IBmakingart

This is a collection of photographs taken by Santiago Sierra who was born in 1966 in Spain. The title is 89 Huicholes and it was created in 2009. The photographs stretch the majority of the wall. Individually, they are about 1 sq. foot.

The people depicted are the Huicholes who are an indigenous people from Mexico. Despite the recent creation of the artwork, the people shown still live lives which are more simple than what the average Westerners is used to. The people are photographed with their backs facing away from the camera. Santiago wished to document the people by taking their pictures, but they believe that if their photos are taken, then their souls will be captured.

The artist chose to have every photo be in black and white. This creates a unifying effect. No one person stands out over another. It connects the piece as one group of people rather than a large number of individuals. If it were in color, then the eye would be drawn to one person over another based on the clothes worn. This means that in order to study further the individuals, one must observe the people at random without bias. This strengthens the artist's goal in documenting the Huicholes. It provides a comprehensive collection of random Huicholes.

The work is showing the culture and, to a point, the religious beliefs of the Huicholes. The clothing worn teaches about their lives. The clothing is that of farmers. It captures their way of life while still protecting and representing their religious values when not showing their faces. I believe that the artist took and collected the photos so that he could save the Huicholes' way of life pictorially. The use of equalizing black and white and wide array of subjects create an index. The artist made a collection of people to be studied and appreciated. The curator chose to include this work because it contains a history of indigenous Mexicans. It tied in with the history and appreciation of Latin American culture. This work will continue to be useful because it is a documentation of a people. Future generations may use this to understand better who the Huicholes were.

Blog Post N° 4

Posted 15 Sept., 2014 on "http://jour20313.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/the-most-interesting-man-in-the-world/"  by a user "awalk6"

Denotative: Upon first glance, the advertisement plugs the beer brand Dos Equis at the bottom. The straight-forward goal is to have the viewer be familiarized to the brand. The second part that stands out is that the "being boring" is a "choice" implying that by not choosing this brand it is a conscious choice to be boring.

Connotative: In the ad, the deadly sin lust is portrayed. The hedonistic and lascivious behavior depicted is perpetuated by the provocatively dressed women and by the plenty of beer. A woman is on either side of the man. Both of the women are staring lustfully towards the man. Everyone is dressed opulently implying a state of indulgent wealth. The audience is the average, straight male. The fact that women are sexual objects to a wealthy, distant man leads one to believe the ad is playing on the fragile, straight-man ego. The stereotype that straight men have a strong desire to be desired and to feel important is furthered by such words as "most interesting man in the world" and "boring is a choice". This ad relies on the follies of them. It wishes to persuade the viewer into wanting to become interesting and desired like the man shown. If he drinks this beer, then he, too, will be the envy of women and men alike. The dark colors and formal attire bring the audience into a world of sophistication. This also enforces the stereotype of straight males that they constantly desire to be wealthy and of importance. Without these assumptions, the ad fails. The media style used by this ad leads straight males into a feeling of inadequacy is they do not too have women fawning over them while they are driving in their fast, new cars. The implications of advertising like this teach them that in order to be an important man that they must too be wealthy and have women.

Question 2

The central idea of this passage was introducing and defining the characters Mr. Brocklehurst and Jane. Each character is presented differently. The message that the author wishes to give about Mr. Brocklehurst is that he is the one causing the problems. He is evil by being a hypocritical boss. He chastised the girls for wearing nice and flashy clothes, yet it could be argued that he is guilty of the same crime. He then forces religious standards upon the girls that he doesn't follow. Jane, who is new, is made an example of by being punished over a simple offense. The author describes Jane to be against his hypocritical rule.

The passage that exemplifies this is, "A careless girl!" said Mr. Brocklehurst, and immediately after--"It is the new pupil, I perceive." And before I could draw breath, "I must not forget I have a word to say respecting her." Then aloud: how loud it seemed to me! "Let the child who broke her slate come forward!" It depicts Mr. Brocklehurst as a cruel and hateful man by his patronizing word choice. His diction shows that he feels he is superior in that he must be the ultimate authority and what he perceives and knows must be true. This also introduces Jane's rebellious nature by her breaking the slate. 

My full given name is Zachary Taylor Wright. My first name is a name my mother liked, my middle name is the middle name of my grandfather, and, like most Westerners, my last name is my father's side of the family name. The name I most often go by is Zack. I chose it for myself in kindergarten because I thought that Zachary was far too long to spell. I picked the spelling because I thought I was the most unique way that I was presented with. Zach was too normal. Zac was too short. Zack was the just right amount of weird.

 Until the age of around 15, I was not aware that my name was actually common. I became frustrated. I felt as if my uniqueness had be stolen. I tried my damnedest to have people call everything from Taylor to Caspar. None of the names stuck to my dismay. Now being a bit older, I like my name much more. If it is common, it must be a name worth giving to one's own child.

The only next time my name may be subject to change is when I become married. Since there really is not much of a precedent, I am not really sure what to do. I sure will not take my husband's name, nor do I want him taking mine. Hyphenated names have always annoyed me. The poor flow of double names with a never-ending spelling. I would even be up to changing my middle name to his last name, vice versa. I think the best option, though, is just for both of us to keep our names as is, like the Chinese. As far as the children's names, that is far from being decided.

I love almost a double life every single day. My emotions at school are more forced to be pleasant and happy, while at home I am more stressed and I show it. School is a time when I have to put on a mask in order that I can get through the day. I must be polite and be joyful towards others so I can get along well. At home, I feel this freeing experience of having no one to fake being happy for. The bonus of faking happy is that at the time one does become happy. Without this double life, I worry I would not even have a reason to be happy. I still have a life at home when I wind down and relax. I need them both. Even if I am having a horrible day, I must present myself as if I am not. By doing this, my day is improved because it isn't getting me down. I fake it until I make it. The making part is still pending, but will come in its time.