The BIG Apple

Dancers follow the beat of the music and use "quick, quick, slow, quick, quick, slow, slow, slow". The dancers rhythm must also flow together for the dance to look good!
The Big Apple is a very interesting looking building. It was originally called the House of Peace Synagogue. The worshipers soon outgrew this building and it was turned into and African American juke joint. Here, the "big apple dance" was made and soon traveled to NYC in the form of white USC students. After it was closed other commercial groups took over until Historic Houses of Columbia bought it and now you can rent it for special occasions. Its architectural features consist of a stained glass dome, a balcony, wood floors and a pediment above the front door.

The shag has thick roots in the south, especially South Carolina. It came about in the 1930's in clubs in Myrtle Beach. It is a mix of dances like the jitterbug and lindy hop swing. The shag is danced to songs like "Carolina Girls," and "I love beach music." It is danced from the waist down, unlike many other dances. In this dance the men always lead and the women always follow. It has become a favorite past time of many southerners. I had a shag lesson and really loved it!

Who Shot Rock and Roll?

At the exhibit- Who Shot Rock and Roll, I found one photograph to be especially captivating.
This photograph was of Janis Joplin singing at a concert. I took a picture of it, I'm not sure if I was supposed to, but here is that photograph-

Description

The picture was taken in 1968 by David Gahr. He and The Staley-Wise Gallery in New York are the owners. It's is in black and white and approximately 6 x 8 inches. It was done in a gelatin silver print. According to Wikipedia the process is "the photographic process used with currently available black-and-white films and printing papers. A suspension of silver salts in gelatin is coated onto a support such as glass, flexible plastic or film, baryta paper, or resin-coated paper. These light-sensitive materials are stable under normal keeping conditions and are able to be exposed and processed even many years after their manufacture."

A lot of the photographs in the museum were done in the type of printing, which seams to be related to their time period they were shot.

Analyzing

I feel that this photograph expresses the overwhelming power of music. In the photograph Janis Joplin is singing. Her hand is outstretched as if she is feeling that note all the way to the ends of her fingertips.  I assume she is on a stage because there is a bright light to the left of her left hand. She is wearing some kind of bustiere, which also leads me to believe she is in concert. She is also wearing a lot of bracelets and rings. I think this photograph reveals that Janis Joplin was overwhelmed by her gift of music. She is so passionate in the picture and yet her hair looks kind of greasy, like she didn't care much about her looks. There wasn't a lot of information on the plaque next to the photograph, so the interpretation was left to the viewer.

Relate
This photograph shows Janis Joplin being consumed by her music. Two years later, in 1970 Janis Joplin overdosed on heroin in her hotel room. The photograph lets us see up close and personal just how much Joplin's music influenced her actions, and overtook her body, in the same way that heroin did two years later.

Assignment # 6

I danced for 15 years before I came to college. I would ask myself the question "why do I dance" in the nerve racking seconds before I entered the stage. And most times when I was exiting the stage I got my answer. The feeling of expressing yourself purely with motion is pretty exhilarating. It's fun, it's can be emotional, it is expression!

The Baroque period of dance, in Europe, is tied to music and theatre in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is typically danced to baroque music. Very elaborate clothes are worn and head dresses. It looks as if the dancer is stepping across the floor with various hand movements. To me, it looks like the king may have had baroque dancers come and entertain him in his home.

Bollywood is an interesting form of dance that has recently intrigued Americans. It is an Indian dance marked by interesting moves to Indian music. Intricate hand motions mainly with the thumb pressed to the palm. Also, sexy hip movements are involved. It looks somewhat tribal and ritualistic.

The video is an interpretation of Bollywood.

Assignment # 5

Jazz music has no definate roots. I took a Jazz and American Pop music class last semester and found that there were lots of places that Jazz came from. One of the major developments in Jazz was when slaves were freed and moved into cities in the north. They were then allowed to be themselves and enjoy making music. Some jazz has roots in other places such as New Orleans. It is unique to Americans because it was written by Americans and is completely original to the United States.

In Peter and the Wolf:
Peter is represented by the strings. The duck is an oboe the wolf is and the bird is a flute. The grandfather is a bassoon, and the hunters are the woodwinds.

Classical music
Bach and Beethoven are examples of classical music. To me classical music sounds soothing and like something that people would dance to in lines at a fancy banquet. It reminds me of the movie the Pride and Predudice.

Film Art Event

I saw Tiny Furniture at the Nickelodeon Theatre.
In the establishing shot of the film, Aura the main character is in a large city. The time is in the 21st century and she seems to have an artsy style of clothing. Aura appears to be in some sort of slump by the way she dresses and her lack of interest in her weight and hairstyle. She doesn't wear any/much make-up at all. She is moving in with her sister and mother. This set the stage for my experience as a person who possibly will change/grow throughout the movie. The movie has a comical side as well as we watch her trying to become this person she wants to be.
Special camera angles I noticed throughout the film were ones similar to that of the angle on the poster shown above. A view from the ground. Her mother, a photographer, is usually the one capturing angles like this because she photographs tiny furniture as a career.
The film was an hour and forty minutes long. Honestly, I didn't really get anything out of it. It is about Aura, a 22 year old woman who moved back home after college and got a degree in film making. She has a few very strange youtube videos but that is the extent of her film career. It seemed to me that the meaning of the film was a woman reverting back to her childhood life/fantasies after being away at college. It looked to me like a "mid-mid life crisis" the one that can be experienced after not knowing what to do when you get your degree. One of the final scenes in the movie I found extremely disturbing. Aura and this man that she worked with have sex in a tube at night in the middle of a road while high on marijuana. It was hard to watch and I felt like this was not something she was striving for during the movie.
The roles of the characters were played very well. Each of them were quirky in their own way. They were very convincing. The music fit the movie really well. It sounded like the sound track from Little Miss Sunshine to me. The music was by teddy banks. I feel it supported the theme of the movie. The genre of the film was a coming-of-age mixed with documentary filming styles. 

As I mentioned before the film's message was unclear to me. In total I would say the message is about how difficult one may find it to move on after graduating from college. And losing your way and returning to old, childish tendencies.

Assignment # 4 Architecture

The McKissick Museum on campus has ionic columns. It also has a dome roof which resembles a hill, one of the most important architectural elements of importance. The style of this building is very obviously Greek revival. You can tell by its columns and the statues above them. However it has no cornice but it does appear to be a post and lintel structure. 

Assignment # 3 Aesthetics

My feet carry me farther and farther away from my warm bed on school mornings. I step outside to the chill of winter and push my hands farther into my pockets. The music in my head phones is up beat and I begin my dance to class. As I walk across the bridge wind kisses my face with its icy lips. Up and down the stairs I go, climbing the mountain to my destination... more knowledge. The naked trees wave saying "good morning" as I walk by. Up more and more stairs, I am nearing the summit. The air smells crisp and fresh, my breathing patterns have now sped up. The reddish brown bricks beneath my feet almost look like an optical illusion and my bed seems too far away to turn around. More stairs I climb. I open the door to my first class and find my seat. I still miss my warm sheets, but it will be a while before I visit them again.

Nessum Dorma by Pavarotti
My first thought, as many others was wow! this guy obviously cares a lot about what he is singing about. I started with a music note because it was what I was hearing then throughout the song I used different swirls/lines to represent the lines of the music and the curves in his voice. At one point he got extremely loud and that is why I drew mountains.

An Establishing Shot is usually the first shot of a movie. It shows where you are, what time period and what is going on. It is very important for the viewers because without it we would not know what is going on for a while.