Final Project and Final Blog

My finals will be over tomorrow, starting with our Art of Representation project presentation at 10:30am and ending at 9:30pm with Intermediate Microeconomics. I can't believe this year is ending and summer is upon us. I am meeting with my group now and we are going over last minute details and preparing for our presentation tomorrow morning. Lori and I will be discussing the art side while Alden and Jessy will be focusing more on Philosophy. Lori and I will be talking a little less than the other two because most of our work was behind the scenes and has been a process over the last few weeks, while Alden and Jessy will be more philosophy based and talk more in front of the group. I have attached the images we will be using that combines and contrasts nature with man-made structures using both photographs and drawings using PhotoshopCS5. We are about to practice together and time it and make sure we are within in the time frame. This has been a wonderful year and an inspiring class.

Project Process

With being one week away from the Final Project deadline, it is crunch time. As a group, we have met a few times outside of class in order to get a solidified idea. We have thrown out so many ideas that I am still a little confused on our final vision. We have discussed capturing the epistemic and ontic. Of course the ontic can never be captured, but by doing our best to idealize what is really there compared to our perceptions. Jessy and I are the photographers of the group, Lori is the drawer and Alden is the designated philosopher. Alden insists that we focus on the art first and the philosophy will follow, but I believe we need to choose a quote in order to have a starting point, but it is a never ending battle. We've also discussed combining the idea of multiple worlds into the images with Lori's photoshop skills. My goal for today is to have a concrete idea to run with and take the photos needed. This weekend, once the majority of finals are completed, we should have more time to devote to our project and make our ideas and visions a reality.

Group Ideas

On Tuesday in class we met with our Visual Project groups for the first time. I am working with Alden, Jessy and Lori. We all discussed our strengths and weaknesses. As a group we are very well rounded and have different and similar passions that will be a great contribution to our final project. Jessy and I can take pictures, Lori is an amazing drawer and user of Photoshop and Alden can make music. We all have different creative outlooks. We discussed different quotes that caught our eye and our vision for a final project. Our final quotes were:
1. "the fact that there are many different world-versions is hardly debatable" but the question then becomes "in what sense are there... many worlds?" (Goodman, p. 4)
2. "conception without perception is merely empty, perception without conception is blind (totally inoperable)" (Goodman, p. 6)
3. Nietzsche states that "the development of art is bound to the duality of the Apollonian and the Dionysian" [Consider] these two artistic tendencies, and... why [as] Nietzsche claims they form a 'duality' to which art is bound (Nietzsche, p. 111)
4. "Speaking is like making ripples in a pool of water, and a face is like the wall that sends the ripples back. If we speak forcefully, we send waves out toward the other face, and in a moment we can expect to feel the response." (Nietzsche, p. 167)
The next step we must do if finalize a quote we want to use and move on from there. We discussed putting quotes together and showing different worlds in another quote. This will be a challenging project, but one that I look forward to.

The Visual Project Brainstorm

Before meeting as a group, I wanted to come prepared with my own ideas to bring to the table. The quote that stood out to me is from Elkins. He says "speaking is like making ripples in a pool of water, and a face is like the wall that sends the ripples back. If we speak forcefully, we send waves out toward the other face, and in a moment we can expect to feel the response" (167). The first visual image that came to mind is a photo of someone cannonball jumping into a pool. Another could be two people talking and one with a speech bubble saying "I'm getting married" or another drastic phrase demonstrating "speak forcefully," with the other responding with an over-the-top facial reaction. We could also create 3-D googly eyes in order to "feel the response." My final idea is a collage of strong faces responding to a drastic statement. I hope I can contribute my fair share to the group and can be an asset to the team.

Bondsman

The master and slave analogy we discussed in class was a very interesting topic. The master is the one in control while the slave serves others to make it and survive. The master's focused on what's not present and immediate, he/she acts like a selfish child and has the gimme mindset. While the servant provides what the master wants and desires. The master's independent and the servant's dependent. In a series of unfortunate events, the master loses his fortune and servants. The master must become completely dependent on the world and the servant. In the meantime, the servant has already learned efficiently through his role and becomes active in life. He/she is engaging in the world and making things happen. The independence and dependence roles have switched.

Self-consciousness vs the Other

Self-consciousness only exists when acknowledged. Second ambiguity becomes the action of one self-consciousness with double significance, creating its own actions and the action of the Other. Both are independent. This reminds me of the movie, Inception, when Ellen Page is told she is in control of her own dreams and the self defense and consciousness within herself starts to attack the Other. The figments of her imagination start to turn on the real her. Each seeks the death of the other. The Other and self cannot be held without contradiction. They are also entangled and endanger the death of the other. We can never get outside of the circle, like we can never reach the ontic. We are trying to free ourselves from the Other and they are doing the same. We must absorb the Other.

The Birth of Tragedy: Art as a Struggle

Nietzsche discusses the opposition between Dionysian, the god associated with intoxication, and Apollonian, the god of reason and stability. Dionysian is the music pulsing through your veins, while Apollonian is the visual arts. Apollonian makes us believe that the world is a stable environment, but this "is all just a veil of comforting illusion" (88). The only common factor between Dionysian and Apollonian in the principle of art and "the development of art is bound to the duality of the Apollonian and the Dionysian" (111).
The two separate art-worlds are dream and intoxication. In the dream world, each individual is the master artist and has full control and structure. Dreams are experienced with delight and joyful urgency. Apollo always has a solemn and pleased look and gives a calming appearance. Dionysian, or intoxication, can be created through the influence of a narcotic potion or the approach of spring. Barriers between people collapse and everyone experiences freedom. Everyone starts to feel like a god and becomes the art.