One of the most ancient structures in China, the Forbidden City holds a great amount of sacred meaning. The citizens of the People’s Republic of China uphold their long, interesting history and that can be seen through the preservation of this space. The image above is of the Forbidden City in the capital of China, Beijing. The Forbidden City was built in the Ming Dynasty in the mid 1300s and housed more than twenty emperors over time. The city is completely surrounded by walls and gates, as one needed permission from the emperor to enter. The city originally served mainly for the military and the royal family. The walls were constructed in a way that made it very difficult for one to climb. Also, they used lime, glutinous rice, and egg whites, making the walls very strong. There is a great amount of rich culture in this well preserved building that keeps thousands of tourists visiting this space every day.

When you look at the photograph, the predominant colors you notice are red, green, and blue. In Chinese culture, colors have deep symbolic meaning. Along the right side of the photo there is a wall of red. Red also translates to the south direction. This could be a good indicator of direction as this structure was built in the mid 1300s. The Forbidden City is also quite large. The buildings and passageways all look pretty similar after a while. The use of color to aid in direction may be a tool used to help navigate through this space. The colors blue and green have often combined intentional meanings in many Asian cultures. The meanings of these colors deal with health and harmony, which makes sense as the Forbidden City houses the emperor, his family, and the Chinese military. These are all people that need to be in good health to control the country of China. Although the photo shows the age of the building well, many touches of gold are added along the red, green, and blue. Gold is regarded as the center of everything. It is the color most often associated with Chinese Buddhist temples, signifying good luck and neutrality.

            Chinese culture also has a lot of symbolism with animals as well. In Western cultures, we have a certain way of viewing Eastern culture. Westerners see the colors and the dragons and pinpoint that as Chinese culture, but it seems to have much deeper roots. The dragon is highly regarded in China, as many emperors have used them as a symbol on shields and throughout the Forbidden City. Although it is not photographed in this space, the dragon plays a huge part in the architecture of this space. Dragons with five claws symbolized imperial use. Many dragons were thought to have been stolen from the Forbidden City once it was opened to the public, so one claw was removed, symbolizing a lesser official, and blurring the track from its origin.

            This photo had a deep depth of field and the flash on to capture each detail of the space. It is always interesting how spaces like this age, but still hold all of their symbolic value. Around Beijing, the patterns and colors from the Forbidden City are seen in small businesses and many other structures, bringing the city back to its roots through this beautiful symbolism. This raw culture mainly serves as a tourist attraction, yet it still houses some of their military. This space is a perfect example of Eastern culture, which is refreshing to view without Western influence. Unlike Chinatown establishments, the Forbidden City is a cultural hotspot and experience in its purest form. 

House of Cards

Introduced as a reproduction of the 1990 BBC series House of Cards, the Netflix original series created by David Fincher had viewer’s attention from the start. The series has come a long way from the original novel by Michael Dobbs, to the BBC version focusing around British Parliament, and finally landing on the Netflix original series starring Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, a power seeking leader of the Democratic Party. In this series, unveiling the truths behind the face of politics, drama, lies, sex and murder are all quite prevalent. American citizens don’t get to see this side of politics, and as always, the unknown is the perfect platform to draw in viewers.

            Throughout the series, the relationships formed in the political community are all put in second place. The community formed through the relationships in the series proves to be quite individualistic. Frank Underwood stated towards the middle of the series, that he would never use someone that he couldn’t dispose of at a later date. The relationship between Underwood and Russo is the perfect example of this. Underwood befriends Russo, instills confidence in a cause that he knows will cause the demise of Russo entirely. By doing so, Underwood is behind the scenes climbing to the top, impressing many along the way. It is almost disappointing to not be able to count on any of the relationships. Underwood also had issues with his wife, causing both to be unfaithful and secretive towards each other. Underwood doesn’t seem to remain loyal to anyone but himself, other than the man working his favorite rib joint. Overall, Underwood puts himself before all others, even those he cares about. This creates instability in the plot by not allowing the viewer to become comfortable with the closest of relationships.

            How then does the storyline keep viewers tuned in? House of Cards does a phenomenal job in introducing plot twists. They seem to come as just the right time. As one area of the story is dulling down, something happens in a different area to ignite the flame under your seat. The series was the first to be released by Netflix. The idea of this is quite interesting. Netflix has turned into a platform for binge watching shows, and just the release of this series shows that they are condoning this type of viewing. The first two episodes were released as a preview to the series, followed by the remaining eleven all at once. Starting off watching this series as appointment television didn’t work. Netflix is smart in this, allowing you to continue without even a click of a button. The combination of the easy accessibility and the episodes ending at a critical moment allow viewers to fly by the series in just a few short days.

This conquest for power has great screenwriting, interesting relationships, and great visual composure. Many await the release of the second season, in hopes that it continues to draw us in with the unveiling of the drama and lifestyle behind US politics. 

Banksy- Political Art

Art has a way of conveying a message that is able to speak to millions in different cultures across the world. Political art is no different. The subject of political art tends to be one that is driven by passion. In today’s world, many people want to see a change in some aspect of society that they find to be unjust. This is often translated into passionate and personal works of art through a variety of mediums. Political art, however, is quite difficult. Many people in today’s society are turned off by liberal artist’s views and find them to be nuisances to society. Their graffiti and performance pieces even seem to turn many people away from the art community. Many people outside of this group see these artists as obnoxious, resulting in them not being as highly regarded by the community. Their work is therefore not judged on quality and creativity as openly, as people are blinded by their own opinions. Political art is also found to be one of the most interesting fields to study, as so much of the work is meant to do just that – make one think.

In a world filled with billions of people, how does one make their voice heard? Especially when everyone’s views seem to conflict, how do these means not just anger people? The combination of an intriguing artist with the right audience brings the aura of political art to life. Banksy, a well renounced graffiti artist, focuses a lot of his subjects towards political art. He brings a classy, easy to approach element to this genre of art, making it widely available to a variety of audiences. His pieces are artistically executed, as one can tell he has a great deal of talent and creativity within his work.

The piece by Banksy stating, “Sorry! The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock” is shown in a multitude of areas, with the framed indoor version grabbing the attention of many. The words are painted onto a natural landscape, giving the piece a more earthy feel than print. The image of the mountainous tree landscape is backed by a piece of graffiti with matching tones. The entirety of the piece is then framed in gold. This may seem contradictory to some, but Banksy seems to pull this piece together and in doing so, opposing the community’s view of the average destructive graffiti artist.

The meaning of these words are pretty self explanatory; The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock. With the rate that we are using up our natural resources and destroying forests of over thousand years old, our resources will be out of stock. We are dwindling down the areas of the world that actually look like the natural scene in the background, and where do we think we’re going to get that back? The contrast of the mountainous landscape with the graffiti makes this realization come to life. The piece shows what a majority of our space is turning into.

Many people in today’s society find graffiti work to be degrading our quality of life. In the city of Chicago, mayor Rahm Emanuel has implemented a city wide program to eliminate graffiti completely. If a surface is defaced, owners of the property can report this in, and the city will remove the graffiti as best possible from any surface, free of charge. This program has been brought to many other cities around the world including Milan, Rome, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Antonio. Although some graffiti can be offensive and destructive, it can just as often be beautifully executed and have content of positive value to the community. Also, the graffiti artists themselves are not very highly regarded by the community, making it hard to gain acceptance and appreciation. Overall, the community does not consider this to be art at all. However, it has a strong message, is well executed, and uses the same tools that are shown in galleries across the globe. 

As a graffiti artist, the piece stating, “Sorry! The lifestyle that you ordered is currently out of stock” and many others set Banksy apart from the public image of these artists. He has a large portfolio of beautifully executed graffiti work, but is also acknowledging the depletion of our natural resources. This truly goes against the public’s general thoughts of graffiti artists. Graffiti artists are not generally seen as artists at all. The stereotype of artists tends to include a strong sense of the environment, yet all people seem to think of graffiti is to deface the environment. Banksy is showing his care of these natural resources through this work. It is very true, if the population continues to destroy our forests at the current rate, the beautifully depicted landscape will be forever lost. Not only is it wasteful, it is causing problems on our planet associated with global warming. With less forests, there are less sources to take in the Carbon Dioxide that is so present in today’s day and age. The people who are criticizing graffiti artists for degrading our quality of life are the same people who are not taking care of their community by being conscious of their carbon footprint and other dangerous ozone depleting gasses that are a part of their daily life. So who is it that is causing the destruction; the graffiti artists, or those not taking care of the community?

Knowing that the artist cares for both the environment and yet maintains his status as a graffiti artist, is an eye opener to many. Banksy opposes the image of the typical destructive graffiti artist and focuses on what the population is doing to the environment, rather than what the graffiti is doing to the environment. In what seems like a great contrast at first glance, this work is really more of a statement to the public. The work done by Banksy overall combines the great passion for political art through a very alive issue with a soft, approachable and relatable subject. 

The Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock

As all art is used to convey a message able to speak to millions, in millions of different ways, political art is no different. The subject of political art tends to be one that is driven by passion. Many people want to see a change in some aspect of society that they find to be unjust. The reasoning behind this artwork tends to be quite personal, containing a lot passion and thought. Political art, however, is quite difficult. Many people in today’s society are turned off by liberal artist’s views and find them to be nuisances to society. Their graffiti and performance pieces even seem to turn many people away from the art community. Many people outside of this group see these artists as obnoxious, resulting in them not being as highly regarded by the community. Their work is therefore not judged on quality and creativity as openly, as people are blinded by their own opinions. Public art is also found to be one of the most interesting fields to study, as so much of the work is meant to do just that – make one think.

            In a world filled with billions of people, how does one make their voice heard? Especially when everyone’s views seem to conflict, how do these means not just anger people? The combination of an intriguing artist with the right audience brings the aura of political art to life. Banksy, a well renounced graffiti artist, focuses a lot of his subjects towards political art. He brings a classy, easy to approach element to this genre of art, making it widely available to a variety of audiences. His pieces are artistically executed, as one can tell he has a great deal of talent and creativity within his work.

            The piece by Banksy stating, “Sorry! The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock” is shown in a multitude of areas, with the framed indoor version catching my eye. The words are painted onto a natural landscape, giving the piece a more earthy feel than print. The image of the mountainous tree landscape is backed by a piece of graffiti with matching tones. The entirety of the piece is then framed in gold. The meaning of the words are pretty self explanatory- The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock. With the rate that we are using up our natural resources and destroying forests of over thousand years old, our resources will be out of stock. We are dwindling down the areas of the world that actually look like the natural scene in the background, and where do we think we’re going to get that back? The contrast of the mountainous landscape with the graffiti makes this realization come to life. The piece shows what a majority of our space is turning into.

As a graffiti artist, I think this piece set Banksy apart in my mind. He has a large portfolio of beautifully executed graffiti work, but still chooses to akenowledge that that is what our world is turning into, even with it contradicting his hobby. This gives the image a different feel. Knowing that the artist cares for both, gives the image a softer feel. Although is shows great contrast, there is still a respect for our lifestyle. This work overall combines the great passion for political art through a very alive subject with a soft, approachable and relatable subject. 

La Bruquena

After seeing the performance poetry in class and listening to the performances at La Bruquena, it helped me gain a new appreciation for poetry. I never had much of an interest in poetry, because it seems that I can’t follow the same train of thought throughout the piece and it is hard for me to be fully engaged in the work, but the poetry at La Bruquena grabbed my attention much easier. I like how a lot of the poets work told stories. I especially enjoyed the first poet that the guild selected to perform. Her first piece she spoke in Spanish, and I wasn’t able to follow the meaning as well. But, listening to her change her tonality from her regular speaking voice into her poetry mode, it gave me a new appreciation for live performance. Although I couldn’t understand her well, I could tell the mood she was trying to evoke, which made the performance really powerful. Secondly, Her poem about her journey through her illness was really captivating. She used a lot of great descriptive words that transferred her uncomfortable encounters with this illness straight to the audience. Her story was very easy for me to follow. This is quite possibly one of the first poems that I actually felt fully tuned in to. The mood of her poem seemed reflected by the audience perfectly.

            The second poet of the night also really surprised me. This woman looked very classy and put together with her white turtleneck and tasteful jewelry. When she started performing her piece, she had a very ghetto, loud quality to her voice that really took me by surprise. Her words flowed really well together while making the language make sense to a general audience. A lot of her subject matter had to deal with being a struggling mother. By her presence as a well put together woman, you wouldn’t pin her to be one that struggles with such matters. She performed a piece about the clothing choice for her daughter, and how careful she must be in today’s day and age with how much skin she shows, even as a grade school girl. This tied together her appearance and the performance really well. She had on a turtleneck and dressed fairly conservatively, which contradicted her tonality and attidude to me. But after hearing her piece on how the world views women, it all came together for me.

            Overall I think the guild did a fantastic job picking the poets for the event. Both performers were really captivating and enjoyable to listen to. Also, I’m glad that they opened up the mic to other performers. It was good to see poetry at all different levels. It made it more relatable of a medium to me. The event overall gaveopened my eyes to all different kinds of poetry and gave me a better appreciation for the art form.