Disguise

1: Can you say anything about the relationship of your film to the story of the Bronze Serpent?  Numbers 21: 4-9

No, I appologize, but it is far too much of a stretch to say that a mask has any association with the bronze serpent.

2: Anything else related to what you previously stated about your mask?

This mask is one of many that we as humans put upon ourselves in order to cover up and concel our true identity, that which we think is unworthy of the public eye.

Initiation

1: Does your mask bear any relationship to the images and/or issues below? Does it relate to pre-modern or post-modern traditions (see below).

I think the closest resemblance to my mask is in the tribal mask that resembles a cheetah, for my mask is also related to a tribal world and is symbolic of the peacock. My mask can represent a festival of renewal as the peacock is a symbol of restoration and resurrection in Christendom.

Wikipedia: "In Christianity, the peacock is an ancient symbol of eternal life.[3] The Peacock symbolism represents the "all-seeing" church, along with the holiness and sanctity associated with it. Additionally, the Peacock represents resurrection, renewal and immortality within the spiritual teachings of Christianity. Themes of renewal are also linked to alchemical traditions to, as many schools of thought compare the resurrecting phoenix to the modern-day Peacock."

2: Does it bear any resemblance to your real/ideal portrait? Or to the concept of True Self/False Self?

It does not resemble my portraits, but it is symbolic of where and how the portraits were taken. The "real" portrait of mine was taken on Blanchard lawn, earth while for the "ideal" portrait, we traveled over to "heaven" in BGC museum. This transition from the world to heaven is symbolic of a festival of renewal, or rebirth, like the peacock is to Christianity.

Annie, Real and Ideal.

Ideal Annie in Heaven (BGC heaven, that is.)

Real Annie with patriotic flag in the background.

1: Say something that relates at least one of these images to our mass media culture-at-large.
The second photo, the "real" Annie, could be seen as a product of modern culture.  She is making a casual "peace" symbol with her hand which is being cut off by the wristband she wears.  The wristband itself is probably significant but remains photographically silent so it cuts off the symbolic gesture from the happy-go-lucky facial expression Annie is making in much the same way that the mass advertising and media is splitting symbolizim from actual, genuine meaning.

2: Post an image from either the media or art history that relates to one of these images and explain your reasoning.  It can be an image whose values are opposite the ethos in the picture, that bears a direct contrast in sensibility.  Or it can be similar to one of the images that you made; something that you or your partner wanted to emulate.


Heavy Metal Singer Ronnie James Dio

This image is directly opposite of the meaning of the photograph of Annie.  Quite obviously the gesture that Ronnie is making is polar opposite to the "peace" sign.  However, the truth is that probably both gestures have lost their intended meaning over the ages, and rightly so in the case of the "devil horns."  For Ronnie, it is the microphone that is the center of his attention as he looks towards it in a snide, yet almost passive look.  Annie, on the other hand, is enjoying herself and relaxing while casually making the gesture with her right hand, most likley as a bit of a joke.



Extra Credit: Real photo of me.

This photo is "real" because I am wearing an origninal WWI uniform owned by one of my relatives.  At times it feels as though my "real" self is trapped in the wrong time.

Landscape

1: The difference between Landscape and Earthwork in your experience creating

the pictures and in the image(s) themselves.

While this photo was taken during our Earthworks shoot, it was not our intended idea to shoot this.  I simply suggested to the other members in thr group "Hey, it would be really funny to get a photo of Mitchell doing a handstand through the ground glass of my old camera!"  Through a little coaxing, Mitchell oblidged.

2: What do the pictures reveal about your relationship to Nature/Creation?

My thought with this peice is that humanity is pushing away nature but nature is too vast and powerful to just shrink back, it even fights against us.  Mitchell, in this case, would be Atlas who is trying to hold up the globe but it's just too large for him to accomplish his goal.

3: An Art Historical example that talks to the image(s) that you made.

Heracles and Atlas, on a vase by the "Athena Painter",
c. 490-480 BC (National Archeological Museum, Athens)

In this ancient pottery painting, Hercules is seen holding the boxy "vault of the sky" atop his shoulders while Atlas has fetched apples which grow in Hera's garden, tended by Atlas' daughters, the Hesperides.  Perhaps Mitchel should be seen as filling the role of Hercules as his legs flailing about convey a sense of unaccustomed suprise at the "weight" of the earth.

Other Nations

Final Version:

Full Quote:

"We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals.

Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice,
man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge
and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion.
We patronize them for their incompleteness,
for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves.
And therein we err, and greatly err.
For the animal shall not be measured by man.
In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete,
gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained,
living by voices we shall never hear.
They are not brethren,
they are not underlings;
they are other nations,
caught with ourselves in the net of life and time,
fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth."

Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1928

Contemporary Christ

"Pieta", sculpture by Paul Fryer

1) What does this image mean historically?
This sculpture was created by London artist Paul Fryer and created quite a stir when it was revealed.  Contemporary Christians tend to forget how utterly horrifying Christ's Crucifixion was, and this sculpture shocks us into remembering that violent fact by recreating Christ's murder in a modern light.

2) What does this image mean to you?  Why did you choose it?

I never thought about Christ's death in this way before.  I choose it because it is very relevant to the times. The sculpture brings Christ into a new aspect for us "modern Christians" and reveals something that we seem to have forgotten or watered down.

3) Is the image true?  Why or Why not?

Yes this piece of art is very true, it is realistic and very obviously gets it's message across.  It is also interesting to note that Christ's wounds are still present, though they would not be needed for the electric chair.  I think that fact keeps Christ in his original aspect while also shedding new light upon him.

God from historical periods.

Christo Pantocrator, Hagia Sophia, 6th Century, Istanbul:

1) What does this image mean historically?
This mosaic was made in Constantine's Hagia Sophia and it represents Christ as he will be seen on Judgement Day.  It is considered to be the start of the Renaissance in Byzantine art.  This icon was not the first depiction of Christ Pantocrator nor was it the last as this depiction is common in Byzantine orthodox art.  This image shows much deterioration either by weathering or desecration by the Ottoman islamic invaders who captured Constantinople in 1453.

2) What does this image mean to you?  Why did you choose it?
Christ's turned gaze struck me as unusual for medieval art as the usual depiction has a face that is facing towards the viewer.  Christ is making a symbol with his right hand that means either he is teaching or blessing the viewer.  In his left hand he holds the new testament, symbolic of what the image represents, Christ on Judgement Day.

3) Is the image true?  Why or Why not?
I think what makes this image true is it's imperfection. The weathering and aged material show that it has proven that this image has withstood the test of time and will continue until Christ returns again to perform Judgement in person, rather than in an icon.

Dead Christ, Andrea Mantega:

1) What does this image mean historically?

The 15th century was the last time of renaissance art leading to Baroque.  You can see the obvious attempt at realism and proportion in this painting.  Andrea Mantegna was an Italian artist who experimented with lowering the perspective in his paintings, leading to experiments in Baroque art.

2) What does this image mean to you?  Why did you choose it?
The image is striking due to the true lifelessness of Christ on the marble slab.  His wounds are dry and clean but also very real and painful.  As Carvagio often expressed in his images, the feet of Christ are falling into our space, his wounds are our wounds.  We are weeping over his body as Mary and St. John are doing.

3) Is the image true?  Why or Why not?
The perspective is true, however, it is interesting to note how Mantegna shrank Christ's feet as they would have covered much of the image had he not done so.

..and the Word was God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ~ John 1:1

This is my rendition of God, pure and simple.  Minimalist, if you will.

The Angel and the Hollow Man

     These two photos came to me after an event that I witnessed one time while me and my Father were checking out at a grocery store.  There was a man in front of us who looked to be about 45 years old. This man looked like a zombie, standing there with his mouth agape, while he had earbuds in his ears. He had a lot of items to check out and while he was standing there, the checkout lady, who was already being overcome by the line of customers, had to bag his entire stockpile because he was enthralled in his own little world. I noticed what was going on and after the man had left and we were next in line, i helped bag our groceries. I'll never forget when the checkout lady just gave me a simple "thank you," I knew that was the one of the most sincere "thank you's" I have heard in a long time.

Steadfast Bridges: Builtolast Products Inc.