So what we like to PARTY!

Personally it does not bother me that Penn State is or was known as a party school. We are still one of the top schools in the nations. We like to party hard but study hard as well. Partying relieves stress. Imagine a life with all work and no play. Life would be extremely boring and predictable. However when you add partying into your schedule it adds a little “flavor” to your life style. Personally I live in New York, the first thing people do when the get off work is go to a bar to dance and drink. State college is not the only place where people drink they lives away on the weekend. Another question we need to ask our selves is why is drinking associated with partying or having a good time? I feel as though drinking is apart of our society as whole. However I do think from the stories I have heard and from the pod cast The American Life, Penn State did and does need rules and laws to keep them from getting out of hand. The part of the podcast I found to be most memorable was the scene where the 50 year old women gives the 21 year old a drink to help celebrate her birthday. This specific gesture shows how embed drinking and tailgating is with out Penn State society. It has been apart of culture for a long time and I personally feel like it will never change. I cannot imagine going to a football game with out watching people chug beer and eat pulled pork on a roll. While at time I did feel the piece was a harsh, it displayed the truth about what was taking place on a regular night. I feel as though they looked at both sides. The speakers remembered being young and in college and they talked about their personally college stories. They talked about how they drank and did idiotic things in college. But I think the factor they were trying to stress was it is “OK” to party and have a good time but do it moderation. People do not need to drink until the black out or die. I would like to stress the Pod Cast did not change any of my views about the university. I would love it here no matter what. I am not worried about getting a job after I graduated. It also does not bother me when people as me If party a lot or that my school is associated with partying. I do believe that the focus needs to be on our pride our unity and strength as a community! Over and Out!

What is ART?

What is art? We each have our own personal understanding of art what is.  Some of us dance, paint, or write I feel that art is something that is creatively put together to express an emotion or concept. For example when some dances you see and feel their emotion and soul in every movement. They creatively take body language and steps placing it into a sequence to display a message. I believe that is the definition of art a various combination of “things” put together to display something else.

When you look at a painting you see an image. When you take a closer look you will find a message or an emotion buried in the piece. However as artist my self, before I look at the piece as a whole. I try to get as close as I can with out touching the work of art. I look at the artist’s stroke and blending of colors. When you are this close you can see where the artist struggled the most because of the added layers. You see we the colors blended precisely together. Then I usually step back and observe the piece, from left to right. From this point of view you every detail comes together to make a face or arm. After that, I that notice to the emotion displayed and I try understand what the artist is trying to say. I feel when you look at a work of art like this you understand the artist and will grasp a enhanced definition of what is portrayed.

I feel as though the best works art are things are not explained, and the definition is not told to you. I like looking at a painting or listening to song without knowing who the artist is or what their goal may be. When you observe something with a blind eye or ear. You create your own story. For example when I took the trip to the Palmer Museum of Art and I found piece of Goliath. I had no prior reference to who the artist was, what era they were born. I did not even look at the title. The piece captured from across the room. It was large and red was bright yet dim at the same time.  The piece spoke for it self. By the time I had sat down to write about it. I formed my own story line of why this woman was carrying this mans head. However it turns out as I looked up the artist and the piece. I discovered the woman was a young boy and the man’s head that was being held was actually a beast. Again art is what ever you want it to be. It is how you see the world. How you place things together.

 Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists. He is a surrealist he take objects places them in areas would they would never be found. His works of art really make you think because there is a message behind every piece. The piece of his I love the most is “Persistence”. This specific piece distorts several pocket watches. I believe this piece of work to question if time is real or not. While we are sleeping in our dreams time is relevant.  The painting takes away what you have always known to be real and put into perspective. This is why “Persistence” one of favorite pieces. 

Persistence