New Creative Community

Ok so I think this is the reading Gen wanted me to do a blog for... and i am sorry about it being up so late, but I had some home things that got in the way.

For this assignment er were to read the forward, intro, notes and chapter one and two. This reading reminded me of the Fight like a Girl reading alot. Just as you would expect from the title of the book it focused on what is occuring in our communities in America. The author seems to believe, and I can see her point, that America is changing into a country that doesn't interact anymore. She blames this on media, which is what made me of the previous reading. Goldbard took a different look at media though, she thought that it was part of the reason why are communities are not connecting face to face anymore. She does suggest a remedy for this problem though, art. She believes that just as music can speak to so many youth today, that if communities came together to create art, that it would raise awareness on important issues in America and bring community ties closer again.She then gives us an idea of what she seeing the crucial steps are in order to get this "community development" in action. For the most part this was once again another informative reading but Goldbard did put an interesting twist on it by giving us examples of what she was talking about, and she choose these examples so that they were relateable to the readers.

But is it art? Chapter 1

The beginning of this chapter was definitely a little shocking. It talks about substances such as blood, urine and semen being used in art. It gives an example of an "artist" named Ron Athey who cut someone open on stage and hung the blood soaked paper towels above his audience. Freeland also talks about how blood has been used in rituals over the years.
The second part Taste and Beauty compares the two. Taste is something that is acquired through values and culture, while Kant considers beauty as a judgment. He believes beautiful objects do not serve an ordinary purpose.
Kant's legacy goes into detail about what Kant believes beauty is. There is also a paragraph talking about Andres Serrano's Piss Christ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ). I googled it to see what it was made from but all I found was Esoteric medium and I'm not sure what that is. I know it is a photograph with a small crucifix but as for the yellow stuff, I have no idea. The following section defends this "piece of art". The most compelling argument about why this is art, to me, is when Lippard explains that Serrano does not feel body fluids are shameful, but natural.
Francisco Goya created disturbing but true artwork, some of the scenes he actually witnessed. He then went deaf and created even more horrific images called his Black Paintings.
If I had to describe this chapter in one word it would be horror.

readings

Hey everyone,
I actually couldn't make it to get the books this weekend, so if anyone could do the post about the reading, it'd be greatly appreciated. Sorry.

-Mike

Subject in History Assignment

Here again, please copy and past you "Subject in History" assignment as a comment!

Assignment 1

This where you should be posting your paper. A few important things. You need to COPY and PASTE your assignment in a comment to this post. In addition, as I mentioned to you in class, I WANT a paper copy in addition to the posting. The posting will confirm to me that you have submitted the assignment on time, but I still want a paper copy, either during the section, or during class. Finally, make sure you have read the instructions carefully as a big part of your grade for this assignment is based on whether you can follow instructions.....

For this time only, you should know that I will not be attending the large class section as I have to catch a plane to go to a conference. So, please hand in your assignment to Maren Cummings (another TA). She is one of the black TA with the Fro-awk. She should let you know at the beginning who she is. Otherwise ask any TA and they will direct you to her. Alternatively, you can leave the paper version in my mailbox in Woods Hall (2nd Floor). In all cases, please make sure your assignment is posted on time!

Have a great week end and good luck with the final revision of your assignment. I hope you enjoyed the museums!
Gen

Welcome to the best section ever!

I am personally happy and excited about this course and I hope you will enjoy discovering art and culture and their multiple relationships with women as much as I will. I am hoping that we can create an environment where we can discuss and share our impressions and intellectual discoveries in a safe, respectful yet challenging way. This Blog is part of this attempt to keep the conversation going at all times and give you a chance to make your voice heard both on your own discoveries and on other students’ comments. It also allows us to share what we find on the internet by posting links, images and sites.

I am personally very interested in non-performance public art such as graffiti, chalk art, murals, exhibits in public, and I am hoping that we can focus on this type of art, although I am open to discussion about anything. As a start, you can watch this short video of a few pieces of 3-D street art. To see it click here. Please watch until the end, the most amazing pieces are at the end. (For credits and translation of the image on the left, see here).

Contributions:

As mentioned, this blog has the purpose of continuing the discussion from the class. This means that I do expect you to contribute to the blog on a more or less regular basis. This is especially important if you are a shy person and do not like to speak in public on the spot or if you missed a class; it still provides you with an opportunity to contribute and share your thought and ideas.

You are also asked to post your papers on the blog on the due date. This has two implications. 1 – You will not receive a grade until your paper is posted. 2- That you should be aware that the content of your paper will be public. DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING IN YOUR PAPERS THAT YOU CONSIDER TOO PERSONAL!

You are allowed to use a nickname for the blog, but if you do so, you need to communicate with me and tell me who you are so I can give you credit for your work.

We can discuss in class in more details the fact that this blog will remain public, but my main reason is that I think all scholarship should be accessible and shared as much as possible.

If you have questions about how to post your thought or your paper on the blog, please let me know or email me so we can discuss this together. This will not be an acceptable excuse for not posting ….

A Little Bit About Me

My full name is Geneviève Pagé. I am originally from Montreal (Canada) and I am in my second year of my Ph.D. in Women's Studies here at the University of Maryland. In general, I am interested in the traveling of feminist theory from culture to culture and across languages. More specifically, I am looking at this traveling of ideas from the United States and France and its influence on Quebec feminism, more specifically radical feminism.

I will not hold set office hours, but I am available on an appointment basis. You can email me at genevievepage@yahoo.com. That being said, I will probably be available between the discussion section and the class lecture (between 1:30-1:50) and a little bit after the lecture, so I encourage you to stop by. The office number is Woods Hall 2101c.