Blog Synthesis

The task of synthesizing, or summarizing, my blog entries has been placed upon my shoulders. I know it is not what a professor of Compelling Nature of Mankind wants to hear, but how do you say lack of interest in 750 words? As I said in our face-to-face meeting, “I am not compelled by much.” I am one of the most simplistic people you will ever meet. I like small houses, small cars, small wardrobes and small communities. Do not take this wrong, I appreciate big and fancy things, but they do not impress me; they show off mankind’s gluttony. During this course we have discussed the ways mankind uses photography, video, buildings, music and clothing to sway opinion, or lead somebody into believing something is better that it really is.

When photography was invented, the subjects had to sit real still, or else the image would be distorted. As time went by, photography has become so childproof, even my Kindergartner students know how to take pictures on a cell phone. Images can be manipulated through software programs, compositions cropped to optimum aesthetics and lighting tweaked to just the right shading. In my blog, I discussed how I like to use time and light to create an image. By waiting for just the right conditions, my photographic compositions seem to take greater life than standard pictures. I am able to share this information to my students in the form of digital photography lessons, but the technology is not readily available for me to pursue this regularly.

For the video lesson I had fun making a parody of the Chrysler 200, Super Bowl commercial. I went down to Detroit and filmed my own images, trying to copy some of the icons used in the original. It has been fun listening to the mixed comments I have received over that video, both good and bad. I have used video in my classroom once, by having middle school students film a 15 second commercial. They had to write the script, find appropriate locations (on campus) and perform many takes/retakes. It was hard, but they loved it and produced some real funny commercials.

Architecture is prevalent everywhere we go and teaching in an urban district gives the perfect opportunity for me to teach perspective (one and two point) with the buildings we see every day. I used the architecture unit from class as an idea to base a lesson on where my students drew an imaginary building and made the outside appealing to their desires. If they were drawing a shoe store, the building needed to make me feel invited in and want to shop there. We discussed how buildings are designed for specific purpose, unlike older buildings where necessity prevailed. We also talked about color and “curbside appeal” help draw customers in to a store. The students liked the idea, but the projects were not the greatest. This would be more of a high school level assignment.

I enjoyed the music assignment. I have always listened to a wide variety of songs, but never seen them the way Copeland described. I have always taken them for face value. It was also interesting to hear Kapilow describe how musicians use music to manipulate/hook a listener into staying with the song. I try to introduce music into my classroom, whether through youtube, or cd’s, but my students take this as a challenge to get louder that the song and I have to shut it off. I would love to play music in my classroom, but the right setting is just not there yet.

I have to be one of the worst dressed teachers in any given building. I wear old slacks with old polo shirts when I HAVE to, but get away with blue jeans and a fire tee shirt when I can. Being an Art teacher has its privileges in the fact that I can choose to use a messy medium and the principal will turn a blind eye to my attire. I do try to teach some of my younger students a bit about fashion though. I have a lesson where I provide template of a male and female human. The students then draw and color two “nice” pieces and two “regular/every day” sets for each gender. I like to use my computer and bring up an online clothing catalog for the suit examples. The children are pretty good with the jeans and shirts drawings without the help.

It is very hard for me to get excited about anything that involves manmade goods, but these are some of the ways I have been trying to implement the knowledge we have been gaining from this class into my Art room. If you really think about it, somebody had to pay for everything you see, feel and hear. Not everything is as sweet as it is portrayed and beauty is only skin deep. I know how mankind uses illusionary tactics to divide you from your money; I just disagree with it.

Work Of Art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QakYEAWxFmo&feature=youtube_gdata

Here is my Work Of Art project. I walk you through the steps necessary to take quality portrait photographs. I did not see any reading assignments that went along with the lesson, so I do not have anything to write about here. please enjoy!

Module 6 - Imaginative Bridges

I'm not sure if I am supposed to talk about fashion and how it fits into an Art room, or the concept behind "What Not To Wear." My fashion sense is the pits (I want to say sucks, but my professor said I cannot use that word in class). I hate getting dolled up, even for school. I understand that the better you dress, the better people treat you, but I also come from a very rural setting where people take you for who you are, not how you dress.

The concept behind "What Not To Wear" as applied to an Art room can be seen in my "What Not To Teach" video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nbhixkvoSE&feature=youtube_gdata). I took a plain old art lesson I had witnessed a classroom teacher use years ago and I applied a couple ideas I learned here in the MAET program, bringing it into the 21st century. I think the kids would prefer a lesson that implements technology much  more than a simple sit and observe lesson any day.

Readings Addendum to WNTT Video

I’m sorry. I cannot buy into all this “fashion is better” talk. As Postrel quotes and comments in her Forbes Magazine article, “ ‘In a world in which most consumers have their basic needs satisfied, value is easily provided by satisfying customers' aesthetic needs,’ write marketing professors Bernd Schmitt and Alex Simonson in the book Marketing Aesthetics. Those needs aren't limited to such niches as fashion, cosmetics or entertainment.” She says it all in that little paragraph. America has its daily bread; we just want more of it. We are a gluttonous society that is not happy with what we have; rather we want it all. We want so much of it in storage that our pantries, closets, garages and storage units overflows. When does enough become enough?

Does this mean there is not room for improvement? No! But who is to say what needs changed? An example of this can be found in Postrel’s story of Motorola changing the color of its beeper from black to “squirt gun green.” This little upgrade cost consumers an extra $15 per unit (pg 67). How idiotic? If a meaningless swap in colored plastic cost the company nothing, why would they charge the customer more for the same piece? Isn’t this price gouging the willing? To me, change means upgrading something. I do not mean swapping colors, adding whitening or using different packaging. “If you make a better mouse trap, the world will come knocking on your door.”

I am not against capitalism; it makes America tick. But, when it comes to companies making major profits without offering viable goods, I have a problem with it. Postrel also mentions this on page 74 when she says, “It’s all about status. The intrinsic pleasures of look and feel are irrelevant. We’re simply attracted to anything that helps us compete for recognition and dominance.” It all boils down to the almighty dollar. Money is power and power begets money. It takes willpower to not give either away frivolously.

What Not To Teach Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nbhixkvoSE&feature=youtube_gdata

This is the link to my WNTT video. Please enjoy!

Reading

I have a hard enough time reading and comprehending finished text. Now we have an editor's copy with all sorts of red hash marks and corrections? Ideas are like advice. They are neither good, nor bad, until you try to use them. As the old saying goes: "Necessity is the mother of invention" and there are a lot of people that have imagined greater things because there was a necessity in their lives (or world around them). After that, it becomes a power struggle to sway the minds of other people into feeling (or knowing) that there is a need in their life as well. This is the power of persuasion (advertising) and when you throw a lot of money at it (the persuading) mindless sheep will follow. The American public has proven itself time and time again that they will buy almost anything...if it is advertised right.

Meeting

I am totally getting disinterested in this Compelling Nature stuff. I have known that I just don't care about  the things other people do, but this class is emphasizing that belief. I had to go to MSU and have a meeting with professor Wong just to get my assignments straight. I appreciate him taking the time and I just keep saying to myself that I am almost done.

What Not To Wear - Imaginative Bridge

OK, I finally watched the What Not To Wear video and I want my hour back. I understand the concept behind What Not To Wear, but I disagree with it. Fashion is in the eye of the beholder and Pam was very comfortable with her old clothes. I found it sad that they threw away all of her clothing that she had so many memories with/from. Even I can make somebody look nice by throwing money at them and providing a new wardrobe. Sure, the two hosts know what they are talking about (fashion wise), but that does not mean that what Pam was wearing was wrong. The haircut and make-up artists also knew how to perform their trades, but again, what is wrong with being comfortable as God made you? One question: How long do you think it took Pam to reload her own fashion style into her closet? She liked the changes, but you could tell that she did not adhere to them.

If you have not figured it out yet, my beliefs are very simplistic. I like “Plain-Jane” everything. My ideal house is four walls, a kitchen, a bathroom and a place to rest my head. My ideal car is functional, has a manual transmission and no accessories. My idea of dressing up means putting on blue jeans. I can throw on a fancy sweater if it gets chilly out. I wear slacks and a pullover Polo shirt to teach in and I have 2 suits that rarely get taken out of the closet, but I prefer to just wear shorts and a tee shirt year round.

Now, I need to convert this into the What Not To Teach mentality. I find it very hard to tell anybody else what to do in their classrooms, just as much as I do not want them nosing into mine. I can take somebody else’s lesson, make a few tweaks and turn it into my own version. That is self-improvement. If asked, I would share my techniques as well and I would listen to constructive criticism, but in the end, it is still MY decision on what to change. If you threw money at me to improve my classroom, I would just buy more supplies for the kids to use. Sometimes, it is not about how fancy you can make the lesson, but how practical and intriguing, in order to gain and keep student attention. As the saying goes: “You can put a tuxedo on a goat, but in the end, you still have a goat.” I guess those two hosts could try to improve the goat’s wardrobe… that would be a fun episode.