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MissLemon

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Posts posted by MissLemon

  1. I think Glenn Beck was trying to highjack the Tea Party. And I agree that he was up to something when he asked that people not bring signs...it helps him control the message. Fortunately, I don't think the average Tea Partier is buying what Beck is selling. His rally was nothing but a prayer meeting for the religious right, a group that has been growing more bolder throughout the Bush years.

    The Tea Party on the other hand, was partly a response to the religious right in my opinion. Many conservatives are sick of the anti-abortion, anti-gay and fake capitalism the religious right advocates and have seen the devastation to the economy and our individual liberty that their policies have caused. They hate the principles of Beck's followers as much as they hate the policies of the Obama administration.

    I saw no religious signs at the Tea Parties I have attended and the people I talked to were interested in one thing...reducing the power of the federal government to intrude into our lives, economically and personally. I think more people are awake now than before the Tea Party movement began and I don't think Beck's revival will make them close their eyes again or move toward religion.

  2. I was wondering if you guys know any useful resources on Art Education (epistemology/pedagogy/aesthetics/philosophy) apart from the Romantic Manifesto.

    I haven't read the Romantic Manifesto yet, so I don't know if this is redundant, but at ARC TV they have posted a 48 minute audio lecture by Ayn Rand on Art in Education. Here is the link, just scroll down the page to find it.

    http://arc-tv.com/category/appearing/ayn-rand-appearing/

  3. I think Pink Floyd said it best:

    *Big man, pig man, ha ha charade you are.

    You well heeled big wheel, ha ha charade you are.

    And when your hand is on your heart,

    You're nearly a good laugh,

    Almost a joker,

    With your head down in the pig bin,

    Saying "Keep on digging...

    Pig stain on your fat chin.

    What do you hope to find.

    When you're down in the pig mine.

    You're nearly a laugh,

    You're nearly a laugh

    But you're really a cry.*

    -Pigs part one from their album Animals.

    Will Obama ever stop digging? It doesn't look like it to me. The socialists can dish it out, but they can't take the heat. Ha Ha charade they are...

    Not that the conservatives are offering much better!

  4. I was wondering the same thing. In terms of actual artistic merit, there are few rock bands that rival Pink Floyd. In fact, I'm gonna go ahead and say that the only band that even comes close--in terms of real, musical, artistic quality--is Led Zeppelin

    Funny... Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd are my favorite bands.

    I am not sure Led Zeppelin fits into this thread as individualistic in the the lyrical sense. But Pink Floyd certainly does, at times. I like Welcome to the Machine and Animals the best. Although many think those albums were indictments of capitalism, I think they can be better viewed as a depiction of the strength of individual humans to fight the corruption of collectivism. Their lyrics are brutally honest.

  5. I thought the first segment was the best but I agree the show was a mess. I think the host needs to do a better job moderating the discussion. It's pretty funny when they show all the guests talking at once!

    Yaron did a good job defending the insurance industry. I always enjoy his tv appearances.

    He's on this show again tonight, by the way.

  6. Mary Ann Sures, in her discussion with Dr. Peikoff, mentions two sculptors, Wilhelm Lehmbruck and Michaelangelo:

    1. Three views of Lehmbruck's sculpture, "Der Gestürzte": Angle, Right, Left

    2. Michaelangelo's "David"

    And this ominous landscape painting by Jacob Ruysdael:

    "Portuguese Jewish Cemetery"

    Likely there are better images available online, but these at least may help with following what she says.

    Actually, thank you for posting these links, Trebor.

    I was interrupted three times while listening, so I never got the finish the broadcast! Tomorrow, I plan to try again, and your links will no doubt be of value. Michaelangelos's, David is an image I can recall at will...so beautiful. The others I had not seen at all.

    MissLemon

  7. How about writing back to them saying no, they don't. It's not government's job, and in fact, by getting involved, government will cause the decline in the availability of health care and health insurance.

    I DO write them back and say if you "must take action" then I must take action to try to convince everyone I know, who votes, to make sure you don't have the ability to "take action" in the future.

    I don't get many responses using this approach.

    I see it's possible they won't succeed in getting this passed so I am just hanging on to that thin hope.

  8. They are definitely trying to set up a health care monopoly, and they want to eventually outlaw any other type of health insurance choices.

    Health care options end at the point of a gun.

    I don't know what can be done aside from writing all of your Representatives and Senators and say NO!

    I think a government run health care monopoly is exactly what they are trying to do. The government can run it's plan without a profit, in fact they can run at a loss...forever.

    So how long could any private insurance company compete with that?

    When I write my Senators, asking them to vote NO, be they liberals or conservatives, all I get back is a form letter stating that both sides of the isle have agreed that the government "must do something." A phrase that sends shivers down my spine.

    My Representative in the House, Cliff Stearns did send a reply stating that he is against the "public option" in heathcare reform. I guess that's something.

    ARGH, my blood is boiling over this issue! How do you guys stay calm?

  9. Ah, yes, a comb. Interesting that your mom kept her brush and comb like that.

    I see it's a mirror, a hand mirror, what I thought to be a string. Thanks.

    The woman in the photo in the magazine, who is that? Looks like perhaps a famous actress of the time, and perhaps the girl hopes to be as beautiful in time.

    Why do you say, "bittersweet painting"?

    The woman could be Myrna Loy but I am not sure. I say bittersweet because the girl is so beautiful already but she doesn't see that, she longs for a future that she's not sure she can attain, that's why she looks sad as she gazes at herself.

    Critic

    Rather appropriate.

    Ha, Ha, very funny....

  10. Certainly the magazine on her lap with the photo of the beautiful woman is significant. And of course, the items at her feet, the hairbrush, and lipstick (?), and...what is the white thing, and what is the string-like object?

    Obviously, everything in the painting has a purpose. Mr. Rockwell was deliberate. THE picture idea was primary; everything else went towards creating a painting that expressed that idea.

    I've often thought Mr. Rockwell to be one of the most intelligent of artists. He mostly painted humorous pictures, but some were otherwise.

    I think it's a lovely bittersweet painting.

    The white thing is a comb that is stuck down into the bristols of the upturned hairbrush. My mom kept her brush and comb just like that on her vanity table. The string like thing, I think, if you look closely is a hand mirror, look into the standing mirror to see the round shape of it. The other string like things are loose hairs caught in the teeth of the comb.

  11. Here is a randomly found image of one of Mr. Rockwell's paintings, "Girl at Mirror."

    What is the wide metaphysical abstraction(s) in that painting?

    I'll bite.

    Broadly, the painting is showing that part of being human is to long to be better or more than we are at present.

    More narrowly, we see a lovely innocent girl who longs for the beauty and strength of womanhood. She has cast aside her doll, a symbol of youth, in favor of the cosmetics at her feet. When she looks in the mirror, she is not convinced that she will attain the qualities she admires in the glamour photo she holds.

  12. As a pedagogical example of the content of this post, take a look at Rene Magritte's Treachery of Images here. Read about the painting here. I think that Magritte's picture illustrates one of the most important lessons in the study of art.

    I think the pipe is art and GOOD art for that matter.

    I also don't think the pipe is art. It is definitely stylized but it communicates no fundamental idea, nothing meaningful to human life or cognition. I'm not fully sure about this one, though.

    Wrong! It conveys the message that images are not reality, is that not an idea? A very meaningful idea to life and cognition?

    So, as soon as somebody chooses to draw something, he automatically expresses his ideas about what is important. This comes to bear from the first moment his pencil touches the paper: what does he NOTICE about the object he selected? That is ALWAYS a value judgment, whether the artist acknowledges it or not.

    This seems like it should be obvious, but so many here seem to disagree.

    How can any artist draw or paint anything without selecting a subject and making value judgments as they create the composition?

    As so many have already pointed out, what the artist intends as the "meaning" of his art is not what all viewers of the art will see or understand.

    Also, if someone paints a masterpiece, full of metaphysical meaning and puts it in a closet where no one else ever sees it...I say that painting is still a piece of ART in reality, even if it is never seen by anyone but the artist.

  13. What I have learned from this thread:

    My strong points are perhaps some basic skills, an eye for composition and an interest in perspective and proportion. I will continue to draw and paint with the goal of improving on these strengths.

    I need to focus on purpose most of all since without that, nothing I create will have any real meaning other than the building of my technical skills.

    Thanks to everyone for helping pinpoint some of the strengths and weaknesses of my creations. I may post more of my work as I continue to study and create, but probably only the finished pieces...

    A couple of comments about critiquing art in general and the discussion on Dali:

    I think one does not need to be an artist to offer opinions on art. All one needs is well, vision and an opinion. The intent of the artist doesn't matter as much as the attributes of the finished product, which we are all free to comment on and discuss, forever, even if the artist is long dead.

    Does this in any way dispute what Ayn Rand had to say about art?

    Miss Lemon

  14. One of my favorite modern artists, Michael Whelan, intentionally uses false perspective in some of his works to, in his own words, "create a sense of looming immensity". He tried it with the "correct" perspective and didn't like it as much--it lost a lot of the visual impact. So he fixed it.

    I once saw a painting very similar this one, I can't remember the artist, but it was a large piece. I remember standing in front of it and I almost felt like I was falling INTO it. It was a pretty interesting sensation. Talk about "looming immensity" and no, I wasn't drinking beforehand.

  15. I'm very new to Objectivism so I may be off base here and corrections are welcome.

    I've noticed that arrogant is a term used by jealous people when someone else asserts themselves in a competent manner.

    To me it is similar to the term smart-ass rather than asshole as mentioned above. Because smart-ass is also a term used by jealous people when someone is asserting something correct but perhaps in a curt or funny manner.

    My point is I don't think arrogant is or should be a negative word.

  16. I simply loved Dr. Brook's statement towards the end of Part 1 of 2:

    We need to dump that (the idea that you're your neighbor's keeper) in the river with the tea!

    Bravo!

    I really enjoyed at 3:00 in part 2 when he quotes Patrick Henry, something to the effect that Henry wasn't talking about "just a little bit of liberty" and the tall sailing ship passes by in the background... just beautiful!

    Oh, and I like that he starts the speech with quite a bit of anger, how appropriate considering the political state of affairs.

  17. No. Myself acknowledges reading the other thread after you made it known to him. His first post mentions nothing of the other thread, only critiques of your new drawing. His second post was written with knowledge of the other thread.

    I noticed that point, too.

    BTW - I like your Procol Harum quote...just listened to Grand Hotel the other day...

  18. Btw, speaking of Dali, here's a section of a painting of his which is said to have been Rand's favorite painting.

    It's distorted. Can anyone here identify what's wrong with the perspective and proportions?

    J

    I'll try...

    His left foot looks twice as long as his right foot, in fact that left leg looks wrong to me. Maybe his right arm is too short. The head is strange. That's what I see. Sorry I don't have the vocabulary to clarify.

    MissLemon

  19. The contentiousness in this thread is accomplishing nothing. Knock it off.

    Agreed.

    This thread has been about judging and comparing student-grade paintings, including MissLemon's, Ifat's and the painting by Maria Schaeffers. I think that each of their works has appealing features, and each has obvious flaws which clearly indicate the areas in which they lack knowledge and experience. There are many aspects of their craft that they each need to work on.

    With that in mind, reading Ifat's posts has been like watching the 978,215th rated artist in the world venting her anger that no one has joined her in thrashing the 978,267th rated artist in the world.

    J

    Agreed.

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