21st Century Art

I chose this image titled “road to knowhere,” and found on www.artreview.com, because I feel that it has many concepts that in today’s society people can relate to. The black and white image is paralleled by the bright red of the car on the left. The cars that are not colored seem to be driving along the interstate or another major highway. On the other hand the red car is getting off the major highway and taking another direction.

I think that many people can relate to this because in life it seems as if we are often at a crossroads in life and we have to choose the correct path for our life. When looking at the red car the term, “a horse of a different color,” comes to mind. Literally the car is a different color than the other cars on the road. However; when you use this term in reference to someone it usually means that they do things out of the norm or have chosen a different path in life. This term definitely correlates to this picture because the red car is going on a totally different route than all of the other cars. The road that the red car is taking is also significantly smaller than the main road that the other cars are on. This smaller road reminds me of the road that I get onto when I get off the interstate on my way home. A smaller road usually has a slower speed limit and sometimes has really beautiful scenery. The slower pace and scenery give you a chance to take in the beauty of things instead of just getting from point A to point B.

This particular piece of art is affected by the context of our society, because today many people are encouraged to make their own way and to be individuals, set apart from other members of society. However; many people continue on the path that is the norm. This picture depicts just that, where all of the cars but one are going on the bigger road.

Another thing that I noticed within the title of the picture is that the word nowhere is misspelled. I think that this was done on purpose, because the using the word knowhere invites the audience to think about what this misspelling could mean. It could mean that the red car knows where it is going. The regular spelling nowhere would indicate that the car will not be going anywhere, but this spelling makes me think that the artist who created the picture was trying to indicate that the red car is going someplace. These are just a few ideas of how the context of our culture today affects how the audience views things.

Election '08

The Presidential election this year was a very heated and controversial one. It is very exciting to know that each and everyone of us witnessed history being made just last night. However; as always, there are people who are unhappy with whom our new president is. No other place is this made more evident than on facebook. After logging in, there are lists and lists of people who have changed their status to something that is derogatory about our new president or the current state of affairs in our country. That is why when I logged in there was one new status that popped out at me one of my friends took a more positive look at the results of the election, than some other people had. Rather than criticizing he posted a simple quote.

“Unite under one flag. Have faith in your fellow man.”

This is by far one of the most moving statements that I have heard in a long time. By using this quote my friend attempted to remind us of something that we should live by and what we are as Americans. We may all have different thoughts, feelings, backgrounds, traditions, and maybe not even speak the same language, but we are all Americans, united under the same flag. As such we should respect others, for nothing more than the simple fact that we are all Americans, regardless of the different paths that we are on. We need to trust in others and have faith in our fellow man, as it was quoted. We must stand beside each other and look out for one another, because we are all in this together. Most importantly, however, we all need to remember that we are the UNITED States of America. That being said we need to remain that way, united.

Fall is in the Air

Yes it is true; fall is here and has been for a while now. In case you missed out on the fact that the leaves have been changing colors and the mornings and evenings have been slowing been getting colder and colder. I love seeing these changes because out of all of the seasons fall is my favorite by far! I love the change in the weather and the trees turning pretty colors.
I especially like fall because my birthday is in the fall. Fall is also time for harvest, which, for my family means that the stress of the spring planting, hard work during the summer trying to keep the irrigation systems going and the time spent waiting for the results of the months of labor are finally coming to an end. These things are all reasons why I love fall, but the main reason that fall is my favorite season is because in the fall it seems as if my family is getting together. For fall break my family all went over to my grandma and grandpa’s for a Sunday dinner, over Thanksgiving break my family will get together again and then it’s not too much longer until Christmas.
I love to see the change in the seasons, but fall is my favorite change, because I like cold weather. It may seem strange but by the end of summer I am ready to break out my warm sweaters and sweatpants. Fall is my favorite season, because all of the bright colors of the trees make everything so beautiful. It’s also the perfect time to go for a walk and just enjoy the beauty of nature. This is why fall is my favorite season.

Vice Presidential Debate

Joe Bidden in his debate with Sarah Palin employs logos in several places throughout his debate with Palin. When Bidden begins to talk about how they will not support the three hundred billion dollar tax cut that McCain and Sarah Palin are for, Bidden is implying logos. By stating this as a fact that they will not do this makes this logos. About one minute into the video clip Bidden says, “We can not slow up on education, because that is the engine that is going to give us the economic growth and competitiveness that we need.” This is also an example of how he uses logos, by stating the fact that we are not going to slow up on education and then giving a reason uses both logos and ethos. This argument is made rational by using the because statement, which makes this appeal logos and it also gives Joe Bidden credibility, because he gives a reason as to why we are not going to slow up education.

By stating that he is going to cut spending in the current budget, is also a way of using logos, because he states a clear fact. Joe Bidden uses pathos when he talks about people taking their post office box offshore to avoid taxes. He calls these people unpatriotic, this would definitely cause an emotional response in me and I’m sure that it did cause an emotional response in other people that watched the debate and especially the people that he was referring to.

In Senator Joe Biden’s rebuttal he states that Senator Obama voted to eliminate the tax breaks for the oil companies and Senator McCain did not. By stating this Senator Biden is once again using logos, by stating a fact.

Final Presidential Debate

For this weeks post I chose the debate question asking if the Federal Government should play a bigger role in education. Senator McCain is the first to speak, right away McCain uses pathos, he speaks directly to Senator Obama and says in a tone that is somewhat inflammatory, asking if he is aware of the program in the Washington D.C. school system. Not only in his words but also in his body language he uses pathos, by the way he makes sharp gestures towards Senator Obama, this gives a feel of aggression. When Senator McCain speaks about vouchers he uses logos, speaking about how vouchers were used in the Washington D.C. school system. In the same statement he once again employs pathos by stating that he was surprised that Senator Obama didn’t pay attention to that example. When Senator McCain mentions autism, he is appealing to pathos, because we all have an emotional reaction to this word. He uses it saying that “Sarah Palin knows about that, better than most,” this makes the audience really listen to him, because in using pathos he relates to the audience and also relates Sarah Palin to the audience. McCain uses ethos by stating that “I think the Head Start program is a good program,” he states his own opinions giving the audience a taste of his character. In saying this he also is persuading the audience to adopt his view and opinion of Head Start.

When Senator Obama begins talking at about 2:45, he uses pathos, as does McCain, when they are talking about what the Superintendent of D.C. supports, charters or vouchers. They almost get into a little spat, using inflammatory language. Obama uses logos saying that “data doesn’t show that vouchers solve the problem,” this use of facts appeals to the audience as well, because it also appeals to ethos. This use of facts makes the audience acknowledge Obama as knowing facts and other data about education. Senator Obama appeals to the audience’s emotions using pathos, when talking about how McCain is leaving people in all other fifty states, outside of the D.C. area, without an education reform policy.

The order in which the candidates speak affect how the audience perceives them. Since McCain speaks first it can be said that he has an advantage to be the first to touch on the topics that he wants to without having to worry about defending his position on them. In the same sense it could be said that Obama has the advantage because he gets the last word in. Either way each candidate must have solid points to drive them home or to make sure that they can not be contradicted. This being the final debate, I think that the audience will be more perceptive to what each of the candidates has to say before making their final choice in who they will vote for. The number of viewers will increase as well in my opinion, for the same reason. I think that the audience will be very judgmental of the candidates and just how they appeal to the audience will make a big difference in who is elected.