Preservation vs Conservation Essay Example for Free

Preservation vs Conservation Essay John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and Aldo Leopold are three influential figures responsible for shaping the foundations of the ideologies of the modern environmental movements. However, although Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold represented the grave environmental concern, they also represented the rift between preservationists and conservationists. This ideological divide among environmental groups arose from widely-differing assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes on how nature and the environment should be seen in the one hand, and how human role in relation to nature and the environment should be defined. Thus, despite the fact that Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold were among the most important environmentalists of their time, irreconcilable ideological differences kept them from successfully working together for environmental causes and initiatives. In â€Å"The Mountains of California,† John Muir provides a detailed description of the mountainous features of the Sierra Nevada and natural formations in the Yosemite Valley, including the animals and plants that are found in these habitats. Muir informs the readers not only of his impressions of the play of light on the slopes of the mountains but also describes his awe of the beauty of nature found in the California mountain range. In this sense, Muir advances the idea that human beings should not be allowed to destroy the things created by nature. Along this line, Muir suggests that wildlife and other things in nature should not be subject to human activities that aim to make a profit out of natural resources. Meanwhile, Aldo Leopold uses the descriptions of his encounters and experiences with nature in â€Å"A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There† to illustrate the fact that modernization and industrial development has alienated human beings from the biotic community. He further argues that human intervention and activities in the aim of making nature more profitable or less hostile to human beings, such as killing deadly predators, have managed to offset the natural balances which have had catastrophic results for animal and plant life in many habitats. Leopold therefore advocates for human beings to establish a harmonious relationship with nature based on the â€Å"land ethic,† which emphasizes the human obligation to preserve the dignity of the earth and everything found in it and not to do anything that would degrade and harm the natural environment. In an essay excerpt from his work â€Å"The Fight for Conservation,† Gifford Pinchot states his concern about the impact of environmental devastation on business activities and human life and argues for greater state intervention in managing natural resources to ensure sustainable use and to deter unscrupulous exploitation of these resources. In essence, Gifford advocates for a reform not only in how modern American society viewed its natural resources to be inexhaustibe but also for a concrete reform in natural resource policy to implement measures to manage forests and other resources. Hence, Gifford argues for the implementation of management programs in the aim of averting future natural resource depletion crises that would have adverse effects on the national economy and private enterprise. Gifford’s framework for his advocacy was based on the premise that the imports of raw materials were often costly and therefore unpractical for many businesses, which made state management of resource materials more cost-efficient and cost-effective. It is clear from these selections that all three authors were against the wanton expoitation of natural resources. Likewise, Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold acknowledged the role of human activities in the degradation of the environment. For instance, Muir’s descriptive essay of Sierra Nevada and its surroundings is very much similar to Leopold’s musings on the diversity found in nature and how human beings should work to preserve the integrity of their natural environment. In the same manner, all three authors called attention to increasing environmental problems wrought about by the reckless use and abuse of ecological resources such as forests and grasslands. However, a deeper look at the writings of Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold’s present the distinctive ideas and assumptions that inform the arguments and positions of the three authors. It is in these details that the critical reader ultimately sees the clash in the preservationist and conservationist stance of the three authors. For instance, Pinchot’s conservationist perspective is emphasized by his focus on the management of resources to maximize the benefit to humans, based on the assumption that nature and the things or beings found in nature existed for human use. Likewise, most of Pinchot’s arguments are premised on the idea that human beings are the center and the goal of conserving nature and its bounty. In contrast, Muir’s preservationist belief is characterized by the view that nature and wildlife should be kept in the same state of being pristine and untrammelled by humans. Similar to Muir’s perspective, Leopold suggests that humans should see themselves as part of the biotic community instead of seeing themselves as the center of all creations. The writings of both authors are influenced by the basic assumption that nature and wildlife, as living beings, have innate rights and accordingy, humans have the obligation to ensure that these rights are enjoyed or protected. Thus, the basic and most significant difference between the preservationist and conservationist camp stemmed from the belief and attitude towards nature wherein the former believed that nature should be protected for nature’s sake, while the latter espoused the protection or management or nature for human being’s sake. The three author’s basic arguments and underlying assumtions are further revealed in their narratives. Both Muir and Leopold clearly write from the perspective of someone who has experienced a close connection with nature. This is evident in the ability of these authors to describe the scenes of nature and the wildlife found in it down to the minute details, to recall their most personal feelings in their encounters of the beauty and wonder of nature, and in their reflections and thoughts about these encounters. Pinchot, on the other hand, writes in a manner that is devoid of any sentimentality about the intrinsic characteristics of nature but calls forth self-serving human interests for continued survival and societal development to argue for natural resource management. Clearly, the three authors represent the major strains of thought in environmental preservation and conservation. Muir, with his emphasis on the total preservation of nature and wildife and his insistence on distancing human life from the works of nature, represents the ecological rights perspective in environmental preservation. In the same manner, Leopold’s argument about seeing the bigger picture in terms of wildlife and nature preservation encapsulates the basic premise of the ecosystem approach in natural resource management. Meanwhile, Pinchot’s focus on the conservation of nature through efficient use and the maximization of available resources is at the heart of sustainable resource management approaches. Therefore, it is not surprising that despite being contemporaries as significant environmental theorists and activitists of their time, Muir, Pinchot, and Leopold were kept apart by basic differences in their assumptions and viewpoints. This is because the basic assumptions that underlined their beliefs in either preservation or conservation not only determined their stance on the environment but also addressed the crucial question of how nature should be used—or if it should be used at all—for continued human development. References: Leopold, Aldo. (2008). Excerpt from ‘A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There. ’ In Environmental Studies, 2nd Edition (pp. 10-12). United States: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Muir, John. (2008). Excerpt from ‘The Mountains of California. In Environmental Studies, 2nd Edition (pp. 5-7). United States: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Pinchot, Gifford. (2008). Excerpt from ‘The Fight for Conservation. ’ In Environmental Studies, 2nd Edition (pp. 8-9). United States: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Mannerism in art: An analysis

Mannerism in art: An analysis The stylistic categories are an important aspect of the history of art. Gombrich (1985) suggests that classification is a necessary evil that if taken as a tool that is also flexible and modifiable, can be valuable for art historians. Gombrich notes that while useful, categorisation has also been prone to critical abuse (p81). In other words derogatory nomenclature was often used when naming an art historical era. Baroque, which I would consider a very refined phase of technically crafted dramatic art, in fact was defined by the Oxford pocket dictionary of 1934 as grotesque (p81) as this was the immediate summary of its worth in the seventeenth century. Kaufman (2010) indicated that the categories mark historic periods of individual artists, however art critical analysis has always made it difficult to distinguish the categories and this has led to individual historians describing the categories or styles differently. To establish a permanent and agreed name to a genre or era of art could only happen successfully after that period had expired and time had lapsed for thorough deliberation it requires time and broadmindedness to deal with (Gombrich,1985, p81). Gombrich also states that such categories help us in the mastering an unstructured reality that is to say that as long as criticality in our application of such categories is maintained, new insights about what constitutes them can be gained. Categorisation is limited by language, complex concepts cannot always be expressed by words, and categories are often oversimplified into opposites: good/bad, visual/haptic, left/right etc. This system of opposites allows a range of values in between. In order to create an art category a style must be distinct and unique, therefore necessitating a term to describe it. If a style is neither unique nor distinct it would not require classification. Kaufmann (2010) believed that despite numerous stylistic terminology (p2) all art can be categorised into two major categories which are classical and non-classical. For example, Gothic art is classified as non-classical, while Barbaric and Barocco were described as post classical and degenerate at that time. However irrespective of this norm, there were exceptions to some styles like Mediaeval which was regarded as less beautiful but had some worthy attributes such as being more devout, more honest or more strong which according to historians of the time counted for more than mere orderliness (Gombrich,1985, p86). As Gombrich points out, the problem underlying the categorisation of art is the claim that arose in the 19th century that art historians can look at the historical development of styles in an objective and unbiased manner. That is to say without being influenced by their own agendas, political standpoints, need for oversimplification or cognitive biases. This is the proble m underlying all art categorisation, and through this understanding we can now go on to analyse the topic of mannerism as a historical art category. This essay will first of all attempt to offer a definition of mannerism, pointing out some inherent difficulties in doing so, it will then go on to look at some of the benefits of describing the historical period conventionally labelled as mannerist in this way, before looking at some of the drawbacks. Finally conclusions will be made about how helpful it is as a concept in the categorisation of historical art. 2. Mannerism as an art category 2.1 What is Mannerism, and why is the term controversial as an art category? Mannerism as it has been conventionally described in modern interpretations of historical art, is a style which came between the high Renaissance and the Baroque (1510-20 to 1600) periods and is sometimes was referred to as the late Renaissance (Wundram1985). One of the first issues when discussing Mannerism, is identifying exactly when it started, and when it finished, as while in Italy, it is thought to have ended in around 1580, but Northern Mannerism is thought to have extended into the early 17th century in Europe (Freedberg,1971). However according to Smyth (1992, p13) this set of stylistic conventions began to be adopted in around 1530, before becoming the norm in the 1540s and 1550s in the work of Vasari and his contemporaries. This highlights one of the first difficulties art historians have with the broad category of Mannerism. Deriving from the Italian maneriera, Mannerism refers to a style or manner and what exactly constitutes Mannerism has also been a matter of debate in art history. The term has been widely used in literature and architecture as well as in art. Vasari as a central Mannerist himself used the term to discuss an artists manner or method, in describing a particular artists style, and in attributing praise. However, the term has also been used according to Franklin (2001) by Vasari himself to criticise the work of Perugino as mannered meaning that his style was repetitious and this was thought to be unaturalistic and therefore negative (p14). Miedima (1978-79) points out that the term was originally used as a term of opprobrium (p20). As illustrated through these examples the term Mannerism and what is meant by it may have given rise to great deal of confusion as successive art historians used the term. What constitutes mannerism as a style is also not without its problems. Miedema (1978-9) defines the stylistic features thought of as Mannerism as artificiality, affectation, the stereotype and monotony furthermore these were interpreted arbitrarily as: anti-classicism, subjectivity, torment, anxiety and doubt, and violent emotionality (p21). Problematic is that fact that a term used to express what was negative about some art in the sixteenth century until around the nineteenth century has now been expanded to characterize the style of what we speak of as representing the entire period (ibid). The style of the period can also be seen as contravening the high Renaissance classical rule rooted more on visual perception and scientific naturalism. Rather mannerism is thought to be based more on intellectual preoccupation as evident in the late works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and mid-career works of Michelangelo Mannerism as a style is not easy to categorise because of its diversity (Smith, 2007). The label defined a significant change in social behaviour and a noticeable brilliance in techniques of works of some artists. The term Mannerism itself is quite a profound indicator of the perception of general aesthetics. It denotes the acknowledgement of Style- the recognition of stylization integral to any art work and the implications this brings: Manipulation, adaption, abstraction. This in turn may have also have taken some of the devout piety away from the function of art works. Elongated forms, precariously balanced poses, and collapsed perspective; irrational settings and theatrical settings were reflected amongst characteristics of mannerists works. Parmigianos Work Madonna (1534-40) Florence, Uffizi, is a good example of the change of style and it was greatly believed to have been influenced by Raphael, but gave a great anti-classic character. Smith (2007, p) described the Madonna: Proportions are lengthened so that forms are attenuated; perspective is exaggerated, and there is great discrepancies of scale between the virgin and her attendants. Again a feeling of disquiet is produced by the column beautifully finished, but like a ruin supporting nothing, or* the enigmatic gentleman who opens a great scroll but instead of reading it turns his head in the opposite direction. The Madonna with the Long Neck is a very good example of divergent style from naturalism. The distorted proportion exemplified by elongated neck and arms brings about the concept of abstraction which was not the norm with the previous style. Smiths (2007) description concurs with the definition of Mannerists being advocates of tension and ambiguity as opposed to the rounded harmony of high renaissance. Mannerist composition lacks the balance and legibility that would have been necessary for art to be considered a complete, where all the relative parts played a role and reason was prominent. The whole perception of the entire work brings about an attitude of laziness or lack of seriousness especially to those used to high renaissance. The argument for the distortions would be that the artist was trying to heighten the notion of elegance and grace to express these famous historical figures. The mother of Christ therefore, was rendered larger than life or with an unrealistic perfection in certain anatomical features. A further example of Mannerists works is provided by the Scupture of Bologna (1581-83) The Rape of the Sabines. Matsui describes it as: Three figures twisting upwards in such a way as to form a Spiral, allowing, if not demanding, a 360 degree view of the work. Bolognas sculpture took on a flamboyant self-confidence, which clearly proved him to have at least one foot firmly placed in the next era, the Baroque. This goes to show how hard Mannerist artists are to defineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Though the works reflects aspects of Michelangelos, Bologna went further than the usual forms of Michelangelos works by being more extravagant in terms of executing his shapes, which were more prominent in terms of their three dimensional nature, as described by Matsui. Such an approach went beyond the traditional boundaries of High renaissance, and was seen as a new phenomenon and probably the represented the foundation of a new style. High renaissance art being what it was at the time; an art style at peak in terms of its innovation, needed to be built on. Up-coming artists would have viewed the creative arena before them and may have seen invention as the most positive way forward. Another characteristic of mannerism worth noting is the use of space by the mannerist artists. Unlike the Renaissance where the space was definite and the view was provided with a fixed view point, in mannerism the space was extended to infinity and the side boundaries were removed (Wundram, 1985). Many of the themes used in Mannerist work paid homage previous masters works, styles and themes, as opposed to the norm of naturalism. Wundram (1985) points out that the movements focal point was for the first time considered to be in painting. This change in style can be seen as maturation from the high Renaissance and an extension of its qualities. The qualities displayed were anti classism and the move was seen to be a natural progression from High Renaissance. None of these descriptions and examples of what we now describe as Mannerism, solve the issue that the category became the term for defining the style of sixteenth century art, or at least part of that art (Miedema, 1978, p20), and that whether art can be qualified as Mannerist or not has depended on which criteria different authors applied and which were accordingly dismissed (ibid). The issue boils down to the debate around whether Mannerism is a style, a movement, or a period and the fact that it is commonly used to identify the European art and culture of the 16th century (Mobile reference, nd). 2.2 What led to the emergence of Mannerism? Mannerism as an art style emerged during a period of political unrest which includes the reformation, the plague and the sack of Rome in 1527. The style was more popular in Florence and Rome but spread all over Italy and northern Europe (Matsui, 2010). Although the origins of Mannerism have been attributed to the early sixteenth century, in 1555 a more radical style emerged which deviated from the masters in what was described as lazy ignorance or vain rashness, it was regarded as a complete philosophy and method of art (Smyth 1992). It was alleged that, these students became addicted to weak (not incorrect) design and feeble washed out colours, far from the truth and at the same time too resolute (ibid). The exact historical period of mannerism has been a subject of controversy; however it is generally seen to come between High Renaissance and Baroque. It is normally seen as the extension of the High Renaissance though it is mostly seen as Renaissance anti-classicism due to the natu re of works produced which are more abstract and do not reflect nature realistically. Mannerist artists were associated with great intellect and were no longer seen as crafts persons but rather scholars with great admiration of elegance and complexity. They could now stand apart from crafts men and be on equal terms with poets allowing for self-conscious interpretation of the events they recorded. With this freedom came great responsibility especially for visual artist. Poets could record the world with a degree of ambiguity and abstraction, but painters were limited in their presentation to a definite subject matter within the parameters of the four corners and flat nature of the canvass. Given the expectations that the art of the time would accurately represent its subject matter, it would have been extremely difficult to present an image with any degree of distortion or artistic licence. 3 Advantages of using Mannerism as a historical art category The Mannerist era heralded a new period of innovation. The period fostered creativity, through a lack of adherence to the particular principles of the time. There was also a distinctness and sharpness which showed a lot of independent thinking. The structure of work is well defined and well balanced and highly stabilised to support its own particular aesthetic qualities. Using examples of Mannerist art, this section will give evidence to support the notion that in order to communicate about the period, a category such as Mannerism is more helpful than unhelpful. EL Greco, The Annnuncial (1576) (see appendix) is an exceptional work which exemplifies the creativity and beauty of what is thought to be Mannerist art. The theme of the work is religious based, as religion or erotic nature themes were popular due to the upheaval of the period of that time. El Greco personifies successful mannerists art because he engages both exaggerations in his painterly application and his distortions of figures. He leaves out any attempt to render the scene in naturalistic terms; thereby entering fully into the realm of stylistic invention. The work depicts the announcement of birth of Christ, it shows Angle Gabriel appearing before the Virgin Mary accompanied by many other angles above the two figures, a dove painted in glowing white , which spread all the way towards the virgin signifies the presence of the holy spirit. The painting is more congested as figures are juxtaposition to fit in the limited space. Colour contradictions and elongated figures give the painting a general view of uncertainty and menace. But everything about the painting is contrived and makes no attempt to conceal the artifice. El Greco has defied the odds, and has demonstrated some compositional brilliance of the style. EL Greco used elements of design to harmonise the entire work making it aesthetically interesting. The distorted figures and pallet of variety of cool colours gives the work mystical view augmenting the theme. It might have been that El Grecos art was misunderstood during his time (especially the later work), but he was to have a significant impact on later artists. He gains influence amongst the modernist era especially with artists such as Picasso and The German Expressionists. This era of art was more aligned to self-conscious manipulations and personal sensibilities, and it is surprising to see a 16th Century artist stand up to this genre of extreme modernism. In hindsight one could say that El Greco was far beyond his time, and helped influence some of the most extreme and drastic changes in aesthetic awareness that still inform the art world today. It is helpful therefore to have a least a general category of association in which to place El Greco. He may not be noted as an obvious exponent of Mannerism but he falls heavily into its influence, and not by his association with High Renaissance. It is by the particular general detail of categories that we are reliant on placing artists in context to their historical time, and agreeing on the traits that identify them with that genre and not another. The intellectuality that is attributed to the Mannerist period embraced liberal ideologies that allowed for much more creative freedoms in arts and literature. This allowed a whole body of work to flourish that embraced these new liberties. Such work represented a clear departure from previous works represented by High renaissance and clearly showed that the beginning of something very new was happening in terms of stylistic categories. Clearly then, a stylistic category delineating the two periods is necessary. It might not be a coincidence that the first historically recorded female artist Sonofisba Anguissola (a student of Michelangelo) gained acclaim and significant success during these times. Although not a mannerist, she transcended limitations placed on her gender at the time to be considered equal amongst her male counterparts in a male dominated discipline. Did this freedom for intellectual curiosity exhibited by the Mannerists also extend to other disciplines? For instance, Galileos (1564-1642) accurate observations on planetary orbits and scientific theory that contradicted the Roman Catholic Churchs assertions also came towards the end of the Mannerist period. Thus the credit for these advancements needs to be justified under a general label that identifies the era, and the influences that brought about prevalent features of arts and culture at the time. Clearly the artistic paradigm shift represented by Mannerist art deserves a label. It is sometimes useful to have a historical category which reflects the origins of such an important change of convention and under which the collective achievements of a generation can be contextualised. 4 The disadvantages of using the term Mannerism as a Historical art category. Although it is useful to delineate the changes from High renaissance to Mannerism how a particular piece of art can be analysed into one category or another can sometimes present methodological difficulty without a common and agreed frame of reference. Such a conceptual tool is yet to be perfected. The painting Christ before Pilate (Tintoretto, 1565-1567) clearly illustrates this issue, as it has always been controversial whether it is Mannerist or not even though it can be dated to a period thought of as High Mannerist. Some have referred to it as an anti-classical style as it ran counter to High Renaissance, some prefer to look at it as it as late Renaissance while others did not give it any specific category (Smyth,1992). This illustrates the point that if we are to think of Mannerism as a period, rather than an identifiable style as it is commonly viewed then we may find ourselves in difficulty. Likewise if we look at Mannerism as a style rather than a period, a painting such as Tintorettos presents classification difficulties. This illustrates a clear disadvantage of using the term mannerism as a historical art category. However, in a discussion of Christ before Pilot Curtis (in Akker, 2010) looked at Mannerism as a neutral term, that can be seen as a legitimate art category depending on the painting and the argument put forward by the art historian. Furthermore Shearman (1961) also puts forward and argument to defend Mannerism as a good art category, he describes it as decorative stylisation which illustrates meaning of form and called it a stylish style. To illustrate this point he cites the work of Perino del Vaga, Vertumnus and Ponoma (1527) as a good example of Mannerist work. Akker (2010) describes the work: being almost that of the whole design, we are more immediately aware of the freedom in the distribution of their parts, as if they were abstract and not figurative material; for the figures, interlaced one with the other, are also deployed in a remarkably decorative way over the whole surface. This freedom of disposition is obtained by manipulations of considerable torsion, achieved, however, with perfect ease in the figures themselves. Grace, not tension, is the resultà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ But overall though there is still a confusion as to Mannerisms identity as a specific category or a flexible term to reference work that is not quite High Renaissance, nor accessible as Baroque. Franklin, (2001) believes that this leaves it as a rather redundant term in the canons of art classification, and in Mannerisms particular case it is often ignored or goes unnoticed as an art category altogether. The critical view at the time of deemed that Mannerism did not fall or fit well within the contemporary notion of what art was supposed to be (Akker, 2010, p28), and there was said to be a decline in art after the High Renaissance. Painting was said to have reached its peak during the time of Raphael and drastically declined after his death. This decline was attributed to the departure of artists from the then current style, which was based on the study of Nature rather the more intellectual approach based imagination and artifice. These were further described by Lanzi (C.1800) (cited in Akker, 2010) as imitating previous masters work in a literal and servile manner. He believed that the style represents a cultural shift that can be considered an inevitable phase in culture that could be considered normal in any society. He further describes it as a sort of fatality that: seems to prevail in all human things, rendering their duration in the same state of short continuance; so that after attaining their highest elevation, we may assuredly at no distant period look for their decline But the issue of interpretation and accessibility lies only with that time that mannerism was in affect; for in hindsight, with the advantage of noticing succeeding generations of art development, Mannerism looks now like a bold attempt to challenge perceived notions and shock a conditioned establishment into reconsidering its values, or at least speculate on other innovations in visual art. The fact that it was noted for its discrepancies with the established order means it only attracted more attention, and thus necessitated being a category in its own right. The problem of Mannerism being its own distinct category leaves another issue; that of a dual allegiance of those artists who were in part indulging in High Renaissance styles and yet who were also involved with Mannerist tendencies. Michelangelo is one such an artist. His early career paid much attention to copying the old masters; Giotto for instance, but always without complete reverence. He would analyse the drawing but the final rendition would be adopted and altered for his own pursuit in technique (Nagel, 2000). Michelangelos career was spurred by the need to adapt, change, and be inventive. It is not surprising then that he ended up belonging to both camps, and by the later stages of his career was implicated as Mannerist. It is possibly the failure of historical labelling that causes confusion, and indicates a weakness in Mannerism as a historical art category. Mannerism had another very identifiable feature that is, over simplification of forms. This approach has led to many misconception about the style, some view the unrealistic aspects of the work produced as sign of laziness or rushed work done without much consideration technical details (such as correct proportion) or that it lacked serious attention. Friedlaenders(1957) however defended this aspect of Mannerism and stated that such over simplification is due to the distinct character of the artistic and cultural movement in specific places at specific times. Friedlaenders also pointed out that any form of refinement through stylization tends to result in simplification of form. This was very much part of Michelangelos agenda in his later years. His late work often looked unfinished; the Rondanini Pieta (1564) being a prime example. If we did not know it, one would not recognise it as a work of Michelangelo due its rough appearance. Nagel (2001) explains Michelangelos choices as being more to do with process than final appearance. The artists himself is noted for being intrigued about the process of sculpting. He did not anticipate a finished piece, but was open to a sense of discovery that that lay within a block of stone. For Nagel it appears as a reversal of the usual process, where excavation enables the artist to merely discover what already lay within. For this reversal of attitude to take place is a big upheaval in historical terms and requires distinction and categorization. The problem occurs when you have to refer to one artist; who is so well esteemed, as being a practitioner of both these disparate practices. However, there is no reason that the category of Mannerism should be ignored or brushed under the carpet by art historians because of this discrepancy, as will be discussed further in the next section. 5 Discussion The problem with the classical period was that the concept of what constituted an art form was too prescriptive. It was formalised into proportional figures, accurate perspective, round 3 dimensional composition, and naturalistic colour scheme. Under this strict regimen of constructing a painting the artist had little subjective input. It is not surprising that during this era the artists turned to a Mannerist style which allowed room for invention. This change in style marks a change in the perception and the function of an art work. Without a rigid system of application art elements and principles could be explored with a broader and bolder sense of creative design. Suddenly a dynamic quality of rhythm and symmetry evoked more imaginative possibilities in a picture surface, where elongated figures had more potential for movement in themselves. Renaissance art itself was a new achievement at a time of critical self-questioning in: religion, politics and culture. It was a tendency of artists to always be searching for different forms of expression. Mannerism appears to be a consequence of these introspective circumstances, as much as any modern art movement would have been a response to drastic changes to material and social upheavals. Categories seem easier to apply during the twentieth century than during the sixteenth Century due to the rapid succession of various movements that reacted to each other. But Mannerism was just as much a reaction to its predecessor, and a bridge in the historical continuum that leads to the Baroque. A land mark (and thus a historical art history category) therefore applies as well for Mannerism as it does for Cubism. Although mannerism is often over looked as a category in art development, it is in fact a very crucial dividing line in the history of art. It draws a definite line between scientific naturalism and more elaborate creative tendencies. This is very relevant and definitive moment in the transitional annals of art development. It defines a moment when the hierarchy of the art establishment was challenged and superseded to allow choice and alternative applications. As Kaufmann (2010) notes, although there may have been disagreement about whether a work of art should be labelled a particular label, such debates were often productive and new period concepts, like Mannerism, were discussed. As stated in the introduction as long as such historical debates continue critically, labels such as mannerism are a helpful term of reference, and enable opportunities for new scholars to become aware of the issues involved in art classification. In fact it could be the existence of art history courses that reinforce or necessitate such labels (Kaufman, 2010), in order to enable such debates to have a common terms of reference however problematic. 6 Conclusion There are always going to exceptions when classifying art historical epochs. We have seen how Michelangelo might be deemed as the greatest practitioner of High Renaissance, but also reverted to an anti-classic methods leaving speculation that is difficult for some art historians to reconcile. Perugino was also hard to classify in historical reference. The problems with classification have probably got a lot to do with the nature of language, especially written language. Until Vasari oral tradition had prevailed where information is temporal not material. The following tradition of written history meant the emergence of the Historian/analyst and the specific discipline associated with this practice. Most art historians like the debate to be simple, rounded and clearly articulated without confusion. Mannerism does not work as a perfect narrative and is hard to present conclusively as a period without contradiction. But it would be hard not to stumble across contradictions considering t he length of time spanned by this era; nearly one hundred years. Meidema (1978) certainly believes that it is inadequate to tie up this amount of time with one simplistic label. The problem probably accrued as there was only a few chroniclers recording the achievements of that time, and so large generalisations occurred. But given that there was a discernable shift in the collective intellectual imagination during that time it needs to occupy its own identifiable place in reference to written history. The term Mannerist is useful for a general referral to an art practice from 1510-1600, but also deplete and extremely awkward if you wish to investigate certain aspect of that era in more detail. One might say that the term Mannerism is no less stigmatizing than the term Fauvism used to describe modern European colourists comprising of that group. But whilst even here there may be some confusion and artists that do not fit the description comfortably as the time scale for the Fauves wa s reduced to four years.

Brain Development And The Process Of Learning Languages Psychology Essay

Brain Development And The Process Of Learning Languages Psychology Essay A baby speaks directly to the camera: Look at this. Im a free man. I go anywhere I want now. He describes his stock-buying activities, but then his phone interrupts. Relentless! Hang on a second. He answers his phone. Hey, girl can I hit you back? That scenario has been very common in commercials and movies throughout the past 15 years in which the majority of viewers perceive it as unrealistic and very comical. Joshua Hartshorne published a article called Why Dont Babies Talk Like Adults? in Scientific American Mind which attempts to answer the question: Why dont young children express themselves articulately? Researchers are uncovering clues about the brain development and the mysterious process of learning a language by attempting to answer the question: Why dont young children express themselves articulately?, in which they have discarded the copycat theory. Which states that infants learn to express themselves articulately by copying what they hear. In other words infants will listen to the words that are used by adults in several situations and later on imitate them accordingly. But adults have not been expressing them in one word sentences or even in short sentences. Therefore, the copycat theory does not explain why toddlers are not fluent as adults, but brings us to a very critical question why do infants speak in one-word sentence? Over the past century scientists have settled on two reasonable possibilities. First theory is called Mental Development Hypothesis which states that infants speaks in one word or short sentences because their brains are still immature and much undevelo ped. Therefore, they cannot dominate adult speech. The supporting argument is that infants do not learn to walk until their body is ready; likewise, they will not speak multiword sentences or use word ending and function words before their brains is capable of doing so. The second theory is called Stages of Language hypothesis, which states that speech is an incremental step progress. A basketball player his or her jump shot before learning to both jump and shoot, and children learn to add and then multiply, never in the reverse order. For instance, in a 1997 review article published by two cognitive scientists, Elizabeth Bates of University of San Diego and Judith C. Goodman from University of Columbia found that kids usually begins speaking in two word sentences only after they have learned a certain amount of single words. In other words children must cross a linguistic threshold so the word combination process can be developed. The differences between both theories are: Mental D evelopment Hypothesis states the patterns in language learning should depend on a childs level of cognitive development and Stages of Language Hypothesis states that learning language patterns are not dependable on the brain development. However, to prove which has hypothesis is correct has been extremely difficult because most children learn language at around the same age, thus in similar stages of cognitive development. But 2007 Harvard neuroscientists Jesse Snedeker, Joy Garen and Clarissa L. Shafto found an ingenious way around the problem. They studied the language development of 27 children adopted from China between the ages of two and five years. International adoptees are ideal population in which to test the competing hypothesis about how language is learned because many of them are no longer exposed to their birth language after arrival in U.S and they must learn English similar way infants do, by listening and by trial and error. Even though those international children had a more mature brain, just as American born infants, their first English sentences consisted of single words and were largely bereft of function words, word endings and verbs. The researchers also found that adoptees and native children started combining words in sentences when their vocabulary reached the same size. Therefore, it suggests that what is relevant is not how old a child is or how mature their brains are but the number of words they know. The finding that having a more mature brain does not avoid the toddler talk stage suggests that infants speaks in one word sentences or even short sentence not because they have a infant brain but because they having only initiated the process of learning an language. In fact they must accrue sufficient vocabulary to be able to expand their conservations. In conclusion infants do not express themselves as adults because language development is a gradual process. Therefore, Stages of Language Hypothesis is the most supported theory. The article Why Dont babies Talk Like Adults By Joshua Hartshorne was published Scientific American Mind. Scientific American Mind has been bringing its readers unique insights about developments in science and technology for more than 160 years therefore I had curiosity analyze the information that has been shared with so many readers throughout years. The structure of the article was not very organized. I had to read the article more than once so I could identify theories of language development therefore the structure of his article made it difficult for the reader to identify his main arguments. Although, Hartshorne does very good job in introducing, explaining and concluding each theory. He also provides his reader with a scientific research conducted by Harvard neuroscientists that analysis The Adoption Effect. He should have explained a little more in depth about experiment procedures so the readers could know how it was conducted. Also in his conclusion he does not tie the hi s final arguments to the initial question: Why dont young children express themselves articulately? But he leaves it to the reader to tie it together. I did not agree to the sentence: Behaviorism, the scientific approach that dominated American cognitive science for the first half of the 20th century, made exactly this argument. It is very inaccurate to claim that behaviorism ever dominated cognitive science because Cognitive science is one approach to the study of human behavior, Behaviorism another approach. He should have explained more in depth that cognitive science which is normally chosen to contrast with the approach taken by behaviorists, who preferred to study behavior without recourse to such notions as thought or the mind. Future research made me acknowledge that behaviorism and cognitive science co-exist, with behaviorism being the elder approach by fifty years or so. Overall, his article was informative and correct although should have been more scientific. Joshua Hart shorne also did not go into the mechanical or scientific area of language Development therefore it provoked me to research the topic more into depth which seems to be the purpose of Scientific Mind articles.

The Beatles :: Essay on The Beatles

When people hear the name "The Beatles" most people think of lead singer, John Lennon. However, the role of Paul McCartney is often overlooked. It was McCartney, not Lennon who was the driving force behind the Beatles. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were in many bands together before the forming of the Beatles. In 1962, along with Ringo Starr1 and George Harrison, they formed the rock group known as "The Beatles". The group featured a modern rock that was new and popular during the period with John and Paul composing and doing the leads on most of the songs. They were backed by George on rhythm and bass guitar and Ringo on drums. George and Ringo also assisted on backing vocals. When they first began playing, the main influence inside the band was John Lennon, who had an uncanny ability to compose songs at a moments notice with an inspiration that others missed. He pushed the members of the band during their touring years and was able to achieve the best possible results from the group. The band began playing in a Music Hall style that is very effective for the audiences but was lacking on their albums. Together with Paul, John began to evolve the band. As the years began to pass, the band was obviously beginning to grow musically. They had moved from simple lyrics like "Love me Do" to harshly aware reflections of life in their home country in "Eleanor Rigby"2. There were attempts, some more successful than others, to incorporate the other Beatles into the idea stage. George Harrison made this leap successfully with such tracks as "I want to tell you", "TAXMAN", and the psychedelic "Love you to". Ringo was featured in the humorous "Yellow Submarine" As the group matured, their creativity began to rely more on the effects and manipulations that they were able to produce in the studio. The Beatles agreed to end their touring career after an American tour of large halls that they failed to fill. It was around this time, that John Lennon began to search for himself. He began using any means that he thought might help him connect. This era was marked by the Beatles visits to the Maharashi Mahesh Yogi, and the beginning of heavy drug use 3. As Lennon began to use LSD in greater and greater quanti-ties4, the other Beatles began to have more and more influence in the production of the albums. Lennon began to become almost reclusive, and often delayed recording sessions.By the time that they were recording Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967, Lennon would simply propose songs and themes, and McCartney was left to execute the

Classroom Motivational Strategies Essay examples -- Education

I would like to discuss some of the motivational strategies that I will be using in my classroom. The motivational strategy that I will discuss is student self-efficacy. According to (Schunk, 1991) Self- Efficacy Theory refers to an individual ‘s judgment of his or her capabilities to perform given actions. Students are more likely to be motivated to attempt tasks in which they believe they will be successful, it is essential for us as teachers to provide tasks at the correct level of difficulty and help students to develop appropriate expectation for success. Experiences of failure may lead students to have a low perception of self-efficacy, and they in turn , are likely to reduce their effort on academic tasks and lose their motivation. However, if students already possess a high level perception of self efficacy their sense of self-efficacy won’t be affected easily by failure. (Richardson, 2010). According to Bandura perceived efficacy determines how much effort people are willing to put into an activity as well as how long they will persevere in the face of obstacles. It is known that high self-efficacy and improved performance results when students: 1. are taught to use specific learning strategies which increase attention to the task, 2. adopt short –term over long-term goals and 3. Receive performance contingent rewards as opposed to reinforcement for just engaging in a task. All these instructional manipulations are assumed to increase the belief that â€Å"I can do it, â€Å" which then increases both effort and achievement.(Richardson, 2010) Student’s self-efficacy or beliefs about whether they will be successful on a given task are a powerful predictor of their choice, effort, and persistence... ...ls displayed higher motivation (rate of problem solving)during instruction than did children who did not observe a model. Schunk and Hanson (1985) expected that their low- achieving subjects would identify more closely with the peer coping models. (H.Schunk, 1991) This activity had a positive effect on my students. They were able to successfully improve their reading fluency by engaging in this activity. The students were able to realize that with practice, positive reinforcement and support (enactive mastery) that they can improve their reading. The students were also able to discover that by watching their peer model correct reading that they can also do the same thing. (vicarious experiences) The student self –efficacy, self- worth, and self- esteem was enhanced by being able to go to the various class and present their Reader’s Theater.

Promotion Strategies Essay

Did you happen to catch the season finale of â€Å"Friends† on May 6th? â€Å"The exhaustively hyped series finale of â€Å"Friends† drew 52.25 million viewers for its extended 66 minute running time.† A 30-second commercial spot garnered a cool $2 million, costing advertising heavyweights such as Allstate, Anheuser-Busch, Chevrolet, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, as well as Walt Disney and Universal Studios a mere four cents a head. For the purpose of this assignment I will characterize mass media’s and telemarketing’s role as part of the promotional mix, who pays for them, and how they are perceived by consumers with regards to their objectivity. I will also explain how traditional Word-of-Mouth works and round up the assignment discussing â€Å"buzz† advertising. First, let’s discuss television mass media’s role in the promotional mix. Mass media’s (television, radio, magazines, etc) role in the promotional mix is advertising. In particular, television commercial advertising is a paid form of non-personal communication. Companies use commercial advertising because it is an effective means of mass-marketing as indicated by the â€Å"Friends† series finale. The objectives to advertising include: informing consumers of a new product, persuading the consumer to remain with or switch to a particular product, or remind consumers of the value of a product or where to locate it. The objective of mass-marketing is to reach out to as many consumers in one fail swoop to create brand awareness, brand interest, brand equity, to obtain competitive advantage, and to increase market share. The advertiser’s ultimate goal is to accomplish the company’s marketing objectives. In regards to advertising, companies use a pull selling strategy, to â€Å"build up consumer demand.† A typical commercial is comprised of the source (the company/distributor/retailer) whose product or service is featured) that encodes the message using symbols such as words, illustrations, or images; the message (the combination of symbols) transmitted to the receiver (consumers) who then decodes the message (hopefully interpreting the message in the same way it was encoded); and feedback (through purchase, attitude change about the product/service, or non-purchase). Finally, noise, plays a role in advertising. With current technology such as TiVO, consumers can  choose to skip past commercial segments. The advertising company, its’ distributor, or its’ retailer pays the network for the commercial air time. If more than one of these pays for the commercial air time it is called cooperative advertising. Using vehicles as an example, either the manufacturer pays for the commercial or the car dealership does. However, in the overall scheme of things, successful commercials can be paid for by consumer purchases. The court of public opinion considers the objectivity of advertising dependent upon the type of message. According to a 1990 survey conducted by the Roper Organization concerning public opinion â€Å"with regard to the content of promotion messages, 60 percent of those surveyed believe ads with money-back guarantees, 57 percent believe ads with products approved by medical or health groups, 38 percent believe ads where comparisons to competitors are made, 29 percent believe ads using hidden-camera interviews, and 25 percent believe ads featuring celebrity endorsements.† While no current data is available, it appears consumers remain skeptical concerning advertising messages. Telemarketing is an example of direct marketing in the promotional mix. However, the court of public opinion indicates displeasure in this type of promotion. One could say the public pays for telemarketers with interrupted dinners and misleading or deceptive telemarketing schemes, but the business or charitable organization that uses this service pays for it in cash. It’s interesting to note that an Eyewitness News investigation in Rock Hill, South Carolina revealed that the South Carolina Police Officers’ Association â€Å"charity raised more than $600,000 in 2002, but spent barely $5,000, or less than one percent, helping police officers and their families.† With telemarketing it is truly a â€Å"Buyer Beware† promotion. Most consumers are probably more skeptical when it comes to this type of promotion than any other. There is the noise factor in this type of promotion as well. The national â€Å"do not call registry,† telephone company telemarketing blocker services, and products such as the Telezapper significantly decreases the telemarketer’s sales. I personally just inform telemarketers I am not  interested in their pitch and to place me on their â€Å"do not call† list. If this doesn’t work, I just hang up. Another promotional technique is word-of-mouth. When consumers communicate their experiences connected to a particular product, they are essentially providing the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer free advertising. Word-of-mouth can accelerate brand recognition. The heart of word-of-mouth marketing is giving consumers something to talk about. An excellent example of successful word-of-mouth is the Atkin’s Diet. I initially read one of Dr. Atkin’s diet books more than 10 years ago. While I do not remember the name of the book, I do recall I never tried his diet because I dreaded giving up on favorites such as pasta. Last year I was struggling to lose the weight I had gained following a thyroidectomy. I was running three to five miles per day, counting calories and fat grams and lost absolutely no weight whatsoever in three months. Then two colleagues of mine began losing considerable weight with very little effort. They told me about the Atkin’s diet and that each had lost more than 20 pounds in a month. I started researching the diet on the web and found other testimonials as well. Hordes of people are devoted to this diet. I began the diet and maintained my exercise routine and lost 30 pounds in eight weeks. The hottest new trend in word-of-mouth marketing appears to be buzz. The buzz marketing described in the BusinessWeek article we were tasked to read appears to be a fad. I don’t consider it an advanced form of word-of-mouth but rather an insidious, deceptive practice. Consumers have a right to feel â€Å"cheated† because these buzz marketers are treating the American consumer as if they were complete idiots. Once American consumers figure it out, and they will, it will be gone the way of the sandwich board. No wonder it is referred to as â€Å"viral marketing.† Too bad doctors don’t have a cure for this virus. In review, I discussed mass media’s role in great detail because it is perhaps the most widely used form of promotion. I focused on television commercial advertising discussing how marketers use commercials to inform, persuade, or remind consumers about a particular product or service. Then I  discussed how the communication process fits into commercial advertising. I followed with a discussion on who pays for commercial advertising and cooperative advertising. Then I provided a survey example to illustrate how consumers view commercials in regards to their objectivity. I also discussed telemarketing as a direct marketing approach to promotion. The next topic was word-of-mouth. I discussed how word-of-mouth is essentially free advertising and the heart to its success of giving consumers something to talk about. I ended this assignment with my view buzz marketing. I feel this is a deceptive promotional tactic that appears to be just a fad. Once consumers recognize how they are being used, it will fade into the sunset. Overall, the promotional mix appears to be a driving factor in a product or service’s success. Works Cited The One Where ‘Friends’ Puts Up Massive Finale Ratings. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 8 May 2004: http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271%7C88037%7C1%7C,00.html Promotion – Push and Pull Strategies. Tutor2U ®. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 9 May 2004: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/marketing/promotion_pushpull.asp Evans, Joel R. and Berman, Barry. (1994) â€Å"Marketing,† Sixth Edition. Macmillan Publishing Company. New York, New York. Page 584. Charity Organization Pays Telemarketers Big, Police Little. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 9 May 2004: http://www.wsoctv.com/specialreports/2885811/detail.html Works Referenced How to Establish Promotional Mix. Edward Lowe Organization. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 8 May 2004: http://www.att.sbresources.com/SBR_template.cfm?docNumber=PL12_3600.htm#under standing Kumar, S. Ramesh. Getting the promotional mix right. The Hindu. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 6 May 2004: http://www.hinduonnet.com/ct/2002/09/05/stories/2002090500110200.htm Lancaster, Geoff Above- and below-the-line promotion. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 6 May 2004: http://www.da-group.co.uk/geoff/communications.htm Nucifora, Alf. Keep Up With the Buzz On Buzz Marketing. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 6 May 2004: http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2002/10/07/focus2.html?t=printable Marketing: Promotion. Tutor2U. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 8 May 2004: http://www.tutor2u.com/ Pride-Farrell Marketing. Part 5. Promotion Decisions. Integrated Marketing Communications. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 8 May 2004: http://www.gsm.uci.edu/~rwheeler/2 Promotion and the Promotion Mix: A Part of the Marketing Mix. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 8 May 2004: http://www.creighton.edu/~hutchens/nps_c_08.html Promotion Answers. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 8 May 2004: http://www.learnmarketing.net/promotonanswers.htm Reed, Keith. (2002) Through the grapevine: PR firms tout ‘buzz’ marketing. New Mexico Business Weekly. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 6 May 2004: http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2002/10/07/focus2.html Wegert, Tessa. (2003) Four Online Media Mix Essentials. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 7 May 2004:

CheckPoint-Audience Analysis and Reception Essay

Communication is the most important key to any relationship, in the business world it is the way to keep the business running smoothly. This is why analyzing the audience is the most important task a writer can perform in order to effectively communicate or present any information to their audience. In this particular scenario, I have been assigned to write a report to the management team at my work place. Therefore it is important for me to analyze all of the characteristics of each of the member of my management team to ensure the effectiveness of my report. Since I will be writing a formal report, I would need to ensure that it is legible, use appropriate wording in order to create the proper business tone in my report. I need to ensure that all information written on my report is accurate. Check that all of my sources are credible and that there won’t be any misunderstanding in the report. The writer’s credibility is an extremely important thing to have; this is why I would have to make sure that all of the data posted on my report is accurate. By doing so it will show the management team that I am trustworthy, reliable and I get the job done correctly. I would also need to think about what would motivate them and interest them in my report. Therefore, I would make sure my report includes facts that would motivate them such as weekly and monthly sales reports, financial gains and productivity. These are all very important points for me to keep in mind when writing the report. If my report was poorly written and not in a business professional tone, would make me look bad in their eyes. Also failing to provide accurate information or present it in a professional way, will affect my credibility greatly. They will not see me as the honest hard worker that I am. They would instead see me as an uncaring person that did not bother to do the research and gather facts to present before them. Also if my report does not contain any information that does not pertain to the management team, I would lose their interest quickly.