While attending Elementary School In the 1940s my art teacher in my art class taught that art was the act of drawing pictures on a sheet of paper with a pencil, an ink filled pen, a stick of charcoal, or a loaded paint brush. And at times, finger paint.
Then I got into High School and learned that this was still a good description of what art is: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture.
Some synonyms for art are: craft - skill - artifice - science - workmanship - knack
But that is art, not ART.
While art can connote a sense of trained ability or mastery of a medium, I'm told that ART is an act of expressing feelings, thoughts, and observations.
LINK
Cave painting of a horse from the Lascaux caves,
circa 16,000 BP
Choreography, according to some, is an art. To others, it is an Art. Others call it a craft.
Some laud Ulysses, the novel by the Irish author James Joyce; as being a work of ART.
Others brand it as trash.
Go figure.
_____
WORD FOR TODAY
choreography
noun
- The art of creating and arranging dances or ballets.
- A work created by this art.
- Something, such as a series of planned situations, likened to dance arrangements.
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek. A choreographer is one who creates choreographies by practicing the art of choreography.
The word "choreography" first appeared in the American English dictionary in the 1950s and "choreographer" was first used as a credit for George Balanchine in the Broadway show On Your Toes in 1936. Prior to this, stage and movie credits used phrases such as "ensembles staged by" "dances staged by" or simply "dances by" to denote the choreographer.
_____
Historical Clip
The space shuttle Challenger exploded just after liftoff on this day in 1986, killing the seven astronauts aboard.
The Challenger shuttle crew, of seven astronauts died tragically in the explosion of their spacecraft during the launch of STS-51-L from the Kennedy Space Center about 11:40 a.m., EST, on January 28, 1986. The explosion occurred 73 seconds into the flight as a result of a leak in one of two Solid Rocket Boosters that ignited the main liquid fuel tank. The crew members of the Challenger represented a cross-section of the American population in terms of race, gender, geography, background, and religion. The explosion became one of the most significant events of the 1980s, as billions around the world saw the accident on television.
The spacecraft commander was Francis R. (Dick) Scobee. The pilot was Michael J. Smith. Judith A. Resnik was one of three mission specialists. Ronald E. McNair was the second of three mission specialists aboard. Ellison S. Onizuka, was the last of the three mission specialists. The last two members of the Challenger crew were not officially Federal government employees. Gregory B. Jarvis, a payload specialist, worked for the Hughes Aircraft Corp.'s Space and Communications Group in Los Angeles, California, and had been made available for the Challenger flight by his company. The last member of the crew was Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to fly in space.
President Ronald Reagan postponed the State of the Union address that was scheduled for that evening and instead addressed the nation about the tragedy. He appointed a commission to investigate the accident and the shuttle program was put on hiatus.
Details HERE
Personal note: The spacecraft commander, Dick Scobee, was born on my birthday, May 19, 1939.
_____
BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Born Jan 28, 1936
Age: 76 years old
Age: 76 years old
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo, better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his roles as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H and Arnold Vinick in The West Wing. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Journalism and a member of the advisory board of The Center for Communicating Science.
Born Jan 28, 1950
Age: 62 years old
Age: 62 years old
Barbi Benton is a Jewish American model, actress and singer. She was featured on the cover of Playboy several times (initially credited as Barbi Klein) and in nude photo layouts in the March 1970, December 1973, and January 1975 issues.
A Work Of art ART
(Not the photograph)
Benton is known for her years as a regular on the country music series Hee Haw, appearing in comic skits with other cast members. She left the program after four seasons to concentrate on a more Hollywood-oriented career. She also starred in the short-lived ABC-TV comedy series Sugar Time! about an aspiring female rock group in 1977.(Not the photograph)
Born Jan. 28, 1912
Died Aug 11, 1956
Died Aug 11, 1956
Paul Jackson Pollock, known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was well known for his uniquely defined style of drip painting.
Born Jan 28, 1873
Died Aug 3, 1954
Died Aug 3, 1954
Colette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.
A controversial figure throughout her life, Colette flaunted her lesbian affairs.
Truman Capote wrote a short story about her called "The White Rose".
__________
An artist is always alone if he is an artist.
No, what the artist needs is loneliness.
--Henry Miller
Old Henry may well have been an artist, but he apparently preferred Anais Nin's company over loneliness whenever Henry wanted a gift of Nin's husband's money. Miller was a selfish mooch.
ReplyDeleteYour comment sparked my interest in Henry Miller, so I did some online research -- read some of their love letters, watched a couple of their Youtube conversations, etc.
DeleteThanks for the provocative reference.