Art Seen in Color: Dayglow (Arts Event #2)

Music and concerts are seldom considered art. Being an avid fan of concerts, I have grown to appreciate the specifics put in to make a good show. I have been to over 40 concerts in my life ranging in all different genres of music. But never have I been to a concert like the other night. Last week Penn State was rocked by a world in color. Specifically, Dayglow was in town, and although I was never a big house music fan, I was amazed by the theatrics put into the show. For those of you who don’t know what Dayglow is, it is the world’s largest paint party. For those of you questioning how this is art, it is a festival of house music, stellar light shows, and most importantly paint. I was convinced to go to the concert by a couple of friends, and I reluctantly decided to go. The atmosphere entering the Bryce Jordan was incomparable. Everyone was dressed up in white or bright colors, there were fog machines in every corner of the floor, and everyone was dancing. It reminded me of THON, the last time I was packed in the Bryce Jordan center and forced to dance and stay on my feet for a couple hours. Me and a thousand other college kids piled into the gym just minutes away from something we would never believe unless our eyes saw it themselves. I surely would not have expected the magnitude of art I was about to witness.

The show itself was absolutely amazing. There were remarkable DJs, soaring aerial acts, stilt-walkers, contortion acts, fire shows, and cannons to deliver the famous “Paint Blast,” along with many other unforgettable live performances. I found myself to be amazed with my surroundings and forget about all the annoying people trying to butt their way to the front. My favorite part was the paint blast itself, where there was a countdown going for an hour building up the anticipation of something magnificent. I danced for two hours just staring at the countdown and waiting for the concert to end. When the clock struck 0:00 three robots flew out into the crowd with paint cannons and laser lights that electrified the crowd. From there, the concert only got better.  I was ready to call it a night, but I was afraid the night was only just beginning. Once the paint was unleashed to the crowd, my whole attitude towards Dayglow changed. I went into it thinking it was just another stupid techno concert where disc jockeys just hit buttons and made sound with no true talent, but I came out of it thinking that it was art. The music was not my favorite, but every song had its own light show perfectly in tune with the song. Each performance was spot on with the song playing. And every paint cannon or foam machine blasted just made sense at the particular moment. It truly was art.

Overall, I found Dayglow to be a delightful surprise. If ever music could be considered art, I feel that this occasion fits the role. Dayglow is more than just a concert: it is a performance worth being shown at Ford’s theatre. I felt that the work put into the show makes it a work of art. The various aspects of the show truly define it in a special category of its own. You do not have to be a fan of house music to truly appreciate Dayglow, and I can attest to that. I highly recommend everyone goes to at least one festival of Dayglow.

Progression Through Obsession

1.

This year in English 15 I felt that I have discovered myself as a writer. I never considered English and writing a strong subject for me. I have never been a rather particular person, but through this class I have grown in attention to detail. Most importantly, I have realized the importance of adjectives in this class. I find that my writing has transformed to be more descriptive. I am clearer in my writing and the intention of each piece. I have found to look at writing and other essays in a different perspective, and even find myself to be better at critiquing other people’s writing. I have been able to distinguish between a well-written essay and a poorly written one. Through this class I have even learned the framework for a memoir, a descriptive essay, a criticism, and even heard some poetry along the way. I never thought that I would ever feel comfortable blogging to my peers. I lacked a confidence in my writing. I always thought I would be judged for my style or my lack of a point, but I found that blogging was something I actually enjoyed and grew to appreciate. Before coming to this class, I did not know what ethos, logos, or pathos was. But now, I could write an essay on any one of them in something as simple as an advertisement. English class has made me a stronger and more confident writer.

Since this class is revolved around the arts, I have learned to accept art and its various forms. I never would have expected to notice the little things and appreciate them as art. Throughout my writing this semester, I have seemed to relate everything back to what I think is the thesis of this class: “Anything can be art”.  I grew up with a family full of artists. My grandfather was a famous political cartoonist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, my grandmother is a renowned painter, my dad could even turn any doodle into a work of art, yet I always thought of myself as artistically challenged. That doesn’t bother me anymore because art is so much more than painting and drawing. Art is all around whether it’s architecture, advertisements, or a simple fashion statement.  Looking back, I was not looking forward to working with the “arts”, but now I found that I was always underappreciating and misinformed of what the arts were.

     

Finally, I have found that I have enjoyed writing more than ever. I feel that this class had so much freedom and so much opportunity to succeed with writing. When I have the freedom to write about whatever I want, I enjoy writing and I become more creative. I have never been more proud of pieces that I have written than I do through this class, and that is solely because I had the freedom to choose what I wanted to talk about. In high school, writing was never fun. It was a tedious task of putting a thesis with a book that I didn’t want to read or a topic I wasn’t interested in. College has taught me to be responsible and make decisions on my own. To me, that means being able to choose what to write about. Thanks to my English class, I have rediscovered myself as a writer, and grew to enjoy the arts.

2. I have commented at the following places:

http://colebeauchat.blogspot.com/2012/04/cultural-event-number-one.html

http://kevinbeebie.blogspot.com/2012/02/endless-possibilities-first-blog-post.html#comment-form

http://thebigpengtheory.blogspot.com/2012/02/hi-anyone-who-happens-to-stumble-onto.html#comment-form

http://ajf5302.blogspot.com/2012/03/at-psu-we-know-how-to-party.html#comment-form

3. I have completed my SRTEs!

The Critique of Pearl Jam's "Ten"... Or Lack Therof

When you think of popular music today, you don’t typically think of rock and roll music still topping the charts as it did in previous generations. Today’s music all revolves around the rap, hip-hop, and most recently house music genres. But to this day, one album still stands supreme and has lasted the test of time. This album is Pearl Jam’s “Ten”. “Ten” is a collection of eleven songs written by Eddie Vedder, the band’s lead singer. This particular collection of songs may seem like a greatest hits album, but it in fact is just their first album and possibly their best album.

The album begins with the song “Once”, with its eerie yet tantalizing opening riff setting the tone for the album. It displays Eddie Vedder’s intention of the album: to rock the socks off of the audience. They play perfectly into the realm of grunge rock in the early 90s. Pearl Jam then transitions right into “Even Flow” with a similar intro to the end of the previous song, but then takes off to rock bliss. Each song on the album brings a different side of Pearl Jam together to make one great album. “”Jeremy”, often described as the best song on the album, shows a more sensitive side of Pearl Jam as they belt out about a troubled boy who solved his problems by showing up to school and shooting himself in front of everyone who had made fun of him in school. Eddie Vedder shows us this sensitivity in lyrics such as “Jeremy spoke in class today. Try to forget this...Try to erase this...From the blackboard.” This power and raw emotion exemplifies the reoccurring dark side of the album.  

Every song perfectly transitions into another with similar sound until the whole song shifts to a new and unbelievable side of rock music. The album truly is something special. Honestly if not every song, nine of the eleven could have been a #1 hit at the time if they were not competing with each other and the great grunge rock artists at the time such as Kurt Cobain’s Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Radiohead. There is very little to criticize about the album. It did not receive the true credit it deserved until two years later when it was the #2 album on the Billboard 100. I believe that the album was perfect and was a great representation of the grunge rock period.

Overall, Pearl Jam set the tone for rock and grunge standards. “Ten” is a timeless classic and will forever be remembered as one of the greatest albums of all-time.

Pictures from Arts Crawl 2012

 Who says music isn't art? At the arts crawl, all forms of art are welcome.

 Exotic and strange art made from food.

 Just a small piece from the crazy mural on the wall of the Arts Crawl hallway.

Hey, I never said I was an artist, but this is just my interpretation of happiness

Arts Crawl 2012

On Friday I attended the Arts Crawl at the Palmer Museum. It was a new experience for me, and I kind of liked it. Having no idea where to even start I sat and listened to music in the dining café attached to the museum. A young man was playing his guitar singing cheap cover songs. I thought that this was very interesting not only for me but for the museum. I didn’t expect live music to be considered art at this art crawl, but this surprise in a way opened my mind to the whole day. Starting off hearing music at an arts festival made me appreciate that everything is art. Art has no boundaries. I felt that from seeing something that didn’t originally seem like art to me first, I had an open mind to check out other things during the day and appreciate it as art.

From there I moved down a hallway that interestingly was completely covered in drawings. Each drawing on a normal sheet fit like a puzzle of confusion. There was a lot going on in the mural such as mountains, alarm clocks, lightning, and your standard chaos. I was just amazed though that every piece of paper fit perfectly into the situation. Another interesting gala was the strange art gallery, which was filled with interesting things that you would never consider art. Some of these things included a cube filled with sand, a naked body made out of magazine clippings on a mannequin, and my favorite piece: a giant gummy beat sitting on a chair made of icing and other gummy bears. I remember having to make gingerbread houses around Christmas time and never considering it art, but just like the old cliché “one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure”, but for me both just looked like a good lunch.

I ended my day by adding to a mural on a wall. The top of the hallway said, “What Is Happiness”, and everybody posted a picture of what they thought was happiness. By everybody, I mean myself and every 6 year-old who was there. I drew a sun because when the sun is out, I am always happy.  Of course it was the worst drawing ever, but at least I tried. Some of the 6 year-olds might have considered it art. But overall, the Arts Crawl made me think about our discussions in class “What is art”. After writing several papers trying to figure out what art is, the Arts Crawl made me realize everything is art, so appreciate it.

We Are... A Party School!

As a student at Penn State University, I am proud of my school’s historical background of excellence. More recently though, Penn State has been tagged with another reputation, which is the top party school. At first, I was never too ashamed of this reputation. At some points, I found myself proud of it. To think, Penn State can be the top party school in the country and still get more students into career fields than any other college. This was impressive to me. But after listening to the podcast, I felt ashamed by some of my fellow students.

            As a brother of a fraternity here at Penn State, I realize that partying is big here. I don’t feel that it is the only thing here. There are many other worthwhile activities and organizations that students can be a part of that have no focus on partying. I think “The American Life” presents Penn State in a very bad light. Some of the information is valid, but I feel it is very over-exaggerated. Although the opinion in the podcast was backed up with facts, it lacked a complete view of the school.  I do not agree with the perspective of Penn State described in the podcast. Having said that, I was very interested in some of the examples used, and it has caused me to reconsider what it really means to go to a party school.

            Many appeals were used to exemplify the idea that Penn State is a major party school. For example, the use of logos is pervasive and blatant. Numerous facts and figures are referred to, such as the percentage of students who binge drink and the incidences of alcohol related assault, rape, etc.  These figures back up the view of Penn State as a drinking haven. Also, pathos is employed in an attempt to vilify the school for allowing such behavior to occur. Finally, through the accounts of students dying or being severely injured from drinking, the podcast appeals to the listeners’ sense of ethos.

            The most shocking and upsetting thing I learned from the podcast was that the average blood alcohol content for alcohol-related visits to Mount Nittany Medical Center is 0.252%.  I am stunned by this figure because it is extremely high. The fact that this is just an average and some people exceed this frightens me. The fact of the matter is, there is drinking at every college, and I feel it can be okay if done responsibly. There is no denying that Penn State will never get rid of drinking altogether. It has become synonymous with drinking. The podcast showed how important football and drinking is to the alumni. Despite the horrific stories of kids passing out in random houses, public urination, and examples of violence I am still proud of my school for what it is. And that is a party school that provides an excellent education.  

The Art of Swagger

To me, art has no limitations. It is limitless. The possibilities are innumerable. To think that scenic art is a new phenomenon where someone just snaps any picture and it is labeled as “art” just shows me that anything can ACTUALLY be art, and anyone can be an artist. Today, art schools are no longer being utilized by the common artist. Some forms of art cannot be taught by a prestigious artistic academy. Any person can just take a picture of anything with a Kodak disposable camera from the ‘90s and it is art. Art is being revolutionized each day by new things that are being admired by the public. Thinking further I was blinded by a new phenomenon in art; a form of art that is going to change the way people are viewed forever.

            Fashion has forever been respected as art. Today, you cannot open a magazine or newspaper or log online without being presented with fashion. Fashion is all around us. But a new sense of fashion is sweeping the younger generation. Swagger can be a number of things. But to me, swagger is the newest form of art. Swagger is to move with confidence, sophistication, and to be cool. Swagger is to conduct your self in a way that would automatically earn respect. Specifically, I want to focus on the way people dress that puts on swagger. For instance, when you are at a party, people know when you arrive and where you are at all times just because of your swagger. In public, you turn heads by your swag. Swagger is being used all over whether it is in sports, in music, and in your everyday lives.

            This weekend, I was glued to my TV watching the various college basketball games that were on.  One team in particular caught my eye, and that was Baylor University. Baylor has never had a dominant basketball program since the 1950s, but something has changed in the small school in Texas. Top recruits are coming to play at Baylor, and they are winning. In the 17 years prior to 2008, Baylor has had one postseason visit to March Madness. But since 2008, Baylor has made it to the dance every year since. I believe that this is due to the newfound swagger that they have in their uniforms. This weekend, Baylor wore two uniforms back-to-back days that were so hideous that it was controversial. Baylor came out dressed in lime green the first day, and a dark green with camouflage the second. I believe that high school players are being attracted to Baylor by their swagger. Baylor is not the first school to implement this swagger in uniforms; they are just the first school to perfect it. Rhetorically, I think that the uniforms evoke pathos, ethos, and logos, which is overlooked by most. 

            Ethos is shown in swagger by making a statement. Like all fashion, the art of swagger says “This is who I am, and I am trendy and fashionable.” In Baylor’s case, they use their uniforms to utilize ethos. They show a brand of cockiness on and off the court. Going along with ethos found in Baylor, their swagger evokes logos by saying, “You should attend Baylor and play basketball here because we are trendy and we are hip.”  Finally, the uniforms evoke pathos just by the bright colors. It invokes to the fans and the nation. Baylor University is using a new form of art to put their school on the map. Baylor may be a mediocre basketball program, but I know that I will be rooting them on throughout March Madness not as a fan of the players, but as a fan of the art of swagger that they are revolutionizing.  

 http://www.sportslogos.net/blog/tag/baylor-bears/