Today’s plan:
- It’s Twitter Time
- Write in your game journal
- Discuss: Dali
- Homework
I’ve written an introduction to twitter to get us started.
Two Comments from the Game Journals
Regarding catharsis, someone wrote:
As far as this topic goes, the subject discussed in class over Aristotle’s opinions on catharsis struck me. The idea that we as people view what gives us negative emotions in order to purge ourselves of such emotions is an interesting concept, and as I think about it, I can think of examples from my own personal experiences in which I have used art of some form to relinquish myself of negative emotions. Listening to certain songs while angry, or writing something depressing while feeling sad provides an excellent outlet for these negative emotions.
However, I can also think of examples where catharsis did not work out in this manner. Such as being sad and watching movies such as “Up” and “Saving Mr. Banks” made me feel considerably worse and unable to watch those movies ever again, despite how much I ironically enjoyed them.
When it comes to catharsis, I’ve been torn. Sometimes, I think we can watch something sad and, rather than purging emotions, the work of art validates them. Sometimes, we just need to know that others have felt (and survived?) what we are experiencing. A part of me wonders what the Greek term was for purging in that passage, since Greek terms are quite slippery and often have a wide range of interpretations.
Making a case for mimesis
>According to Aristotle, mimesis is the process by which we learn to be. If we are products of our material conditions, then this means we are always engaged in a process of looking and learning. As a father, I am thinking particularly about my daughter, and the way that she mimics my wife and I’s behavior, and–even more so–the behavior she sees exemplified on television.
Aristotle’s theory of mimesis, we might say, highlights this tendency to be(come) as we see. And, he would argue–and I would vehemently agree–this isn’t a process reserved to children. Adults too learn behavior from role models throughout their lives. We are never finished products/personalities/selves, but are always in process, becoming otherwise.
Dali and Surrealism
First, a picture that many of you have seen:
Perhaps fewer will have seen Gene Pelham’s photo upon which Rockwell based the photo
Here’s another worth considering:
And one of Dali’s:
And another Dali
:
Let’s compare:
What do we “need” to “appreciate” the second work, by Jackson Pollock as art?
And what of Marcel Duchamp’s sculpture, “The Fountain”?
I would suggest that the difference between Dali’s surrealism and Pollock’s postmodernism is that the latter is aimed at a smaller audience: the artistic community. Whereas, especially if we read Dali’s work, the former has a wider audience in mind. But do they both have the same purpose?
Homework
Game Journals (finish that game!)
Read Baraka’s “Revolutionary Theater”
