Wednesday, December 1, 2010

*~! Surrealism/ 21st Century !~*

Consider a piece of art, music, or writing that has been “revised” and turned into something new. How do the differences between the original and the “revision” represent the shift in values across time and culture? Compare and contrast the period characteristics of these two works. 





 

Surrealist Salvador Dali painted “The Persistence of Memory” in 1931. It was a painting which had several melted clocks in what appears to be some sort of desert or open plain. Also, in the center there is a piece of a person’s face with long eyelashes. The meaning behind this painting from what I have read is that Dali was inspired by dreams and the unconscious mind. When you dream, nothing has an exact form and cannot be fully interpreted. Dali also was concerned with time and how when a person dreams, they are not aware of time; it is not fixed and can be very hazy. The orange clock in the lower right corner of the painting is covered with ants which Dali commonly associates with death. Maybe he meant this as a death of time, in a sense because time isn’t certain when dreaming. Dali studied Albert Einstein’s theories of relativity and used that also as a basis for this work. Einstein’s general theory contains the statement that “a clock runs more slowly in regions with low gravitational potential”. Hence, the open space which I now can associate with the moon and outer space because of the shift in gravitational pull from earth to there.

As a newer aged painting, I chose a Volkswagen ad for the new 2010 Polo BlueMotion automobile created in 2008. It’s a car that is said to have very low gas consumption which, in this century, is a big deal because consumers are searching for ways to save money on gas with the rising gas prices. The ad has the same open plain concept as “The Persistence of Memory” and has an oil company owner crying with his hand extended against a fuel gauge of the Volkswagen car which is on full. There is also a “closed” sign on his arm symbolizing the companies being put out of business by this car. Also, there is an oil truck near the middle that appears to be deflating. Just like in Dali’s painting, there are ants near the bottom carrying a gas can, and staying with the concept that ants were used to suggest death, this could be death to running out of gas.

The two works are centered on different views. When the Dali painting was done, there was a focus on the imagination and being free from conventions and reason. Also, many tried to interpret dream and reality together. When the Volkswagen ad was done, economic problems were being portrayed such as the rising gas price.

*~! 18th Century !~*

Find a couple of different visual iterations of Milton’s Paradise Lost. Compare and contrast them. What is the effect of the visual representation alongside the poetic lines?



Paradise Lost was an epic poem written by John Milton describing the Fall of Man. Over the years many artists have worked to put their own illustrations to Milton’s work. I chose William Blake, Gustave Dore, and Titian as examples of some of the better illustrations that really capture the moment where Satan is trying to convince Eve to eat from the forbidden tree, which occurs in Lines 733-779 of Book IX. After being approached by Satan, Eve talks out the situation to herself on whether or not to eat the fruit because she knows of the consequences that will affect her and Adam as well.






First, I chose to look at William Blake’s illustrations and the one I chose was brightly colored with the Tree of Knowledge in the center, Eve on one side of the tree and Adam on the other side. Satan is actually wrapped around Eve and is placing the fruit into her mouth with his mouth. Some serpents, or snakes, wrap around their prey first and squeeze them to death, then bite them with their poisonous fangs which kill the prey. Satan, in this picture, appears to be doing just that, wrapping his body around Eve to set her up for “the kill”. Instead of poisonous fangs, he has the forbidden fruit in his mouth. Also, the way Eve is holding Satan shows that she has been fully convinced because she seems to be holding him with a gentle touch with no struggle or sign of uneasiness. 



 

Secondly, I chose Gustave Dore’s interpretation. His work is in grayscale with the tree seeming ominous and less joyous than Blake’s tree. Satan is not as close to Eve as in Blake’s either. He is in the forefront of the picture with his head turned towards Eve I guess to observe what she’s doing. Adam once again is not really involved, sitting in the back as if daydreaming. Also, there is a light shining on Eve which can be representative of when actors give their soliloquies on stage and everything becomes dark except the spotlight on them. This is the scene starting at line 744 where Eve begins to decide whether or not to eat the fruit. 


 

Lastly, I chose Titian’s iteration of the same scene. His is very much different from Blake’s and Dore’s because he has Adam and Eve actually interacting with one another. Adam seems to be trying to push Eve back so that she won’t take the fruit from Satan. Another difference is that Satan appears to be a child rather than the typical serpent, due to his childlike hand descending from the top of the illustration holding the fruit.

All of these representations of Eve’s temptation seem to capture the basic plot of Milton’s Paradise Lost. The main differences are that Blake and Dore have Adam unaware of what is going on with Eve and Satan, but in Titian’s interpretation, Adam is actually taking part in the interaction between Eve and Satan. Having the visual next to the lines of the poem really help to draw a picture in your head of what is really going on and gives the reader several ways to look at the scene.