Presidents

The Presidential Candidates : As our modern monarchs

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 The presidential election is a time of fighting and conflict. Candidates are constantly trying to pull the other down. They lie, and make promises they plan to break, all to get elected in the end. I know in my family, there is a large amount of talk about politics, both within my immediate family, and with my relatives. Luckily I don't have any who fear Obama simply because he is black. This country is so preoccupied with race it is scary. it may be hard not to see race in this day in age, but it is easy to not let it matter.

It is easy to complain about the way our election system works as well. A bunch of old, white guys making decisions in a large room is not exactly the most settling thought. The lying and cheating that goes on is also not appealing. The electoral college is an old and long-standing way of voting, and America doesn't look like it is going to change any time soon.

A lot of creativity comes out of the campaign. Graphic design, political cartoons, comedy sketches, and video adds. They say politics brings out the worst in people, but sometimes it is just the opposite.

Macbeth

Perhaps popular among shakespeare fanatics (I couldn't say), the version of Macbeth we viewed in class was certainly a different way of looking at the play (compared to the main stream version we looked at in high school). The play harbors themes of power, guilt, and the supernatural. Perhaps visually unique, the play still didn't do it for me. The 'world war II-ish' costume was a choice I found random instead of helpful or intriguing. The movie 'Looked' like a play, with it's scene changes, and low-key sets, but was staged like a film. The witches (nurses) who open the film, although quite scary, did not convey the same message that the witches in the play. The witches in the movie were simply creepy, but did not strike me as 'Magical'.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra is an often-used monarch when talking about woman-rulers. Her rule was mighty, and firm, even though most of the monarchs of her day were men. She ruled because she was smart, not simply because she was pretty. In the article/essay, 'Becoming Cleopatra' the author decides to introduce race and symbolism into the world of cleopatra. The Author opens the essay by talking about a video involving Eddie Murphy, Michael Jackson. She speaks about the symbolism involved in the video. Then the author begins to read very heavily into race. She speaks about Cleopatra possibly being black and how this would 'Change' History. How publications would fight to have Cleopatra on their side, for an example of a successful icon of their race. Who cares if cleopatra was black? Except for records of science and perhaps a little of racial history. In the essay, the author explains that both white's and blacks play off of cleopatra's 'racial ambiguity'. It is true that no one REALLY knows what cleopatra looked like, but it is preposterous that one race is trying to 'Take' cleopatra as a point for their 'team'. Both 'White' and 'Black' culture is something that totally turns me off. I see culture as something that divides, rather than something that unites. If one becomes engulfed in "white culture" for example, than they are more divided than if they involved blacks in this culture as well. I agree that blacks and whites are different, but I dispose culture either way. I believe it excludes and divides.

Henry VIII

Henry VIII by William Shakespeare, can easily be related to any love affair of modern times. Although a bit more violent, jealousy and a lust for power are common traits in both Shakespeare's man and the modern man. Like most dramas of the today, this play displays a complicated web of dramatic relationships. Between Wolsey, King Henry, The Pope, Katherine, and all those under Cardinal Wolsey. There are many men in history that get bored with their wives, and there are some now labeled as 'Murderers' who have them killed. Henry is no exception. His secretive relationship with Ann is conflicted because of the relationships they have genetically, but Henry's mind overcomes this. Henry's royalty allow him to get away with many things that could have gotten killed had he been someone lower on the food chain. The power Kings and Queens possess in King Henry's day is almost absolute. This is a scary thought weather one is Queen Catherine, or a peasant of this day. This power is a large factor in what makes a king or queen. The fact that Henry is able to go against the pope's wishes shows that even though the(supposedly) highest being, or being closest to God, can be thwarted. The pope was a very important figure, and King Henry was simply able to thrust him aside.

Jumbo Himself!

Jumbo the Elephant

Jumbo the African Elephant, was believed to have been born in the Sudan, and captured by animal traders. His mother was killed, and he was kept in poor conditions until sold to The Jardin des Plantes.
This was a zoo in France. Although they were quite a large and popular zoo, they did not treat Jumbo the way he should have been. He was housed with the zoo's two asian elephants in a cramped enclosure. As Jumbo was already sick when he arrived at The Jardin des Plantes, the lack of knowledge of African Elephants did not help his health. He became lethargic and malnourished. The Zoo soon acquired a new African Elephant calf, and Jumbo was all but forgotten.

Jumbo was then sold to The Zoological Garden's in England. There, he was better cared for and met his trainer and long time friend, Matthew Scott. The Zoo in England became quite attached to Jumbo, despite some disagreements they may have had with some of his actions. Jumbo quickly gained weight and height, with his new and dedicated caretaker. Jumbo gave rides around the Zoological Gardens to children for a penny, and soon became a popular attraction at the zoo. He was also given a 'Mate' named Alice (Also an African Elephant) although no chemistry was seen between them.

As Jumbo aged, and became larger and larger, he was getting a bit hard to handle. He would have bouts of rage associated with adolescence and a fear of small spaces. PT Barnum was in the market for a large African Elephant, and heard of Jumbo's massive size. He had to have him. So he wrote Mr. Bartlett (the head of the Zoo) and offered a large sum of money for Jumbo. The offer was accepted, and Jumbo was packed away in a large crate.

(I haven't finished Jumbo's Biography... So I don't know the details of what happened next... But I will know =D And I will update my blog when I find out

-- So long =)

Switching Thesis Themes!

After Woodruff scared one of the pictorial problems teachers by saying "They're not kings or queens unless they had power over people" -- that scared teacher told my teacher, and of course she got panicked, and actually Called Woodruff.

He was not thrilled with the idea of me doing my thesis on Charles Darwin, and suggested another King for me to do my thesis on.

Thus, my new thesis topic was born.

Jumbo the Elephant as : King of Elephants

Trajal Harrell

The ideas behind The performance by Trajal Harrell that I saw on monday night are far from simple. The couple that can be found are "What would have happened in 1963 if someone from the voguing ball scene in Harlem had come downtown to perform alongside the early postmoderns at Judson Church?" and "Can a Greek Tragedy such as 'Antigone' be done by voguing?". Because I have little background knowledge in voguing, postmodern dance, or Greek tragedy, it is hard for me to discuss the ideas behind the performance.

What I can take from this experience is the way in with Trajal experiments with different dance media to convey a story. As an Illustrator, I am constantly surrounded by competition, and it is important to be innovative and creative. People will always be looking for "the next big thing" and simply doing what you've done before won't cut it. The experimental nature of the performance was the aspect that captured me the most.

Although it was hard to understand with no background knowledge of the tragedy of Antigone, it is also possible that because I did not see or read about Trajal's other performances in the series (Large, Ex Large etc.). They were talked about as more elaborate than the one I watched in St. Marks' Church.