadows leads the audience's eyes to the female performer and add a nightfall feel to the stage. The blue lights denote night time and give the performers the appearance of starcrossed lovers almost.
6.Big Spender @ 1:17
The point of view given at the above time makes the piece seem as the audience is the big spender. The presence of the lights above the female burlesque dancers also add to the visual balance of the frame by not having a ridiculous amount of negative space in the frame.
7. La Cage Aux Folies @0:02
The use of spotlights emphasizes the dancing of the figures as well as accentuates the height variations.

Retinal Persistance

This concept really explains why humans are able to digest films and motion. Pretty much the theory is that anything we see, remains in our sight of vision for one twenty fifth of a second. In 1912 Wertheimer bunked the myth that still exists in art where most artist still believe that films are not necessarily in motion but are a secession of still images that appear to be moving due to our retinal persistence to remember the preceding image. This sounds like the flip book project will really be difficult for me especially if we have to choose which we accept because I really hate questions without definitive answers.

Abe M.

This guy is a BOSS! The money collection was so cool to me..... who can say they can just photograph 7 million like it was nothing? The whole message behind it seems like " I'll let my money speak for itself". I liked the $60 picture, it really looked seamless.
The bars of gold and platinum were pretty sick too..... men lie women lie, numbers don't. 

UT Faculty Gallery Show

Chris Valle's work has always been an interesting sight to me, probably because I attended his Symposia at UT last semester or last fall, I can't recall which exactly.Valle makes the point of the importance of transgressions in art and his personal journey in creation. Valle creation of cell and the use of light to change the piece is really untruly what multimedia is similar to that of Delgado. Employing light to change the painting is what makes his work unique. Valle’s paintings in the exhibit seemed to have a special resonance with me because of the past. I remember a piece he showed last semester via Powerpoint was layered with multiple levels of Plexiglas which were underneath one another and are visible when lit. The “luminousness” of the media and the changing of the position of the light have a power effect by changing what the viewer sees.  Valle also discussed the importance of abstract representation where there are boundaries to the how abstract a piece can be. Valle says the abstract lack of detail makes his work unique because everything is equally important and unimportant where the viewer decides what the strongest element is.  Thomas Ruff’s blurring of pornography inspired Valle for his second series of inset images in a space, cosmos type environment.

Valle’s disregard for societal norms and conformity within the world has caused him to create a whole new breed of pop art similar to that of Andy Warhol. I love how he employs untraditional and pop culture references in his art. 

Madama Butterfly

The actual film was similar to that of the modern movie Coraline and it really reminded of it until the whole soft core porn part.  The music went particularly well with the animation because the changes in the music were reflected by changes in the frame.

The female character seems to look like she's pregnant whilst in her rags toward the middle of the piece which made the sex in the beginning seem a little less out there and vulgar. The metaphor of the fish tank and the fish symbolizes the combination of the two characters and the fruit of their love. The fish soon becomes a child similar to humans (tadpoles- babies) and the rope seems to be their connection (umbilical cord). 

The sailor was a real asshole for taking the baby.

1929 crisis versus the current economic crisis

Aside from the blatent similarities of the onset of economic hardship due to foreign tangent wars (World War II and the "War on Terror" or whatever its tagged now), America is exactly at the same crossroads it was at years ago. Illicit use of alcohol was prevalence similar to the current recreational use of drugs in America, namely marijuana. Most people don't recognize the fact that the legalization of alcohol in 1933 was the sole reason America was able to come out of the economic slump it was once in and that marijuana legalization could yield some potentially exponential revenue for America based on the California taxation model.
Artistically speaking times of depression and economic unrest breed the best artists and I think that the onset of economic hardship has kind of broken down class systems a bit. You can now find a lot more tolerant music listeners due to the merging of music. Hip hop has become a lot more integrated with rock and roll and pop thanks to artists coming together. This summer Nicki Minaj, a female RAPPER toured with POP princess Britney Spears bringing an array of people together including homosexuals, Caucasians and African Americans.
Kanye West has even incorporated ballet into the hip hop community thanks to his Runaway video for his album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm5iA4Zupek&ob=av2e) . West also incorporated a strong instrumental track to the deep bass, joining the fine arts and contemporary art together.

Bread and Entertainment

Thinking about this premise of "bread and entertainment" the closest parallel I could think of is my 6th grade trip to Medieval Times, a popular middle ages show in NJ. Dinner shows are pretty much as close to the environment in terms of less than 5-star food and corky entertainers, it really can't compare to the free price of the  Panes et Circenses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=douEPOZx4gM&feature=relmfu- semi baroque
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGLmFtI_8_M- more baroque esque
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CLvuTXUp8M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRhxdzzX43g- classical ketchup?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qro2R-hwNNo- 4 minute shampoo ad lol

Farinelli

So I had no idea who Farinelli was until I wiki-ed it. I have never really listened to opera before so it was definitely a new experience to try to do so.
I listened to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqjZ2saNoNE .
Even though I did not have the foggiest idea what was going on, the presence of the dove gave me a little indication of what was going on. Doves usually symbolize peace/love and appeared to make the crowd connect with the singer so I'm guessing the song was about his underlying love for opera.

Edit: After I realized that the Farinelli link was on Blackboard, I read the article and was a little disturbed by the fact he was even castrated. Castration is really crazy considering the time period and medical and sanitary materials available. I really appreciate the stage and the use of lighting to create ambiance in the opera and really making it an experience. 

http://www.revistaexclama.com/arte/ showing

I really like the explanation of the pieces are in this collection. I really don't think that the pieces would be art had it not been for the presence of the ice because it would just be a regular sculpture piece. In terms of the entire exhibit I think it was amazing that the artist was able to convey an environmental message by making the room frigid to the viewer and making the exhibit not just an exhibit but also a sensory experience. I loved the ice covered bars because I think conceptually it looked cool and it def added a level of curiosity of the meaning behind the art. 

3D street art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SNYtd0Ayt0

Really cool..... I really love it.