Art

Based on a multitude of perspectives which communicate on a less than elitist level, the postmodern artists of the 1970s and 1980s focused on the negative side of the postmodern world through new forms of expression. One such artist is the social critic Barbara Kruger, a postmodern artist who addresses issues on sexual politics, feminism, consumerism, money, and power in mainstream magazines.

Using language as her number one weapon, Barbara Kruger uses her professional background in poetry and magazine design to further propagate her control of the mass media.
The deceptively simple format of Krugers signature work   black and white photographic images slashed with Futura Bold phrases on rectangles of red   belies her nuanced message of social power struggles, feminism, and consumerism.  (Keehn, 2010)

Working on photographic silkscreen and vinyl in a variety of large sizes, 143 by 103 or 82 by 123, the red lettering that also surrounds her pictures have a unique and original way of saying it as it is to the general public.  Her  art works authentically have no power without the boldness of her worlds,  Itss a small world but not if you have to clean it up, Not ugly enough, or Your body is a battleground.  The later image was used on a poster for protestors demonstrating the social issue of Where is the boundard between inside and outside, private and public, and who will control it which involved the Roe v Wade verdict. To further demonstrate her viewpoint, she placed the same poster on a billboard next to a pro-life organization.

Even as the current state of civilization boasts of its high levels of science and arts, it cannot deny the fact that a relentless endeavor of the humans through centuries to refine their thinking and ability has done all the spadework. This fact is corroborated by the evidences of numerous experiments in the fields of science and arts, where some humans stand larger than life in the pages of history by virtue of their colossal contribution to the development of the same. However, out of this group of talented humans, very few eventually achieve the status of a legend by showing extraordinary insight, vision and application. Perhaps at this point anyone would first recall the name Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), the multitalented human being who was the live wire of renaissance period and is considered as the unending source of inspiration to anyone who wants to unearth a dream in the sphere of science and arts. This study too seeks inspiration from this great legend by exploring some nuances of his paintings that are correlated with his life-events, and by guessing what he intended to communicate with fellow human beings.

Leonardos Artistic Intentions
It might occur to someone that painter Leonardo was someone obsessed with perfection and his penchant to depict reality in a best possible manner drove him to include even the minutest details available in a subject. Researchers, however, hold a completely different view, and suggest that Leonardo purposefully wanted to align art with science and vice versa. According to Vasari (Mena, 2004) Leonardo practiced not only a branch of art, but also studied virtually anything in which drawing plays a part. Modern researchers have already substantiated Vasaris observation by detecting quite a few codes positioned in Leonardos paintings and deciphering his intentions behind incorporating such codes.

Some of such findings provide startling revelations about how Leonardo applied all his knowledge and vision in the making of his painting to connect with future generations by presenting
The problems civilization faced in his times, such as the diseases or lack of tools to improve life conditions.

The clues towards developing the civilization, such as the devices that could improve life conditions.

Analysis of Mona Lisa
A classic example of the first point mentioned above can be drawn from Oses (60) research, who clinically observed some details in Mona Lisa and categorically explained the them to substantiate how Leonardo aligned both science and art in his paintings with an intention to create more developmental solutions for society in any direction.

Ose (60) underpins that
There is a yellow, irregular, and leather-like spot at the inner end of the left eye lid of Mona Lisa (Figure 1)

There is a soft, bumpy, well-defined swelling on the dorsum of the right hand, below he index finger, which is about 3 cm long (Figure 2)

Ose (60) claims that the yellow, leather-like spot at the inner end of the left eye carries the symptom of xanthelasma, a skin lesion found in people suffering from inherited type of hyperlipidemia, while the bumpy, well-defined swelling on the dorsum of the right hand of Mona Lisa corroborates the existence of xanthelasma, since tumors on such regions are commonplace in the case of xanthelasma.

Figure 1  2
Ose (61) substantiates the validity of his argument by citing medical evidences that the occurrence of xanthelasma lipoma in a woman of 25-30 years is not coincidental, especially considering the fact that the model of Mona Lisa, Maria de Gherardini died at the age of 37, where xanthelasma may have a role in it (60) by virtue of its characteristics.

From this perspective one may conclude that Leonardo perhaps wanted to depict the occurrence of familial hypercholesteromia (FH) in his painting of Mona Lisa as a query to the posterity for its solution. Eventually scientists like Muller (675-700) and Akira Endo (1569-82) defined the disease.
Mona Lisa had been a part of Leonardos life. He took four years  (1503-1507) to create this oil portrait on Poplar wood that featured a middle class housewife, but it was never finished for him, as he kept on adding touches to this painting for the last 12 years of his life. He made this portrait his travel companion too. Basically this portrait contains a package of visual effects comprising of overflowing and unstable background scenery, erotic stance of a woman with loose hair and no adornment, a mystic smile of the woman, and a pair of eyes that appear as if following the viewers, thanks to the optical technique employed by Leonardo.

Another element that is conspicuous in its absence is the stamp of time there is no element that can be identified in plain eyes as the period element, like clothes or hairstyle, or even the wedding ring of the period. Perhaps, Leonardo chose to pack the period detail in those symptoms of xanthelasma
However, this prized possession of the Louvre museum (painting no. 779), which attracts 8 million visitors per year, does contain typical Da Vincian enigma. If someone overlaps this portrait with the self-portrait of Da Vinci, one would find an absolute similarity between the smiling lips of Mona Lisa and Leonardo (Figure 3), save the unknown x-factor, the intrinsic effect of which can be realized but cannot be explained. All these elements are still intact in the portrait, even after shuttling from place to place for umpteenth times, adorning royal bathrooms to bedrooms, before making its way to Louvre Museum.

Figure 3
From a technical angle too, Mona Lisa commands a review as the researcher have underpinned the application of T-Junctions and chiaroscuro technique in it, where the former was used to determine the relative depth when one object is closer than another object and occludes parts of the farther object (Howard and Rogers, 2002), while the later, a fine technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation, was used to create a percept of a 3D shape in the subject. Together these techniques have successfully created the impression of a background at a greater distance (Grossberg 476). It would be Leonardoesque to conclude the discussion on Mona Lisa with two more startling facts.

Anagramming the letters in Mona Lisa one would fetch a set of words like Mon Salai, which means My Salai, which can be linked to Salaimon, who was Leonardos disciple-cum-lover of 25 years
The portrait of Salai closely resembles with Mona Lisa (Parsons, 2006).

Enigmatic Last Supper
There is no dearth of codes in his Last Supper painting too, which he created between 1495-1498 under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza. The theme contains the moment when Jesus Christ was about to reveal the fact to his disciples regarding the impending betrayal of one of his followers that would lead to his execution. From the perspective of painting technique this portrait contains an improvised method of tempera painting as well as T-junction and optical viewing technique.
However, a closer inspection would fetch startling details that are linked with myth, speculation and foreshadow of an event, which were created by deliberate incorporation and elimination of certain elements.

The absence of the halo around Christs head and the chalice (used to drink the blood of Christ and is known as the Holy Grail) that are synonymous with the tale of last supper would raise the questions in the mind of the viewers. Alongside, the depiction of St Peter in a womanly figure, the intimate positioning of St Peter with Christ, and a large gap shaped as a V on Jesus right hand side between himself and the feminine figure, all would also raise questions in the minds of the viewers.

Some researchers have found a correlation between Leonardos version of Last Supper and the second version of the Biblical event that believed Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus.

If that is not enough, one could check the placements of the loafs in the painting and imagine a dotted existence of them to discover that each loaf of bread in the picture actually represents a musical note and culminate into a musical composition, and that too to the tune of a 40-second requiem (Figure 4) (Crystalinks, 2010)  

Figure 4
Shaping Intrinsic Desires
From another angle it can be said that Leonardo wanted to shape the intrinsic desires of humans, such as to enhance their ability and to posses more power and control. The research of Wade et al. (231) can be cited in favor of the above proposition. According to Wade et al., Leonardo wanted to eliminate the differences between the perception of a scene and its interpretation on canvas, i.e. producing an equivalent configuration through painting. This dream of his was so advanced from his time that it took another 300 years after his death to become a reality with Wheatstones stereoscope. The researchers also cite Leonardos own explanation from his Treatise of Painting in support of their claim.

A painting, though conducted with the greatest art and finished to the last perfections, both with regard to its contours, its lights, its shadows and its colors, can never show a Relievo equal to that of normal objects, unless these be viewed at a distance and with a single eye (178).

Critics and Leonardo
Though he was charged with homosexuality, even his early biographers considered him as a man of high integrity and sensitive to moral issues. His first known biographer was Giorgion Vasari, who published Vite de piu eccelenti architettori, pittori e scultori italiani (The lives of the most excellent Italian architects, painters and sculptors) in 1550. Vasari collected many first-hand accounts from Leonardos contemporaries and he took no time to be fascinated by the genius of Leonardo. It was mainly Vasaris focus on the multifarious activities that gradually overpowered the raunchy stories about Leonardos homosexual escapades that took wings all across Latin America (Crystalinks, 2010).
While there can be no denying to the fact that the knowledge development has helped humans to realize the multidimensional appeal of Leonardos artworks, it also appears true that 20th century critics in all probability suffered from a dilemma regarding how to evaluate all areas of Leonardos activities at a go, without having specialization on the subjects he worked on. Thus art historians like Gombrich hesitated to judge Leonardos scientific explorations, while science historians too fell short to evaluate his art. Freud investigated Leonardos psyche like a detective and focused more on the narcissistic traits of Leonardo (Farago 16), while suggesting that Leonardo was a kind of magician who investigated virtually every branch of natural science (Carrier 36).

However, Leonardo too received his share of negative criticism, where Valery pointed at the disorganized state of Leonardos notes while suggesting that Leonardo cannot be taken seriously as a guiding philosopher, or for that matter, Maelsaeke found a fair amount of destructive qualities Leonardos natural philosophy. However, most of the critics talked about the high volume of his unfinished works, and his little output in the sphere of painting (Trudeau, 2006). His conflict with his patron Sforza regarding the delay in completing the Last Supper too was put forth as a proof of his nature to procrastinate over a task. However, it is also difficult to reason how the critics estimated Leonardo by virtue of his finished outputs, ignoring the potential of the huge amount futuristic clues he left in his unfinished works.

Modern researchers accommodate the fact that Leonardo was deprived of the appropriate facilities to manifest his talent and to carry forward most of his researches and experiments. From this perspective they find his art and scientific investigations as intrinsically fascinating, which also evoke their interest to know how his fascination with the relationship of art and science can contribute to their present understanding (Carrier 38).

Final Reflection
It is impossible to be content by discussing only the painting acumen of a man who made substantial contributions in the domains of physics, mechanics, optics, perspective and medicine. And if one considers the possible social barrier he faced for being an illegitimate child, one would realize the magnitude of his achievement. He even spent two months in jail under the charge of sodomy.
Unfortunately, in spite of being an unparallel genius and a fighter, he was initially labeled as an artist-engineer who could not finish most of the works he undertook. Arguably, the greatest genius of the civilization till date, Leonardo had collected his sparks mainly from three sources, such as classical and medieval elements, traditional artist-engineers of Brunelleschi, and contemporary artist-engineers such as Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Veltman 386).

In the process Leonardo stood out from all other talented individuals of his time mostly because of two reasons  one, he developed a systematic method in his drawing of both the natural and man-made world, and two, he methodically approached the world of science, where he focused more on the underlying mechanical and physical principles of the machines, instead of focusing on how the machines operate. The potential of such a visionary approach was amply reflected three centuries later, when Reuleaux created a catalogue of various types of machines and found that Leonardo had already thought about 21 of 23 machines that featured in the catalogue (Reti 88).

Leonardos achievements can be a lifetime source of inspiration to anyone who wants to probe and define anything with an open mind that accommodates and utilizes the relationships among all elements. It was that modest, simple vegetarian who suggested the posterity to tap the immense potential in each of them, besides cautioning them that inaction saps the vigor of mind, and One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself (Da Vinci, 2010). Therefore, this archetypal Renaissance Man and the indefatigable lighthouse of human civilization is very much among us, ready to guide anyone who has the spirit to leave a mark of achievement on earth.

Some may wonder how films such as REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, PILLOW TALK, and FAR FROM HEAVEN may yield an insight into the Cold War. The fact of the matter is that the impact of the Cold War was so dramatic and drastic that the effects of the war impacted all facets of life. As such, this impact is apparent in the film, television, and art of the era. A closer examination of such works reveals how the specter of the Cold War is weaved into landscape of such artistic mediums.
In the early 1950s, America was reeling in the glow of the destructive power of the atomic bomb. People were well aware of how much destructive power the atomic bomb could cause since its impact was visible in the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the aftermath of the war, the dissolution of the alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union led to a standoff known as the Cold War. One of the main reasons the war was cold was due to the fear of a potential dual nuclear exchange. Basically, fear of mutual annihilation led to both a fear of the events as well as a desire to forget about the events.

The world of a television program such as OZZIE AND HARRIET can be considered an attempt to forget about the Cold War by dealing with simplistic problems and situations. That does not mean the legendary program was without merit. It was an excellent program that provided many sentimental morality lessons that provided quality family entertainment. However, the iconic imagery of the Cold War was nowhere to be seen even though fear of nuclear annihilation incredibly strong at the time.
Similarly, one could look at the painting of Norman Rockwell as another example of the creation of an idyllic image. Rockwells paintings and art created an idyllic image of American culture that was somewhat idealized. In many ways, the work of Rockwell and OZZIE AND HARRIET provided an escapism the nation yearned for. With the launch of the Soviet Satellite Sputnick in 1957, fear of a nuclear attack was extremely heightened since the satellite brought with it the potential for unexpected nuclear attacks from space. This led to a level of paranoia that would take popular culture and film into a more rebellious realm.

So, it should come as no surprise that one of the most popular films of the era was REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Such a film was a radical departure from the more idyllic sentiments visible in other works of the era. The film was released in the mid-1950s and predated the launch of Sputnik by two years, but it did represent the tone of anxiety that was heavily developing in the United States at the time. The chicken run race sequence in the film typifies this because it shows a sense of danger and recklessness that might not have been commonplace in the earlier part of the decade. Such a scene truly shows the change in sentiments of audiences as the image of the potential for a third world war was very real.

Some could even argue that the experimental artwork of Jackson Pollock displays the extreme paranoia some felt towards a nuclear war. Highly erratic and almost chaotic, Pollocks art was far removed from the work of Rockwell. Again, the image of the Cold War was altering the complacency and normalcy American life was commonly accustomed to.

But, did society ever reach the point where enough was enough with the fear of the Cold War By the late 1950s, fear was giving way to escapism. We see this in the classic bedroom farce PILLOW TALK. The silly  and humorous  scene where Brad uses a phony Texas accent to pick up on Jan can be seen as symbolic of the nation seeking to hide behind a different persona. The world is too bleak and bleary in its real state. So, the populace seeks to venture into escapism to avoid the potential horrors the Cold War yields. Such a head-in-the-sand approach does nothing to stop or curtail the Cold War but it provides a sense of escapist comfort. Considering that nothing could be done during the late 1950s to stop worsening military tensions, escapism and hiding could prove to be the only strategy the populace could employ for self-protection.

While made in 2002, but set in the 1950s, FAR FROM HOME also contains such similar imagery of hiding who you are. The scene where the wife walks in on her husband kissing another man could have various Cold War era symbolism. It could, for example, be indicative of McCarthyism with hiding homosexuality being symbolic of hiding communist ties. It could also entail the paranoid fear of being outed with the paranoid fear of being attacked by nuclear strikes. Ultimately, the scene betrays the image of paranoia that the later 1950s had become known for.

This is not to say that the era would be completely defined by either escapism or rebellion or paranoia. But, it would be safe to conclude that the Cold War was the even that completely defined the 1950s. As such, the permeation of imagery and themes form the Cold War envelope many different components of popular culture at the time. Again, this should not prove surprising since fear of the impact of the Cold War turning into an actual third world war truly did grip the nation in tremendous fear.

Over the past few years, Climate Change has been one of the most discussed topics worldwide. Though its impacts have been comprehensively explained by experts, majority of the worlds population are left asking as to how Climate Change can actually make a difference in their day-to-day living. For most people, concepts such as global warming, rising sea level and changing landscape are hard to visualize, leaving them to brush off the idea of Climate Change altogether. As a result, environmental advocates find it difficult to make the people act on the problems of Climate Change. One solution identified to address this growing concern is to use visual images and other forms of media to more effectively explain the complex issue of Climate Change.

The countdown to global catastrophe began a few years ago when world leaders started talking about Climate Change. Since then, almost every forum and conference in the world has attempted to clearly define the challenges brought about by Climate Change, and to find workable solutions to stop this looming disaster.

Climate Change Defined
Across the globe, there are a number of definitions of Climate Change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for instance, adopts the following definition

Climate Change refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g. using statistical tests) by changes in the mean andor the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. It refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. This usage differs from that in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), where Climate Change refers to a change in climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. (p. 30)

Climate Change is also said to bring about life-transforming impacts such as higher temperatures, rising sea levels, changing landscapes, heightened risk of drought, fire and floods, stronger storms, prevalent heat-related health hazards, as well as economic losses.

For those who are scientifically-inclined, this description is appropriate and sufficient, but for most people, it is problematic because it defines Climate Change by introducing a number of equally complex concepts and issues.

There are four obstacles to understanding Climate Change
Some people believe that scientists lack consensus on the human contribution to Climate Change
Scientists work with probabilities, risks, ranges, uncertainties and scenarios  approaches that are foreign to many citizens.

The vocabulary, science and policies of Climate Change are complex and
The environmental and social effects of Climate Change are not discreet (DiMento, 2007, pp. 2  7).
Consequently, experts have recognized the need to transform complex Climate Change-related terminologies into easy to understand everyday scenarios. Learning is more meaningful when a learner can apply facts, concepts, and principles to realistic situations or examples. Visuals can provide that realistic context (Anderson, 2008, p. vii).

Visualizing Climate Change
Climate Change has been getting more exposure in visual arts, films, documentaries and other media. For instance, Climate Change has inspired Hollywood movies like The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 where Climate Change is depicted as the all-powerful global enemy wreaking havoc on humankind and almost bringing the Earth to its end. In both cases, powerful images of ice shelf breaking off, irregular weather patterns in key cities in the world, and unusually strong volcanic eruptions and earthquakes were used to illustrate the destructive impact of Climate Change. The films also showed extreme panic and turmoil among the people, as well as other traumatic human scenarios to more dramatically convey how Climate Change can and will affect the people.

The documentary An Inconvenient Truth is considered one of the most instrumental tools in raising public awareness on Climate Change. It effectively does so by presenting academic and research-based information in graphs, flow charts and statistics, as well as vivid pictures of the Earth then and now. The award-winning documentary does more than just describing how serious the Climate Change challenge is it actually shows how everyone can do his or her share in addressing this global concern by doing simple things at home, in the community, and at work. Similarly, National Geographic and United Nations Foundation have joined forces to produce a short documentary film entitled A Way Forward Facing Climate Change.

In an effort to explain Climate Change across all age groups, some organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the European Space Agency (ESA) have developed Climate Change websites for kids. Aside from the simplified language used to discuss Climate Change, the websites include colorful graphics and bold words, animations, and games and puzzles to encourage young people to learn more about Climate Change.

In recent years, Climate Change-related materials have also occupied a number of museums and art galleries. The American Museum of Natural History, for example, ran a year-long exhibit themed Climate Change Threat to Life and a New Energy Future.

Photographers have also spent more time to go on location and take captivating photos of the impacts of Climate Change worldwide. The British Council and The Climate Group launched a photographic exhibit entitled NorthSouthEastWest A 360 View of Climate Change which features real-life examples of the adverse social and environmental effects of Climate Change.

Lastly, information on and visual representations of Climate Change have been made available and accessible to a wider audience through the use of current media such as web magazines (Our World 2.0), blogs (Real Climate, Climate Progress, Climate of Our Future), social networking sites (OneClimate.net, Friendster, Facebook, Twitter), and video sites (YouTube, Metacafe).
Visual Culture as a Tool to Address Climate Change

The first step to addressing the global challenge of Climate Change is to fully understand what it is all about, how relevant it is to peoples lives, and what everyone can do to prevent Climate Change from becoming a global catastrophe. Evidence of Climate Change and its impacts on society and the environment has become generally accepted by scientists, along with the importance of mitigating and adapting to Climate Change. However, public awareness and policy changes are lagging behind (Sheppard, 2005, p. 1).

People should be able to embrace the problem as real and imminent, but this will be impossible if the public will only be presented with hard and raw data or reports filled with scientific and technical jargons. This is where visual culture can play a key role.

Studies show that the ability of visual imagery to communicate messages quickly and powerfully has long been recognized in fields of human activity ranging from commercial advertising, to the media, to political campaigns seeing is believing (Sheppard, 2005, p. 2). The same principle can be applied to Climate Change. For instance, people will more positively respond to an image of a city devastated by big floods rather than a plain text saying that Climate Change can cause floods to be more frequent and severe. Similarly, people will be moved to save energy by or conserve water to help prevent Climate Change if they will be shown a nice photo of a blue and green nature spot with happy people living in it.

Sheppard (2005) concludes by saying
There is strong evidence of the cognitive effectiveness of visualizing global change, and a strong likelihood of the ability to engender emotional responses. It also appears theoretically possible that the use of landscape visualization could affect behavior with regard to Climate Change, if the imagery provides (1) disclosure a window into the future which is personally meaningful and tangible, making the global both local and personal, showing possible negative and positive outcomes (2) drama a vivid and compelling presentation with emotional content. (p. 11)

Visualization attempts in recent years have significantly contributed to the increasing public awareness on Climate Change. A US study returned the following interesting results
71 percent of Americans are now convinced global warming is real, and the percentage who say it is currently having, or will soon have, a negative impact has risen 20 points since 2004
68 percent of respondents said they favor passing a protocol that would require the United States to reduce its carbon emissions by 90 percent by the year 2050  regulations that far surpass those laid out in the Kyoto Protocol that many European and Asian countries have adopted and
82 percent said they agree they can personally take action to reduce the effects of Climate Change. (Bushan, 2007, p.1)

Clearly, visual culture is an innovative way of making the public better appreciate the realities of Climate Change and see the need to do their part in addressing this global problem. In trying to make visual representations of Climate Change and its impacts, however, one must ensure that these are not (1) biased or misleading to avoid sending confusing messages (2) exaggerated to prevent unnecessary anxiety and fear and (3) sugarcoated to such an extent that the people will no longer see the full scale of the problem.

Visual culture should not only be viewed as an academic subject or a specialized field of study. Instead, it should be welcomed as a powerful tool to educate the public on pressing issues such as Climate Change, and ultimately be an instrument to effect societal change.

Project Expos Climate Change Kiosks for Kids
Rationale
The complexities of Climate Change make it hard for scientific experts to explain it to the general public, and even harder to do so with schoolchildren and younger kids. Existing Climate Change visualization projects are mostly geared toward adults, and the few kid-friendly materials available have limited access because they are usually web-based and therefore require regular internet connection.

Objectives
The project aims to bring Climate Change education closer to kids aged 5 to 12 by installing Climate Change Kiosks in schools, shopping malls, restaurants, libraries and other public locations. The project will extend the visual learning experience to kids who do not have computers or regular internet connection at home.

The project also hopes to rally the kids as ambassadors of Climate Change who will eventually influence their parents and other adults in the family to join in the global fight against Climate Change.

Description
The kiosks will offer information about Climate Change through the use of interactive audio-visual presentations that are kid-friendly, entertaining, easy to understand, but at the same time comprehensive and accurate based on solid scientific findings. Dramatic and eye-opening photographs as well as colorful graphics will be used so kids will better appreciate the information on

Climate Change.
The kiosks will not only focus on basic facts about Climate Change rather, they will also show animations of what a kid can do to help prevent this looming disaster. To further reinforce this, a Save the Earth game will conclude every session. Here, kids will be depicted as a superhero that has the power to save the Earth from succumbing to Climate Change if he or she makes wise decisions on simple day-to-day activities. This will also double as a review quiz to measure the kids understanding of the information.

Though kid-friendly and colorful materials will be used, it is not the intention of the project to downplay the seriousness and urgency of Climate Change. Instead, the project aims to make Climate Change as real and current as possible to kids by using elements which they can easily relate to.      

Each kiosk will have a set of computer (screen, monitor, keyboard and speakers), and chairs for a maximum of two kids who can occupy the kiosk at any time.

Implementation
The group will develop the modules and materials to be included in the Climate Change Kiosks. Then, the group will coordinate with interested officials of schools, shopping malls, restaurants, libraries and other public commercial establishments for the installation, maintenance and security of the facilities.

Monitoring
Monitoring of the extent of use and effectiveness of the Climate Change Kiosks will be based on number of logins or guest registry and game  quiz scores, respectively.

Cloves can be used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from the super sweet to the spicy and savory.  In desserts they are most commonly paired with cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, or ginger.  Baklava is a traditional Mediterranean dessert that incorporates the clove spice as a prominent flavor.   It is a fairly labor intensive dessert to make at home, but is wildly popular and very delicious.  A more well-known dessert that also uses the clove spice to enhance a robust flavor is pumpkin pie.  These two dishes are prepared, constructed, and taste very differently, but both utilize the flavor of cloves in interesting ways.

Baklava originates in the Mediterranean and has been a decadent dessert prepared for centuries.  The ingredients used to make baklava include phyllo dough, butter, pecans (or walnuts, pistachios, etc.), cloves, water, sugar, cinnamon, and honey.  It is prepared by layering the thin sheets of phyllo dough with butter, nuts, sugar and spices.  Once the sweet dough is baked, a honey glaze is poured over the dish, allowed to cool, and typically cut into triangular or square pieces.  Although the dish can be eaten fresh and warm, it is most-often served long after the baking process and at room temperature.  The nuts, cinnamon, and cloves give the dessert a unique and spicy taste to go along with the plush sweetness.

The phyllo dough is what gives baklava its unique and flaky texture.  Because the dough is so thin when the dessert is baked, it leaves very crisp and wispy layers.  It is cooked to a golden brown color and retains a translucent sheen from the honey glaze poured over the dessert.  When cut, you can see the layers upon layers of dough mixed in with the nuts and spices.  Baklava has a rich taste, but also contains complex and robust flavors.  The nuts provide a variety in texture and taste that is paired well with the flaky phyllo dough.

Pumpkin pie is a traditional American dessert that incorporates similar spices, but produces a very different taste and texture.  The typical ingredients used to make pumpkin pie include pie dough (flour, butter, sugar, and water), sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, eggs, vanilla extract, pureed pumpkin, cornstarch, and milk.  The cloves are paired with cinnamon and ginger spices to create a full-flavored and delectable dessert.  Preparation and baking of this dessert can be fairly straight-forward, quick, and easy.

Once the pie dough is baked (or purchased) and placed in the base of the pan, the creamy pie filling is added to the dish.  Unlike most other pies, pumpkin is very rarely finished off with a top layer of dough.  Because of the pumpkin puree, the pie retains an orange color that becomes golden brown after baking.  Once the pie is cooked, it is removed from the oven and allowed to cool for a significant period of time.  It is usually served at room temperature or slightly chilled, and commonly topped with a dollop of whip cream.

Pumpkin pies are sweet and flavorful, but usually manage to avoid the overly gooey and sugary taste of fruit based pies.  All of the ingredients in the pie filling are pureed and have no chunky textures, so the finished product is like a creamy, solidified custard.  In a pumpkin pie there is no whole fruit ingredient like in apple, cherry, or blackberry pies to offer a variety of texture.  Also unlike most fruit pies when cut, pumpkin pie retains its shape extremely well.  The filling doesnt pour out and it makes the dish easier to serve or display.  The pumpkin provides a sort of earthy flavor that is accentuated by the robust spices of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

Mario Menjivar has been a professional animator for over 17 years. The Internet Movie Database website, the first film that Menjivar worked on was a critically panned adult live-actionanimated feature called Evil Toons all the way back in 1992. It seems like a rather rough start, but his career only went straight up from there the next item on his filmography is the Disney Classic Aladdin, in 1993. He spent most of his career as animator for the Walt Disney Feature Animation studio, his work featured in world-famous animated movies such as Tarzan, The Lion King, Pocahontas, among others. He was even the animator for the main characters of the movies Treasure Planet and Atlantis. He also worked for other studios on other films and projects, designed toys and merchandise, and even illustrated a couple of Scooby Doo covers for DC Comics. I can only work hard and hope that I have as long and successful a career in the animation industry as him.

Working as an animator for the Disney Animation studio in itself is impressive to me. That is not the kind of job that is a just for now or until I find something better job, right now it seems to me like the kind of job you get when you have already proven yourself, your skills, and your professionalism. Just like most people, I grew up watching classic Disney animated movies. The studio itself has been a major pioneer in the animation industry, producing the first full-length animated movie (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves), and one the first cartoons with sound (Steamboat Willie). Menjivar had the opportunity to work in that environment and helped create these characters that children and grown-ups all over the world could recognize instantly. In that line of work, you get a hand in creating some of peoples fondest memories it seems to me like such a humbling and empowering thing. When your kids and your grandchildren watch one of those movies and inevitably fall inlove with one of the characters, you can say, You know, I drew that. Menjivar can say that, and I want to be able to say that someday as well.

I looked through some of his drawings and sketches, they are not too stylistic and are rather simple, but the skill is in the fact that the drawings have so much personality going for them. Just by looking at a sketch you can tell what a character is doing, how heshe is feeling from the details like clothing or style you can tell quite a bit about the characters personality. A good animator can achieve these things. I actually watched Tarzan again not too long ago, before we saw Menjivar speak, and I vividly remember thinking about how instantly lovable and distinct the personality of Kala, Tarzans gorilla mother, was. It was only when I read Menjivars filmography though, that I learned that he was the animator for her. Kalas character is very sweet and loving, and though she does not say much in the movie, this personality is still conveyed well because she is very expressive. This is doubly impressive considering that her non-cartoonish gorilla features and movements were able to show very identifiably human emotions and expressions. I want to be able to do that also, to create characters that people will not only recognize, but also know and love because they seem to have personalities and lives of their own.

Lastly, when he was giving his talk, one thing I noticed was just how much he enjoyed his job I suppose you have to really love what you do to keep doing it for almost two decades. He does not even make it sound like a job really, more like something fun and creative that you get to do and get paid for doing. Not a lot of people get to make a successful career out of doing something they enjoy day in and day out Menjivars attitude really inspired me to aim for that, and be one of those few lucky people.

Art can be defined as the product or process of deliberate arrangement of elements in a manner to affect the emotion or senses of a viewer (Tolstoy, pp.28). A diverse range of human activities, forms of expression and creations encompass art. These would include visual and the performing arts that entail music, sculpture, paintings, literature and film among others.

Visual art is the form of art that mainly produce works that can be appreciated visually (Bell, pp. 17). These include paintings, drawings, videos and films, fashion, photographs, graffiti, tattoos and even crafts.  Visual art can also be broken down to performing arts (plays, drama and other human performances), textile arts (fashion and fabric work), and conceptual art (artistic manipulation and representation of concepts). According to Bell, visual art is not only used for its aesthetic value but also for its practical application in industrial design, decorative art, fashion design, graphic design and also interior design. He adds that the aesthetic value of a piece of work may differ with its use among different users (pp. 19).

Tolstoy adds that art has been seen to adhere to certain principles and elements that complete the different forms we have. Principles and elements of art include visual elements that are used to produce different works of art. These include line, shape and color with an addition of space, balance and movement. The use of color line and space has the capability of creating movement balance and space in a peace of art. Artists use these principles and elements of art to create works that send a message, affect emotion or are for aesthetic value (pp, 28). Visual art utilizes the elements and principles of art in that artists use color to make paintings, lines for drawings and also paintings, space in their drawings and paintings and also the creation of balance space and movement through the use of line color in their pieces of work.

Different forms of visual art are products of different artists being inspired by personal preferences, different people, events, emotional experiences andor other factors in creating different forms of visual art (Tolstoy, pp. 28). Visual art and fine art are closely interrelated. Fine art utilizes the elements and principles of art and takes a wide range of scope from paintings, to calligraphy, music and dance among others. The difference between fine art and visual art is that fine art is purely for aesthetic value unlike visual art that can be used in industrial application such as sculptures. Fine art can be termed as visual art is it is appreciated though seeing.

This essay will concentrate on the appreciation of visual art in the fashion industry. Different visual art forms have been used in the fashion industry based on the preference of the artist, collector or the designer. Designers may choose to produce various visual works of art or even collect them.

Collectors of visual works of art include photographers and collectors of antiques, paintings and other visual works who range from individual designers to museum employees (Abbott, pp. 22). Their work involves the collection and arrangement of these works of art in a manner that will affect the emotion or sense of the viewer in the message it conveys. The works of such an artist may also be for aesthetic value if not both to convey a message and for beauty. These artists also serve the function of storing history and events (Fashion Projects, para 1). The photographs and items collected act as a preservation of the information or art work conveyed therein which can be reviewed in future. In fashion, these collections (photographs and other items) are used for beauty as well as different functional uses. An example would be the imprints of iconic figures pictures on fabric such as bags, t-shirts, pendants and even shoes (Abbott, pp. 36).

The book Bodies of Inscription A cultural History of the Modern Tattoo community by DeMello shows that tattoos and body arts are now more than ever used by different individuals as fashion statements and also as memorabilia (DeMello, pp.165  191). Muslim societies conduct body art through the use of henna, a substance that can create images on a persons body (Tunkara, para. 1).

The images are semi-permanent and fade off in the long run. This practice is mostly done for occasions such as weddings and the religious celebration of Idd that follows the holy month of Ramaddhan by the Muslim community. It is haram (against the law) to have tattoos drawn on the body of a Muslim (Tunkara, para. 3). However, women are allowed to have body art done on them as a sign of beauty.  Some individuals prefer permanent or temporary tattoos on their bodies as a fashion statement. They may have images of flowers, animals, buildings, iconic legends and other subjects to be imprinted on different part of their bodies.

 Ornaments are a form of visual art in fashion. Some ornaments are carved, engraved, embossed or even woven (Abbott, pp. 27). The value of such forms or art in fashion may be purely symbolic, functional or even just for fashion depending on the wearer. African jewelry is sometimes made from carvings of African wild animals such as the elephant, giraffe or the antelope. American patriotism can be shown through fashion be creating pendants that have the American flag, a picture of a favorite head of state or even a famous building that could be a landmark. In other instances, the environment may inspire designers to come up with fashion objects such as dressed, ornament and shoes. Print shirts and dresses have been a favorite for different clients at different points in the fashion industry. These prints could be of flowers, landscape pieces or even different animals. Whether for beauty or for passing messages, the environment has inspired different art forms.

Politics has also inspired different forms of fashion designs (Abbott, pp. 124). Presidential campaigns in the United States and other democracies are usually marked by the use of different fashion items as a means of advertisement, awareness for the campaigns and also as a form of identity to the political association of the person wearing the fashion piece. The recent political campaigns that saw president Obama elected to office was marked by the use of T- shirts, caps, shoes, dresses and menswear in campaign and awareness creation. They carried the message YES WE CAN and other pro Obama messages.

Fashion shows have been organized in which different designers showcased their talents in creating designs from fabric and other materials to either pass a message or just create clothes, shoes and styles that appeal to viewers and the buyers of the fashion wares. These fashion shows usually have a theme under which designers are guided on the kind of designs to come up with and at times the kind of material to choose. Fashion shows are mainly conducted for the publicity of the availability of new designs and also as a form of marketing (Abbott, pp. 23).

Some fashion products that entail visual art are functional in use. Worn around the neck or arm, rosaries are used by the Catholic faithful in prayer hence their function in religion (Tolstoy, pp. xiv, xxi and pp. 47). Buddhists and Muslims have chains that are made of marble like materials that are to woven together through a string and they use them for prayer. When not in use they are usually tied on their waists. Some forms of visual designs are used in official attire such as uniforms. Symbols and other images are also used in uniforms create a sense of identity and pride to the organization they belong to. These would include logos and emblems pinned on clothes, particular colors used and even designs. The functional aspect of the fashion item in this case goes beyond the look to serve its representation (Bell, pp. 59).

The contribution of visual art is seen as wide and personal to individuals. This is because different people use different forms of visual art representation on their fashion items. Another reason is because different people are appealed by different forms of fashion represented differently. The appreciation of the different forms of art is seen by the enthusiasm with which people wear these fashion items and also the demand these products command in the fashion industry markets.

Donne accepts that the personality of love is the union of soul and body. The role of the heart relies on the body. The purity of human partners cannot be made with souls only. All in all, romanticism and cynicism pertaining to love seems to live together in John Donnes romantic poetry. He at times articulates the uselessness and instability of love in his works. However, in The Flea, he has moved from his common ground by employing a persuasive tone, this is supported by the fact that, in the poem he is seen to be requesting for a marriage favor, where  he asserts This flea is you and I, and this Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is( Joe 82) .

 Equally, the application of imagery considerably paints a picture of how the women were treated and wooed into marriage. Therefore, reacting to this poem, I would opt to state that, it is typical to credit to Donne the rank of an excellent rational poet- a guy whose compositions are firmly crafted, self-assured, and confident in their use of metaphor and similarity.  Donnes poem, The Flea attempts to advocate a definite self-security through the eye of the poet we see a tense, ordinary rhyme format, and a prearranged structure. More so, a probable wealth of symbolic resources  also Donne have not shied away from employing irony in the lexis of the armed forces such astriumphst the medical two bloodsmingled as well as the religious cloysterd sacrilege (Joe 79).

This male-established prejudice formulates the supposedly simple task of handing over gender responsibilities in The Flea a far-flung but a multifaceted matter. These verses hints not at steady patriarchy, saves for an early contemporary civilization questioning and gambling with conceptions of gender and allied structures of power. By examining the symbolism of The Flea, it would be vital to state that, the poem leans in the direction of a symbolic order in a condition of fluctuation

The illusion of creating space on a two-dimensional surface changed drastically in the 20th century.  By looking at three works by painters David, Cezanne and Mondrian, I will discuss this evolution of space.

Oath of Horatii (1784) by French artist Jacques-Louis David is considered on the most important paintings in neo-classical art. A break from the Rococo style art that had preceded this time period, Davids painting shows hard lines and de-emphasized backgrounds.  His use of one-point perspective and triple arches in the background create a shallow space that emphasizes the action happening in the foreground.  The repetition of the three soldiers, as well as the three arches and swords, bring us into the action as if we are viewing a snapshot of the actual event. David also uses color to describe space, by using dull colors in the background and strong repetition of reds for the father and son in the foreground.

Paul Cezannes painting Still life with Basket of Apples (1892), is also considered a transitional use of space for its time period.  Bridging the gap between Impressionism and Cubism, Cezannes painting depicts a skewed space with distorted perspectives.  We see that the plane of the tabletop doesnt match from left to right and the ellipse of the basket seems to tilted toward the viewer, as if viewed and painted from multiple positions.  Cezanne, like David, uses the repetition of color and shape to bring composition together in this flattened picture plane.  Dull colors in the background enhance the subject matter in the foreground.

In Piet Mondrians painting Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow (1921), the picture plane has now been completely flattened.  No longer are lines, as in one-point or two-point perspective, creating an illusion of depth, but are emphasizing the flatness of the canvas.  Thick, black lines separate squares or rectangles of primary colors.  Color is now used purely for composition and balance or imbalance within the painting. These grid-based paintings are an example of pure abstraction.  Unlike Cezanne or David, the space and use of pictorial elements (line, shape, color, etc.) is extremely minimal.

Through examining the works of these three painters we see that as Modern art
 progressed so did the evolution of space within a two-dimensional surface.  This
evolution seemed to progressively flatten the picture plane further and further until it
reached a point of pure abstraction by the early 20th century.

Many people in the contemporary society have always expressed their desire to connect with nature especially by cultivating certain plants in their compounds but the urban living conditions cannot allow. These, especially in towns have little space around their houses for growing flowers or trees and this greatly applies to those who live in apartments which are compacted or multistoried (Pilgrim, par 1). Did you know that one can actually grow trees in his or her house Thanks to a Chinese ancient Art in tree planting where one can afford to have a tree plant in a pot. This art is called Bonsai. This word is pronounced as bone-sigh which if directly translated from Japanese it means tree in pot (Kenney, par 1).A bonsai tree is just an ordinary tree which has been sculpted and a healthy one can live for 100 years (Curley, par 1). This essay seeks to trail through the events that have characterized this Art from the time of its inception, the art process, its significance in relation to the society and how it has changed overtime.

What Is The History Behind Bonsai Art
China is believed to have been the original home or the birth place of this art which began more than a thousand years ago. It was originally called Pun-sai and it involved growing trees in small pots and one pot could only have one tree. The Chinese Bonsai had twisted branches which resembled different animals for example birds or even reptiles like snakes and other imaginary creatures like dragons which were associated with some legends and myths. The shape of the Bonsai depended on the artists imagination. The Chinese regarded trees as the best way of expressing nature and for them, the growing of these trees was one way of bringing tranquility to ones mind (Pilgrim, par 5).

Later, in the 12th century around a period called Kamakura, the Japanese adopted it. The exact time that this happened cannot be indicated but it is believed to be around 1195 AD. This happened when Zen Buddhism was being spread in Japan and in the process the Chinese tradition of Bonsai trees was also spread through some monks who established their monasteries in Japan. They are the ones who were actively involved in the Art thus advancing it. Afterwards, the aristocracy picked up the art as a hobby and it became a sign of wealth thus spreading through the upper class (Hubik, par 1).

For the Japanese, they regarded Bonsai as a symbol of honor and prestige and by 14th century, the art was regarded as a highly refined form of art. During those times, the Japanese elite used to have those occasions where they could display their Bonsai trees on special shelves (Hubik, par 1). Originally, many Japanese grew the trees outside their houses but when they decided to throw a party, the trees would be taken inside for people to enjoy the sight (Olsen, par 3). The nobility in Japan perceived Bonsai as peace among three things, that is man, spirit and nature (Curley, par 4).

Later, in the 19th century, after spending more than 230 years in isolation, Japan opened its doors to the rest of the world and thus the outsiders accessed this art. Travelers from European countries could not believe what they saw mature tree plants in ceramic pots   and this seemed something worth to adopt. From then onwards, they spread the gospel to other western nations and in 1900, in Paris world exhibition, the art was introduced to the whole world. This was followed by subsequent exhibitions in London and Vienna (Hubik, par 7).

Myths Associated With Bonsai Art
There are various misconceptions about Bonsai trees. Some people have always misconstrued this Bonsai technique as a dwarfing process. Traditional techniques for growing Bonsai should never be termed as dwarfing of trees which employs certain manipulations which are genetic. Genetic manipulation is not involved anywhere in cultivating these trees but natural seeds are used instead. Other techniques are also employed such as grafting, pruning, defoliation, potting and root reduction (Pilgrim, par 3).

Some people believe that, the Bonsai trees are kept that short by some cruel techniques. This is actually not true. In fact, if they are watered well and are exposed to enough air, light and also good nutrition, they can live for long, more than full grown trees belonging to the same species. The techniques are just the same as the ones used on other horticultural plants. Some also hold onto believe that a Bonsai tree is just few centimeters tall which is not true however if compared with their full grown brothers, they are small, ranging between 25 centimeters and 1 meter (Bonsai Site, par. 1).

The Process of Bonsai Tree Art
Typical plants and trees can make up Bonsai but those which have small leaves are regarded as suitable. In Japan, trees like pine, bamboo and plum have been used. Seeds and cuttings from these trees can be used to develop Bonsai trees and also stunted trees which occur naturally that can be grown in containers. One may ask how they come to be that small. Well, these trees are trained to be small by the process of pruning whereby their branches and roots are trimmed. Other methods include repotting which is done periodically, new growth can also be pinched and if one desires the plant to grow in a particular shape, then one will be required to wire the tree into the desired shape (Bonsai site, par 3). The tree has to have a trunk which is well tapered and should also have branches all over this is to give it a visual depth (Black, par. 5).

The container in which the Bonsai tree is grown is independent from the earth. The tree should not be at the centre of the container. It was always believed that in that container, heaven and earth are one and in the centre is where they meet thus nothing is allowed to occupy that space and thats why the tree is not supposed to be planted at the centre. Triangular pattern is so much encouraged   to add to the beauty. Truth, beauty and goodness are three virtues which are believed to be necessary   for the creation of a Bonsai tree (Bonsai Site, par 4).

These containers are primarily kept outside excluding those ones for trees which are trained to grow indoors. There are no rules regarding the development of Bonsai because they are personalized by individuals and more so if it is for ones enjoyment. It doesnt require so much but ones patience and endurance. A persons commitment will also force him to dedicate much of his time and skill to the Bonsai tree (Bonsai Site, par 7)

Watering of Bonsai is considered the most important factor in the process and it is also a skill to be learnt because watering varies with different Bonsai trees, types of soil used and pots. Always ensure that the trees do not dry out and to check this, one can insert a tooth pick in the soil to see if there is any moisture (Squidoo, par. 2).

As mentioned earlier, pruning is also involved but it is usually not done on young Bonsai trees but those ones which have grown a bit. Pruning just involves trimming the tree into a desired shape and thus there is no guideline on how to prune correctly. One should also ensure that the tree is exposed to enough light, if not so artificial light should be provided to compensate for the sunlight which is not available for the plant. Fertilization also depends with the type of Bonsai thus it is not a major requirement in the art. One recommendation is that one is not required to fertilize unhealthy dry Bonsai (Squidoo, par. 7).
 
Repotting is another major caring technique for a Bonsai plant. It is usually done after two years which also depends on the pots size and the growth of the plant. Repotting helps the plant to develop good rooting system and also supplying it with fresh soil (Squidoo, par 7).

Bonsai wiring is another technique which is required in this process to shape them. It involves wrapping tree branches and trunks with the wire until the tree is in a position to maintain the shape and that is when the wire can be removed. All these tools which are used in this process can be supplied by anyone who specializes in Bonsai tools. One can use plain silver wire, copper or brown Bonsai wires and if one cannot access these, any other can do so long as it is bendable and can be easily removed. Thicker wires are the most appropriate in Bonsai and if one cannot get these ones, he or she must involve double wrapping (Squidoo, par. 12-13).

To sum up, there are no specific guidelines which  can apply to all Bonsai trees hence different species of Bonsai need to be treated differently, In Japan, the process is considered to have no end as long as the plant is alive. One is supposed to treat the plant with respect and love and the act of caring for the tree is in itself a meditation (Black, par. 6).

What is the Significance of Bonsai Art in Relation to the Society
To the Japanese, they associated the plant with their faith in Zen Buddhism where man and nature are one and are thus joined through meditation and expression.  In the modern world however, this process is more of a hobby. This is important as it helps to understand nature and being part of it and also enhancing the beauty of the gardens (Bonsai Site, par 1-2).

Bonsai trees have also been regarded as symbols of harmony among three things that is man, nature and soul while the monks associate them with prestige and honor (Curley, par. 4). The act of shaping the tree and viewing it was understood to be one way of uniting nature and spirit. It also signified the Japanese philosophy and refinement in that, by pruning the unwanted and unnecessary parts were done away with thus refining the tree. This view is still held in Japan and that is why during every New Year, families in Japan display their Bonsai trees which have been decorated. The ornamentation of the Bonsai to decorate it is referred to as Tokoma (Bonsai site, par 10). Once it was associated with the elite but nowadays, it is observed by all this is because, the art symbolizes their culture and ideals (Curley, par. 4).

How Has The Art Changed Overtime
In the modern world, the art has taken an interesting twist in that most people have taken it up as a profession (Bonsai Site, par. 3). The art has really developed to new forms where the pot and the tree complement each other in various aspects such as shape, texture and also color. The tree has to be shaped and not left to grow the way it would naturally. These changes have been experienced since the art began in China. The Chinese Bonsai still maintains its ancient styles and shapes which are traditional and sometimes these are usually perceived by the Europeans as crude. The Japanese one is much more natural and pleasing to the eyes because they are well taken care off and refined (Sinonewa, par. 4). They are the ones who perfected this art.

Nowadays, Bonsai has taken different styles and shapes. Bonsai which can grow indoors are trained in classical styles which include windswept, slanted trunk among others. The Art which was originally by the Japanese and the Chinese is now practiced around the world and thus it is regarded as a way through which the spirit of nature is imitated (Black, par. 9).

Lastly, artists started to incorporate other cultural elements into their plantings such as rocks and even small buildings thus displaying diverse possibilities in styles and thus the Art has evolved reflecting changes in time and tastes. Due to demand of this Art all over the world, artists have resulted to grow young plants, training them to appear the same as the Bonsai. Japanese decided to concentrate on this art and they opened nurseries to grow bonsai trees mainly for export. The range of plants used in this art also increased to suit different world climates and thus countries and cultures can pick up the art without any problem.(Bonsai Site, par. 8).Two modern artists who are involved with this art are Morten Albek and Artists from Austin Bonsai society.

From the twelfth to the eighth century B.C the inhabitants of the present day Greece settled into small communities for their common protection. Gradually, these scattered settlements developed into city-states. Each city-state was a separate entity, with its own government, its own code of laws, and its own distinct personality (Berkshire 1995). These city-states produced different philosophical and literary works as well as works of art. For the sake of comparison and evaluation, Homers literary masterpieces the Iliad and Odyssey will be compared with Ancient Romes literature. The Parthenon in Greece will be used to compare and contrast the differences and similarities between Greek and Roman architecture. Lastly, the sculpture of the Charioteer of Delphi will be compared to the Roman sculpture. Both Greece and Rome had their starts at roughly the same time. But Greek culture peaked with a brilliant climax in the fifth century B.C, while Rome was still slowly developing.

The Parthenon, the most brilliant surviving example of Greek architecture was completed in 433 B.C. The crudeness of early Greek temples was gradually refined upon the completion of the Parthenon. Under Egyptian influence, stone was substituted for wood and an elaborate system of proportions was established. The Greeks believed that all things were in measure of man. Mans body is proportional, that is, the size of his arms, legs and head are all related so that none is too big or too small.  The Greek planned their temple much in the same way. Greek temples are based on Doric, ionic and Corinthian orders. These set of orders were used in constructing the Parthenon. Taking into account the influences of the Greeks in Rome, the Colosseum showcases the utilization of Ionic, Doric and Corinthian orders that were likewise used in the Parthenon (Walsh 2000). Observing the buildings alone will easily showcase the relationship. The differences between these architectural pieces would be their uses and size. In Rome, the majestic Colosseum served as a stage for battles and a venue for people. In Greece, majestic structures like the Parthenon serve to intellectual people and the government.

In Literature, Ab Urbe Condita Libri which discusses the ancient history of Rome by Titus Livius is of the most important ancient texts that can be traced back. Titus Livius was a Roman historian who lived after Homer. However, Homers work ethic cannot be compared any where near Roman literature because Homers work has surpassed most literature during his time. In Rome, Homers work influenced a lot of writers how ever due to differences in subject (history, plays, and drama) an equal comparison cannot be made. However, since the Greeks have the greatest influences on Romans it is only logical to think that during the early civilization of Rome and Greece, Greek Literature was very much superior. Lastly, in terms of art sculptures, Roman sculptures of Roman Gods depict power and artistry similar to Greek sculptures which also depict power, war and the Gods. The differences between the styles of these sculptures are small. History tells us those Greco-Roman sculptures flooded Rome and vast influences on art was traced back to the Greeks. Overall, the styles in Architecture and in Art doesnt differ that much. Indeed there were massive influences in style and philosophies including literature however Rome has succeeded in personalizing and developing their unique mark.

This paper discusses the Baroque era. It also includes a description of one of the eras artists and a report about one of the artists paintings.

Venus Mirror An Image of Baroque Art
The Baroque period was one of the most colorful periods in European history. It consisted of many changes in the continent such as the development of Martin Luthers reformation, which was the birth of Protestantism. It was also a time when Feudalism was diminishing, leading the way to a government based on a single authority.

In Spain, the best Baroque artist was Diego Velasquez. He was born in June 6, 1599 in Seville and died in August 6, 1660 because of fever. He was an apprentice of Francisco Pacheco, who was a famous disciple of Flemish and Italian realism which greatly influenced his works.

In 1623, he went to Madrid, where he painted a portrait of King Philip IV. Afterwards, he was appointed as the official painter of the royal family for six years. Aside from religious paintings, he also painted works with mythological themes.

Velasquez was a true baroque artist. This period of art was used by the Roman Catholic Church as a way to counteract the spreading Protestantism. In Velasquezs works, he served that purpose with his bodegones which focused on subjects that are found in everyday life and combined with religious scenes. He often used the people of Seville as models for his bodegones.

The painting Venus at her Mirror is one of the most famous paintings done by Diego Velasquez. Although baroque style originated from the Roman Catholic Church, it also gained attention from the secular side of the society hence, the mythological theme. Venus at her Mirror portrays qualities that are found in baroque paintings depicting power, massiveness, and dramatic intensity. It is an image with high contrasts of light and dark colors. The painting shows Cupid without his bow and arrows and holds a mirror in front of Venus. What is interesting about this painting is that it does not clearly follow principles of optics as Venus reflection in the mirror seems blurring. This irregularity is one of the main characteristics of baroque art, where the very word itself means irregular.

It is the very same mirror which catches my attention because it does not reflect the exact details of Venus face. What the artist is expressing in this painting is that what is seen is not Venus face but her image. Its baroque influence tells us that Venus is the goddess of beauty, and the beauty is unsurpassable that Cupid himself surrendered to it, laying down his bow and arrows. It is an exaggeration of beauty portraying dramatic intensity.

This painting shows the beautiful body of Venus. However, Velasquez painted it in such as way that the observers eyes are led towards the mirror and not on the body. Thus, the painting is a reflection of realism. What we see in the mirror is only an image of a beautiful woman, but not Venus herself. In the human context, we observe that what man sees first is the image of a person and not the person himself.

This reminds me of the first day of school of every school year, where students start to introduce themselves to one another. As the days pass, students would group themselves according to their image, creating a status quo. This labeling of people according to their general image prevents us from expressing our true selves and our values. Let us take note that in the painting, the mirror shows only an image of a beautiful woman. Will never know how beautiful Venus really was in the painting. The fact that her beauty is incomparable perhaps makes us look at it in another way. It may also be an indication that perhaps the real beauty is the one behind the image.

Yasuki Hiramatsu, the famous metal smith for jewelry was born in Osaka, Japan in 1926 and currently lives in Tokyo, Japan. He obtained his graduation in 1952 from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts  Music. Having experienced military life as a student soldier during World War II, Hiramatsu became acutely sensitive to the challenges of life. Wishing to create something truly valuable to human life, he had focused his efforts on producing crafts and jewelry that, through their use, bring joy and happiness into everyday life. He had a prestigious career as an educator and has been Professor Emeritus at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He has also been the Director of the Japan Jewelry Designers Association. He actively promoted interactions with other countries, which won him a lot of international recognition. In 1994, he became the first non-European winner of the award presented to an outstanding foreign artist in the field of metal working by the German association for the promotion of precious metal art. Hiramatsu hammered pieces of 23-karat gold into thin sheets, produced crinkles by folding and bending and fashioned them into simple forms. Metals are generally considered heavy and hard, but he handled these materials like paper to create clearly defined forms that bring out unprecedented beauty and gentleness in the metal

1.
Yasuki Hiramatsu is a pioneer of contemporary jewelry in Japan. He has explored and re-interpreted traditional metalworking skills in order to create modern art. Hiramatsus works radiate simplicity, purity and strength. Concentrating on textures, form and light, his pieces capture an inner beauty and warmth that seem to come alive as light gently reflects across the surface. His jewelries show not only the softness and warmth of the metal by using more gold and silver than regular jewelry but also the shapes he creates. His innovative skills and capabilities made him to be internationally acclaimed as a leading artist in postwar Japan, especially in the field of jewelry. Yasuki says that I consider the metals like living things when I use them. When I make a piece, I play, worry, struggle with it and encourage it.

2.
Throughout Hiramatsus distinguished career, he has conducted several solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, workshops and lectures. His works are available in several public collections and he possesses several awards. He took part in several projects organizedfunded by the culturebase.net partner institutions too. His solo and group exhibitions used to showcase a series of his representative jewelry work alongside various other items such as vases, paperweights and even crowns. Although his forms are simple, there is always an underlying sense of glamour. These exhibitions provided viewers with an opportunity to take a look back at Hiramatsus career that spans half a century 3.
The complete list of his Yasuki Hiramatsus works, achievements and awards from 4 are given below.

AWARDS AND PRIZES
1952-1957 Twice awarded prizes from the Living Industrial Arts Institute, Tokyo, Japan 1969 Gold Prize at 3rd Craft Center Japan 1970 Prize at the Japan New Craft Exhibition, Tokyo 1990 Created a present for the emperors mother to bestow on the empress on her enthronement 1991 41st Craft Award in Excellence awarded by the Japanese Government Ministry of Education 1994 First non-European to be awarded the Ring of Goldsmiths from Gellschaft fur Goldschmiedekunst1995 Awarded Contribution to Design Promotion by the Japanese Government Ministry of International
Trade and Industry 1996 Awared Der Baycrischen Staatspreis by the Bayern Government Ministry, Germany1997 Awared Kunii Kitaro Prize by Japan Industrial Art Foundation.SOLO EXHIBITION1978 Galerie am Graben, Wien, Austria 1990 Electrum Gallery, London 1993 Professor Yasuki Hiramatsu Retirement Exhibition, Tokyo national University of Fine Arts and Music 1994 STUDIO TON BERENDS, Den Haag, Holland
1995 LUISE SMIT, Amsterdam, Holland 1996 Galerij Sofie Lachaert, Gent, Belgium 1997 Magari, Barcelona, Spain Galerij Sofie Lachaert, Antwerpen, Belgium 2006 Gallery HANAIRO, Anraku-ji (temple), Kyoto 2008 Crafts Gallery, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.GROUPE EXHIBITION1950-54 Exhibited six times at the Imperial Academy Exhibition, Tokyo 1952-57 Accepted siw times for the Exhibition Modern Living Industrial Arts 1960-94 The Japan New Craft Exhibition, Tokyo 1964-90 The Japan Jewellery Exhibition, Tokyo 1964-70 Exhibited six times at the Munchen International Special Show, Form and Quality1966 The World Jewellery Exhibition, International Goldschmiedkunst, Aalen by invitation, Germany 1968-70 Exhibited at the Jewellery Exhibition, Carrara in Italy, by Invitation 1974 the Basel Fair Special Exhibition Switzeland by invitation 1976 Aurea 76 Biennale delle Arti orafe in Firenze, Italy by invitation 1980Schmuck International Wien Japan Style Victoria and Alber Museum, London 1981 The 2nd International Gold and Silver Trade Fair of Arezzo Arezzo, Italy 1982 Sieben Japaner at Atelier Mattar, Koln 1987 Schmuck International Linz
1991 Four-man exhibition, Galerie Slavik, Wien 1995 The Contemporary Japanese Jewellery Exhibition, Museum of Decorative Arts, Gent Belgium 1996 Schmuck im Schloss Salzburg, Austria 1997 Japanese Contemporariws Japanese Jewellery Exhibition, Lesley Craze Gallery, London 2000 Thought on Contemporary Vessels UTSUWA The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo 2001 Mikromegas Galeria Fur Angewandte Kunst Munchen 102 Contemporary Japanese jewellery Craft Council Gallery, London Contemporary jewellery in Japan Goldschmiede Schneider-Rappel 2002 From the Rising Sun Vizo-Gallery, Brussel, Belgium 2006 Gold in Art Painting, sculpture, craft and jewellery Kushiro City Museum of Art Trasfiguration Japanese art jewellery today  Craft Gallery, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo 2007 Tokyo national University of Fine Arts and Music the 120 anniversary NOW of the Japanese Arts - Paintings Sculptures Crafts - Mitsukosi, Tokyo
2008 A Japanese Dialogue, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh.WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES
1980 Bayerische Akademie der Schonen Kunste, Munchen
1990 Royal College of Art, masterclass workshop, London.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.Tokyo national University of Fine Arts and Music, Tokyo.
Imperial Household Agency, Tokyo.
Pforzheim Schmuckmuseum, Germany.
Royal College of Art, London.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.
Museum fur Kunstandwerk, Hamburg, Germany.CURRENT POSTS INCLUDE
Member of the Japan Craft Design Association.Honoured member of the Japan Jewellery Designers Association
Honoured member of the Mitglied von der Gesellschaft fur Goldschmiedekunst,
Professor Emeritus, Tokyo national University of Fine Arts and Music.

PICTURES OF SOME OF HIS WORKS
Following are some of the works of Yasuki Hiramatsu from 5 which portray his capabilities of handling metal. Some more works of Yasuki Hiramatsu can be seen at 6 and 7.

Oceanic art is composed of the artworks made from Pacific islands, Australia and some parts of Hawaii.

Its first examples were traced way back during the 38, 000 B.C on the Pacific Islands. Though they are well kept and preserved, only few of these artworks had survived the challenges of time since it is only made by perishable materials. In fact, Oceanic people had never considered their works as a form of art they had merely made all of these for their practical purposes including their social and religious ceremonies that were said to make all of their cost of living prosperous.

Nowadays, Oceanic arts are considered as the most delicate, artistic, imaginative and the most eclectic in the whole world. Compared to other arts like the Oriental, Oceanic masterpieces truly expresses great artistry and are often in form of abstract, the hardest for of art to be considered. Because it is normally used on religious purposes, they are greatly appreciated and valued not only by their own people but also the whole world as well.

Compared to Oriental arts, Oceanic arts are more on engraving, sculpture and architecture, while the Oriental focuses on paintings and calligraphies. Oceanic masterpieces are more on textures and tangible, not just in a form of visual effects. And lastly, the Oceanic uses their artworks for practical purposes also, not just for expressing. Hence, this mere fact I making their artworks a lot better than any other classification of arts.

About the artist
Human state has unquestionably been Joel-Peter Wilkin power of photography. For more than 20 years he has practiced his concentration in theology and how it collides with the corporal world in which we live. Finding splendor inside the bizarre, Witkin follows this mainstream yet complicated subject among human beings often thrown away or rejected by the community  vision of human beings in forms of anomalous bodily capacities, possessiveness and any existing parable.

His attraction towards other peoples physical structures has remained to be an inspiration for his works that challenge our wisdom, normal behaviors and politeness, while continuously probing the knowledge passed down to us through Christ. His steady orientation towards the arts works of Picasso. Bosch, Velasquez, etc. are evidence to his requirement to generate a new narration of the past for himself (Storck, 2002).

Through his photographs, Witkin reinterprets his unique thought in a last proceeding of admiration. Joel-Peter Witkins created world is both scary and exciting at the same time as he seeks to get away from our conception of sexual and bodily attractiveness. Through his descriptions, we increase a superior perceptive about human distinction and forbearance.

What distinguishes Joel-Peter Witkin from his generation is an agitation and wish that escorts him to places that other artists dread to go the gloomy side where each twinkle of brightness is genuine.
His setting is not anything small of the maximum vagueness thats engaged humanity ever since its very early stages, the final query of existence and bereavement queries that by their very natural world are eventually unanswerable, apart from in those individual, short, and empirical instances when art overpasses the opening between the sanity and the intelligence. No one inhabits this position better than Witkin does.

The Raft of George W. Bush  Historical Significance
The Raft of Medusa was painted by Theodore Gericault in 1819 in support of the prevailing political environment at that time. That was a truth, and this is not. What Witkin did is that he picked up this painting and went on to creating truth out of this fantasy. He called this creation Raft of George W. Bush  (Barnes, 1990).

Medusa was a French war boat which sank and the captain along with most of his army viciously seized the seafaring lifeboats. They left all the passengers on board along with the sailors to survive the sinking raft on their own. This was a great example of discrimination among classes.
 INCLUDEPICTURE httpwww.baudoin-lebon.comuploadoeuvreBL32709.JPG  MERGEFORMATINET

The Raft of George W. Bush
Similarly, the passengers on the Raft of George W. Bush included his partys men and his government officials. These can be regarded as the sufferers of their own underlying principles, their conventional superiority, their greed for authority and power in the society, and their one-sided military motives. Witkin tries to show these privileged and authoritative men as sovereigns devoid of clothing. Also called the Ship of Fools, The Raft of George W. Bush was created in 2006, with dimensions being 16  20 and 38  24 inches. The entire work was in silver print (The Raft of George W. Bush, 2009).

Interpretation of Media and Critics
This was termed as the modern Ship of Fools which has as its graphic foundation, namely from the Medusa by Gericault (The Raft of George W. Bush, 2009). The characters depicted in this photograph are George W. Bush sitting and wandering in his own majestic ideas which are in the shape of tiny light bulbs. George W. Bush is also unskilled, who attained his president ship out of goodwill and treachery, instead of statesmanship. As official and leader, he is a man of no respect, a leader who utilized admired discrimination, sham declarations and promises in turn to put on and seize authority for himself. Both the commander of Medusa and George W. Bush are killers.

Moving on to the photograph, we see one of Bush hand lies on the breast of Condoleezza Rice. She is considered to be the authoritative woman who is just a good speaker and dressed in excellent clothes all the time. Near him, stands Barbara Bush, his mother who is gazing at the light which is actually the parable of liberalism and democracy. The vice-president and his wife are shown as an operatic star and diva straining to proselytize their doctrines in song. Barbara Bush is tied to a mast. She holds a sun-reflector under her chin-representing her joy in basking in the sunlight of power yet always looking like The Quaker Oats Man (Storck, 2002).

Beneath her sits Donald Rumsfeld who is Defense Secretary trampled by the Iraqi catastrophe. Colin Powell wears the headdress of glory in the military class and the dollar image strives for, after deceitfully addressing the world at the UN. Powell is shown to be conveying to Bush that they have to salvage.

Dick Cheney and his wife utter blissful ecstasy in their apparent freedom. Dick Cheney is the kind of person who would do whatever it takes to achieve success. His cowardice is prominently shown with him wearing a gown and a bra evocative of the gutless men on the Titanic who disguised in womens clothing to protect themselves.

Other Characteristics
Other prominent and visible elements include the president with a crown made of gold paper like the one at McDonalds gold paper crown. His very own radicalism is responsible for his state of mind which is a child of his own deceit, agony, pain and death it has sourced. He is leading the incompetent officials in his government. He is holding the nude body of Condoleezza Rice who is his right hand and a brainless advisor. Secretary of Defense Rummy lies face down nearby, holding his glasses, wrapped in a flag of the nation  (The Raft of George W. Bush, 2009).

Other theocratic instances that we see are a man standing under the mast of the ship with the young man underneath him depicting spiritual comfort. Next to him is an annoyed angel, who is shown wearing just a bra and holding a holds a big bone which is a depiction of cannibalism as similar to capitalism existing in U.S. and hinders the social progress of the nation. All other men are illustrations of less educated men as an outcome of a misled nation.

Conclusion
The Raft of George W. Bush (2008) is easy to comprehend, intelligent and contentious, things that will pledge its position in the past. It is not intended to alter any rules and strategy, but it might form an edifying pointer chiefly in The United States of America, of a rotary position in the minds of many individuals regarding the foreign policy of America. Art and politics are enemies and while studying this photography, I realized that some artist, are still shrewd sufficiently to put onward political views, that run opposing to accepted developments.

What Witkin certainly is doing is proving that Art and Photography are competent enough to creating a debate in that case even jab individuals principles and especially when it comes to this painting. He is not just strolling his focus on politics or government or democracy.

Rite of Passage is a poem written by the multi-awarded poetry writer Sharon Olds about a boys birthday party. By incorporating several literary elements, she was able to turn a simple and common theme into a more interesting one.

In the first stanza of her poem, she writes  As the guests arrive at our son s party  (line 1). From this line, one can assume that this poem is based on personal experience and she is referring to her sons actual birthday party in the past. Thus, through this literary form, Olds retells that occasion in a more creative manner.

Most verses in her poem are in a form of enjambment where the idea or thought in a certain line are interrupted and cut to be continued in the succeeding line
Hands in pockets, they stand around
jostling, jockeying for place, small fights
breaking out and calming. One says to another
How old are you  Six.  I m seven.  So (lines 5-8)

Olds Rite of Passage is an embodiment of an irony, which is described as a conflict that exceeds the most ordinary and obvious connotation of words or actions. The irony of the poem is that the characters mentioned in her poem are little boys acting like brave grown-ups and pretending to be real men when they are actually playing a childs game. Even if the little boys imagine themselves as adults, they are still perceived as children since they are engaging in an activity meant for the young of age.

Walter  Walt  Whitman is an American poet who wrote the poem I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing. It is a literary art composition inspired by the combination of natures beauty and the melancholic emotion of loneliness due to lack of friends or loved ones.

As noticed in Whitmans poem, it is written in first person where the speaker is narrating an event when he came across an Oak tree in Louisiana. One can assume that the person narrating the poem is the writer himself, retelling a past experience and relating emotions he felt at that time when he encountered an Oak tree.

It can be observed that Whitman uses personification in his poem and describes the Oak tree in a manner that, if distinguished in the real world, would be impossible or contrary to reason. He writes that the Oak tree found by the character in the poem is  uttering joyous leaves of dark green  which suggests that the tree is feeling a human emotion of happiness or joy while it lets its leaves grow from its branches. Symbolically, it means that the tree is in good condition or in excellent health which makes it produce fresh dark colored leaves.

Other than the symbolic emotion of the Oak tree, the feelings of the person mentioned in the poem can also be distinguished. Based upon the tone and depth of the words used, it can be noticed that the emotion expressed by the being in the poem was a combination of envy and sadness that he could not be like the tree that could live happily even without the company of friends or loved ones

For all that, and though the live-oak glistens there in Louisiana solitary in a wide flat space,
Uttering joyous leaves all its life without a friend a lover near, I know very well I could not.

Answers for Assessment Items

Question 1
For Work or Homework
I need to improve my self-awareness in comprehension skills and communicating skills. I am not able to communicate my exact ideas and thoughts to the instructor while doing homework or some other work. I need to be more attentive while performing work which I do not like.

For Art
While drawing and painting, I need to expand my thoughts. I sometimes get confined to a certain path or a topic and keep thinking about it while drawing or painting in my spare time.

Question 2
For Work or Homework
The payoff will be higher marks and better understanding of the topics which will help me in the higher studies. Communication skills when enhanced will not only help me in writing better answers but also assist me while making presentations.

For Art
Better drawings and paintings can be made by me. This not only will satisfy me but also make me happy when other people look at the paintings and applaud.

Question 3
For Work or Homework
Lack of confidence in me stand in my way as a potential obstacle. Whenever I feel that people are going to watch and observe my work, I get nervous and try to think that what will they think about my work.

For Art
While painting or sketching, I keep thinking in the direction in which I started. For example if I started to draw a boat in stagnant water, then I do not think about the background and other things that need to be drawn.

Question 4
For Work or Homework
In order to enhance my self-awareness I am going to increase my concentration level on the work that I am doing. Through taking complete interest in the tasks, I can achieve better results. In order to increase the concentration level, I am going to set milestones for each day and think about the return I will get from performing the assigned task.

For Art
For increasing my self-awareness while I am painting, I would try not to think of anything before initiating my sketches or paintings. I would take breaks and take ideas from friends so that my thought process keeps on going in different directions instead of one.

Question 5
For Work or Homework
I will perform these steps once I get over with the exams and in the new term everyone will see new changes in me.

For Art
For art, I will take these steps as soon as I sit down to make my next painting.

Question 6
For Work or Homework
The success will be measured through better marks and completion of tasks on time. The quality of tasks will also be a sign of success or failure. I will measure my success once I feel that there have been improvements in me or others comment about the changes in me.

For Art
I will measure my success or failure after the completion of my next painting. I will measure the success by showing my painting to my peers, teachers and parent and ask them their feedback. If they see some positive changes in my sketch or drawing, then definitely I am successful.