This week’s material on Paintings is more about how we view art. Visual art such as paintings include more of a visual analysis. A visual analysis is being able to understand what you are looking at when you see art. Such as line, color, scale, and texture. This is so we can understand what the artist is exhibiting, but also recognizing the formal elements line, color, scale, and texture the artist put into their painting. 

The key to understanding these things is asking yourself questions while analyzing the painting. To know what kind of color, light, and tone used in a painting is recognizing if the colors are bright or “dim”, that just helps me understand. As well as light, noticing if there is any “light source” used can help you know the tone or mood of the painting. The scale to me is what objects that are prominent in the painting but catch my eye. Especially where they are placed in the painting. Asking yourself how the elements are can help you with the visual analysis when looking at any form art.

This painting is by Jean-Michel Basquiat, called Warrior(1982). I remember seeing this painting at an art gallery on a field trip and was confused. In no offense to the artist, i thought it was a drawing made by a child for an art project. At the time my concept of art or just paintings in general were ones like the Mona Lisa or the creation of Adam. Not knowing art can be in any form and people have different ways of how they display their art. What surprised me the most was the painting being worth 40 million, this intrigued me more than anything. 

First glance at the painting, the “line” is very prominent, the figure in middle uses a lot of this and the way they show up on the painting look as if they were made in a fast motion, just because they aren’t the straightest lines, meaning they didn’t take as much time to make. The color in the painting is bright. The bright colors around the perimeter of the painting make the whole thing look bright despite the black figure being in the center of the painting. The scale of the painting is obviously the black figure in the center of the painting. I think the bright background could be the scale in some cases just because the brightness of the color catches the eye. However for me it was the figure because of the contrast between the background colors and the black. The composition is not really “harmonised” and seems to have widespread arrangement. The technique of his art seems to be with spray paint, looking at the black figure and seeing the paint drops. Also an oil crayon because of how the texture looks in the painting.

Jean-Michel Basquiat sparked an interest in art for me. I began looking at more of his work and noticed that this was his style of art and what i loved was how distinct it was. Not only that but the meaning behind his art. You could see his work in the art gallery and know exactly who made it. I appreciated it more as i got older and loved the originality of his work, No one’s work looks like his

This week’s topic on food gave me more insight on what the American diet is. Nutrition seems to be fundamental to the average american diet, but this week’s material enlightened me that nutrition has become more complex through the years. I also noticed that what we put in our bodies is getting more complicated and risky. This being that the said nutrients we need for our bodies to function properly are not what they used to be and can be damaging. 

Reading “Unhappy meals” not only did it help me to understand the evolution of food to nutrients but how the presence of the food has evolved also. Growing up you hear your parents tell you eat your vegetables and you never have a meal without a vegetable. I always liked vegetables, and knew they were good for me because that is all you hear growing up. However as I am growing i am noticing how fundamental they need to be in our diets. As a growing person your diet and what you put in your body is very important as it is what keeps your body functioning. 

Food definitely can be essential to our self- identity, especially culturally. Having immigrant parents and adapting to the American diet is an experience. I’ve realized the difference in our “diets” or just the way our food is made living through both. I’ve noticed how easy it can be to become obese in America because fast food chains are EVERYWHERE and can become addicting. I’ve also noticed foods from other countries are made organically with fresh vegetables because it aids in their daily lives. Those nutrients they’re putting in their body are helping in how they function throughout the day. At this time i think gardening and planting your food is essential because I personally think the American diet is too complex, the ingredients, eating habits, and cost. 

https://gastate.view.usg.edu/content/enforced2/2579768-CO.090.0008.HUMN1000.52214.20231/Unhappy%20meals.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=cfaxVCm2CA6QErGosrcYyR3Dx

This week’s material gave me a complex understanding of what music is. It helped me to see that music isn’t just words and instruments and in fact more than that. Music is a powerful source of communication and in a different way than how we normally communicate. Just like any other form of communication we are able to share meanings, spread information, and emotions just in this case with sounds. Watching Music as Communication helped to understand this because i had no idea music could be a form of communication using sounds. Just like any other way of communicating it connects people.

The film about El Silbo showed how music and communication contribute. The whistling language they use La Gomera is a form of communication that has historically developed through time mimicking similar whistling languages. This shows that music communication connects people in different ways. Regardless of the culture, and location.

The sound used in music is what i believe draws a person to a type of music. It’s all about how it makes that person feel, emotions can be a major element to music. The sound is what engages people to listen and when people are drawn to a specific kind of sound they will want to listen to it more. Music and sound specifically cause emotional responses and define the mood of the person. So because most of the time listening to music can bring a happy response and people like listening to music that makes them happy, that brings to my idea of why sound is what draws a person to a type of music.

When it comes to music i go based on the rhythm and the feeling the music evokes. This is because i listen more for an emotional response and “musical pleasure”. I listen for the sound and how it makes me feel, more specifically how good of a mood it can put me in. I read an article about “Why we are moved by music” and how it affects how we behave and music can mimic emotions. A slow tempo sound supposedly expresses sadness, and a faster tempo expresses happiness. However, i am the complete opposite and noticed slower tempo music brings more happiness to me than faster. So as music is a language of emotion, this shows how much it contributes to how we behave and why our emotions can base what type of music we listen to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yRMbH36HRE

https://www.globalonenessproject.org/library/films/el-silbo

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/201807/why-are-we-moved-music#:~:text=Music%20has%20the%20capacity%20to,expect%20in%20a%20sad%20individual.

The bad idea is that reading and writing are not connected. The bad idea that they have been
taught in a way that appears like they are different when they are connected and the focus on
writing versus reading. This idea is bad because reading and writing are the skills we need in
order to communicate and practicing the two can improve the way students become stronger
thinkers and come up with ideas. In Reading and Writing Are Not Connected, Ellen Carillo
explains her better idea of reading and writing being connected and how the two should be taught
together. In Sofia Westin’s essay, “Social media eroding skills?” She explains that social media
could be the problem to why students aren’t able to write as coherently as they should be and
why students are seen lacking in vocabulary and critical thinking. Carillo and Westin believe that
reading and writing being taught together is the better idea and the two skills are how students
can create ideas and focus on other skills like grammar, vocabulary and writing.
Carillo’s better idea that allows reading and writing to be taught together is what she believes
will help students become better thinkers. She thinks there should be an equal focus on both
reading and writing because there is a connection made when learning the two. She explains
writing as an output to what students read and students being able to write better is connected to
how well they can read. She explains reading and writing is about creating ideas and in “Reading
and Writing Are Not Connected”, Carillo explains this idea saying “When one writes, one is
creating meaning by putting words and ideas together. When one reads, the same thing is
happening” (Carillo 40).
Westin’s better idea is reading and writing skills being fundamental for students to have better
critical thinking skills, vocabulary, and grammar. Her idea focuses on social media being the
reason students are not able to progress in their writing, and that is because they don’t spend
enough time reading. She explains students’ use of social media often affects their grammar and
vocabulary which can make students’ writing become less effective. In her article she presents a
source that shows the effects social media can have on students’ literacy skills “The five major
areas students felt a deficiency in were concentration, cursive writing, spelling, reading a printed
map, and grammar, respectively” (Westin 8). This supports her idea of why social media affects
students in all areas relating to reading and writing.
Carillo’s better idea of reading and writing being taught together focuses on students being able
to develop ideas of their own and become better thinkers. She also targets this idea to college
students in order to progress in any subject, it starts with reading and writing. Carillo suggests “if
students are not given the opportunity to continue working on their reading throughout their
college careers, they may struggle analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating all that surrounds them
since comprehension is a crucial step toward these more advanced interpretive practices” (Carillo
39). She believes that students may struggle in the future with analyzing, interpreting, and
evaluating if there isn’t an equal focus around reading just as much as writing.
Westins’ better idea focuses on how reading is a fundamental skill needed for students to be able
to write. If students read more, they can have better grammar and vocabulary but because we are
in the digital age and everything is technology, social media makes everything harder for
educators. She explains how social media has become students’ main source of “writing” and has
become harmful regarding communication skills. She believes for students to become engaged in
wanting to read and write it’s important for them to see the harmful effects social media could
have on their reading and writing skills and put communication skills before social media skills.
In conclusion Carillo and Westins ideas are important to think about for students to become
better thinkers. Practicing reading and writing together and providing strategies for students is
what students need in order to improve literacy skills. Also, being aware of the effects social
media has on communication skills that are harmful to students reading and writing skills. It’s
better to focus on the idea that there is a connection between reading and writing and the benefits
of practicing both at once to become a successful reader and writer.