Art is defined by its meaning. The meaning of art is what truly makes it art. I value art with a deeper meaning than what appears on its surface, art with drama and a serious tone. It isn’t always about the outside, visual appearance. Art is about digging deeper. Art is about participating. Art is about the details. Art is about drama. Art is about the essence. Art is about the spirit. Art is about value. Art is genuine. Art is thoughtful.
Art is about meaning.

Art is defined by its meaning. The meaning of art is what truly makes it art. I value art with a deeper meaning than what appears on its surface, art with drama and a serious tone. It isn’t always about the outside, visual appearance. Art is about digging deeper. Art is about participating. Art is about the details. Art is about drama. Art is about the essence. Art is about the spirit. Art is about value. Art is genuine. Art is thoughtful.
Art is about meaning.

I appreciate art that holds meaning. I value art that requires true participation in discovering its message. I live to analyze small details and dive into works of art. I have shown this preference throughout my blog.

My very first blog post, “Representative Work,” is the first example of how I enjoy digging deeper into art’s meaning. In the post, I analyzed the painting, “The Music Lesson,” by Johannes Vermeer. It depicts a man and a woman sitting at an instrument. At first glance, it seems to be just that, but I analyzed every detail. I truly participated in the work. I discovered how the elements of the painting reveal the emphasis of the privacy between a shared, intimate moment of two people.

My second blog post, “Abstract Images,” is another example of how I value the meaning behind works of art. I again analyzed a painting, “Tink Tonk,” by Nabil Nahas. The painting appears to be random lines, zig-zagging in different colors and directions. However, after participating with this piece, I found how it’s representing electricity, excitement, like a jolt of energy. It isn’t just random lines. This piece was made with intention and meaning.

My fifth blog post, “My Musical Theme,” shows the deeper meaning I found behind another form of art. In this post, I didn’t analyze a painting. I participated in the experience of music. I gathered a collection of six songs that all spread the message of peace and equality on Earth. I found the true message behind these different songs that would otherwise just sound like beats and tones paired with lyrics. After learning the true meaning behind each song, they become more powerful and hold a more significant value.

My sixth blog post, “Poetic License,” reveals the meaning I discovered in a poem by Nathaniel Hawthrone titled, “The Ocean.” The poem reveals a lot in its stanzas. However, by really participating with the piece, I was about to uncover more. I discovered what the poem was saying in a different, more modern language. I took apart the figurative language. I broke down each line. I dove into the poem and discovered its true meaning.

My eleventh blog post, “Not Seen on TV,” is another example of the value I enjoy in digging deep into works of art to uncover their meaning. In this post, I analyzed video art. Ascension is a shot of a man plunging into water. The clip is in slow motion and underwater with specific lighting highlighting the man’s figure. The audio features dramatic sounds of the muffled water movement in slow motion. Every detail of the clip highlights how focused, serious, and unique it is. It reveals what the clip wants for the audience. I evaluated each element of the video and discovered the emphasis on the focus of small details. I found the meaning of such a detailed clip of a simple event that I wouldn’t have been able to notice by merely watching it.

Even after analyzing each of my own blog posts, I found a common theme and meaning that connects almost every one. My blog displays my interest in evaluating the details and elements of works of art to find their hidden message and true meaning. I believe that the experience of participating with art to find its purpose is what makes pieces art. Without the deeper meaning, works of art would be just paintings, just photos, just sculptures, just music. With meaning, they become powerful pieces of pure art.

Sunrise Impression poem– Heather Towe

I see the orange colored sun
Rising in the sky.

I see its beams of light
Shining down from so high.

I see light reflections
Glimmering upon the water.

I see blurred boats, distant,
Approaching closer and closer.

I see subtle waves
Formed from the boats in motion.

I see soft shapes of the shore
Across the vast ocean.

I see colors of pastel hues
Created by the sunrise.

I see many beautiful things,
A pleasant sight to my eyes.

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I chose to write a poem about Claude Monet’s Sunrise. I wrote the poem in the point of view from one of the people on the boats in the painting. I wrote my poem from their perspective about everything they would see from standing in their position on the water. I thought it would be interesting to actually put myself into the painting and try to imagine how it would feel to see the scene in real life from one of the boats. Some of the essential details that I wanted to capture was the bright sun rising, standing out from the cool tones of the surrounding sky and water. The fact that everything in the painting is soft and there aren’t harsh figures is another important detail I wanted to include. For that, I wrote about the sight of the boats and the slight outlines of figures on the distant shore. I thought the variety of pastel colors, depicting a sunrise, were also important details of the work. I tried to capture the calm, relaxed, and serene feeling that the painting gives off with my description. I replicated the original visual details in my poem by simply describing them, but from the perspective of someone on one of the boats. I believe my poem brings in a new interpretation of the painting because of the point of view I chose to write it in. With my poem, I wanted the audience to see the painting from within, rather than from the outside looking in.

Bill Viola’s Ascension stood out to me as the most interesting of the five video choices because of the slowed down focus of the event. The video shows an underwater, slow-motion clip of a man jumping into water. The frame is dark with blue lighting that highlights the bubbles and movement of water from the man jumping in. The initial plunge creates a loud crashing sound as his body hits the water. The man slowing falls deeper into the water, then slowly rises to the surface. The movement of water creates great detail, especially when displayed in slow motion. It seems as though every bubble can be seen. The clip makes it feel like the audience is genuinely underwater watching and listening. Viola was able to capture a very realistic sound of underwater with a muffled tone of the water flow.

The video creates a great representation of every single detail that occurs when something plunges into water. It causes the audience to focus in this specific event with its details ranging from the sound of the man hitting the surface to the bubbles and waves that are created once the body interferes with the water’s stillness to the muffled sound water movement underneath the surface. I believe the clip is trying to emphasize on the small details that we may not typically notice. The audience is set up to see one and only one subject. I think it wants the audience to focus strictly on this still slow-motion movement. Any hints toward certain issues or cultural stances do not seem to be represented in this video. I think this clip is urging viewers to start seeing things in a new way, in more detail. The use of lighting that strictly emphasizes the slow-motion view of the man’s body crashing into the water seems to reveal that. We don’t typically see someone jumping into water this way. It’s usually a fast event that we could miss with the blink of an eye. This clip allows the audience to see such a quick movement in slow motion. It breaks down every detail. The video appeals strongly to my sense of sight and my sense of hearing. Ascension is an interesting clip to watch because of the underwater and slow motion view. The darkness and use of specific lighting highlight the figure descending and ascending in the water. The realistic sounds of muffled water movement create an effect for me that allows me to focus in on this specific moment. I believe slowing this clip down also produces an impact that seems to almost hypnotize me into staying focused.

I think this clip is a lot different than typical commercial television. I can see why Ascension is considered video art. It does challenge our comfortable knowledge of TV and understanding of how to watch it because this clip is so different. I think it is especially different from the year it was produced, in 2000. Due to my age, I don’t remember how television was personally 20 years ago, as I was only two years old. However, Ascension is so serious, detailed, and focused compared to what I have seen recently from back then. I do think this concept and this type of video art is unique to that time.

Hamlet Act i, scene i

I chose to analyze the very first scene of Hamlet. I thought it was the most interesting scene because it introduces the story and kicks off the rest of the play. The scene begins outside of Elsinore castle where Bernardo comes to relieve Francisco from his guard duty. Bernardo asks if Francisco has had a quiet guard in which he gets a reply stating, “Not a mouse stirring,” or in other words, he didn’t hear anything. Bernardo says, “If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, / The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.” Bernardo means that if Francisco sees Horatio and Marcellus, who are supposed to stand with him, tell them to hurry. Horatio and Marcellus approach them as Francisco says good night and leaves.

Marcellus asks Bernardo if something has appeared on watch again, but Bernardo claims to have seen nothing. Marcellus and Bernardo urge Horatio to stand watch with them so he can witness the ghost they have seen for two nights. Horatio is doubtful saying, “Tush, tush, ’twill not appear.” Suddenly the ghost appears, resembling the deceased King Hamlet, “in the same figure, like the king that’s dead.” Marcellus pushes Horatio to speak to the ghost. He believes it gets offended and it vanishes.

Horatio can’t believe his eyes as he recognizes the similarities of the ghost and King Hamlet, he even notices it is wearing the same armor from combat in Norway. He suggests that the ghost might be a bad sign and begins to recall the story of the King’s battle with Fortinbras to conquer land. With Fortinbras dying in the battle, his son, also named Fortinbras, is now seeking to reclaim the land.

As Horatio continues, the ghost reappears. Horatio tries to speak to it, but the cock crows at dawn, and it disappears again. Bernardo claims the ghost was about to speak before the crow struck. Horatio wishes to tell young Hamlet of their sighting. He states, “This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him.”

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After reading the script, I searched Youtube for a staging of the scene. I found the one linked above. This recording of Act I, Scene I of Hamlet only shows the end of the scene after the rooster crows at dawn. Only two characters are speaking, Marcellus and Horatio. This staging of the scene was a bit different than I expected because I was expecting to see all three characters, Marcellus, Horatio, and Bernardo. I read the script along while watching this scene and noticed that there were some lines left out. I’m not sure if it was for a significant purpose, but it didn’t seem to take much away from the scene. I also noticed that instead of including Bernardo, some of his lines were just spoken by Marcellus’s character. I didn’t really get an interpretation of the character of Hamlet because his role wasn’t shown. The stage of the scene was kept simple and didn’t feature much scenery or props to indicate where the characters were. There was dark blue lighting to represent the nighttime setting. Although it wasn’t what I was expecting, this staging of Act I, Scene I was interesting to watch from a different interpretation than my own. I believe the cast of the show did a great job performing this scene of Hamlet.