Pentatonix & Lindsey Stirling "Radioactive" Cover

Here is yet another example of classical violin meshing with pop culture. This is absolutely incredible.

Lana Del Rey and the Baroque

         

                                      
          In class we discussed the Baroque Era and its extreme ornamentation. I am a huge Lana Del Rey fan, and I couldn't help but notice traces of classical music in her song "Video Games". Lana Del Rey is such a unique artist that it is impossible not to be intrigued by her music, but I found this song even more fascinating once I compared it to Baroque and classical music. 
          Unlike most modern day music, this song strays away from the usual instruments such as guitar, piano, drums, and a bass guitar. In this song you can hear the deep booming of bells and a mesmerizing blend of strings that rivals a classical orchestra. 

          Lana Del Rey's music incorporates Baroque charactersitics once again in the song "Young and Beautiful". Similarly to "Video Games", she includes classical instruments that form a connection between the world of pop culture and the world of the Baroque. This song in particular represents the over-the-top ways of the Baroque in its building intensity. As the song progresses, the strings become more powerful, creating a strong tension that touches the soul.

Raul Cuero and Universal Conciousness

          Watching Raul Cuero's interview, I felt inspired. He has overcome so many obstacles and followed his passions to the point where, despite public opinion, he is a successful athlete and scientist. Making something meaningful out of your life is hard enough, but succeeding in an environment where everyone looks down on you must be unbelievably difficult. So while his whole life story is impressive,   my attention mostly gravitated towards the term "Universal Consciousness".
          Cuero describes how in order to succeed in life, you must shape yourself and your actions around that which is universal, such as nature. You have to be aware of your surroundings in order to coexist, and you have to understand how the world works in order to flourish within it. But when the world around you is saturated with prejudice, it is that much harder to accept the awful stereotypes and judgements that surround you. The fact that Cuero has a "Universal Consciousness" and embraces all the unfortunate "predicaments" around him makes his life's journey that much more inspiring. 
          This most definitely influences anyone's everyday lives. In order for anyone to accomplish any goal, they must understand and accept the setting that they are in. For example, you won't make it onto the soccer team if you don't assess your competition, the coaches, the competitiveness of the team, and your own conditions. Likewise, Cuero wouldn't have succeeded in basketball if he didn't assess his fellow athletes, the environment in which the team existed, his mentors views of him, and his own abilities. Whether it's a simple achievement like getting an A on a paper, or an outstanding achievement like being elected President of the United States, one absolutely has to have a strong sense of Universal Consciousness. 

Juan Carlos Delgado; The Master of Nature

               The first stage of Delgado's masterpiece is an incredible piece of art. It is unique, it is detailed, it tells a story. But the bust of a girl alone is not multimedia, she is frozen, only existing in the present time. However, Delgado transforms this girl into multimedia by manipulating the natural world and intermingling the elements. 

              Delgado's use of natural elements to transform a stationary object into an amazing piece of multimedia art. First, water in the form of frost envelops the bust and encases it in a frozen, frigid layer. What impresses me the most is the immense detail that the frost brings to the statue.

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              Looking at the above photo from Delgado's masterpiece, you can see how the delicate the fragments of ice cling to the statue, creating a gorgeous representation of the natural world. Although Delgado set everything up himself, the nature created the detail on its own. This glorifies the power of nature, showing how not only human artists are capable of creating art, but nature can be an artist as well. 
             Not only is nature an amazing artist, but Delgado proves himself to be an amazing artist by working hand-in-hand with nature. He used the creation powers of the natural world to his advantage, setting up the freezer so that water transforms his work and then setting up the statue with the flame so that fire adds an extra element to his work. The idea is genius, in my opinion. Delgado has become a master of nature; taking that which usually acts on its own and causing it to act in his favor. That is incredible.
            By taking control over the natural world, Delgado succeeded in creating a stunning piece of multimedia. There are a series of pieces all working in harmony; the statue, the refrigerated room, the bars around the room, the fire. And together, all these elements combine to turn the bust of the girl into a phenomenon that transforms and exists throughout time. Any artist can make a statue that remains static, but only an advanced artist like Delgado can make a statue that is immune to the boundaries of time, and that is true multimedia. 

Art Vs. Design

           Craig A Elimeliah's article spoke absolute truth in my opinion. The basic idea of the passage is that design follows a structure and set of rules in order to reach a goal, whereas art follows no rules or guidelines at all in order to convey an emotion.
           The essay then dives into the separation between art and design, and when that separation disintegrates. Often, artists will follow the methods used by previous artists when they are creating, which then makes their final piece a design, and not art. 
           What I took from this article is that art and design are connected through the creation process, and completely separated in the outcome. While a painter is painting, he/she will take ideas and techniques from other pieces of art they have seen, which is completely natural. It is extremely difficult to find inspiration that has no link to past experiences or memories, because people are influenced by their past all the time. If an artist saw a particular piece and fell in love with it, that piece is a part of their memory and their past, and it could easily seep into their current creations. That being said, Elimeliah was spot on in saying that an artist must put their OWN twist on a piece in order for it to be art. If they simply copy another creation, they are not creating; they are copying.
           Copying in the art world is a sin, because there is nothing creative about reproducing another piece of art exactly. Copying is somewhat part of the design world, however. Like Elimeliah said, design follows a specific pattern, and therefore many designs end up in a similar way. That is how you can differentiate the designers, from the artistic designers. An artistic designer will inject their creativity and their emotion into a design, whereas a regular designer will simply copy the archetype they are supposed to follow.
           So art and design can exist in "harmonious balance" when artists and designers are creating their work, but an artist's work should be fully unique for it to be art, and a designer's work should follow any guidelines for it to be a successful design.

Introductions and First Impressions

           Hello! My name is Gabrielle Boucher, but I prefer to be called Gabby. The Arts have influenced my life for as long as I can remember, and they definitely helped shape who I am today. I am a huge animal lover and I've played sports since I was a kid, but the power of musicals, movies, TV shows, and all other forms of art have always overshadowed other parts of my life. Watching movies (especially Disney) was my favorite past time when I was young, along with playing dress-up and having fashion shows, performing one woman shows for my family, and singing. Even to this day I am involved in musical theater and the arts are a huge part of my life.
           Because music, writing, musical theater, and even just talking are all passions of mine, I decided to major in communications. Although I am still far from knowing what job I want in the future, I am hoping my time at UT will lead me in the right direction. 
           The class Art and Technology seems like a great way for me to enhance my communication skills through visual arts. The fact that we will be doing a lot of online work makes me feel comfortable because technology is such a prominent force in today's world, so I'm glad that I'll become better acquainted with it. After only one class I'm excited to see what's to come, and I am absolutely thrilled that we will be looking into theater and different types of music. The videos of the Castrato's blew me away because I was so impressed, and it's amazing knowing that we'll be exploring more parts of the art world.