Renaissance Art

The lecture on 14th century Italian art was very interesting, especially the works by Botticelli. I thought it was very interesting that he would put himself in one of his own paintings, and that it says a lot about him. Some would call it arrogance, perhaps. Compared to other artists, though, its not so bad. It reminded me of another Renaissance painting, one that convinced many people of the artist's vanity. It is a self-portrait by Albrecht Durer. Of course, he did quite a few of these, many of which portray him as rather wealthy. In this particular painting, however, he paints himself to look somewhat like Christ. His clothing and hair are similar to many renderings of Christ, and his hands are posed near his chest, in a gesture that looks as though he is about to reach out and bless someone or something. Whether or not he actually intended to portray himself as Jesus, I don't know, but it's obvious he, like Botticelli, had, well, you know.

On the Ascent of Mount Ventoux

This piece really resonated with me. I especially liked the reference it made to the 'Inferno', in which one must go down to go up. I've seen other people on that sort of journey. Where they, like Petrarch, had to take a long, winding, easy path (down into sin and vice) before they were able to lift themselves up, so to speak, to the top of the mountain. Almost as if they needed to hit the bottom to get some sense knocked into them. They, like Petrarch, after continuing on that path for some time, realized they were not going the way they had intended, and tried again and again to correct their course. I also, as one who has experienced the transcendent self-contemplation induced by mountains and nature's beauty, thought it was interesting that not only did Petrarch have to go down to go up, but that he had to go up literally in order to go up spiritually. He went down into himself to go up, while at the same time going up to go up. That's not confusing at all, is it?

Wag the Dog

I have to say, this film was probably the best we've watched all semester. It was actually enjoyable. I can see how it relates to postmodernism. It's all about questioning, or not questioning. Like deconstruction we read about, or that poem that asks (or doesn't ask) what poetry is. It questioned the things we take for reality without a second thought, and it makes you wonder if anything going on outside your immediate surroundings is actually going on, or if it is all made up like the war in the movie. And even if you see something with your own eyes, can you be sure its real? How is one to know anything, really?

What Is Poetry?

This poem and its response really made no impression on me. Perhaps that's what they were shooting for, I don't know. But I am pretty indifferent to them. The response was mildly amusing, but neither really affected me whatsoever, not on an emotional, sensory, or an intellectual level. Overall, definitely not the most interesting reading of the semester.

Derridada, ch. 4

This chapter was interesting. I didn't know that Duchamp had used several names when he submitted his artwork, or wrote letters to his friends, for that matter. I was unaware of his female "alter-ego" Rrose. It's an interesting play on words, and I wish I spoke French so I could better understand it, as well as all his other ones.

Derridada

I am totally and hopelessly lost in this chapter. I was mentally flailing about while reading it, and am utterly confused as to what he is talking about. The whole discussion of time is beyond my comprehension. I can't wait for class tomorrow; maybe then I'll understand about all the "primordial time," and "I-as-having-been," and " within-time-ness." And aside from that, maybe he'll explain, in terms I can understand, how this relates to deconstruction, because I've definitely lost that thread.

The Stranger, Part I

The main character of this story is so strange. He's just so apathetic towards everything, he doesn't seem to care. His mother dies, but is he sad? No, not really. He goes to her funeral, but doesn't feel anything. And it's not that he feels something other than sadness, he just doesn't feel anything. Marie asks him if he loves her, and wants to marry her, and he's even indifferent to that. "Then she wanted to know if I loved her. I answered the same way I had the last time, that it didn't mean anything but that I probably didn't love her."Not only is he indifferent, but he seems unable to sympathize with anyone, like the old man who is torn up over losing his dog. He remarks that it's pitiful, but other than that, he doesn't try to comfort the man or anything, just tells him about the pound. During the funeral procession, Perez is clearly unable to keep up and is very upset by Maman's death, but he doesn't offer to help the man or even slow down. It's like he doesn't fell compassion. Reading this story, it's as if he's outside of himself looking down on his life and making calm observations. Like he's watching his life rather than living it, if that makes any sense. And I can't understand why he murdered the Arab on the beach. The glint of the sun off the knife was in his eyes, so he shot the Arab? If the sun was bothering him so much, you'd think he would have gone inside instead of continuing to wander around the beach.
I can see why we are reading this after talking about existentialism. This man is alienated from everything. He has no religion. He's certainly not connected to any other human beings, even those that care for him. He is even separated from himself.