CAPA SUMMER MOVIE SERIES 2007 PRESENTS

Saturday & Sunday, July 21 & 22
2 & 7:30 pm daily
The Sound of Music (1965)
Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker

This summer my 12 year old brother my parents and I attended a showing of the classic movie The Sound of Music as part of the CAPA Summer Movie series. The showing was at the beautiful Ohio Theater on East States Street in Columbus which I had never previously been to. We sat in the balcony which had an amazing view of the entire theater. The movie has been a family favorite for a long time but getting to see it on the big screen was a whole other experience. Before the show they had an organist that played songs from the show that of course other fans (including my mother) sang along to. All in all I thought that the show was a great experience and I was disapointed that my work schedule prohibited me from going to any others this summer.

Picture of the Ohio Theater from their website. It was too dark for me to get any decent pictures with my wimpy camera flash.

Timeline from Prehistoric to Romanticism....

The bison bull and cow sculpture above dates back to the prehistoric era. Modelled in clay in the rotunda of the Tuc d'Audoubert, Ariege.The sculptures are 63 and 61 cm long respectively from left to right. I find it interesting that they have lasted this long in such relatively good condition with only a few minor cracks. I also find it interesting that they look sort of like animal crackers.

Above is an example of a Greecian Urn circa about the 5th century B.C. They used these vases to commemorate events or tell stories. Many centuries later John Keats pened the poem "Ode to a Grecian Urn" which we had to disect in one of the English classes I took in the past.

The famous quote from that:

"'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,'- that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

This double portait of two bearded men is from the Roman sculpture section of the Louvre. The older man is Greek philosopher Epicurus and the younger is his disciple Metrodorus. I was reading that during his life on the 20th of every month followers of Epicurus celebrated the day of his birth as a day set aside to remember the importance of his idea that, "the greatest good was to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquility and freedom from fear"

I love the quote attributed to Epicurus: "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you have now was once among the things you only hoped for."

Romanesque capital (c. 1150-1200 CE)French, late 12th century Sculpture: marble16" x 19" x 12''
From the Krannert Art Museum Website: "European stonecarvers who lived in former provinces of the Roman empire could be inspired by ancient models, yet Roman carving seldom displays the whimsy characteristic of much of the sculpture and painting we call Romanesque."

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel detail "The Creation of Adam"
This major cultural rebirth and revival began in Italy during the 1300's and spread throughout Europe until around 1650.
"During the Renaissance, the arts, architecture, literature, science and all aspects of culture received a new breath of life and relief from the relatively bleaker periods of the dark and middle ages. This was based upon the rediscovery and renewed appreciation of ancient Roman and Greek culture."

"Baroque literally means an uneven pearl. It came from the Portuguese word barocco. Now, it means art that is bizarre, flamboyant and elaborately ornamented. Modern historians use it simply to refer to a particular style in arts. Basically, baroque movement involve the filling up of space. Painters, sculptors, musicians were concerned with filling up the space on their scores and canvas and making their art like an elaborate stage setting."

NeoClassical circa the 1700-1800's
This house is an example of Neoclassical architechture but the architecture website I was looking at described neoclassicism as a trend as more of an approach to design rather than a distinct design style. A "Neoclassic" house could resemble a Federal, Greek Revival, or Georgian house.

Romanticism

The Lady of Shallot by John William Waterhouse

"Romanticism was a secular and intellectual movement in the history of ideas that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. It followed the Enlightenment period and was in part inspired by a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms of the previous period, as well as a reaction against the rationalization of nature by the Enlightenment: Romanticism is an aspect of what has been called the Counter-Enlightenment. It stressed strong emotion (which now might include trepidation, awe, and horror as aesthetic experiences), legitimized the individual imagination as a critical authority (which permitted freedom within or from classical notions of form in art), and overturned some previous social conventions."

In honor of the 100th annual Cicleville Pumpkin Show famed muralist and Circleville native Eric Henn has completed a mural on the downtown Johnson building to commemorate the event.
Found at the corner of Court Street and Main Street in Circleville Ohio the mural stands52’X 36’. It features a large gray arch painted with a scene from what the artist images that the first pumpkin show looked around the turn of the century. Featured around the outside in gray matching the arch are iconic figures from pumpkin shows of old including the pumpkin man, water tower, and Lindsey’s pumpkin pie.
To Circleville locals the Pumpkin Show marks the high point of the year. Schools are out for an entire week and the town literally shuts down to celebrate everything pumpkin in what has been appropriately dubbed, “The Greatest Free Show on Earth.” Henn has captured the spirit of the larger than life event with a larger than life mural that uses its bold colors and depth to literally make you feel like you are a part of the mural and a part of the history.

Midterm Part One

Line- This picture was taken through the sunroof of a car while going over a bridge over the Ohio River. The lines are easy to see and are diagonal except for the support beam which to us as we are viewing the picture would be vertical.

Color – Picture of my first Christmas tree of my own in my apartment last year. The green of the tree and the red of the bows as well as the red of my couch and chaise are “complimentary colors”

Shape – This sign from a picture I took at a park in Barboursville West Virginia show geometric shape rather than organic.

Space – This picture from the Hocking Hills shows positive space. The “canvas” is completely used up. Since the eye is drawn off the side of the picture through the trees and rocks that continue off the picture it is categorized as having “open space.”

MONOLOG

From The Women of Brewster Place, by Gloria Naylor:

“My grandmother,” Mrs. Browne began slowly in a whisper, “was a full-blooded Iroquois, and my grandmother a free black from a long line of journeymen who had lived in Connecticut since the establishment of the colonies. And my father was a Bajan who came to this country as a cabin boy on a merchant mariner.”

“I know all that,” Kiswana said trying to keep her lip from trembling.

“Then, know this. I am alive because of the blood of proud people who never scraped or begged or apologized for what they were. They lived asking only one thing of this world—to be allowed to be. And I learned through the blood of these people that black isn’t beautiful and it isn’t ugly—black is! It’s not kinky hair and it’s not straight hair—it just is.”

“It broke my heart when you changed your name. I gave you my grandmother’s name, a woman who bore nine children and educated them all, who held off six white men with a shotgun when they tried to drag one of her sons to jail for ‘not knowing his place.’ Yet you needed to reach into an African dictionary to find a name to make you proud.”

“When I brought my babies home from the hospital, my ebony son and my golden daughter, I swore before whatever gods would listen—those of my mother’s people or those of my father’s people—that I would use everything I had and could ever get to see that my children were prepared to meet the world on its own terms, so that no one could sell them short or make them ashamed of what they were or how they looked—whatever they were or however they looked. And Melanie, that’s not being white or red or black—that’s being a mother."

I suppose my experience with theater started as a first grader when I played the part of Mary for our church’s Christmas program. My elaborate costume was a blue bathrobe and sandals. On my head I wore a bath towel held in place with a wide white sweatband. The part of the Christ-child was played by my cabbage patch doll. (With that random childhood memory look @ the picture on the right which is me reciting a poem at a brownie gathering. Please ignore the gray sweatpants....the early 90's were a confusing time for all of us)

That Christmas marked both the beginning and the end of my dramatic career but I have always enjoyed theater (especially musicals). Probably the best that I have seen was Otterbein College’s production of 42^nd Street in the spring of 2006. Known for their “artsy majors” Otterbein was able to bring in the man who did the choreography for the Broadway production of the show. The amazing talent of the students who mastered the complicated Broadway choreography was awesome. At the end of the show I was crying and its not even a sad story! It was just so great!(The second picture to the right is my childhood friend Kelly and her friend who both appeared in 42nd street)

Unfortunately I have never been to a “professional” play or musical but I would jump at the chance to attend if I ever had the opportunity! My dream would be to see the Broadway musical Rent with its original cast but that is impossible since they are no longer touring. That show serves as an excellent example of how societal changes can come about through art. Rent dealt with many “taboo” issues such as homelessness, homosexuality, and drug addiction that had not previously been explored on such a large scale.

From The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

“He had bent his tall figure in a low and ceremonious bow, as she finally, with another bitter little sigh, began to mount the terrace steps.
The long train of her gold-embroidered gown swept the dead leaves off the steps, making a faint harmonious sh—sh—sh as she glided up, with one hand resting on the balustrade, the rosy light of dawn making an aureole of gold round her hair, and causing the rubies on her head and arms to sparkle. She reached the tall glass doors which led into the house. Before entering, she paused once again to look at him, hoping against hope to see his arms stretched out to her, and to hear his voice calling her back. But he had not moved; his massive figure looked the very personification of unbending pride, of fierce obstinacy.
Hot tears again surged to her eyes, and as she could not let him see them, she turned quickly within, and ran as fast as she could up to her own rooms.
Had she but turned back then, and looked out once more on to the rose-lit garden, she would have seen that which would have made her own sufferings seem but light and easy to bear—a strong man, overwhelmed with his own passion and his own despair. Pride had given way at last, obstinacy was gone: the will was powerless. He was but a man madly, blindly, passionately in love, and as soon as her light footsteps had died away within the house he knelt down upon the terrace steps, and in the very madness of his love he kissed one by one the places where her small foot had trodden, and the stone balustrade there, where her tiny hand had rested last.”

Response:
The Scarlet Pimpernel was required reading for a class that I took some years ago. At first I was unimpressed with the overly dramatic dialog and the old English diction that laced the novel with words like, “Nay” and “Aye.” As the story progressed, however, I began to enjoy the story a great deal and look back on it now as one of my favorite books. The storyline of the novel is pretty complex with a large cast of characters and many twists and turns to the plotline. In the scene above the title character Percy Blakeney and his wife Marguerite’s marriage is on the rocks. He feels that he is unable to trust her with his “secret life” and she is frustrated and confused by his aloofness. The result is a tender scene which never fails to make me sigh.

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

~Onomatopoeia (Stanza 5 Line 2 “The vorpal blade went snicker-snack”)
~Mood (Stanza 2 all 4 lines really give an ominous feeling to the reader.)
~Climax (Stanza 5 the story reaches its peak when the dreaded Jabberwock is killed!)
~Imagery (Stanza 4 Line 2 “with eyes of flame”)
~Tone (Stanza 6 Line 3 “Callooh! Callay!” you can really feel the excitement that the narrator has at the death of the Jabberwock)
~Diction (found throughout Carroll’s creation of new words by combining two or more words makes the poem original and adds the opportunity for extra description without making this poem any longer)

Is the function of art determined by its form?

As we have been discussing so far this semester, art can take exist in many mediums. It is not just something that you have hanging above the fireplace in your den. Art can be music, film, dance, poetry and other writings; drama…the list goes on and on. Because of the expanse of this list I think it is safe to say that the function of art cannot be determined by its form. Seeing a beautiful painting may inspire you in the same way that someone else is moved by music or a good book. To say that the function of art is limited by its form is limiting what art is supposed to be.