Sunday, September 30, 2007

Reflections on GOYA



Francisco Goya seems to be a true man of his time. His dramatic change in the depiction of the 18th century and 19th century in which he lived, seems to reflect the events of his time. The reigning ideas at the turn of the century concerning the rise of the bourgeoisie and the clout that the working class began to have is reflected in his paintings as he changes from a light and positive view of the aristocracy to a dark and somber depiction of those in the bottom ladder of society. Perhaps such a sudden change reflects his own perilous journey into what has been labeled as madness, or perhaps like reigning artists of human history he was able to depict with artistic skill the major events and ideologies of his time.
From the documentary this painting was one that caught my eye above all others. I haven’t read enough to make a clear argument on its meaning, especially in regards to its connection to modernity. All I know is that it is supposed to reflect the time in some way or another. My guess, would be that with the rise of enlightenment ideals-mainly those concerning the creation of a governing body that was said to be compromised by a group of ordinary men-the god Saturn perhaps represents these ideals? And if this be the case, the ghastly picture of him eating his own son, can be seen to interpret how these ideals that gave rise to a working class are ironically the very principles that were causing their terrible working and living conditions.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Today in the cultural hour we watched a documentary about a German camera man who caught on film the ravages of the First World War. What particularly left an image in my mind was this footage of this one particular young man. He had been awarded a medal and with a smile showing all his teeth, he stood proudly, posing for the camera in the hope that his face would make it to the German broadcasts. This smile and excitement that this boy showed to the camera is what seemed to be the drawing force to join the army forces. This particular romantization of being a soldier for your nation was the leading deceptor to the brutal realities of the First World War. We saw in class the posters that were produced to market this very idea of bravado, brother-hood, and honour that would in grave deception be the great benefits of being a soldier of war. The camera man changes-much like the soldiers whom he was filming from an excited 23 year old man to a bitter and angry man that had seen beyond the romantic notions of war.

This led me to think of similar patterns of deception that are occurring in our world today. I thought of the recruitment slogan for the Australian Army: the Army, The edge. The edge of what? The edge of excitement, of living your life on the brink, of pushing new boundaries? This sense of adventure connected to war is still very much present. War is still glorified, as it has always been. Deception, rhetoric, call it what you will, is still the driving force of the masses.



Wednesday, September 5, 2007

weird entertainment

heres a clip from the new "le petomane," Mr Methane.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

The French Farter

Now, this hour was INTERESTING and yet a little disturbing. We watched a documentary of the french professional farter and entertainer Joseph Pujol, otherwise known as Le Pétomane. This guy could "fart at will" by using his abdominal muscles. It was BIZARRE to see that he had became such a sensation in Europe . Does his art (debatable) represent his times? Perhaps the vulgar nature of his work, that dealt with such an "indecent" part of his body, could have aided in the paving of the way for the sexual revolution that was to come in the the second half of the century? Debatable topic that one, but whatever the answer is, this man's talent deserves attention. One thing that is interesting is why has so much of our comedy revolved around farts? I just dont get it....

DEGAS


Pretty cool hour this time round. We watched a documentary of Degas, the painter fascinated by ballerinas in the middle of the 19th century. Again, I do not know if I am making precise assumptions, but it seems to me that Degas' art and life represents (yet again) the turning point the 19th century was facing at the time: removal of monarchies with the replacement of governing bodies that would, at least in theory be a REAL representation of the people. Degas' artistic choice to focus on the unseen side of the glamourous ballet, seems to reflect somewhat this uprisal of the REAL. He chose to depict the life of the ballerinas in practice, and not on the stage, in other words he drew what the audience could not see. Aswell, i found it interesting how he chose to surreptitiously include the "patrons" of these young ballerinas in the paintings. The hierachical dominance of patriachal europe was hidden amongst his paintings as these girls depended heavily on the funds given by these men to survive in the world of Ballet. Most of these girls in order to get this money became "girlfriends" to these men, purely for financial reasons, again Degas introduced the reality behind such a seemingly beautiful and purely elegant way of life.