Earth Art

I think earth art was extremely interesting. Earth art was a unique and unconventional form of displaying art in a natural setting. Smith son and Guillbon both use landscapes, rocks, and environmental aspects to display art in outdoor settings.

Did R+G have a choice?

Not only can we ask ourselves this question about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's role in the failed trap against Hamlet that leads to their death, but it is also a question that they ask themselves multiple times. For instance, after they realize that they are on the boat heading to their death, they debate if they ever had a choice not to follow the messenger's call. They conclude that there must have been a moment when they could have said no. Even when they are on the boat, they could have left and fled, but instead they carry out the modified letter, even though it announces their death. Rosencrantz still cannot make his own decision and simply lets fate guide them, regardless of if he will die or not. Therefore, they had a choice, but their choices would not have changed anything because they still must follow the script of Hamlet.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Movie version

The actual act of watching the play made it a lot less confusing for me. Because it is a play, it is meant to be seen, not to be just read. The movie seemed to add more aspects of scientific inquisition, such as the hanging pots as Newton's cradle and an apple falling from a tree. I think that this added to the visual sense of how Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are lost and try to find meaning and direction in their lives. Another interesting aspect in the movie version are the papers blowing across many scenes. The papers represent the script, but it could be either the script of Hamlet or of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. I think it makes more sense that it would be the script of Hamlet, because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are obviously restricted by the original script of Shakespeare's play.

R & G

I thought Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead was very interesting, and very different from any play I've ever read. Before reading the play I was curious as to how a whole play was written based off of two extremely minor characters from another play. Stoppard masterfully structured the play to portray the two characters who exist simply through what is written about them in Hamlet. Overall, it is an interesting and effective way to comment on existentialism by Stoppard. R & G spend the whole play searching for meaning which they never find. Stoppard seems to also be saying that humans push forward to death, trying to give themselves meaning before it comes, but do have no right to be afraid of death, as no living person knows what it entails.

Media Art

I think that the art pieces I covered in this unit resonated a lot more with me than past units. The critiques of the way mass media affects society are very much still relevant today. For example, the feminist arguments that many of the pieces provide still provide great commentary today. Other pieces, like the Barbara Kruger piece included in this post, are very good critiques of consumer society and are still very relevant today.

Pop Art

In the unit of Post-Modern Art, Pop Art seemed stray the most from traditional art and those pieces from Modern Art. Pop artists often would just reconstruct something from pop culture, or even arrange basic objects into art. Pop Art was defined by Richard Hamilton as being popular, transient, expendable, low cost, mass-produced, youthful, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and the product of big business. It surrounded pop culture and was a critique on commercialism and mass production. It proved how infatuated people were with celebrities and mass produced items. Andy Warhol was known as the leader of the movement for his paintings of items such as coke bottles and Campbell Soup Cans.

Post-modernism

Post-modernism differs from modernism in that it satirizes the seriousness of modernism by making use of irony. Modernism was more of a time for worshiping elite culture and acting superior and refined. Post-modernism was a reaction to this elitism and was enhanced by a more far-reaching media platform. It also carries a need for the viewer to interpret what the subject makes them feel and draw their own conclusions that differ from the ideas of others. It is less of the modernist belief in rationality and intellectualism and more of a satirical view of society.