In the reading it talks about the importance of the humanities in a persons life and the way they connect one with another. It even goes so far as to say that art is like a window which allows one to see into another's thoughts and emotions. It is a way to connect societies and time periods.  I think that the arts can bring people together more than even technology can, because it has an emotional element that technology cannot mimic. The reader gave an example of a basketball coach who was influenced by the arts and became a more professional and well rounded individual. I found it interesting that he hung up his sport jackets for suits. He found who he really wanted to be, and because of his open mind toward the arts he evolved into a more open minded person. This can apply to education in general. Being exposed to the study of humanities can aid a person studied any field and help them to know more about the society that they are trying to help whether it be through scientific formulas, or complex math equations. I feel that the humanities should be more encouraged in the high school and college levels of education. This will develop and produce more well rounded and connected individuals.

CLASS TIME - I found it very interesting that the Humanities can be broken up into three main historical definitions, the classical, the medieval and the modern. - Art can be divided into two parts Liberal Arts: history, philosophy, languages, literature Fine Arts: performing, visual, mix; including film and contemporary art - I learned what sophic and mantic mean and how they can be applied to describing art or a time period of art. I felt like these terms really helped to distinguish the style of art being produced during specific time periods. Sophic is analytic, while mantic is innovative. - In "A Brief History of the World" notes I realized that art really does reflect its people and the time period in which it was created. A discussion came up about pop art and its importance. I feel that pop art is not only the most relevant to a generation but the most reflective as well. I am obviously impressed and moved when I see a piece of fine art, however, I feel just as moved when I see works of more relevance. When I was in New York a few weeks ago I was so intrigued by the sidewalk murals and wall paintings. They are the works of the people. They reflect the ideas and express the problems or joy felt by a group of individuals and therefore for an entire generation. These types of art along with new and modern art help to shape society and voice its opinion for the people of tomorrow.

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art 6/27/09

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art On Saturday I had the opportunity to go to the exhibit at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Currently featured is Classic Contemporary: Lichtenstein, Warhol & Friends. I have been wanting to see this show since I first heard about it and my Humanities class gave me the perfect reason to attend, so this weekend when I went home to Vegas I made a point to go. When I walked into the room it was silent with only a few people strolling by admiring the artwork. Immediately to the left six enormous Campbell's Soup cans hung, framed in thin silver, three by three on the white wall. Though the image was repeated each can was a different variety of soup. The colors, though so commonly seen, seemed to pop out with such vibrance. The image as a whole made me wonder what it symbolized. Being around the 1960s when Warhol first introduced this theme it made me ask myself why? Was he expressing the unwanted coming of mass produced commercial items? Or the overwhelming picture of brand names? I really had no idea. Just then the audio tour guide explained that Warhol decided to use soup cans to avoid competing with more refined styles of comics. An abstraction, in a way, developed from the repeated images. Moving along through the divided rectangular room a large circular protracted image entitled Sinjerli I by Frank Stella was mounted on the wall. Its amazing the perfection that the piece had even though it was so large. My brilliant friend that went with me pointed out that the pencil marks were still visible down the middle. This struck me because it made it so real. I felt like I had a real connection with the artist, and could just see him at work in my mind. One of my favorites was the alphabet distorted and shaped into a popsicle with a bite taken out of it and a drip melting off the bottom. It was so creative and made me laugh. It was like the intestines of a someone stomach shaped into a tasty summer treat!