...Guy Ritchie hit upon a successful formula when directing his first two films, bringing his unique sense of style and panache to the crime thriller genre, but then blotted his copybook when he attempted new things in his following two movies. The husband of mega-popstar Madonna cast his famous wife in one his biggest commercial and critical flops, but has since tried to get his career back on track after divorcing her in late 2008. Guy Stuart Ritchie was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, to successful marketing executive John Vivian Ritchie and Amber Parkinson. His parents divorced when he was five, and his mother would later marry Sir Michael Leighton, a baronet. Ritchie spent a fair amount of his childhood at the Leighton estate, although his mother and Sir Michael would divorce seven years later. Ritchie was born with severe dyslexia, and at 15 was expelled from Stanbridge Earls School, a specialist school for dyslexics. He worked as a labourer before getting into the film industry at age 25. He began as a film runner (an odd jobber on film and TV sets) before trying his hand at directing music videos, doing “20 videos back to back, really crappy ones with sort of German rave bands”. This gave him some valuable experience behind the camera, and he moved on to doing commercials. With the much-needed grounding, he went on to direct a 20 minute short, ‘The Hard Case’ (1995), which aired on Channel 4. As it did so, it caught the attention of Trudie Styler, the wife of...
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...Black/White: Kara Walker’s ‘Work in Progress’ I really wanted to know more about this particular piece of art. Yet I have found that I have learned so much more about Kara Walker and her various works. Kara Walker is a contemporary artist from California. She explores race, sexuality, gender, violence and identity in her work. In her silhouettes, Walker’s black characters are cut out of black paper and the white characters live in a white space of reflection. Walker uses black cuts outs of figures to emphasize a more dramatic effect as a silhouette. The majority of her works were inspired by images found in her favorite history books. She uses these images as an example of how whites viewed black slaves in the antebellum south (Shaw). Research into Kara Walker’s work leads me to believe the intent may be deeper than that. Walker’s work often caused an issue with other members of the art community. She was accused of not having a sensitive opinion on the topic of slavery. I am sure this can be due to the fact that she expresses herself through rough imagery which could easily be interpreted as disrespectful or offensive (Michele'Kieffer). Kara Walker addressed the issue in an interview by stating “The work is not about slavery so much as it conjures horrors of reconstruction and 20th-century Jim Crow-ism and the Tea Party.” Since her first exhibit Walker has become an international success, been labeled a genius and has won the MacArthur Fellowship. Kara Walker’s work resonates...
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...The rebirth of mankind that brought about ancient Roman and Greek ideals, values, morals and philosophy swept through Europe during the turn of the 14th century. The Renaissance as we call this movement changed the society and culture of Europe. The replacement of medieval ideas with the birth of modern principles changed the whole landscape of Europe and even the world as these ideas would gradually spread to other parts of the globe. It was particularly the Italian Renaissance which instigated these changes. It was when handful of humanists sparked off of what would be the one of the most remarkable revolutions. The Catholic Church started to shift away from being the center of the universe and began to be replaced by ideals such as secularism and individualism; a concept unheard of over the last 1000 years. This Renaissance movement were fueled by the people of Florence more so than any other nation. It was Florence which was the center of Renaissance and where it started off. With the discovery of ancient Roman and Greek manuscripts and art, the prosperous city of Florence soon became a mecca of culture and great achievements. It was in early stages of the Renaissance when the son of a goldsmith, Sandro Botticelli created his most famous works; Primavera and The Birth of Venus. After his death, Botticelli’s masterpieces and his artworks’ importance were obscured and underestimated for nearly 400 years before scholars grasped the importance of his work; primarily Primavera...
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...Music Journal # 1 Traci Nurcellari Word Count: 601 Listening through this week’s music selection I am reminiscent of many childhood memories. I was very lucky to grow up in Columbus, Ohio where arts like ballet, live music and art of any kind was appreciated. The more unique a piece of work was the more praise it seemed to obtain. Balletmet was a renowned ballet company that performed several different ballets throughout the year. At Christmas time their key performance was, and in my opinion is still, the best rendition of Tchaikovsky’s’ “The Nutcracker” I have even been so gracious to experience. Another one of my earliest memories of music was in second grade where I was asked in music class to sit and listen to an orchestra performance of “Peter and the Wolf” by composer Sergei Prokofiev. I remember the first time sitting there, eyes closed, allowing my imagination to listen as each instrument took on a different character. I remember how each of those characters almost seemed to talk. I could see the chase and felt the emotions of being scared, wanting to run away, fight even the sadness I felt when I thought the wolf had caught and eaten Peter. It has been over 20 years since I last heard “Peter and the Wolf”. I can still remember the vivid sounds of the timpani drums from the hunters’ gun, the playful flute of the Bird and the humorous oboe for Duck. Listening to the “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra” I am reminded of my childhood “Peter and the Wolf” as each of the...
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...boy who is swept away in a flood and then rescued by an elephant. Told in the present tense and the first person, with vivid use of language, this is a story you may want to read aloud (or have students read aloud) for enjoyment and to prompt creative responses before doing any detailed examination of the text. This text includes: • some compound and complex sentences, which may consist of two or three clauses; • some words and phrases that are ambiguous or unfamiliar to the students, the meaning of which is supported by the context or clarified by photographs, illustrations, diagrams, and/or written explanations; • a straightforward text structure; • figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, or personification; • some abstract ideas that are clearly supported by concrete examples in the text or easily linked to the students’ prior knowledge; • some places where information and ideas are implicit and where students need to make inferences based on information that is easy to find because it is nearby in the text and there is little or no competing information. Reading standard, end of year 4 Options for curriculum contexts English (level 2, language features) • Show some understanding of how language features are used for effect within and across texts. The arts (level 2, dance, Developing Ideas) • Use the elements of dance in purposeful ways to respond to a variety of stimuli. The arts (level 2, visual arts, Communicating...
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...During the course of this class we have learned about several different types of art, through different periods of time in history. The one that stands out to me the most is Abstract Expressionism. Abstract Expressionism is an artistic movement of the mid-20th century compromising diverse styles and techniques and emphasizing especially an artist’s liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through nontraditional and usually nonrepresentational means. The artist that I believe have a very large influence in this time period is Jackson Pollock, Norman Lewis, and Heather Frankenthaler. I believe they helped in making large contributions to this movement in art at the time. First I would like to start off with Norman Lewis and his piece “Twilight Sounds (1957)”. Norman was an African American painter who was very well associated with abstract expressionism. In this piece it has many colors and lines to give the viewer eyes into the city. He depicts it as being very busy and diverse. At the time of this painting there were large amounts of poverty and issues with social class. It was created around the time of World War II era. He saw all of these things occurring in the urban areas due to social classes being defined a lot more. This piece fits into to the time period due to the message the artist is trying to convey to the audience, and the colors draw you into the organized chaos. As well as there are no specific pictures or symbols to make you understand what is exactly in the...
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...education of Alaska Natives improved drastically. Over the twentieth century, Alaska Natives were originally seen as ignorant and uncivilized. In the early twentieth century, the federal and Alaska state government funded schools in the villages to improve the image of the Alaska Native people. Alaska: Our Northern Wonderland written by Frank Carpenter in 1928, states that the goal was to teach “self-government and making them American citizens.” Education was to be the key to social, cultural, and moral development in these people of the north. Even though this seemed like an amazing opportunity for Native Alaskans, it began to hinder them. Children who wanted an education after eighth grade had to choose between moving thousands of miles away from home or staying to help support their families. In 1972, Molly Hootch, with the support of many Alaska Natives, sued the government. Four years later, the government made a settlement to establish schools all over villages in Alaska. Throughout the twentieth century, educational policies have helped Native Alaskans in their villages, reduced the people living in the lower forty-eights’ concern about Alaska Natives morals, and assimilated Alaska Natives over time. Alaska: Our Northern Wonderland written by Frank Carpenter in 1928, declares that schools were established in villages to help civilize the “copper-skinned children of the Far North”. The schools instructed the children in sanitation, effects of drinking, and also taught...
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...participate in are; going to Times Square, Central Park, Ground Zero to pay your respects to the people who lost their lives on that tragic day, or perhaps take a romantic horse and buggy ride in Central Park. New York is a great place to visit in the winter, seeing the famous Christmas tree, going ice skating, or just taking a romantic horse and buggy ride in the snow. All of these things are awesome, don’t forget to visit the statue of liberty and the empire state building, those are my favorite. The only downside is that NYC can be very expensive, so make sure you bring a lot of money. I promise you will go home with great memories and want to visit again. I visited Negril, Jamaica in 2005. I went to a place called Couples Swept Away Resort (all inclusive). I recommend this place to anyone traveling to Jamaica. It was awesome. The staff was delightful and very helpful. There were a lot of activities, such as scuba diving, snorkeling, and a glass bottom boat ride. The beaches were amazing, the water was crystal blue. When you sit on the beach, people come up to you with wet wash cloths and fresh fruit. Dining was also amazing they had 5 different restaurants to choose from and it was all included in the price. Each Restaurant was a different type of cuisine....
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...Setting Analysis Sonny's Blues Sonny's Blues takes place in Harlem, New York. The story unfolds during the 1950's which was a time frame that swept the African American community into a downward spiral. This period followed the Harlem Renaissance and although that historical event ended after the 1920's, the effects on the black community were still very prevalent factor. Musicians, poets, writers and other creatives still managed to flourish. On the contrary, poverty stricken neighborhoods consumed by drug activity, prostitution, racism and scarce resources seemed to have impacted the majority throughout the city. This may have been a result from the continuation of oppression that blacks experienced from the residuals of The Great Depression and The Great Migration. The author vividly describes Harlem in a sober manner. Poverty is the clearest painted picture. One can picture homeless people walking about, trash filled streets and numerous people in a state of stagnation, just standing outside roaming. There sounds of hopelessness and lost souls can be heard as the unnamed narrator describes the condition of Harlem at that time. When his brother goes away to jail, the disappointment rattles through his voice. The conversation with Sonny's drug addicted friend yields a sense of sympathy and disgust at the same time. Upon Sonny's return, the narrator depicts Harlem as a place of entrapment. He was bringing his brother “back into the danger he had almost died trying...
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...necessary this is because at its best, male art is only an incomplete picture of true feminine influence in society. The picture remains incomplete. The solution for this problem is to reintroduce women into art galleries and history books and in the process, make them and their work more accessible and available. It involves teaching the world that women played an important part in the creation of art and society as a whole. The goal is that by reintegrating women in mainstream art, society as a whole...
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...Development and Personality Paper Life Span Development and Personality Paper Faith L. Mayo Axia College of University of Phoenix Life Span Development and Personality Paper Adolf Hitler was a famous individual from the 20th century; his story has been well known for many years and will continue to spread through time as it was a memorable part of our history. He was the founder and leader of the Nazi party from 1933-1945 (Wistrich, 1997). His father was Alois Hitler, who was an authoritarian disciplinarian. He was strongly attached to his mother Klara Poelzl, she was a strong woman and a very hard worker. Once she passed away from cancer, Adolf Hitler began to show signs of moodiness, temperamental, and not willing to work (Wistrich, 1997). He moved to Vienna in 1907 and applied to Viennese Academy of Fine Arts, which he was rejected. This was the final turning point for Adolf Hitler. According to the Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team; in 1913, Hitler moved to Munich to join the Sixteenth Bavarian Infantry Regiment, serving as a despatch runner. He was badly wounded and placed in gas chambers for four weeks. Once he was released, he had to recuperate in a hospital for three months (C.W. and CL Heart, 2007). Hitler believed this would be his fate; to punish those that had embarrassed him in front of his nation; the Jewish and the Bolsheviks. In 1919, Hitler started out with 40 members by his side and used the swastika and the “Heil”...
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...supposing that he did his notes and correspondence on old brown paper wrappers from motives of economy. He then tried to explain the rather delicate logical shade, that he not only liked brown paper, but quality of brownness in paper. After that he put that brown paper in his pocket and other things and went out on to the great downs. Q- What type of drawing did the writer do in the story? Discuss his thoughts about nature. When he went on to the great downs, he crawled across those colossal counters that express the best quality of England, because they are at the same time soft and strong. His eyes swept the landscape, landscape was as kindly as any of it’s cottages, but for power it was like an earthquake. The villages in the immense valley were safe, one could see, for centuries; yet the lifting of the whole land was like lifting of one enormous wave to wash them all away. He...
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...hordes of Delta workers are all lining up outside to receive their regular soma ration and with his mother’s passing still fresh in his memory, he lashes out at the employees, taking away their rations and disposing of them out the window. Meanwhile, Bernard had been looking to find John, with no success until he receives a call from the distributer, informing him of the Savage’s disturbance....
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...Schindler’s List was released in 1993 and directed by Steven Spielberg. Based on historical events it’s set during the Holocaust and about Oskar Schindler, a man who saved many Jews from death. Night was written by Elie Wiesel about his life when going through the Holocaust as a Jew. These two forms of art about the Holocaust are similar when looking at the big picture, with self conflict, violence, and optimism, but once you get down to the details they definitely have their differences. Schindler, the main character of Schindler’s List, has a conflict within himself when it comes to saving the Jews and having money, girls, and alcohol. While Elie’s obviously in a different situation because he’s the oppressed, not the oppressor, so he doesn’t have enough power to actually be able to save anyone. But his conflict also lies within him. Throughout the entire book he’s moving back and forth in his belief of God....
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...110 ONLN 06/26/2015 Gabriel Fauré: Step Three The Life of Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (1845-1924) was an influential French composer of the late 19th and early 20th century. He was swept into the world of music very early on in life when in 1854 he was sent from his home in the South of France to study music in Paris. The Niedermeyer School of Classical and Religious music would become his home for the next 10 years. Here he received a rigorous education in music composition and organ and piano performance, in addition to what we would now call a liberal arts curriculum. During his years at school, he met his life-long mentor and friend Camille Saint-Saëns. (Phillips 3) Upon graduation from the Niedermeyer School, Fauré was a master of composition and keyboard. (Henderson 818) Fauré began his professional music career as a church organist throughout France. He played at the Church of Saint Saveur in Rennes, the Notre Dame de Clignacourt in Paris, and Saint-Sulpice in Paris. (Henderson 818) He spent over 20 years at Église de la Madeleine, first as choirmaster in 1877 and then as organiste titulaire. He also served as Chair of Composition and subsequently Director, from 1905 to 1920, at the Conservatoire de Paris. Fauré’s other occupations, all of which regrettably took time away from his music composition, included writing as a critic for Le Figaro, and private teaching. (Phillips 3, 4) As a teacher, Fauré influenced the success of multiple recognized French composers...
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