Art & Authenticy

It is evident to me that a piece of art is authentic when it grabs my attention and stands out to me in a way that no other art piece in the room possibly can.  “Michelangelo’s First Painting” entitled “the “Torment of Saint Anthony” did just that.  Seeing the painting and learning about the story […]

I looked at Michelangelo’s first painting and said to myself: “Thank God, he didn’t start out as a genius.” It is clear that Michelangelo’s “The Torment of Saint Anthony” cannot (and should not) be compared to his much later work like the “Sistine Chapel” or “David.” It lacks the technical skill and the refined style […]

When one first looks at Michelangelo’s First Painting, it is evident that it holds two different scenes. The first scene, which is the background, appears to be a perfect utopian world placed in a serene environment. This contrasts with the second scene, which is at the forefront of the painting. Saint Anthony, the demons, and […]

Although Michelangelo Buonarroti‘s “The Torment of Saint Anthony” was based on Martin Schongauer’s engraving, I took away more from the painting than the engraving about good and evil. I see that even though both good and evil coexist simultaneously, as long as people remain confident and calm and resist all temptations, God, represented by nature […]

Michelangelo’s “The Torment of Saint Anthony” is much more than a colored version of Martin Schonaguer’s “The Temptations of Saint Anthony”. Key alternations and added elements allow Michelangelo’s painting to convey a feeling completely different than the one delivered by the engraving that it was based on.

Souleymane Cisse’s “Min Ye…Tell Me Who You Are” is a rather repetitive film where the relationship between Mimi and Issa goes back and forth for 2½ hours. Mimi had shown a very interesting personality, which demanded the attention of both men in her life. However, her unfaithfulness had made me lose sympathy towards her throughout […]

So Souleymane’s Cisse’s “Min Ye…” was a production that destroyed all stereotypes I have ever made about independent film. It was long. I’m talking 2 1/2 hours long. That’s even long for a regular movie. Aren’t indie films supposed to be under-funded? How did Cisse have the resources to make the movie go on, and […]

Souleymonne Cisse’s stunning portrayal of the social instability in Mali truly captures the chaos of an unstable relationship between Issa and Mimi. Although both of them are liable for disloyalty and lechery, social pressures in addition to the insatiable desire for sex on Mimi’s part is what ultimately makes this relationship one-sided.  Social pressures in […]

The complicated relationship in Souleymane Cissé’s Min Yè… (Tell Me Who You Are) between Mimi (Sokona Gakou), Issa (Assane Kouyate), Abba (Alous Sissoko), and Nassoun, which serves as a miniature of the polygamy system in Mali, leaves the audience an impression that the many problems caused by polygamy have no solutions. Mimi, the 52-year old […]

Min Ye (Tell Me Who You Are) opened to a colorful foreign setting. Because of this, I guess I had anticipated that there would be more substance in the plot. What I got was a redundant plot with shallow, one-dimensional characters. It was hard to see the focus of the play, is it feminist, or […]