Arts/Cultural Assignment #3: The Arboretum at Penn State

Although I am not a nature-lover, I really enjoyed our class trip to the Arboretum this past Monday. I find nature to be absolutely beautiful and inspiring however, I do not find myself spending a ton of time in and around it. One of the first things I saw when arriving at the Arboretum was this open floor with draping white curtains. I assumed that people paid good amount of money to have special ceremonies here such as a wedding and found it to be a gorgeous place for something like this. 

This was my first time to the Arboretum and I am glad that we had our English class there for the day because I do not think that I would have gone otherwise. I honestly did not even know it existed until I was told to meet there early that morning. Now that I have seen it once and experienced walking through all of the different scenery, I think that I will definitely go back at some point again. I would love to introduce my friends to it as well because I am pretty sure that they have not heard of it either and I find it to be one of the greatest spots at State College. This type of flower shown on the right was one of my favorites that I saw while walking around. The colors in it were what stood out to me.

As I was passing all of the benches and chairs within the Arboretum I kept telling myself that I should return to this gorgeous garden to get some peaceful time and clear my head. It is hard to find places like that in such a large and densely populated college like Penn State. I also thought about how I would not mind going back to get some schoolwork done at times before it starts getting too cold because I am used to being crammed in my small dorm room doing it.

Arts/Cultural Blog Post #2: Palmer Museum Visit

            The title of the piece of art that I found the most interesting and influential at the Palmer Museum of Art is “Affirmative Action.” Jerry Kearns is the artist of this piece. Kearns created “Affirmative Action” in the year 1987 on a canvas by using acrylic. The background of the painting is completely red and yellow and shows the rooftops of what appears to be a group of buildings in a major city. The focus of the painting, however, is the woman positioned in the center. She stands out because, unlike the background, she is in all black and white. She appears to be your “typical woman” wearing a dress and heals with her hair all nicely done. Her anger and frustration is clear in this painting just by looking at her face. She is in a wide stance and is hard at work shoveling manure that is in black and white as well. The piece is on a normal square canvas but it is extremely large. The large size helps the artist to make his point even that much stronger and more obvious.

            Jerry Kearns is known for his work with large canvases similar to this one as a way to reveal a social issue. In “Affirmative Action” Kearns focuses on the issue of women’s rights. Women’s rights were a big concern right around the time when Kearns created this piece especially when it came to them receiving equal pay for equal work. Equal pay did not just refer to their salary, however. This also included things such as a wide variety of benefits received for working and bonuses. The woman depicted in Kearn’s piece is shoveling manure which is clearly a job that is below her. It is assumed that she is not collecting what she should be for this degrading job as well. There are numerous things that Kearn could have been trying to accomplish by creating this piece. One of these may have been to show the influence that legislation has had on gender inequality at the time in the U.S. because this was not the only gender issue of the time.

            “Affirmative Action” has a good amount of pathos that can be found within it. It works on your emotions by making you feel bad for this woman and, therefore, all other women in similar situations as hers at the time. It could also make you feel angry. How is a man’s work any better than a woman’s? This piece connects to my values specifically because I feel that men and women should not be treated differently no matter what the situation. I know that I personally would be aggravated if I were living in this period going through this. People are people and every individual deserves to be treated fairly.

            Kearns creates credibility by incorporating suitable images from comic books, television and other popular sources in his works. He is known for considering himself an “editor of the information flow of culture.” The bold confrontational scale of “Affirmative Action” is a popular style used by artists as well. Those considering the canvas may enjoy this style of art and relate it to other famous artists and works that they admire bringing them to respect Kearns as an artist automatically.

            I think that this piece is trying to make the claim that women and men are born equivalent and therefore warrant the same rights like I stated earlier on in this blog post. A women’s’ work is just as beneficial and valid as a man’s so why should she not receive the same credit and reward for it? In my opinion Kearns could have made this piece more persuasive by depicting a man in the scene alongside the woman to make a stronger comparison. Maybe he could have shown the man being paid while she was shoveling or simply show him doing a job that was not as difficult.  

            I am not normally a museum-goer but I enjoyed visiting Penn State’s Palmer Museum very much. It was something different for me because I am not creative and do not usually enjoy art as a result. It was nice, however, to go out of my comfort zone and try doing something new. I don’t know if I would have gone in otherwise but now I think that I may go back again! The visit was definitely beneficial for me personally. 

Arts/Cultural Blog Post #1: What We Talk About When We Talk About Blogs

Title: I chose to title my blog “Exploring the Many Styles Here at Penn State” because I have always been told how diverse this school is but I did not realize exactly how diverse it really was until I started living in State College myself. By studying the arts at Penn State I hope to come across new styles that can teach me something I did not previously know. I am sure I will see things that are both similar to the art that I am used to and extremely different. I am also sure that I will be passing and encountering various forms of art on a day-to-day basis. I am interested to learn more about the way that other people think and see things and expand my boundaries that I have been living within for so long now.

Background: Picking out a template for my blog was probably the easiest step for me. The background picture of the road leading far into the distance symbolizes, to me, my journey into the next four years of my college life. Just like this image does not show an end to this long, winding road, my options and opportunities here at Penn State are endless. The cheerful colors of the bright blue sky and perfectly green grass are also what led me to choose this template because they will help to lift my mood every time I sign onto my page.

Font: Similar to my personality I chose a font that was bubbly and inviting. I have never seen the font style that I chose before so I figured I would try something new instead of the plain, formal Times New Roman font that we are always inclined to use as students. I wanted my page to come across as exciting to help the information on it seem that much more interesting to those who view it.

About Me Introduction: In my about me introduction at the top of my page I chose to include my name, obviously, and where I am from to get started. After that I briefly mentioned how I enjoy hanging out with my friends in my spare time and my favorite place: the beach. I chose to mention these two things because when I think of myself those are two of the first things that pop into my head. I am interested to see if anyone from the class has either of those things in common with me!

Font Color: Pink is my favorite color so I had to make sure that it made it onto my blog somewhere! The color pink shows the girly side of my personality and to me is a color, similar to red, that represents love. My entire dorm room is filled with pink to help me feel more at home so I figured that I would bring it to my blog page to give it that comforting feeling as well.

         I am satisfied with my blog and feel that it represents me perfectly. It is not simple but, at the same time, it is not too far out there either. The experience of building it was sort of harder and more time-consuming than I expected but I enjoyed doing it. I found it to be a fun assignment. I hope to get to know my classmates and the way that they write better by blogging for this course!