Art

Sophie Calle was an artist, a French writer, an installer, a photographer as well as a conceptual performer. She places herself in circumstances that reveal her functionality characters which her people adopted. The work of Calle has been distinguished because she used arbitrary situations and almost overdid the French movement of the year 1960s which was known as Oulipo. She puts her living styles in public which creates personal narrative, where she plays a role as the main character and an author. Human vulnerability is portrayed by her work and she tries to examine personal intimacy and identity. A voyeur and a detective are the names that she was given. Also, her acting involved natural investigations and curiosity (European Graduate School, 2008). Her ability to act as a detective as well as the ability to follow procedures and carry investigation concerning the lives of strangers has made her be recognized. Her own writing about text panels included her work in photographic.

After she completed schooling, she took seven years to travel. In 1979, she came back to Paris where she started several projects to familiarize herself with the people living in Paris and wanted to know more about that city. These assisted her to gain identity through offering documentary proof which she put them in photograph form. She based her work on a traditional background in form of art which was conceptual. She emphasized on artistic ideas instead of emphasizing on finished objects. In 1988, Jean Baudrillard, a French writer, wrote down an essay describing this project in reciprocal loss terms on both sides of the pursuer and of the pursued. The Shadow, which was another project (1981), showed how Calle had been followed by a certain private detective for a whole day (Whitechapel Gallery, n.d). He was hired by her own mother at Calles request. Calle continued in the leading of an unwitting detective in all Paris cities. This seemed important according to her opinion, which helped in revising expected subject post which she observed. With such suggestions concerning the projects intimacy, they questioned the spectators role while the viewers became a little bit uncomfortable. The people were collaborators who were unwitting in the violation of privacy. However, Calles work used documentary evidence and led to the arising of many questions concerning the nature of the entire truth. Calle has been caught between private selves and public lives, which has led to her carrying out investigation patterns using various techniques in order to understand human behavior specifically like that of a psychologist, private investigator, or that of a forensic scientist. This led also to the investigation of her personal behavior which has led to the awareness of general public concerning her work which was largely interesting.

Calles early works
In the year 1980, Calle composed a piece that was named as Suite Venitienne where she met a man and ended up following him while she had attended a party held at Venice. She followed and photographed him for a period of two weeks. This was Calles first work, which involved following people around Paris who she did not know. The intention behind all this surveillance initially was an attempt to make herself reacquaint with Paris city since she had spent some years abroad. Consequently, she came with a discovery that observation of the strangers actions and behavior, gave her the information to help in construction of their identities. Calles surveillance concerning that man identified as Henri B., included white and black photographs which were accompanied by a text (Arts Curriculum, n.d).

In the following year, she organized the The Sleepers. This was a project that invited 24 people to sleep in her bed for a period of eight days continuously. Some of these people were friends, strangers and some were friends of friends. She fed them and used to photograph them more often, actually after every hour.
Address Book (1983), was yet another project among Calles work with the intensions of generating controversy publicly. Liberation was a daily newspaper in French offering her an invitation of publishing 28 articles series. She found this book from the street which she returned it to the owner after photocopying it. She then decided to give some calls to several people whose contacts were written on that book and spoke with them about the owner. To the conversations transcript, Calle put photographs of the favorite activities of the man, creating portrait of the unknown man basing it on his acquaintances. The publication of the article was made but just by the time which they discovered them, the book owner who was a filmmaker gave threats of suing the artist in charge of piracy and invasion (Alex, n.d). According to Calles report, the owner of the address book discovered Calles photograph and in return demanded that the newspaper should publish it retaliating that it was an intrusion into his privacy.

The Hotel (1981), was yet another artistic project by Calle. In order for her to execute it, she was hired at a hotel located at Venice. She played the role of a chambermaid which gave her an opportunity to explore objects and writings of the guests who came to that hotel. Her process insight and resulting aesthetic could be achieved through her project account she says, I spent one year to find the hotel, I spent three months going through the text and writing it, I spent three months going through the photographs, and I spent one day deciding it would be this size and this frameits the last thought in the process (Out of Context, 2009).

Calle in 1981 requested her mother to hire a private detective to watch and follow her without her conscience and also to put in record every movement that she made. In Calles words, It was an attempt to provide photographic evidence of my own existence. This was entitled as The Shadow which later was displayed in the museum of Guggenheim in Bilbao- Spain. However, she used to spend a whole day being aware that she was been under monitoring of her private detective. Calle based her writing in journals on a frequent entry for the whole day. In her writing about this unknown man, she writes it with much love imagining herself showing him the places in Paris that were her favorite.

The Blind (1986), is Calles another noteworthy project. She used to interview blind people asking them to give an appropriate definition of what beauty was. The responses that they gave were accompanied by interpretation using photographs of their beauty ideas and the interviewees portraits.

Calle has also done a creation of displays elaborating cases of presents that were given during birthdays in her entire life. Gregoire Bouillier detailed this process in his reign, The Mystery Guest An Account (2006). Bouilleirs story premises according to him, A woman who has left a man without saying why calls him years later and asks him years later and asks him to be the mystery guest at a birthday party thrown by the artist Sophie Calle. And by the end of this fashionable- and utterly humiliating-party, the narrator figures out the secret of their breakup, (Alex, n.d)

Sophie Calles late works
Calle, in 1996, she released a film titled No Sex Last Night which she created in an agreement and collaboration with a photographer from America called Gregory Shephard. The film contained the discoveries got from a trip that they took touring across America, which led to a chapel wedding in Las Vegas. This film was designed in a way to document a womans and mans results who were strangers, taking intimate journey in unison instead of following romance or road trip genre conventions.

Calles works involved the combination of photographic images and texts in a cool presentation style which made her famous. The Ceremony that took place during her birthday was her first main sculptural installation that has been conceived for Art Now 14. Her work had its root from the years 1980 till 1993, despite the fact that it was made in the year 1998, when Calle sustained and invented a number of shared rituals and private series all over her birthday. These were examples and manifest of art, which demonstrated how her art and life were closely intertwined. In every celebration, groups of relatives and friends were invited (Out of Context, 2009). The invitees numbers were corresponding precisely with her age, with an additional of one nominated guest, to symbolize her unknown future. Calle held these parties for dinners in order to ensure the remembrance of her birthday every year. These dinner parties were most ambitious among ritual series Calle invented in order to override the insecurity considered as obsessive that she experienced during her early adulthood. These guests gave her many gifts like that of affection and love tokens, which Calle put in a cabinet made of glass at the front to act as a reminder for this affection. The objects were put away and boxed up at every end of the year and were replaced with other gifts given during the other birthday parties. Calle unpacked these gifts at times when she felt stressed and reassured herself of support from networks (European Graduate School, 2008). In 1993 when she reached the age of forty, she realized that her obsessive insecurity has been cured. Therefore, she never needed to remember her formed friendships and ties in her family in a formal manner.

These birthday ceremonies brought in fifteen cabinets from original design in medical, which Calles father had given her. One pair and thirteen individual cabinets each had the gifts symbolizing each year. The gifts were wrapped from banal to bizarre. They included art work, letters and books, affection token made by hand, trivia made of plastic, restaurant stolen items, antiques and junk, chocolates and wine. When they were stored behind the glass, they had frustration and magnetic desire. This was to those who used to view them since they were not a position to touch, unwrap or even taste them. A list of every item was placed on the glass. Since there was no naming of the person who had donated, it was not possible to tell if the art work was an original from the artists. However, in some circumstance like from her mother, it was reasonable that she got clear, sensible and substantial gifts (Alex, n.d). This contained domestics that arrived every year- which were large to be displayed behind the glass- and those represented by warranty from manufacturers. In some cases, where a certain theme came out with time, someone could give hats, while others could offer different gifts as a mark for that time. On certain occasions and especially with fabulous angel wood-painted during her year when she was turning forty, guests who shared a gift joined together.

This ritual work was first explored by Calle using a photograph which depicted the contents of a cabinet. Here, the ceremonies were reduced annually together with its objects associated to documentary records. The realization of the subject and development as installations series actually creates perplexing and poignant work. These Ceremonial Birthdays drew the intension in the way that identity is constructed within rituals. These were secret and also involved activities and objects that gave substance and meaning to public and private lives. The Birthday Ceremony, in the transformation of personal ritual to public display raises several questions concerning the meaning of those objects while everyone was removed away from the original customary realm. Everyone was sure of a transaction and relationship of a certain kind (Arts Curriculum, n.d). These were normally laid out depending on the criteria that do not involve techniques in traditional museum of display or classification.

At one time Calle request her friend Paul Auster, a filmmaker and a writer to Invent a fictive character which she would attempt to resemble. He used to serve as a model for a character with the name Maria, who his found in Austers novel called Leviathan (1992). Calle later was challenged by Austerto in New York, to maintain and create public amenity. The response of this artist involved augmenting a telephone booth using flowers, cigarettes pack, note pad, cash and water in a bottle. For each day, she used to restock items and to clean the booth, till the time when the telephone firm discarded and removed them (Whitechapel Gallery, n.d).

In the year 2007, Venice Biennale and Sophie Calle published a piece called Take Care of Yourself. This was given a name from the last lines message that was left by her ex-partner. Sophie Calle was recently awarded the Writers Prize 2009 for her work Take Care of Yourself which entailed a break-up letter that her boyfriend sent through e-mail. Calle read and took that e-mail, and developed a paralyzing confusion accompanying the failure in her mind in order to comprehend the heartbreak. She distributed it among 107 women from different professions, talents and skills so that she could be helped to examine, interpret, perform and analyze it (Out of Context, 2009). Several artists admired Calle all over the world and paid homage together with retrospectives for her work. In addition, a text written by Calle called Exquisite Pain got adapted by Forced Entertainment in 2004, which is a theatrical firm normally based in Sheffield, England.

Architecture has always been thought of as a great and noble in art history.  Cicero regarded it as one of the liberal arts, that is to say one in which a free man might engage without loss of status (Honour  Fleming, p.88).  Architecture is one of the most notable forms of art because the architect has to strike a balance between beauty and functionality. In this paper, the reader will be given a brief history of the architectural developments from the 13th to the 18th century.  These movements are the Gothic, Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, and Rococo movements.  Architecture, like most arts, is affected by the economic, political, and social climate that is pervasive in the place.   Modernism, therefore, is far from a precise term in architectural history because architecture constantly evolves with the architect, who is also affected by societal changes.

The development of Gothic Architecture started in the 12th century and lasted until the late 13th century.  Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis was an important figure of Gothic architecture because he integrated a concept of spiritual ascension toward the understanding of God through the physical medium of the contemplation of the light (Bony, 1983, p. 117). The French King Louis IV heavily relied on the Catholic Church for sufficient unity among his countrymen.  The job fell on Abbot Suger to strengthen the monarchy and the French citizens belief in Saint-Denis as their patron saint (Scott, 2003, p.80).  The Abbey of Saint-Denis was completed in 1144.  It is believed to be the first structure built in Gothic style.

Gothic cathedrals are profusely ornamented with symbols that project the greater glory of God.  Saint-Denis was a light-filled space that was adorned with costly furnishings and gems it caused Suger to say that the church was a way station on the road to Paradise, which transported him from an inferior to a higher world (Kleiner, 2009, p. 341).  Large windows, which are usually stained-glass, are also a common feature in Gothic cathedrals because God is equated with super-essential light (Strickland  Handy, 2001, p. 45).  Flying buttresses, which are also a common feature in Gothic cathedrals, were first used in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.  Notre-Dame and other Gothic cathedrals are able to achieve their grand scale because of the buttresses (p. 46).  Gothic architecture is notable because grandiosity is radiated in many of its aspects.  The flamboyant facade, the cruciform plan with the long nave, the emphasis of height, and the pointed arches of Gothic cathedrals are simply overwhelming.  All of these elements contribute to the aura of Gods magnificence (p.44).

Gothic architecture radiates a feeling of gracefulness and lightness, in contrast to its predecessor, Romanesque architecture.  Romanesque churches were built in an austere, bold, no-nonsense style and are often characterized by gloominess and mystery (Watkin, 2005, p. 109).

If the birth place of Gothic architecture was Medieval France, Renaissance architecture was born in Italy. It was in Italy where the medieval veil first melted into the air(Burckhardt, Burke  Middlemore, p.9).   Renaissance was the start of modernity and at the same time, the revival of antiquity.  Medieval thought was very ecclesiastical and theological.  In the late 13th century, humanism was gradually formed.  According to Francisco Petrarch, this period was the birth of the sons of modern Europe (p. 9).  Religion was still a dominant force in the peoples lives but they started to focus on the multifaceted human.  Different branches of science flourished Europe experience an artistic and cultural boom.  There was also an air of nostalgia for Greek and Roman antiquity the reason Renaissance structures have traces of Ancient Greek and Roman elements.

Filippo Brunelleschi is considered the father of Renaissance architecture he became famous for building the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy in 1412 (Strickland  Handy, 2001, p.57). He established the Renaissance template with his Foundling Hospital in Florence (p.58).  He was also the first architect in the Renaissance era to incorporate a dome in his structures. People considered him a madman but he was able to do the job he was a pioneer in putting domes in buildings.  Brunelleschis dome is similar to the Gothic dome with respect to the outline but its enormous scale can be likened to that of ancient Romes (Strickland  Handy, 2001, p.57).  The dome is a common element in most Renaissance churches, such as the famous Saint Peters Basilica by Donato Bramante.  Like all High Renaissance structures, Saint Peters Basilica is more Roman than the ones built in the Early Renaissance.  Matters of proportion, a very important element in Renaissance architecture, were dealt with skillfully and subtly (Moffet, Fazio  Wodehouse, p.326).  Renaissance structures were based on repetition and balance from the spacing of the columns to the general structure of the building.  Details of the structure, inspired by ancient Roman architecture, were created with great precision.

It is easy to differentiate Gothic structures and Renaissance structures.  Gothic structures tend to be taller because of its vertical emphasis renaissance structures have more horizontal emphasis.  Gothic architecture was exuberant, flamboyant, and magnificent Renaissance architecture reflected balance and rationality.  Buildings had simple, clean lines, repetitive patterns, symmetrical dimensions and details created with precision.  

Many historians divide Renaissance architecture into three phases Early Renaissance, High Renaissance and Mannerism (Strickland  Handy, 2001, pp.57-63).  Early Renaissance began around 1412, the time Brunelleschi built Basilica di San Lorenzo.  High Renaissance came at around 1500.  Mannerism was a reaction against the Renaissance standards of harmony and sterile rationalism (Strickland  Handy, 2001, p.63).  Michelangelo Buonarroti, who is widely known as a sculptor, was a prominent figure in Mannerist architecture as well. The Laurentian Library, his most mannerist work, possesses distorted Renaissance ideals of balanced proportion and stability out of the window, setting the interior in disquieting motion (Strickland  Handy, 2001, p.63).  Michelangelo installed an eye-catching staircase that fans out Vasari said that Michelangelo made such bizarre breaks in the outlines of the steps, and departed so much from common use of others, everyone was amazed (p.63). Columns were constructed in a different way as they were recessed into the walls.  The vestibule is also tall as it is wide, which is unconventional for a Renaissance structure.  Michaelangelo utilized all the Renaissance concepts of architecture and distorted them.

Michelangelo also renovated Saint Peters Basilica, which was initially Bramantes masterpiece.  He thickened the exterior walls, illuminated the interiors, and unified the space by removing the secondary spaces (Paoletti  Radki, 2005, p.510).  He used pilasters around the buildings curves and corners to create rippling effects and added a diagonal wall unit to eliminate the sharp corners.

The corruption of the church brought about the Reformation and Counter-Reformation in the late-16th century.  There was too much discontentment for the Church to handle so as part of the Counter-Reformation movement, the Church used the arts to reinforce the teachings of the Catholic Church.  Baroque architecture was dynamic, dramatic, openly propagandistic, overtly emotional, and long on sensory appeal (Moffet, Fazio  Wodehouse, 2003, p.356). It was very popular among new orders of the Church, such as the Jesuits.  Baroque architecture is also a popular form of colonial architecture, as it was brought by the colonizers to their colonies to build churches and propagate the Christian faith.

The ceiling of Il Gesu, the headquarters of the Jesuits in Rome, has a fresco of the Adoration of the Name of Jesus and visions of clouds, draperies and human bodies (Moffet, Fazio  Wode House, 2003, p.358).  Preaching is also heard more clearly because of the shortened nave and suppressed transepts.  Il Gesu also emanates dynamism, with pairs of pilasters that step out from forward-projecting planes.
Baroque architecture was also utilized in secular structures, such as Versailles in France and the Piazza del Popolo. The Chapel of Versailles has an apse that is as high as the nave, which gives the central space a feeling of fluidity (Kleiner, 2009, p.578).  This is common among Baroque structures.  The royal gallery is defined by a row of Corinthian columns and the ceiling is ornamented with fresco paintings.  The magnificence of Versailles represented Absolutism.  Also a secular Baroque structure is the Piazza del Popolo.  The obelisk at the point where three radial streets converge injected drama and monumental focus (Moffet, Fazio  Wodehouse, 2003, p. 360). The stairs is also dramatic, formed with gentle curves and counter-curves.

The death of Louis XIV, the French King under whose reign Versailles was built, signaled the end of the Baroque era and paved the way for Rococo Architecture. Rococo Architecture dates from the last years of Louis XIV to the late 18th century (Bussagli, 2005, p.151).  The style began with decoration of interiors, with walls encrusted with branching ornamentation such as trailing branches, leaves, flowers, and vine tendrils, enlivened with birds, cherubs, and Chinese motifs (p.151). These ornamentations were generally made of stucco. Rococo style was also pervasive in furniture and decorative objects.  Lightness and playfulness were the dominant moods in Rococo Architecture, as opposed to the heavy drama of Baroque Architecture.  The interiors of Hotel de Soubise in Paris are decorated in Rococo style the ornamentation is meant to simply delight the eye rather than drawing noble sentiments from the people (Cunningham  Reich, 2009, p.402).

It is interesting how architecture has evolved and developed like a child. It does not evolve drastically. Rather, it gradually outgrows its old state and it takes long.  Architecture will constantly evolve it is impractical, therefore, to brand one era of architecture as modern.

The Cathedral Complex is situated outside the main city of Pisa, in the Field of Miracles or Campo dei Miracoli. Approaching from the west, the Baptistery appears first, followed by the Cathedral or Duomo shaped like a cross (cruciform), the Leaning Bell tower or Campanile and the cemetery or Camposanto to the north. The free standing baptistery and campanile are characteristic to Italian structures.

Pisa in the 11th century was a thriving maritime town with a strong navy. Between 1016 and 1062, Pisan navy made several conquests and in 1063, it triumphed over the Saracens at the port of Palermo. It was decided that the spoils of war would be used to construct a monument that would celebrate the glory of God and bring pride to the town. Thus began the construction of the Cathedral.

Cathedral or Duomo  The cathedral seems to closely resemble the Early Christian basilica with its wooden roof, clerestory (above the nave) and columnar arcade but its cruciform design with an apse, crossing dome and arcaded galleries distinguish it as Romanesque.1 Romanesque was the architectural style during 800-1300 AD.  It was characterized by the presence of rounded arches (a design allowing the construction of wide open naves central portion of the church by distributing the load of the ceilings and walls over the arch and down the pillars to the ground), thick walls and blind arcades (range of arches with diamond shaped decorations, carried by columns and piers and attached to a wall).  The striped marble effect of the grey and white stones and the stacked blind faade (open air loggias rooms with one side open to the air stacked on columns of different styles from three to five levels) give it the unique Pisan Romanesque look. 2

In comparison with Speyer Cathedral of Milan and Durham cathedral, Pisas Cathedral has a wooden roof instead of a groin or rib groin vault. (A groin vault is an architectural design allowing the presence of large windows in the nave, a technique mastered by the 11th century masons by using cut stone blocks held together by mortar).2. A similarity shared with the cathedral at Lucca is the faade with its multi storied arcade and marble encrustation.

Campanile or Bell tower  The Pisan Romanesque style is visible at the lower level and arcaded galleries in marble are seen in the upper six levels. The construction started in 1173 and after several delays was completed in 1350 with addition of the belfry.

The lean was discovered during the initial construction and several delays allowed the building to settle and not topple. This lean was due to the clayey nature of the soil and a shallow foundation. Attempts to correct the tilt were made by using larger stones on the south side of the upper three levels in contrast to the north cement injected to the foundation to make it waterproof but they were futile. In 1990, 600 tons of lead was used as counter weight on the northern side which prevented the tower from leaning further. Holes were drilled below the northern side, removing the soil causing the tower to move back to its inclination of 1838.3 The idea is to keep the Pisa leaning safely for the next 200 years.

The repeated theme of stripes of marble and blind arcades especially on the lower part is seen on the Cathedral, Campanile and Baptistery giving the entire complex an architectural coherence. Thus, the cathedral complex continues to bring credit and prosperity to the Pisans even in the 21st century.

The View of the Cathedral Complex, Pisa with the Baptistery in the foreground, followed by the cathedral and Campanile at the back.

The cathedrals faade with its stacked blind arcade

The Campanile or Leaning Tower of Pisa with its six floors of arcaded galleries and belfry at the top.

In Ancient Greece, Iliad is one of the most influential literary masterpiece of Homer and it is one of the pedagogy bases in which is also referred to as the correct use of instructive strategies. Iliad and Odyssey brought Greece out of its Dark Age and when they became famous for about 50 years after its initial release, they became one of the most read pieces in Greeks education. The whole world has seen the success of this one of the earliest and greatest epic poems in the Western world.  There are a lot of issues in studying the Iliad as well as the Odyssey, needless to say that Iliad has influenced a lot of great works including Hollywood films like John Waynes (1956) and Clint Eastwoods Unforgiven (1992). Let us try to look at the similarities of their plots.

The substance of heroism in the plot of both films are well showed. Homecoming, it is much explored in Ancient Greece after the war just like Agamemnon and Atreidae experienced. In The Searchers, the return of Ethan Edwards to his brothers house in Texas when the Comanche came and killed his brother, sister-in-law and nephew and burnt the homestead, his  nieces were kidnapped and with his rage, he began his five-year quest for his niece embarks the start of the movie. That was when Ethans character was shaped. Homecoming is always present in the plots when the protagonist returns home dramatically after a war or after a fight. William Munny of Unforgiven, returned home after he had finished his mission at a town in Wyoming. That was the conclusive part of the film, him returning to the isolated place to seek refuge to everything that he had committed in the past.

In every war or battle, there would always be a side that  claims  the glory of its victory but not for Achilles for he had won so much and being the most skilled warrior in his time. He hadnt feel so much of victory until he returned in the battle. Edwards on the other hand, felt the glory after he had claimed Debbie back and returned her to the civilization although he wanted to kill her when he found out that she had already been influenced with the Comanches ways. For Munny, he claimed back his glory upon letting the townsfolk withdrew the notion about his infamous reputation of killing women and children whenever he was drunk.
According to the Searchers as Odyssey, Fords protagonist, John Waynes Ethan Edwards, is in many ways a typical hero on a standard heroic journey, a mythic formula whose roots go back tot he foundational texts of Western literature Homers eighth century B.C.E. Iliad and Odyssey. It is indeed right for our imagery of a hero in the Ancient times would be seen on a heroic journey showing several traits that will show to where the protagonist is coming from. The European epic tradition continues to shape the ways Americans conceptualize themselves, their history, and above all their ideology, whether by assimilating themselves to or defining themselves against the cultural products of the ancient Mediterranean.

With regard to the protagonists issues for having their decisions formulated, both William Munny and Achilles are self questioning warriors who temporarily reject the culture of violence only to return to it after the death of their closest male friend, in which they are implicated. When Munny found out that Ned, (Morgan Freeman) died, he raged and went to the town to make the people who killed his friend suffer. That was what happened to Achilles upon receiving the news that Patroclus was killed by Hector, whom he unintentionally killed for he had mistaken Patroclus to Achilles.  Then on, Achilles returned to the battle scene, causing the death of Hector.

In Unforgiven, William Munny, during the first part of the movie and up to the last quarter of the film was depicted, lived on the outskirts of the Cheyenne. In his youth, he was a dangerous alcoholic man. He often times were very intoxicated that he would not remember the things that he had done whenever hes sober or simply he just chose not to remember. His reputation made him one of the feared men in the West. But when he met a woman named Claudia, he changed the way he lived and abandoned killing people, they started farming but when his wife died, Munny was left with an unsuccessful together with their two children in poverty. His friend, Ned was his companion throughout his life and he always stood for him. He was deeply troubled about his past and swore that he is not like that anymore. When Munny found out about Neds killings, he fought back with Little Bill. His cowboys, especially his own character, William Munny, are no longer the confident quasi-mechanical killers, unquestioning of their place in (or outside) the  moral  order of the Wild West, so often played by Eastwood in his earlier oeuvre.

Peoples and Eastwoods Unforgiven  belonged to the cultural and ideological tradition that the Iliad has helped to shape, as evidenced by popular culture as well as high art. Eastwood highlights the  an essential function of the WesternEpic itself, namely, reinscription of a set of Westernvalues that rests on a foundation of violence. Moreover, the film exposes-far more self-consciously than the epic does -the process by which unspeakable acts of violence become read, interpreted, and constructed as noble and transcendental in doing so, it calls these values into question, while simultaneously reaffirming their central place in our culture, in particular by bringing issues of revision and reinvention to the fore.

James Clauss (1999) looked at various Greek and roman mythological motifs in The Searchers, including parallels with the Homericepics Martin Winkler demonstrated a connection between The Searchers and both Greek tragedy and the Iliad, articulating, in particular, similarities between Ethan and Achilles (2001 and 2004). Wayne. Arthur Eckstein demonstrates that the protagonist is a darker and more complex character in Ford s film than in either LeMay s novel or Frank nugent s original screenplay.12 By darkening his protagonist and employing tropes rooted in the ancient mythological tradition, Ford creates an enigmatic hero who demonstrates a close kinship with Homer s Odyssey. Ethan Edwards was isolated by the violent individualism which defines his heroic status and torn by the neurotic split inherent in the archetype. Edwards belonged to neither civilized community nor with the savages, he fought for the behalf of his country. Odysseus. not only does ethan reflect Odysseus s distinctive brand of heroism, he also exhibits two particularly Odyssean traits that complicate his position as hero he is a wanderer who longs to be rooted in the community but is effectively estranged, and he demonstrates a moral ambiguity equally appropriate to a trickster or villain. This ambiguous heroism is well suited to the exploration of racial tensions with which Ford concerns himself in The Searchers.

In both Iliad and The Searchers, both protagonists demonstrate an ideal relationship to language. Ethan, on the contrary, is laconic. surface, these traits are contradictory, they represent analogous ideals for Greek and Western cultures respectively Greek society valued a balance between words and action, while a dedication to action and an aversion to long speeches is typical of Western heroes.

The protagonists also shared the same love secrecy just like Ethan who was in love with his brothers wife, Martha, that only thru some of their gestures were predictable for the state that the main character would show. On the other hand, the love interest of Achilles was Briseis, although she was the cousin of Hector, it didnt matter to Achilles but they needed to hide it when the Trojan War begun.

In the reading After the Rescue The Searchers, the Audience and Prime Cut (1972), it was indeed John Waynes greatest and grimmest role. Ethan Edward did allow Debbie to live, in the penultimate moment of the film and he returns her to civilization. However, John Ford nevertheless punishes Edwards for his feelings and conduct that in the final scene, he refused to allow Edwards to come inside the house that symbolizes civilization and human community, although all the other characters enter it. Instead, Edwards is shown in shadow, from inside the house. Standing alone in the doorway then he returns and wanders out into the dust. They also questioned about what happened to Debbie after she had been restored to civilization and after the last scene, was she ever been forgiven after the said rescue Just like in Iliad, Achilles was also punished for his actions because he had been too proud of his skill and showed no mercy to his enemies (aside from King Priam).

The women in all three stories, played a meaningful part in molding the heroes characters. Martha, was a love interest of Ethan in The Searchers, his unfulfilled love for her, it also conveys this attachment through some gestures in the early scenes by being alone in the screen and thinking seriously. In Iliad, Briseis and Helens characters were sort of similar to what happened to Debbie, all were captured and were needed to be rescued by the heroes. Unlike Debbie, Briseis and Helen were the love interests of Achilles and Paris. Helen somehow started the so called Trojan War if she didnt ran away with Paris. Achilles was not going to get killed (but the gods have already written it) if he didnt return for Briseis. In Unforgiven, William Munnys wife, Claudia, helped Munny to be a better man as well.

In The Seductive and Subversive Meta-Narrative of Unforgiven, Joseph H. Kupfer, the traditional Western justifies violence thematically and tructurally, thematically, the heroic gunman defends society or makes it possible against lawlessness. The structure of the Western The structure of the Western narrative is determined by violence as well. The irreducible core of the Western story-line is to provide a rationalizing framework which will explain and perhaps justify a spectacular act of violence  HYPERLINK httpmuse.jhu.edujournalsjournal_of_film_and_videov06060.3-4.kupfer.html(Buscombe 233). Structured around violence, the action is consummated in the climactic shootout. Armando Prats sees the shootout as the mythical culmination of all that has preceded it.
 
William Munny and Ethan Edwards are not heroic but Ranse Stoddard, the protagonist in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance for he stood up to Liberty Valance twice and he later became a distinguihed governor and senator who wins statehood for the territory. Even when John Ford used Jouhn Waynes iconic status as a cowboy, in the self-consciously seductive manner. Clint Eastwoods cinematic persona is used by his film to provoke us to self-questioning by implicating us in the attraction of violence glorified in the legends of the West. The film also inverts the standard elements of the Western. The demand for justice that initiates the plot comes from a group that is marginalized in the classic Western prostitutes. Because the plot motivation stems from these traditionally subordinate and exploited women, the entire story feels tilted, off-center.

According to Kirsten Days  The Searchers  as Western Odyssey
Ethan Edwards heroism, too, is questionable. not only does he threaten
the integrity of his brother s home with the illicit love he feels for Martha
which she apparently returns25 he is also repeatedly suspected of criminal behavior. When he refuses to let Captain Clayton (Ward Bond) swear him
in as a deputy, Clayton asks suspiciously  you wanted for a crime, Ethan
Later, Clayton asks Ethan for his gun and initiates an arrest for murder, again
characterizing Ethan as an outlaw. Clayton also works as a foil for Ethan
in much the same way Achilles does for Odysseus former comrades-in-
arms, Clayton now serves as the religious and military leader of the white
settlers, while Ethan stands stubbornly outside the community s religious
and administrative framework. additionally, Ford situates Ethan as a villain.

Revisionist, alternative Westerns cut the larger-than-life classic Western down to size. Sometimes these films take a pessimistic view of society and the place of violence within it. Sometimes they debunk particular elements of the Western such as the noble motives of the hero. For instance, Sergio Leones so-called spaghetti Westerns attacked th tradition by undermining normative motives of western heroes HYPERLINK httpmuse.jhu.edujournalsjournal_of_film_and_videov06060.3-4.kupfer.html (Slotkin 629)
 HYPERLINK httpmuse.jhu.edujournalsjournal_of_film_and_videov06060.3-4.kupfer.htmlBoth Unwanted and The Searchers were critically acclaimed films in the 20th Century, almost all their similarities with Iliad are inevitable, it just lead to a conclusion that people in different times views society in the same manner and they just have different settings and instances. Be it Iliads Achilles, The Searchers Ethan Edwards and Unforgivens William Munny, all of them had the same calling which was to protect the people that they needed to.

Charlie Chaplin is undoubtedly one of the few film stars to have attained iconic status, at times even bordering on kitsch, in the last century. Many people the world over have come to know of his trademark attire and walk, and whose work we can trace to that of current comics like Steve Martin and Rowan Atkinson of the Mr. Bean fame. But his pioneering work is not just entertainment but, at most part, a radical and subversive commentary on the social atmosphere during the first half of the 19th century when he rose to fame. In a research done by Harry Grace, he concludes that each of Chaplins significant works reflect particular important American eras the issue of immigration and assimilation as portrayed in The Immigrant the conflict between labor and the police in City Lights and the misuse of political power in The Great Dictator (1952). But most relevant to this discourse is Chaplins Modern Times (1936), a film that echoes mans struggle to break free from a world consumed by technocracy. It is essentially a criticism of the industrial age wherein a machine aesthetic, a preference for appearance than being, is followed. And it is this film that erases all doubts that Chaplin is one of the greatest modernist thinkers of all time, following in the ranks of James Joyce and D.H. Lawrence.

Modern Times, Chaplins last silent film in an era of growing fascination for the talkies, begins with Charlie
Chaplins film person, Little Tramp, working in a factory as a cog-turner. The factory works successfully with the precise movements of the employees along an assembly line of machine parts. The Tramp, used to the mechanical movements of attaching nuts and bolts, disrupts the order inside the factory when he cannot stop his actions, much to the chagrin of a female employee who finds Tramp repeating the action on her backside. He is rushed to a psychiatric hospital to cure his nervous breakdown. After a stint in the hospital, Tramp finds himself alone, scared and unemployed. Outside, he is mistaken for a Communist leader and sent to jail but he comes to see the comfort of prison compared to the realities of the outside world, when he is released on pardon. He eventually meets a young gamin (Paulette Goddard) who he will come to be attached to for the rest of the film. Both of them try to struggle in the midst of the growing mayhem of unemployment and hunger as seen in Depression-era America. They dream of creating a home and settling down with good jobs. But, in the final, legendary scene of the film, after officers try to take the young gamin away, they run away, turning their backs on a society that exploits and undermines. The gamin asks, as they face the endless horizon, Whats the use of trying. The Tramp answers, Buck up  never say die. Well get along (Dirks c 2009).

For most, this film would seem but an unfortunate love story between the Tramp and the young gamin. A noted film historian, Roger Manvell, even said that Though highly entertaining, Modern Times had little social comment and no political party implications whatsoever (Stewart 296). But many critics and modernist authorities believe that this episodic comedy is deeply-rooted in industrial satire and the metaphorical representation of Depression-era society. One such critic is Garrett Stewart, who authored Modern Hard Times Chaplin and the Cinema of Self-Reflection, a significant discussion on the modernist work of Chaplin. He discusses Chaplins seminal work on two parts the films apparent modernist, anti-machine leanings, and its criticism of the talking films that invariably took over silent film.

In the article, Stewart discusses the apparent industrial themes of the film. Drawing inspiration from the superimposed clock seen in the opening credits, Stewart describes the film as containing four segments  the scene set by the factory, prison, department store, and dance hall interiors  are like the quadrants of a clockface, determined by the same circumference of technique, always within the radius of a central theme (298). Stewart states that the film circles around the imposition of order and repetition in a world surrounded by mayhem and discord. And he finds that Chaplins genius lies in how he interconnects scenes throughout his film to reflect this central theme. The first factory scene, where the Tramp acts in synchronicity with the rest of the assembly line, is actually mimicked by the final scenes mechanical motions, as observed by Stewart the dances own potential grace of movement...is parodied as the entrapping monomaniacal whirling of a repetitive ... that takes us directly back...to the opening factory sequence (299). And it is this exact mechanical motion that, for Stewart, pushes the plot of the film. When the mechanical rhythm (297) engulfs the Tramps being, he is pushed over the edge there is no stoppage of the machinery in his own nervous brain (297).

Stewart also sees Chaplins work as a satire of the change happening in the film industry as well. His last two silent fims, Modern Times and City Lights (1931), jump out against the backdrop of the popularization of talking films. Chaplin was a great revolutionary for the silent film and the serene, emotive artistry that belies it, which was why the little use of ambient sound and dialogue that he uses on the film (sounds of machinery, the manager yelling on the radio) show the intrusive capacity of sound as it became a representation of industrial progress and the evils that it brings (303). And in one final attempt to disparage sound, we, for the first time, hear the Tramp sing, though in words that no one can understand, a last and brave volley against the...reduced circumstances of the talking picture (313) And we realize that what hear should be equal hogwash and hilarity to all (313).

When Stewart focuses on the heavy silence that Chaplin brings on screen, critic Susan McCabe focuses on the characteristic gait that Chaplin adopts on all his films. For McCabe, this awkward broken bearing is symptomatic of modernisms resistance of the monotonous, of the static (70). Frank D. McConell, modernist critic, reaffirms this by saying of Chaplins physical comedy it shows that struggle of the human to show itself within the mechanical (Stewart 297). McCabe also describes it in relation to the works of modernist poet Gertrude Stein, who has come to see Chaplin as a great inspiration to her art because his disjointed disarray exemplifies her belief of modernism. Stein, as McCabe mentions, roots her conception of hysteria to that of Chaplins gestural slapstick, a mechanical, circumambulatory movement that converges with modern comedy (57). And people find this awkwardness laughable, Henri Bergson in Stewarts treatise says, because we suddenly see the body as an exact proportion of a mere machine (298). In this, McCabe reiterates Stewarts view of the Tramps hysteria in Modern Times a mental reaction of resistance to the automotive lifestyle promoted by industrial living.

Kenneth S. Calhoon, on the other hand, find different meanings in the way Chaplin portrayed the character of Tramp, particularly in his film The Great Dictator wherein the Tramp alludes to the persona of Hitler. Calhoon understood that Chaplin belonged to a modernism that despises mechanism as disguised by culture, but when Chaplin begins to disguise himself, thereby imitate another person, he, as Calhoon quotes Bergson, brings out the element of automatism he has allowed to creep into his person (388). But this automatism serves then as a visual commentary on the person satirized. For Calhoon, Chaplins Hitler becomes just a mechanical puppet, an empty amalgam of rage, cruelty, sentimentality, and mustache (389). Much like the processes expected of Modernism, Chaplins Hitler becomes devoid of any inherent meaning and continues to become an empty shell that simply symbolizes societys great fear and disgust of unreasonable political authority and power. In essence, Chaplins comedy becomes a means to expose the imperfectly assimilated, consigning them to an overtly mimetic, theatrical existence.

Overall, these three critics drew from the silent script of Chaplins films, its innovative use of gestures and the subversive quality of its text to understand how industrialization and the rise of machines shaped an era. We saw how Chaplins persona, the film representation of the Everyman, wrangle through the machinations of a society bent on control. We saw how his balletic, yet awkward, movements become representative of a broken society. And we saw how he struggled to assert cinematic silence to maintain the beauty and serenity of film. Though these three critics tackle the different aspects of Chaplins arthis appreciation of silence, his physical comedy, and his onscreen personificationsthey all, like Modern Times, find grounding on a terribly simple ideology  the humanity cannot be lost in the turning of the loud turning of the cogs.

Art.  It is one of the purest and most significant forms of human communication. Where language often fails us, art can cross divides we sometimes erect due to differences in race, ethnicity, religion and culture.  Specifically, Islamic art, perhaps more than any other, presents a beautiful mirror of a culture and its world view. More than being just representative of a singular religion (as is often the case with Christian art), Islamic art deepens understanding about Muslim culture, at large. It is for this reason that Islamic art should not only be tolerated when found in a Western domicile, it should be encouraged and celebrated as a mechanism through which the West can build a new respectful, productive and healing relationship with Islam and its devotees.

We are all painfully aware that, On September 11, 2001, the West was devastated by a series of coordinated suicide terrorist attacks organized by an Islamist fundamentalist group known as Al-Qaida.

After getting over the initial shock, pain and horror of this harrowing event in human history, the West was left with one profound sentiment  absolute confusion.  We, in the West, were faced with the stark realization that we simply had very little understanding, not only of the motivation for the terrorist attacks, but also of Islamic belief systems and principles, in general.  And, it is not a criticism, but simply an observation to note that the profoundly individualist mindset of the West, particularly America, had left us very isolated and without a developed understanding of global philosophical, religious and cultural doctrines which differ from ours.

It is now almost a decade after the horror of September 11, 2001, and although the West is still very insulated and lacks the full understanding of Islam which is so critical to securing a more peaceful global environment, we have made significant strides. The attack was not only a source of great suffering in the West, but also a wake up call to remind us of our insularity and the fact that there is a huge global community out there of which we are only one small part.  And, Islamic art and artists have made a huge contribution to furthering the understanding of Islamic culture and religion.

Some may view bringing Islamic art into ones home as inviting argument and conflict.  Narrow-minded people may view Islamic art as the creative product of an enemy of the West. However, more and more Westerners are coming to the understanding that Islam is not the Wests foe, but rather a potential partner and friend.  And, Islamic art has been a powerful tool in aiding the West to come to this conclusion. Through creative expression of many varieties (i.e. photography, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, fashion, etc.), Westerners are beginning to learn, not only about the Islamic beliefs which may differ from many of our own, but also about the areas where we have something in common with Islam.

There are so many types of contemporary Islamic art and ways to incorporate it in to a Western home.  Of course, the immediate thought one has when the word art is mentioned, is probably visual art.  Painters like Ali Omar Ermes, an Islamic artist based in the United Kingdom, introduce Western eyes to the beauty of Arabic lettering. Ermes work is significant in its exploration of the beauty of the written word and symbol. Writing, in the Islamic tradition, is highly regarded for its aesthetic beauty, and often utilized in architecture for its decorative effects, in addition to its simple meaning.  You may notice the lack of human and animal figures in Islamic art and its corresponding emphasis on lettering, geometric arabesque, floral and calligraphic representation.  This is no accident. It is due to the strict ruling against such representation (animal and human), in order to discourage idol worship. But, whatever the reason, the result is an elevated respect for written language and symbols  a lesson about the art of communication which Western appreciators of art may benefit from profoundly.

Another noteworthy artist who is drawing on traditional Islamic influences is Dubai-based talent, Noura Sadaka.  Sadaka paints, draws and creates unique wooden and metal sculptures through which she tries to communicate the many ambiguities and struggles of being a woman caught between both Western and Islamic identities. Noura is typical of many contemporary Arabic and Islamic artists in this way. So many Islamic creators have used their art to communicate a more balanced, harmonious world view which incorporates so many disparate, and seemingly opposing, elements. Through the work of artists like Sadaka, we not only see the tradition of Islam, we also see the ways in which many of the Islamic community feel great ties, love and respect for their peers in the West. Contrary to initial beliefs about Islam being the Wests enemy, such artists bring to light a much more complex and subtle truth about the relationship between Islamic peoples and their Western brethren.

Visual art is definitely not the only way to bring Islamic creativity into ones abode.  We may not normally think of magazines, television and the internet as sources of fine art  so often it is full of mindless content that could not be qualified as creative, by any stretch of the imagination. However, television shows like PBSs ART21, magazines like Brown Book and a variety of modern websites are exposing the West to Islamic artists whose work not only delights the senses, it also educates and helps expound understanding. Even the HBO series, Def Poetry Jam, did much to change stereotypes of Islam, by showcasing young, Islamic slam poets, especially in the early 2000s, the critical years which followed the terrorist attacks in New York.
It is clear that Islamic art has an essential function in furthering human understanding and connection.  It is a bridge to create a dialogue when the traditional means are inadequate to express the subtle complexity of thoughts, emotions and ideas which drive us. Through exploring the meaning and the essence of things beyond their physical form, through a brilliant use of color and balance and through the repetitious use of patterns and symbols, Islamic artists communicate sometimes unique, sometimes universal ideas about the spiritual questions with which all human beings grapple, regardless of their particular faith. For these reasons and more, Islamic art can hold a vital place in the context of a Western home  expanding dialogue and understanding and, ultimately, promoting more peace and tolerance globally.

The two artists papers that I read were Robert Barry, Untitled Statement in Germano Celant, Art Povera (1969) and Gordon Matta-Clark, Gordon Matta-Clark A Retrospective (1982) by Susan Rothenberg. The two artists related to each other in exploring the different possibilities of art form for producing information within a person. In Robert Barry, he explored technology for transmitting energy waves and sound. Matta-Clark experimented, pushing art and expression to its boundaries with the splitting of a house.

Robert Barrys analysis and use of the wave pieces in his own art work, he felt helped people to know that these technologies and transmission of information exists. Barry says that, by just being in this show, Im making known the existence of the work. The concept of art is to transmit and communicate to the person viewing it. Barrys description of the use of the art space to communicate is important because he is giving people an experience to identify with a piece in their own way. Perhaps the use of technology enhances that for them.

My favorite quote from Barry is, As with any art, an interested person reacts in a personal way based on his own experience and imagination. Obviously, I cant control that. The reason why I view this as important is because the artist loses the doubt inside them and instead focuses on communicating the piece. The information is portrayed however the person needs to see it at the time. It is possible that the many people who see the art can portray it on various levels throughout viewing it over time. The use of technology that Barry desires to use may enhance the experience for the viewers. Barry thinks outside the box and incorporated different avenues of communication into his works.

In Matta-Clarks split house, I believe that the main point was the fine line between the solid structure of a house and the fragility of the earth it sits on. In Rothenbergs description of it she says, Being in that house made you feel like you were entering another state. Schizophrenia, the earths fragility, and full of wonder. It was so subtle at every level  the way a crack fell through a door molding, through the stairs. The work of Gordon touched upon senses in different ways and left a viewer feeling real emotion. At least was the observation from Rothenberg. The main point that Gordon was intending to make is that art can touch a person on so many levels. In Rothenberg, it hit her emotionally and speculatively. In her write-up about her time there, she said to feel uncomfortable. It seems that her natural way of viewing the house splitting piece would be at her level where, there was no home here. The transmission of communication can be taken by each person on their own level of understanding at the time. Gordon may have simply wanted to show the house as being a house. The viewer, as in Rothenbergs case, took a more complex meaning to the piece based on her life experience at the time.

My favorite quote by Rothenberg on the house split piece is, It showed more about volume than any Minimalist work  it had psychological and formal punch. This is my favorite quote in the entire passage because it shows the ability of the art form to transmit information to the subconscious through a piece. Since the subconscious takes things personally, it will always relate something to the person that is viewing it. The art form transmits what the writer wants to invoke in the person in different ways. Whether the artist has control over the feeling may not be true as in Barrys statement, but the ability remains that communication is occurring whenever the viewer sees the piece.

The comparison between these two passages is that each was speaking about communicating to the viewers. Barry communicated through the use of technology in his art piece. He focused on the space and energy that was available to be transmitted. Matta-Clark used the one of the necessities in human life, a shelter. His splitting of the shelter revealed the inside of the structure. Both of the artists also talked about participation in the piece. The participation within Barrys art piece has to do with senses of the radiation and microwaves. The participation of Matta-Clarks piece was sensory, using emotions and feeling.

In my own art pieces, I sometimes get into my head too much. The communication process becomes fuzzy and I care more about pleasing the person on the viewing end. Instead, as in the case of Barry and Matta-Clark, I am learning to let go and trust the communication process. I follow where things interest me, as in the exploration of different forms and structures seen in the two artists examples. I still have to learn to let go completely but I am getting there.

Arts Education includes four separate and distinct disciplines dance, music, theatre arts and visual arts - each with its own body of knowledge and skills. The intent of the National Standards for Arts Education along with the standard courses of study in dance, music, theatre arts and visual arts is that a comprehensive understanding of one or more of the arts be accomplished by each student throughout the K-12 program. Arts education benefits both student and society. Involving the whole child in the arts gradually teaches many types of literacy while developing intuition, sensitivity, reasoning, imagination, and dexterity. Arts education helps students perceive and think in new ways. The arts also help provide and extend meaning (NCSCS, 2000). Learning in the arts nurtures active engagement, disciplined and sustained attention, persistence, and risk-taking. Arts education also increases attendance and educational aspirations as mentioned from the article of Helga Fasciano.

Unfortunately, nowadays, some disregard the importance of art education. Several studies conducted worldwide to prove the significance of art education. When two researchers published a study a few years ago concluding that arts classes do not improve students  overall academic performance, the backlash was bitter. Some scholars argued that the 2000 study s authors, Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland of Project Zero, an arts-education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education had failed to mention some beneficial effects of arts classes that their research had revealed. Others cited findings that reached the opposite conclusion, indicating that students who take high-quality art classes indeed do better in other courses. Some even accused the authors of devaluing arts education and the arts in general.

Nevertheless, art education is important in every institution. It helps us reconnect from our past to nurture our future.