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.