Zadie Smith, On Beauty

Zadie Smith video interview: I think it is interesting that Smith looks so similar to Kiki from On Beauty. During the interview she makes the point that you cannot hit people over the head your own political views. At the same time though, novels can be political. Smith is saying that art is moral in the way it is an analogy.

She also discusses the difference between the way an adult deals with issues in comparison with the way children react. Adults should be able to see things from a greater perspective. There are always two sides to every story. In On Beauty, the adults as well as the children seem to be jaded, neither side is able to really see things from a greater perspective in the beginning.

On Beauty is about culture wars and multiculturalism, it's about disagreements between the right and the left side. One side represents great literature for example, and the other believes that multiculturalism is more important. Both sides believe will all of their being that their ideas are superior. This creates conflict throughout the novel and causes friction between the two families.

Zadie Smith vs. 'Zadie Smith'
Sometimes it is important to think about the difference between the real Zadie versus the fake one created by literary critics. This idea ties in with the us vs. them issues presented in the novel. In some of these situations, we are fighting against ourselves. Apart from these topics, literature is about relationships and how to approach them. The novel, On Beauty, will take us through the us vs. them issues (the culture wars) and the family conflicts that can be created as a result of them.

Is Zadie Smith a great writer? Is On Beauty art?
The novel is great if she can un-flatten the characters and make them into people we feel are real. If we are able to relate to the characters in the end, we will be able to take something from the literature and apply it to our own lives. Art has the ability to impact us on one of the greatest levels, but first we need to understand it...

Class Notes: What is Art?

Review of the class's blogs: How shall I live?
The clip of Mona Lisa's Smile shows that art is whatever we say it is. A person must have confidence in order to be recognized. At the same time, in order for a person to have confidence they must have some sort of institution backing them. Is feeling the need to prove something the thing that stands between us and what we truly want to become? Instead of listening to our inner selves, we live the way society tells us to live. Finding the confidence to do the things we love is difficult. This could be why we end up doing the things that we are told - the safest options.

How important is it that our work is understood and appreciated? It seems that in situations where women and men are presenting together, the man gets more recognized for his work than the woman. There are instances where men are given credit for a woman's work. I believe this means that society has a tendency to automatically assume men to be smarter than women.

Winterson on Art

I had a difficult time deciphering Winterson's exact view on art after reading Art and Lies. I found an article on art written by Winterson that I think helps describe the way she feels.

The Secret Life of Us by: Jeannette Winterson

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2002/nov/25/art.artsfeatures1

The article is basically about trying to determine the exact purpose of art in our culture and what it is that makes it so important. One of my favorite paragraphs of the article:

"Art is a different value system. Like God, it fails us continually. Like God, we have legitimate doubts about its existence but, like God, art leaves us with footprints of beauty. We sense there is more to life than the material world can provide, and art is a clue, an intimation, at its best, a transformation. We don't need to believe in it, but we can experience it. The experience suggests that the monolith of corporate culture is only a partial reality. This is important information, and art provides it."

"Don't be fooled by the way capitalism co-opts art. It pretends to do it for money, but underneath money is terror. Terror that there might be a different way to live. There is a different way, and it's not a William Morris utopia, or an Omega workshop niche; it's a celebration of the human spirit. Art reminds us of all the possibilities we are persuaded to forget. Peace or war, we need those alternatives."
-Jeannette Winterson
Overall it seems as through she thinks highly of art and the possibilities it brings. On the other hand, the idea of it being sold for huge sums of money seems pointless. The way artists are treated, the way they are paid, makes the art itself seem as much more of a commodity than what it is originally meant to be - beautiful.

Art and Lies: Parts 1 & 2

Although I found the first two chapters of Art and Lies to be fascinating, I enjoyed our thought provoking class discussion on Wednesday even more! I have always wondered whether or not I would end up happy in life. The possibility of making bad choices in college regarding my major and the activities I choose to spend my time on is scary. Luckily, I have figured out what is important to me and what it would take to make me feel genuinely happy in my career. I think it is interesting that when certain students think 'business major' they think the worst of things. By some, it is assumed I've been pressured to choose a fate filled with money and greed. Fortunately for me, this is not true! Although I am sure there are many CEOs hating their lives, there are probably even more who do not. It is sad to me that there is a common assumption that if someone is not always 100% in touch with their inner self, they are lost and doomed to be miserable. As an accountancy major, I feel completely comfortable with myself and my future ambitions, most of which do not revolve around money at all.

I know that in order to be happy with my career I would need to use my skills in business to help an organization I believe in to grow and prosper. It has taken me a long time to realize that this is what it would take for me to find some kind of meaning in my job. Also, because family is the most important thing in my life, my plan is to be as balanced as possible. Although I am aware of the view that business people are workaholics, I honestly can't see this as a reality for myself.

Another common misconception is that those who choose the type of path as mine have done so to follow in their parents footsteps. In my situation, this is far from the truth. It may seem impossible but I have a true interest in my major and feel excited to graduate and begin working! I may not have everything figured out for myself but I think I've come along way and that I am exactly where I need to be at this point in time. As long as each of us is able to decide what is it that makes us happy, we should be free to live our lives the way we choose.

Class Notes: Stand By Me

Jeanette Winterson, Art and Lies

Intro/Class Notes:

Post-Modernist is collage-like. It juxtaposes more than it explains. Novels began in the 17th-18th century, while short stories came about in the 1800's. Genre fiction is formulaic. There is also a canon of great literature which has been theoretically blown apart in more recent years. The question has become: what makes great art great and why? Even today, greatness is very narrowly defined. For all we know, anyone and everyone could be a great artist! If everyone was considered to have potential - we would need to listen to all of our neighbors. The way people talk about great art makes it feel as though there is such a small chance of any one of us ever becoming great; it is very discouraging.

"Stand By Me"

The "Stand By Me" YouTube video shows that great art takes time. It can be found in many places and in many people. Maybe students could be artists if they had more attention?

People think art to be certain specific types of work and ignore other things. Some people don't even give certain pieces of art a chance! The thought process should transform into: "If I don't understand things, maybe I need to try and learn more." The more open minded the observer is, the more credit the author/creator gets.

For Next Class: Picasso and Handel

Art and Lies: A funny sort of relationship...

Although I am not exactly sure what Jeannette Winterson had in mind as far as the relationship between the two key terms in the title of Art and Lies, I have come to a few conclusions as to how the two terms may be related. Firstly, their definitions are vague. What could be considered a lie to one person may not be a lie to someone else just like a piece of art to one person may have no value whatsoever to another.

On the other hand, lies are hurtful - in most cases. They are the result of someone hiding the truth from another. Lies have the purpose of hiding what is real most likely because it is hurtful to someone else. This description, which I have come up with, is very different from that of art.

From what I know of art, it is meant in part to represent reality or at least some person's vision of the truth. The two terms, art and lies seem to be opposite to me. Art can show more truth than words themselves. Art is also a way for people to express themselves and it has the power to show others the truth about the person who creates it. It seems that it would be difficult to lie through art. I find the words to be very opposite and see art as a way to possibly undermine lies. Art can be a way of seeing the truth and in many cultures, I believe it is.

Class Notes: 3/27/09

Our group examined the last stanza of the poem, "The Child and Flowers". We agreed unanimously that the scanned version has the greatest impact on us. Between the grammar and word placement on the page, the poem carries more meaning. Overall we agree that the format affects the meaning but more or less from the perspective of the individual reader. I think that digitizing could make understanding literature more difficult. It is definitely more difficult for words on a screen to capture ones attention. The TEI version of the poem does not show the original format of the poem - it is difficult to tell what shape it originally came in.

Who is the audience? The author could be trying to speak to the inner child of the reader. An actual child would most likely not be able to read and comprehend the poem. The plot of the poem is basically a child returning from a forest, bringing flowers back with her. To me this is somewhat vague which to me means that it leaves plenty of room for the reader's interpretation. In a way, the vagueness of the poem opens it up to wider audiences; more people can relate to things less defined.