Art and Technology FA 2020

 Ive never been a big fan of musicals, but most of the artists mentioned in this blog, are artists who my parents played throughout my childhood. For example, Barbara Streisand used to be one of my mothers favorites, I think she has a very unique voice and a lot of talent. Michael Bublé is also a very talented singer, he's someone I look forward to listen to every year around Christmas. His song, Have Yourself a Merry Christmas, is one of my Christmas favorites. He is a very talented jazz musician/singer and has an amazing tone in his voice that makes his songs so unique. The West Coast Cast of HAIR- "Smother Brothers" show immediately caught eye because it almost reminded me of Native American Blanket Dance. Back at home, we have a Native American reservation in our town, and every year they have a powwow which is basically a cultural festival. but during the powwow, the natives have dance competitions, where women and men will compete in a certain dance section, allowin...

 One of my favorite movies is Adu. I came across this movie on Netflix and it immediately caught my eye. The movie tells a story about a young boy, Adu, and his sister from Africa who go on a search for a better life after they're mother is attacked by soldiers. The movie does such a great job when it comes to the setting and details. It takes place in a poor village in Africa, where you can see the destroyed houses, extreme flooding, little to no fertile land and poor health of the people. The movie focuses on the journey the 2 siblings take together, they travel by foot with no shoes through forests and eventually find other villagers who are escaping the terrifying reality. Further along in the movie, the siblings find their way to another village where they have a family member who is helping them leave Africa. They escape Africa by sneaking into the bottom of a plane where all the mechanical aspects of the plane are handled, this is a very meaningful part of the movie because ...

 The animation of Madam Butterfly does a great job at recreating the story. Of course, it doesn't compare to a live show and lacks some human connections, but it shows very strong emotion. The dolls were an interesting way to improvise but don't show the same emotion as the opera. The Opera has methods that embraces several techniques from theatre in Japan which makes it more meaningful. The animation did do a great job at trying to make the dolls seem as human as possible with their interactions, what really caught my eye was how deep the ending was when she killed herself, you could see how much losing her child hurt her.  Ive seen an Opera while visiting my grandparents in Hamburg, Germany and an animation doesn't compare to an in person show, especially one that is as moving as Madam Butterfly. 

 After seeing and learning more about Gothic Cathedrals, I am in awe of these beautiful structures. In summer of 2018, I took a trip to Paris with my family and got to see Notre Dam in person before it unfortunately caught fire a year later.  The cathedral was so beautiful and had so many aspects that makes it so special. Every summer I travel to Germany and every year we travel to a different place in Europe, and now thinking back on it I've seen many famous Gothic Cathedrals like the St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna, the Milan Cathedral, the Seville Cathedral which passed the Hagia Sophia as largest Cathedral in the world, and many more. Gothic Cathedrals were a result of the Hagia Sophia and are very unique because they must contain stained glass windows, rose windows, a Bishops chair also must be placed in a Gothic Cathedral to honor the practices of the church, pointed arches and they must also house at least one relic. I found it very interesting that the   cathedra...

 There have been many revolutionary inventions that led to the developments of famous buildings, architecture, artwork and were impacted by cultural diffusion. The Native Americans had their own ways of life and own cultures that they practiced. Early Native Americans lived in small farming and fishing villages that provided them with food and various resources, but they also grew their own crops such as corn, beans and vegetables. Natives didn't have much access to supplies like the Europeans did, so they used resources they had available to make shelter. They made themselves tipis which fit their nomadic lifestyles and were easy to build and move. Tipis were made from a frame of wooden poles and then covered with cloths and animal skins to keep themselves warm. The transformation of typical Native American tipis to the Hagia Sophia arised from technological and revolutionary inventions. The Hagia Sophia was built as a Christian cathedral, then changed into a massive mosque, a Mus...

 A persons creativity can be determined by testing the way their brain networks work when placed in a situation where they have to use their creative thinking. Everyones brain networks are different, some with high connections making them more creative and some with low connections making them less creative. People with high connections tend to have a broader mindset allowing them to come up with more creative ideas. Creative people are more likely to seek new and improved way of doing things which could sometimes involve taking risks while less creative people tend to play it safe, using ideas and scenarios that are easier. For example, th e default network is a set of  brain  regions that work when people engaged in spontaneous thinking, such as mind-wandering, daydreaming and imagining which could explain why some people have more vivid and realistic dreams. If you're using the executive control network and you're asked to put together an experiment for class, the...

 In my opinion, Raul Cuero's interview was very eye opening. Creativity plays a major role in our lives. I have many ancestors who went through similar situations as Cuero but after watching his video I realized that creativity did play a major role when they started to develop their new lives. Many rely on creativity to get rid of life's problems. When you're part of a minority, its hard fitting into normal society. You get treated differently, you're looked at as less but with a creative mind, you see beyond the opinions of other people. Having a creative mind can help you achieve goals you never thought you could and discover things that you never thought would interest you which is why I found this interview so fascinating because a lot of my family comes from the Dominican Republic where most of the population lives in poverty so seeing that Raul Cuero used his creativity to build on the life he has now inspires me and should inspire so many more to use their creat...