If you have still to cover an event, you should check the listings under the category of “Events” on our class website. There are still some Opera tickets offers and other great events. If you need to do a review of Meet the Artist, then you could use one that took place during class time: Dante Adela and Del-Barrio class and talk for example.
Category: Assignments
In Pursuit of Truth (?)
1. When viewing a work of art, or listening to one, can we see the truth? Can we feel it?
I believe we cannot see nor feel truth because we don’t necessarily know what truth is. We are subject to our own perceptions, which hinders our abilities to ever see truth. Seeing (or listening to) art is attempting to view another’s ideals, but not necessarily truth. Artists can try to convey truth, but it is not possible because truth is subjective. We can see or feel emotions or thoughts, which is perhaps why they become most relevant in interpretation of art. This then implies the questions of whether or not emotions or thoughts are truth. Perhaps they are to some, but no one is ever sure because truth is abstract and undefined.
2. Medieval artists resorted to Geometry to express a spiritual truth, and Baroque composers built their cannon on a mathematical symmetry. Do these methods limit our definitions of truth and therefore of beauty?
Geometry and mathematics do not limit our definitions of truth; they elaborate them. As human beings, we find comfort and beauty in symmetry and patterns. By applying such tactics, we are satisfying our innate desires. That doesn’t mean that this application should be the only defining aspect of truth and beauty in art.
Truth ≠ Theory
1) When viewing a work of art, or listening to one, can we see the truth? Can we feel it?
When viewing or listening to a work of art, we cannot see the truth. We can only see our interpretation of the artist’s interpretation. By the time we comprehend what we are viewing, the truth could not be further away. Truth is fact. It is proven and widely accepted. Everything else is theory, and theory can perhaps be viewed through art.
2. Medieval artists resorted to geometry to express a spiritual truth, and Baroque composers built their cannon on a mathematical symmetry. Do these methods limit our definitions of truth and therefore of beauty?
Creating art that is based on concrete, mathematical observations is the best way to convey truth. In order to be universal, truth and beauty need to express things that everyone can see, and mathematics is almost able to force art away from “intrinsic” observations. Math-loving artists deserve respect for their courage; they try to show what is actually there, so that more of their audience is able to relate to something concrete. This is a significantly more difficult task than the task of creating something abstract or unrealistic.
From and Content Lecture Notes
Here is a link to the presentation notes for 10/29 class
In persute of Truth
“Was Somebody asking to see the soul?
See , your own shape and countenance..”
Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass
Please discuss one or two of the following statements:
1. When viewing a work of art, or listening to one, can we see
the truth? Can we feel it?
2. Medieval artists resorted to Geometry to express a spiritual truth , and Baroque composers built their cannon on a mathematical symmetry. Are these methods limit our definitions of truth and therefore of beauty?
Group Project
Please check the instructions for the group project under the “Syllabus” drop down menu. Your deadlines are now in place. Post your names and topics as soon as you can, so we can help you.
Dance as a language
Ben Harkarvy of Julliard sees dance as ” a language without words”. It might be funny to think that dance is often regarded as a language, but to those who actually indulge in it and have made dance a pivotal part of their well-being, character, and vocation, they see it as their second language. Dance can be seen seen as therapy, it can merely be seen as an aesthetic tool, yet what people don’t know it that there is a point when what you are doing with your body takes on vocabulary of its own. The professional dancer has come a long way. There are so many styles nowadays and a result so much ‘vocabulary’ in dance. Modern interpretative dance although we call it modern, has its roots in the oldest dance styles. Its funny to believe that at one point in history man’s communication abilities relied on body movements and gutural sounds. Man in its primate days-i like to believe- would not be so surprised if he were invited to a Modern Dance company recital. The reason dance has become such a ‘language’ is that dancers describe putting their soul into it. Its an activity that many a times is based on improvisation to come up with a choreography. There are always boundaries that can be pushed as Western Dance experiences Eastern Dance and vice-versa. It is constantly growing and its been millenia that the human race has incorporated dance into its abilities for whichever specific reason. In addition, when choreographers create their thoughts come after their creation. They are create and then revise it. Its almost like writing and speaking. We speak faster than we think most of the time. Once we do so, we can go back and ‘revise’. The use of the human body can be equivalent to use of our larynx to speak. The way you speak is a personal aspect of you, and although someone else may speak similar to you, no one can exactly speak like you. The same goes for dance; imitation is crucial to creating and expanding, but no to dancers dance identically. Dance has it own individuality.
‘Ello There, Do You Speak Dance?
The idea of dance as a language would no doubt surprise most folk seeing as Rosetta Stone hasn’t yet released its “Dance” software. However, by definition, dance can be considered a language, as it is a “nonverbal method of expression or communication” (Oxford). In a literal context, bees perform a dance to communicate to their hives. If you think about it, dance was probably one of the very first human languages, as most elderly civilizations use(d) dance to communicate with the gods themselves, and I’m sure the first stubbed toe was conveyed with a dance to rival Alvin Ailey (as well as the very first swear words.)
Dance as an Art Form
Is Dance a Language?
What did you learn from meeting Dante Adela?
Jazz at Juliard
The word “jazz” has a soothing quality to it. Compare that to “hip hop,” which sounds like one wants to run away from it. The musical genres actually transpire in similar ways. Which hip hop can be abrasive and unsavory, jazz feels less like entertainment and more like therapy, a relaxation that accompanies saxophone solos.
Juliard’s jazz performance lived up to the sterling reputation of the genre. Listeners will be most impressed by the merging of sophistication and soul in the performance, and jazz in general. There is an irreproachable coolness to jazz, a particular intellect that comes along with appreciating it, yet jazz is also a visceral experience that expresses much more than its notes can explain.
Jazz at Juliard decided to do a tribute to Count Basie, and made a wise decision as a result. They celebrated this tour de force in jazz with songs as eclectic as “To You,” “Tickle Toe,” and “Freckle Face.” There were many finger-snapping, upbeat tunes, but there were also slower ones that allowed listeners to interpret, relax, and decompress in an organic way. There was the sense that there was a song for everyone, and that if the present one playing wasn’t for you, the next one surely would be.
Those who understand the high-brow nature of Juliard need not be concerned about jazz losing its lustrous flavor in the institution’s hands. Listeners go in expecting everything will be rehearsed to perfection, and find that there is an improvisational, almost casual nature to the playing of the striking, powerful music. This improvisational aspect is essential to the nature of jazz, which is all about live performances, and expressing what one can’t articulate on the whim, so that others may understand one’s life experiences. The combination of the piano, clarinet, and saxophone, among other instruments, creates a set of sounds wildly appropriate for the aforementioned purpose of jazz. The combination has the potential to sound everything from bubbly to morbid.
At Juliard’s performance, most will be struck by the fluidity in the music, the fluidity between musicians. There is seamless, aural art all around, tickling one’s ear with its genius. Jazz is all about how certain instruments, certain sounds, and certain musicians can come together, and flow in a natural way that suits the music. But just as in the Juliard performance, jazz oftentimes consists of many solos as well. One might consider these innumerable solos each man’s interpretation of life and the world. After all, jazz is about expressing what is not said. It is especially useful for illuminating human moods and the human condition. With different instruments, different musicians can express their own takes, and offer insight as only they and their instruments know how. The performance at Juliard retains the essence of jazz by sticking close to the formula of high soul, high sophistication, and a medley of music and musicians that is virtually unbeatable.
