Art has been there since history. In the past, it was preserved as sacred but physical and could only be made by painting. Later on, it became social and could describe ones class and was mostly meant for the rich.
Today, visual art has become easy to make, available and cheaper because of the invention of a camera. This has raised the issue of ownership and copyright.
Education level has been seen to have an influence on the people interested in arts. Advancement in education has an effect of increasing arts interest. Perception of an idea from an image may differ from one person to another as well as from time to time.
What people see is determined by what they believe in. Eyes are a powerful instrument of a human being. Sight is incomparable to anything else and it is a unique gift from God. Their complexity allows them to do what nothing else can do.
Eyes have no limit and never get tired of seeing. Image is therefore quicker to communicate than words. In the past images were only made of non-existent things. Later on the idea of image changed to existing things.
After this, an image could be explained and expressed by how another person had seen it. This has been the development in art and design. Images therefore form a great part of communication.
Creativity of an artist enables him to communicate a lot on his imagination. Peoples perception on an image is affected by several factors that the viewers know and think about art. This includes the magnificence, the reality, and development of the viewers.
Past knowledge helps us to improve creativity in the present. That is why history is always related to the present. Present art and design will help the future generation to have easier work while studying their history.
Hals was the earliest painter who specialized in portraits expressing peoples characters which came as a result of capitalism. Hals lived as a very poor man who was always in debts.
He benefited from charity. The criticism of his paintings was that he did so with sullenness but the author of his publications disagreed by saying that his work was excellently creative and the appearance of a painting could not judge ones mood at the time of painting.
The rhythm and the harmony of art work contribute greatly to the supremacy of an image. Qualities such harmony, brightness and contrast can bring out an idea so clearly if used appropriately.
Hals paintings of his sisters could lead one to conclude about their characters. Why? Because from the facial expressions one could relate them to how he saw people behave while in different situations e.g., happy or sad.
The suggestions of the author on Hals paintings went further explaining that the people at that time had a fashion of wearing hats. The paintings could have many conclusions from one image as one idea leads to another.
The perception of the past is different from what we see today. Invention of a camera changed peoples thoughts. The images became subject to time and space. The cubists also came with the idea of describing an image from all views taken around it.
The cameras uniqueness was that the image was transferable to many places. Television views became available to millions of people around the world who could watch one image.
Each person or family received it and interpreted it in a different way. This was not the case for paintings. Paintings were unique in that they were only found at one place with no other copy completely similar to them.
The present view of originality of images is perhaps led by the issue of its scarcity. Paintings can be changed to the painters interest while a film is accurate with succession.
Paintings, however, cannot have a succession of events and most information is not usually included. Words included in a picture determine how a person interprets and bring out an argument.
The national gallery was believed to have original paintings. Virgins of Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci were one of the famous paintings in the gallery. The greatest sales of Leonards cartoon were made because of their fame which came as a result of one American who wanted to buy them for two and a half million pounds.
Art is an interesting subject to all age groups. People hang and pin paintings, letters, and snapshots has a way of appreciating art. Art gives the artist room and freedom of creativity.
Art could be referred as an expression of individual experience, the way world is understood, valued, observed and celebrated. The traditional method of classifying art has mostly been based on the products.
Artworks are identified in terms of inherent features found in them either as phenomena or objects. That approach leads to generic categorizations which are observed in drama centre, conservatorium, and art schools. Whatever is referred as the arts currently, sometimes back they were essential part of daily life (Freeland 2002:8).
Freeland has analyzed various philosophers and there contribution to different forms of art through their theories. His work focuses on history of art when it had no value until currently.
His work therefore focuses the value of art and attempts to answer the ambiguous question what art is and its meaning. In different dialects, no word could be used to collectively explain the range of creative activities. As a result of specialization this led to division of labor during industrial revolution, as a result, there was a specified time when one could identify that the arts were professional undertakings.
The art was separated from the other life activities and became significant to some people. There are many critics involved in this field in an attempt to analyze the real value of art.
Plato who was a known philosopher was among the first to explore the field of art. His work criticized poetry particularly focusing poets originating from his city.
Plato viewed poetry and arts negatively as opposed to Aristotle who developed a theory on aesthetic basing his arguments on Platos ideas. Aristotle concurs with Plato that art had a deep impact on someones emotions.
Plato argued that the fears and passions which are experienced by audiences during dreadful performances could affect their personality. On the other, hand Aristotle claims that such emotions never corrupt but they cleanse. Therefore, the view of Plato on poetry is a contrast of Aristotles concept. Platonic concept has a noticeable influence on Western civilization.
Mainly it has focused on certain era in history, in an attempt to introduce some cultural strategies to transform cultural policy. His work challenges the Puritan attack around 1642 together with theatre prohibition in England.
His work is diversified; Plato also caused a great impact on the understanding of poetry in the Western. This was when Plato invented the theory of poetical inspiration which brought about an outstanding change (Belfiore 2006:231).
Belfiore has been involved in art work for a long time being the head of international cultural policy. Her work discusses on social impact of arts and its position in the cultural policy. In addition, her work challenges the claims which had been made earlier concerning the effect of art on the society and individual.
Therefore, her work remains important until today because it explains the power of art and fights for its success. There are other theorists who also explored the function of art for instance, Carey who was a professor of art and also depicted as a critic.
His work argues that Literature is superior as compared to other arts. His work criticizes some sources of art and challenges their contribution to the modern society.
His work also challenges some literary sources because they appear to be vague and insignificant.Carey claims that literature does not entail just a feeling of pleasure as in painting or music which does not portray the difficult part of art. Further argues that its only literature which can instill good morals.
However Carey to some extent values art and reports that it expresses emotions such as anger, fear and desire (Carey 2005: 36). Hence there are different views on the function of arts as discussed by critics from the past decades until presently. The paper focuses on the power of art by assessing the function of art in the society.
Background
Creative arts (arts and media) consist of various sectors which were initially called cultural industries. These sectors include literature, visual arts and those arts which are performed.
There has been drastic change in the government in terms of their attitude towards culture and creativity. Creative industry is a term which has been commonly used as a form of rebranding culture. Cultural industry was originally used to mean commercial entertainment such as recorded music, film, and publishing (Garnham 2005:19).
Intellectual property enables people to appreciate the products from their own creativity. This ensures that one has some goods or products to sell which enables one to exercise moral and economic rights over those products.
Garnham reports that in United Kingdom, copyright is currently regarded as the major organizing principle in creative industries and it defines the cultural industries.
Various types of creative activities such as engineering, academia and science generate intellectual property. Policy discourse includes copyright industries, knowledge industries and intellectual property industries.
The policy discourse covers the media and the arts which are referred as the creative industries. The policy issues involved in this research were established several centuries in the disciplines of art and media. In the past, there was an obvious demarcation between arts policy and arts and commerce, and policy related to mass media (Garnham 2005:19).
Thus there was provision of popular or mass culture, and the main issues were pluralism and press freedom, security of national film industry, and the management and provision of public service broadcasting.
In United Kingdom, there was division of responsibility of the policy between Press industry and Department of Trade. Concerning the broadcasting and press policy, the development involved several Royal Commissions for Public Inquiries and press broadcasting. Mobilization of the term cultural industries to creative industries led to redrawing of various boundaries (Selwood 2000: 59).
They included redefinitions of the foundations, instruments and purposes of the policy. Those changes caused economic arguments which are related to dynamics and the structure of the industries, their position and comparative weight within the economy, and so the relationship between industrial and economic policy and cultural policy.
The shift of creative industry from culture industry was motivated by certain political context which remains to be historical. In addition, it led to different focuses concerning the policy issue during early 1980s.
This involved a shift from state to the industry with extensive assortment of public provision. That describes the reinforcement and the shift to managerial and economic patterns and language of thought in media and cultural policy (Garnham 2005:22).
Great art discloses the importance of age in terms of, who produced the art and when. Hence it is essential to consider who initiated the creativity art and when in order to understand how it influenced the form.
For instance, Mona Lisa which portrays the creativity and beauty of art was produced by Leonardo. This depicts the value placed on beauty and grace by Italians during Renaissance. Its evident that Leonardo was a scientific observer mainly the nature, self-directed thinker, imaginative pioneer and more so brilliant artist.
Most importantly, his work illustrated important concept of Renaissance which yielded to the current perception of individualism. To some extent, the charisma of Leonardo art indicates that it was produced by one of the pioneer who was regarded as creative genius in relation to contemporary sense.
Leonardo sacrificed a lot of time working on the art; it took many decades to finish despite the fact that it was carried everywhere. No wonder it had the same fascination to many viewers and finally was placed in Paris museum. Finally it was recognized as part of French and Italian culture (Lewis 2008:5).
Womens images were omnipresent in America during the past century, everything was decorated. This was done through sculptures and paintings; they were involved in extensive and diverse activities which showed different identities.
This depicted how they developed from symbolic and mythical nature to contemporary. Around 1870s, they painted nude women and others such as Ariadne who was acting a certain myth. In 1880s there were more poetic materials which predominated for instance, popular evidence is the book called American Figure Painters (Hook 1996:1).
Most of those paintings displayed woman as allegorical subjects and the titles used were evocative to show how women occupied an ideal or symbolic realm. The arts represented the feminine gender and how they were viewed by American society during 19th century.
Idealized women paintings acted as sites of several interconnected artistic, historical, societal and cultural discourses. Those images could satisfy the artists meaning for art, and none of the other subjects could since their female complement were viewed to occupy a position which was similar to art itself (Hook 1996:7).
Functions of Art in the society
Cultural Industries (Arts and media) and Culture
The idea of culture industry was first observed in academic, later in policy and political discourse around 1960s. That return originated from a resurgence of Western Marxism which concentrated on hegemony and ideology, and the reinstitution of Frankfurt School and generally cultural turn.
Sociologically, that shifted concentration from assessment of class divisions and social structure to cultural analysis. Social cohesion was by then described according to common belief systems, social domination according to cultural supremacy and social struggles were never associated with economic power and material allocation, but was viewed as struggle between identity groups and sub cultures for legitimation and recognition.
Nevertheless, the term cultural industry which was applied by that time did not signify replay of Frankfurt School. This was because it did not reflect the superior, cultural pessimism observed in Frankfurt School or even the unique version of Marxist economics which underpinned it.
Moreover, there was replacement of traditional working class politics which were founded on production with cultural politics. Oppositional political practice also shifted from trade unions, factories and political parties to the rock concert, the home and mainly the classrooms.
To some extent, that position was connected to decisive rejection of cultural pessimism of Frankfurt School and commercial social democratic critique.
That was mostly in American commercial, culture which favored positive revaluation, popular culture and treasonable decoding authority of audience.
In addition, cultural industries led to emergence of a rival school dealing with analysis, it was later called political economy school. Those analysts originated from media studies and individuals who had participated in assessment of social democratic policy of film, the press and broadcasting industries (Galloway and Dunlop 2007:20).
Creative arts have mainly caused a difference on cultural practices. It has eliminated class divisions and social organizations which brought divisions. As a result, social cohesion has been achieved through common cultural beliefs and distribution of resources hence more understanding and growth.
Effects on Political Economy
Concerning political economy, cultural industries emphasized on the unique nature of dynamics and economic structure of the cultural sector. This originated from immaterial or symbolic nature of the products associated with cultural sector.
That assessment has been very significant during 1980s to 1990s when the liberalizing, deregulatory wave affected the British media sector.
This led to some pertinence in a motion about broadcasting regulation and public service broadcasting defense which led to approval of Broadcasting Act in 2003 and instituting of regulatory body Ofcom.
As a result, cultural industries or sector were characterized by increased costs of production which were fixed and minimal to almost zero marginal costs of distribution and reproduction (Myerscough 1988:87). This favored audience maximization, economies of scale, and horizontal and vertical concentration.
In, addition, the demand was unpredictable because the information had to be new to maintain value, hence the consumers and producers could not foretell what they wanted.
The large corporations were favored since they had enough money to operate through economies of scale. Moreover, the cost of marketing increased in proportion to total cost (Howkins 2001:91).
The market strategies which were developed to control the endemic problem focused on; the structure, and regulation of the entire sector and most significant indirect funding through advertisement.
Therefore the debate of state intervention, privatization and regulation of cultural sector, price mechanism strategies could not apply. In addition, the issue of intellectual property and copyright industry (the other alternative of creative industries) also arise concurrently. Therefore, art brought significant difference on the economy which in turn affected the political stability allover.
Creative Industries and Information Society
The term creative has been used rather than cultural to indicate an effort of cultural policy and the cultural sector to share their ideas with the government, and the presentation of policy in the media and its attachment to information society.
One major concept shared between information society and cultural turn school is the stressed issue on significance of cultural or symbolic production, commonly called knowledge or information according to capitalist economies.
The extensive emphasis contains different analyses within it which focuses on the nature of that developing importance and various economic forms associated with it.
Those different analyses lead to various assessments on significance of cultural sector in the area of media and arts, and nature and function of information work and workers.
The concept of knowledge or information has led to industrial revolution which has brought significant cultural and social changes as justified by the term information society (Garnham 2005:27).
Consequently creative art has had noticeable effects on information society through creating awareness and understanding. This is reflected in the media and visual art which have brought self realization.
Function of art as aesthetic and expressing emotions
According to philosophers, art expresses aesthetic concept because it copies nature hence it describes appearance. The discernment world seems to be unreal; however through appearance some reality is expressed.
However, the world of art is described through the appearance itself. Thus the aesthetic experience is expressed through imaginations and the objects portrayed are the images.
Plato acknowledged poetry and the significant identity depicted in painting. Plato uses such arts to describe beauty. On the other hand, Socrates describes art as beauty, and further claims that its an exercise of emotions.
The philosophers argue that the emotionality of art is created through imagination. The imaginative idea is expressed as real through a symbol (Collingwood 2011:163).
The emotional art tends to be formed in the mind and then through symbolism its what one observes as the image. Therefore art is significant in creating such images which expresses beauty.
Creative art has caused great impact on imagery through use of symbolism which expresses emotions. Also art expresses beauty from the images formed in the mind they become real through art. Hence art helps one to express beauty and emotions in various forms.
Conclusion
Some few centuries back, art was not regarded as important and was not recognized in the society. In fact, art was not even referred as part of the professionals that existed and there were no experts were associated with this field.
As a result of industrial revolution, there was specialization which led to division of labor. This led to awareness of art and more experts started coming up. Art is an important tool in the society because it communicates societal values.
Artists borrow their ideas from their society therefore artworks portray diversity of values and beliefs in different cultures. As portrayed in the paper, creative industry refers to media and arts which were initially called cultural industries.
This department did not exist earlier since there were no approved policies to support it. Creative industry was disregarded and it required powerful critics to stand firm and fight for its approval.
Nevertheless, there were policies which were later approved and the department became recognized. This brought many changes both socially, culturally and economically.
Reference List
Belfiore, E. 2006. The unacknowledged legacy Plato, the republic and cultural policy. International Journal of Cultural Policy, Vol. 12, No. 2, 229-244.
Carey, J. 2005. What Good are the arts? London: Faber
Collingwood, R. 2011.Platos Philosophy of Art. Retrieved from mind. oxford journals.org. London: metropolitan University
Freeland, C. 2002. But is it Art? An Introduction to Art Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Galloway, S., & Dunlop, S. 2007.A critique of definitions of cultural and creative industries in public policy. International Journal of Cultural Policy, Vol. 13, No. 1. Web.
Garnham, N. 2005.From Cultural to Creative Industries. International Journal of Cultural Policy, Vol. 11, No. 1. Web.
Hook, B. 1996. Angels of art: women and art in American society, 1876-1914. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press.
Howkins, J. 2001. The Creative Economy. London: Penguin
Lewis, R., & Lewis, S. 2008.The Power of Art. New Mexico: Cengage Learning.
Myerscough, J. 1988. The Economic Importance of the Arts in Great Britain. London: Policy Studies Institute
Selwood, S. 2000. The UK Cultural Sector. London: Policy Studies Institute
The movie, When Harry met Sally, initially presents audiences with a premise that focuses on the inability of men and women to form platonic relationships since sex gets in the way (Bennett, 24).
This is one of the driving aspects of the film and is somewhat confirmed in the end when Harry and Sally do in deed have sex which does result in an initial lasting awkwardness and distance in the relationship yet culminates towards the end with the two of them getting married.
It must be stated though that the premise is wholly wrong and is in no way an accurate depiction of the relationships between men and women.
Arguments against the Movies Premise
Evolution and Personal Experiences
The first and main premise given by the movie is the fact that men and women cannot be friends due to the possibility of sexual tension getting in the way of the friendship. This particular line of reasoning neglects to take into account that humanity has already evolved to a point wherein the primal instinct to have sex can be overcome.
The premise posits the idea that men and women only get together for the act of sex without taking into account the fact that men and women befriend each other for other reasons. This can range from similar interests, to particular hobbies or merely enjoying each others company.
The fact remains that based on my own personal experience I have had friendships with many other members of the opposite sex with sexual desire never getting in the way of the friendship. It is due to these experiences that I can safely say that the initial premise of the movie is wholly inaccurate and in need of changing in order to accommodate real life social situations.
Boundaries in Social Relationships
All relationships whether based on passion or mutual friendship have certain barriers that are upheld at all times. In fact, all good working relationships have set boundaries clearly set that determine the type of relationship people have and the types of behaviors allowed.
Within the movie the concept of relationship barriers is never fully explored and thus allows for the character of Harry to make his unsubstantiated conclusion regarding the impossibility of friendship between men and women.
In most real life situations it is the barriers that have been set up beforehand in order to properly guide a relationship that helps to prevent any adverse sexual interaction from occurring. As such based on this premise it can be seen that the movie lacks any true adherence to the concept of friendly relationships and is in fact existing in a world where there are no such things as boundaries.
Conclusion
Based on what I saw in the movie I can say for certain that its views are so far removed from reality that they are in fact implausible to accept. Men and women can easily become friends when they choose to without concepts such as sex and intimacy getting in the way.
In fact in most cases when people become friends they no longer look at the other person as a sexual object but rather as another facet of their life. It is due to this that I can say that while I somewhat enjoyed the movie I can never truly accept the premise behind its plot line.
Work Cited
Bennett, Ray. When Harry Met Sally. Hollywood Reporter International Edition 382.42 (2004): 24. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web.
The essay is a comparison of two major films, The Story of Qin Ju released back in 1992 and Ermo released in 1994. It is worth noting that both the films are of Chinese background. The two are under the genre comedy drama films directed Zhang Yimou (The story of Qin Ju) and Zhou Xiaowen (Ermo).
The two films have two female protagonists developing different themes as well as other characters. Concerning The story of Qin Ju, the main actress Qin Ju although she is expectant and she was in her last trimester could not burry her head in the sand after seeing her husband kicked several times in the groin.
She decided to visit the town and face the bureaucratic system of justice in her city. Through several appeal, Qin Ju secured justice. However, when she was about to deliver, she experienced some complication.
Her husbands went ahead to wake the village head who later saved her life as Qin Ju was taken to the hospital and safely delivered a baby boy. Officials came to the village and took an x-ray of Qin Ju husband which later showed that he had a broken rib. The headman was taken to jail for a period of fifteen days. Her efforts of trying to block this did not yield any fruit.
Ermo on the other hand is about a Chinese woman, Ermo who is hard working. Since her husband who was a chief suffers from a health complication that prevent him from undertaking any meaningful duties, she is responsible for taking care of him and their child by selling noodles.
However Ermo is in some sort of competition and jealous with her neighbour who has a television set although no child. This means that every other child including Ermos son would wish to be in that family.
For this reason she went an extra mile working outside her village so that she could afford the biggest television set ever seen in the village. Her quest of owning such a TV has ruined her family. Ideally, the culture of Chinese people is being washed away by westernization.
Similarities between the protagonists
A critical analysis of these two films clearly leaves the viewer with some incidences that are similar to both the protagonists; Qin Ju and Ermo. First and foremost, both the actresses are fully performing the duties of a woman based on the Chinese culture.
We are told for instance from the onset that Qin Ju was not only living with her husband and their father but also with her sister. This is a clear indication that she performed her duties as a woman to ensure that the bond between family members is strong.
Additionally, it is evident enough that she is performing her duties as a woman when she was pregnant for her husband. Similarly, Ermo acts on the similar position as Qin Ju. This is exemplified by the fact that since her husband who was a village head got sick and could not do any meaningful work, she took the mantle and engaged herself in selling noodles so that she could take care of her family.
Her family constituted the ailing husband and their only son. According to Chinese culture, it is rare to see a woman buying medicine for her husband which Ermo does. This depicts the love and care she has to her family.
The same is also the case with Qin Ju who went to the bitter end trying to ensure that her husbands case is satisfactorily handled. However it is quite odd for the women to take roles that are reserved for men for instance providing and taking care of the family (Ermo) and fighting for justice as in the case of Qin Ju.
In my view, both female protagonists depict the new phase of China. Although both are women who are supposed to assume duties and responsibilities that opt to fit their gender, they went and extra mile in ensuring that justice is served and the family acquires material things; that is for Qin Ju and Ermo respectively.
We see that Qin Ju struggled so much to ensure that justice is done for her husband who was kicked mercilessly on the groin by the village headman. She was determined to take the pain and scolding provided her husbands case is treated to her satisfaction; this is despite the fact that she was pregnant and was about to deliver.
Ermo reflects the new China depicted by the financial independence and empowerment she has this fills the role of old China which is represented by her ailing husband who was once a chief. The bottom line when considering these two characters is that they are determined and are very hard working.
Additionally the two protagonists come from a poor background. This I mean in terms of finances. For instance when Qin Ju was travelling to the city she had to sell on several occasion dried hot pepper so that they could raise bus fare. Similarly, Ermo who was obsessed with the desire to buy a big TV had no money and she was compelled to continue selling her noodles outside her village.
I can also say that the two women exhibited high standards of morality. There is no incident that Qin Ju has been shown to engage in extra marital affairs or disrespect her husband.
On the same note, although Ermo husband was impotent due to sickness, she did not give in to the sexual advances she received from the Blind man. Ideally the two female protagonists are vehicle of change (political, cultural and social) that China will experience in future.
Differences between the protagonists
Although there are similarities between the two main actresses of the films; there are some differences between them. One such difference is with regards to what drove their action. For Ermo, it is evident that it was jealous that drove her to acquire a television set that is huge and very expensive for her family.
Viewers understand that her quest to buy a TV is purely as a result of her neighbour acquiring one. This leaves Ermo to be seen as a materialist and jealous person. This leaves her to be branded a greedy person since it is rumoured that the TV she wants to buy is so expensive that even the country leader cannot afford.
On the other hand, Qin Ju fight for justice is purely guided by injustice done to her husband by the village headman. She considers this to be uncouth and against fundamental human rights and she believes that if nothing is done then the same will repeat itself in future.
Similarly, it is worth noting that the actions of the two lead to different outcomes. For instance, the desire of Ermo to go to the city and engage in activities that will earn her more money has jeopardized her relationship with her family.
On the other hand, the relationship between Qin Ju and her family has indeed grown stronger. This is because her husband has realized that she cares for him so much that she sought justice for him through the right path.
It is worth mentioning that while Ermo did not get the satisfaction she desired Qin Ju was at the end of the day satisfied. However, she was unable to prevent the police from taking the village head to jail for fifteen days as she believed he was the one who saved her life that fateful night when she was in labour pains.
There are several differences between these female protagonists in the films, from my own analysis the character Qiu Ju from the film The Story of Qiu Ju, is tolerant and very persistent, while Ermo, from the film Ermo is not tolerant but hasty and over ambitious.
The tolerant nature of Qiu Ju is portrayed in the film from the moment her husband was injured by the political leader. She opts to follow her heart thus ensure that her demands are taken care of thus providing her ailing husband with the proper treatment that she would ever offer to him, this is when she swore to the politician that she will take him to court for his action.
While Ermo is intolerant when she conducts her activities as a result of competition and pride, this is when she said to Blindman that she will buy a bigger TV set than his and it will be the envy of the village.
Conclusion
From the review of the two films; the story of Qin Ju and Ermo, it is evident that they are Chinese comedy drama films. The story line is about Chinese women who are striving to make the lives of their families better one by fighting for justice while the other aimed at acquiring material things, TV set.
It is worth noting that the two female protagonists have a lot in common for instance they are hard-working, determined as well as being the face of change in China.
However, they do exhibit differences for instance Ermo is materialistic while Qin Ju is not, the driving force for their actions are totally different as Ermo is driven by jealousy and greed while Qin Ju is driven by the desire to fight for justice.
Works Cited
Ermo. Dir. Zhou Xiaown. Prod. Chen Kunming & Jimmy Tan. DVD. Sony Pictures Classics, 1994.
The Story of Qin Ju. Dir. Yimou Zhang. Prod. Yiting Feng & Kwok ma Fung. DVD. Sony Pictures Classics, 1992.
Visual arts have been used to record, expand, reflect and communicate ideas to enhance peoples surrounding. Historical events are illustrated by the use of visual arts such as plagues, battles and celebrations are depicted in painting and drawing.
Although the better the illustration might appear to be, it is hard to bring out the perspective viewer without engagement of the critical thinking.
Colin Ives in his digital arts has engaged an interactive aspect in digital arts where here he has used presentations and explanations to make easier for a layman to understand the art work in digital world.
Although on my side I do understand and entertain to go through digital arts, great number of population pay less attentions to search items for what is regarded as technical aspect of artwork. Colin has used performance to simplify what appears to be ambiguity in the world of art making it more interesting article creating more attentions.
The most significant sculpture in Colins work as far as am concerned was one which presented a Nocturne media installation focusing on animals like mice and opossums that finds successful niches within urban and suburban landscape.
Its a contrast to see a fully occupied city with human nature small, minute animals finds its way in its landscapes and managing to survive to its best (Jeremijenko).
Collin uses video, live traps and surveillance equipments to capture the footage of these animals. LCD screens or projections are used in the gallery to play captured videos by displaying the actual size of the creatures.
The used videos respond to the actions and presences of the viewer logging into the gallery bringing a mediated swap between the co-inhabitants of urban areas.
Collins major intention in the project is not only to acknowledge personal lives of the animals presented but also to bring out the idea that they have a significant presence in our contemporary urban spaces bringing the sense that the boundary that lay in between artificial objects and natural ones remains permeable (Jeremijenko).
Comparably to the work of Collin, Natalie Jeremijenko shows simple attention grabbing methods of changing your mind into an environmental caring and friendly perspective by relating daily life with eco lab.
Being guided by the fact that new technology are opportunity for social transformation Natalie come up with a Lab Environmental Health Clinic which is just a twist on health.
To improve environmental health one just needs to walk into an environmental health clinic with an environmental concern where s/he will get the best prescription. She argues that we as the people have what it takes to redefine what health is.
According to a study by Philip Landrigan most medical practitioners spend most of their time 80-90% in treating asthma, developmental delays, childhood cancer, child hood obesity and diabetes related issues. She says that ones you treat a contaminated air or water you dont just saves your life but even the life of all those you share that commodity with them (Jeremijenko).
In this lab instead of presenting urine sample a impatient is required to submit mice sample which she refer it to be most quintessential organism to share cohabit with.
They share almost every thing that human being is exposed to but they are more environmental friendly for they occupy limited geographical space than we occupy. This reminds us that in order to maintain environmental health every person must participate in environmental friendly activities.
Works Cited
Jeremijenko, Natalie. The Art of the Eco-Mindshift. Sweet Speeches alpha, 1 Oct. 2009. Web.
Pre-historic Greek artworks have influenced cultures and arts in many countries around the globe, especially in the sculptural and architectural arts. Right from the Roman Empire in the West to the Far East including Japan, ancient Greek artworks are a source of inspiration (OKelly 1982, p. 88).
The Greek architecture left a lasting impression in the architectural design of public buildings. Contemporary buildings and the ancient Roman arts copied a lot of things from the Greek. This paper compares the Parthenon, a well known surviving building of ancient Greek with the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, which is a piece of contemporary architectural artwork.
The Parthenon building on the Acropolis, in 5th BC to replace an old temple destroyed during an invasion (Beard 2010, p.12). The temple building in Athens and it acted as a sign of Athenian dominance in the Greek Peninsula.
The War Memorial Opera House located in San Francisco on Van Ness Avenue opposite the City Hall opened its gate to the public in 1932 (Couret 1998, para. 2). The building was among the last main American building built in the Beaux-arts style. This style of art borrowed a lot from the ancient Greek and Roman architectures.
The Parthenon (Neils 2005, p. 3)
The War Memorial Opera House (SFWMPAC Online n.d, n.p)
The Parthenon building to served as a temple for one of the goddesses of Athens. It was built to offer thanks to Athena the goddess for their success and victory in the war. In fact, the name originated from a cultic statue housed in one of the rooms, in the temple.
The building later invaded and turned into a church in honor of the Virgin Mary. On the other hand, the War Memorial Opera House was built to commemorate the people who died during the World War I. It also served to host the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center since 1932 when it opened its doors (Parthenon, Lovell Minnick and Fisher Lynch Conclude Acquisition of H.D. Vest Financial Services 2011, para. 2).
Classical Doric order or style, which, is normally calm and sturdy was used in building both buildings (Michos 2002, para. 7). The Parthenon, credited as one of the perfect Doric temple ever built in the world while the War memorial Opera House constructed using paired columns, an application of Doric order (The Webby Awards 2001(R) Will Take the Stage at San Franciscos War Memorial Opera House 2001, n.p).
Doric style applied the directly standing columns on flat pavements known as stylobates and alternated metopes a feature common with the two architectural works under consideration. Ionic columns were also clearly used in both buildings.
The materials used to make the two pieces of architecture were different mainly because of the different in their respective location. Wooden roofs, marble tiles and marble statues made up the Parthenons interior. Other materials used in the building were ivory and gold, and it stood on a limestone rock.
Coffered ceiling; large aluminum and glass paneled chandelier made up the War Memorial Opera houses interior. Sculptures are a common occurrence in the two buildings despite the difference in age (Clark 1997, para 5).
An explosion destroyed the Parthenon, but the War Memorial Opera house in San Francisco continues to stand. It maintains a lasting impression of the ancient Greek architectural designs, and buildings (Kaldor 2010, p 23). Technologically, the building has advanced, but it refuses to let go of its ancient worlds theater feeling.
Until late 20th century, the Parthenon laid destroyed, but the Greek government set out to revive the ancient building. Now it is meant to become a museum, but unfortunately, the original design cannot be recovered. Only an impression of it is possible.
References
Beard, M., 2010. The Parthenon, Profile Books.
Clark, A., 1997. After the quake: Andrew Clark attends the re-opening of San Franciscos refurbished War Memorial Opera House Financial Times, pp. 08-08.
Couret, C., 1998. San Franciscos historic opera house re-opens, The American City & County, 113(9), pp. 28-28.
Kaldor, A., 2010. Great opera houses: masterpiece of architecture Masterpieces of Architecture Series. Antique Collectors Club, the University of Michigan.
Michos, I., 2002. The enduring question about the Parthenon, Financial Times, , pp. 06-06.
Neils, J., 2005. The Parthenon: from antiquity to the present. Cambridge University Press.
OKelly, M., 1982. Newgrange: Archaeology, Art and Legend, London: Thames and Hudson.
Parthenon, Lovell Minnick and Fisher Lynch Conclude Acquisition of H.D. Vest Financial Services, 2011. Entertainment Close Up, , pp. n/a.
The Webby Awards 2001(R) Will Take the Stage at San Franciscos War Memorial Opera House, 2001. United States, New York: PR Newswire Association LLC.
SFWMPAC Online, n.d., San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Center. Web.
Just like every other area in life that has movements which advocates for the rights of people who have subscribed to the movement, the concept of art also has its own movement which is known as the aesthetic movement.
The core values that govern this movement have no strict definition with the movement encompassing the various art fields like metalwork, woodwork, fine art, literature and textiles.
The argument that was fronted by this movement was that art was not established or did not come into being for the purpose of being useful in the practical perception but instead was meant to be an independent or autonomous part of human life which ought to be allowed to exist independently as such.
The cult of beauty on the other hand is an exhibition that is one of its kind which hopes to showcase the various types of artistic nature in various parts of the world and also seeks to show that art is a part and parcel of the day-to-day life. This discussion takes an in-depth look at this exhibition while it is analyzing its form and content.
Key Characters of the Aesthetic Movement
According to pioneers of the aesthetic movement art needed not be didactic. This means that art need not serve any particular purpose but it only needs to be beautiful. There was a lot of emphasis as far as feminine beauty is concerned. The art from Japan is said to have greatly influenced the movement of aestheticism.
The cult of beauty was therefore a concept that was developed by aesthetes who saw beauty as the basic element in art. The key characteristics of the aesthetic movement include:
Using symbols massively
Making suggestions rather than making statements
Sensuality
Ensuring that there is rhyme between colour, words and music.
Looking at various pieces that have been made by various artists, they are inspired by various themes which include literature, influence from Japan, wood that has been ebonized, porcelain and earthenware. The aesthetic movement greatly influenced dress, decoration and what is considered as lifestyle today. Aslin (1981) indicates:
Artists and writers of the Aesthetic movement period maintained the belief that art should provide refined sensuous pleasure, rather than convey moral or sentimental messages. They believed that art did not have any didactic purpose; it need only be beautiful.
This exhibition also helps us appreciate the fact that art has come a long way back in the days when not so many people really understood what art was about until the present when exhibitions such as this can now be held.
The exhibition has actually been divided into four different phases to show how art has undergone metamorphosis over the years to get to where it is today.
This exhibition therefore gives a true historical perspective of the kind of growth that art has undergone. Art and its growth has influenced and been influenced by various aspects of life including politics.
This exhibition seeks to recognize those who have been instrumental in bring changes in the country through their political will to cause changes in the perception that people had previously about art (Wilson 1989).
Recognition must also be given to the fact that the Royal Academy back in the 1800s contributed largely to the growth of art by encouraging people to express their ideas through art. Culturally, this exhibition helps people appreciate the various cultures that the world embraces and the uniqueness of each culture.
It is without a doubt that each culture has something to showcase and this can best be done through art. It is also a learning experience for many people who get to experience fast hand the culture of other people.
The culture of beauty began regaining recognition in the mid 1800s with pioneers such as Gabriel Rosetti, James McNeil and Edward Burne exploring all ideas and concepts that surrounded the beauty of a woman.
Later, the idea of beauty was to be extended beyond that of a woman and this saw the culture of beauty grow into interior design and architecture. This saw a collaborations between experts in these two fields.
Whistler who was an architect and Godwin who was designer collaborate in the design of the present day White House as well as furniture which was used back in the days and today as well (Thackara 1988).
It is after this that those who were good in painting and combing painting and decoration of houses brought out a perfect outcome which attracted a large number of people including those who were initially opposed to the idea (Zukowski 2006).
These people were on great demand at the time as the wealthy who wanted to have their houses decorates always engaged their services at a hefty cost. Companies in the manufacture of furniture at the time realized that they could make a kill by hiring this people and by then art had already gained wide recognition.
It is during the final reign of Queen Victoria that the aesthetic movement gained yet another feather on its cap. This is when drawings were also included to become part of the great works of arts. While great progress has been made since the aesthetic movement was first established, it must recognized that the growth of this movement was not without its fair share of challenges.
The various periods that exhibition is divided onto based on chronology is a clear indication that it has not always been a smooth ride for this movement that is now recognized as one of the greatest movements of the time.
Images to be displayed
Every year the culture of beauty showcases various images and this year is no different. One of the images is Bocca Baciata Dante Gabriel Rossetti which is one of the greatest works of art ever done by Dante Gabriel Rosette. Rosetti was one of the pioneers of art and brought a whole new meaning to painting which was not only provocative but sensuous as well.
This great piece of art was done back in 1859 in London. It will be a perfect way to compare where art came from and how it has advanced over the years. (Laumbrone 1996; Parker and Pollock 1981).
Bocca Baciata Dante Gabriel Rossetti London 1859 Oil on panel Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Call I follow, let me die is yet another image that will be showcased in cult of beauty. This image was done by Julia Margaret Cameron back in the year 1867 in London. It is a portrait that is unconventional which shows Mary Hiller who was a maid of a parlor in Cameron.
Mary Hiller is shown as heroine who attained her status tragically belonging to the legend of Arthurian. The title of this portrait is drawn from the poem of Tennyson, Idylls of the King.
With the display of this images people will have an opportunity to reflect the varying practices and principles that guides the schools that train in art. They will also be in a better position to make comparisons on the various changes that drawing has undergone from the 19th century to present day (Aslin 1981).
Call, I follow, I follow, let me die! Julia Margaret Cameron London 1867
Conclusion
Art has come quite a long way. It may not appear so today, but the pioneers of what we are proud of as art fought great battles to bring art to where it is today. It was not easy but it was about convincing the rest of the world that it was something worth paying attention.
The organization of the cult of beauty is great indication of the great steps that art as an aspect has made to come this far. It is thus important for those who are able to attend this exhibition to do so this and each and every year.
There is always something new and unique and this gives people an opportunity to learn what they did not know and also give an insight to new ideas that people had not thought of. The aesthetic movement was a great idea and the cult of beauty was an even greater idea whose timing was perfect.
It would have not come at a better time. With the culture of beauty people are now able to gain an in-depth understanding where the various types of beauty that women adorn originated from. From ornaments, to their kind of dressing to how they wear their hair all can be traced back to the pioneers of the aesthetic movement. This exhibition also recognizes the great efforts of those who have brought art to where it is now.
References
Aslin, E. (1981) The aesthetic movement: prelude to Art Nouveau. California: Excalibur Books.
Laumbrone, L. (1996) The Aesthetic Movement. Michigan, Phaidon. Parker, R. and Pollock, G. (1981). Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Thackara, J. (1988) Introduction Design After Modernism London: Thames and Hudson.
Wilson, E. (1989) Through The Looking Glass: A History of Dress from 1860- present. London: BBC Book.
Zukowski, K. (2006) Creating the artful home: the aesthetic movement. New York: Gibbs Smith.
Chris Ofili was born on 10th October 1968 in Manchester. Ofili attended St. Pius X High school. He later advanced his learning in Xaverian College. His art foundation was built at Tameside College in Great Manchester. Ofili furthered his studies in London, at the Chelsea Art School from 1988-1991.
He is well renowned due to his unique eye for art especially depicted by his paintings. Ofili is a turner prize British winner well known for his artworks that cite aspects of his Nigerian customs and tradition. Currently, he is based in Trinidad. Afrodizzia, one of Ofilis paintings was signed, titled and produced in 1996. It was executed on linen and its approximate size is 243.8 by 182.9 cm.
Afrodizzia is a painting full of life done on a canvas sealed up with layers of different medium like elephant dung, paint and cut out photos. The frame is unique as it rests comfortably on rolls of elephant dung. By incorporation of this unique material-elephant dung, he brings in the aspect of African culture tracing back to his roots in Nigeria.
The composition explores the black mans experience as the surfaces are patched with tiny heads of figures that possess Afros. Afro is a hairstyle that was well embraced by the black mans race in the 1970s and became a traditional emblem.
The winding rows and incoherent lines of brilliant colors are the key elements of art incorporated in this art piece. They create a feeling of systemic and arrangement in the overall structure of the painting. The semi-transparent ponds of resin create a blend hiding some heads and color.
Through the cloud of glitters of oil paint and the resin, the left out heads denote the black mans society where the lower class people were held with less respect as compared to the upper class people (Doy 32). The use of color, line and dots aim to bring in authenticity of Ofilis painting, Afrodizzia. Within its composition, elephant dung one of Ofilis trademarks has been applied.
The painting rests upon two balls of the elephant dung well endowed with color. Color as an element of art brings in illusions of light. Color is well used to create fields. The painting rests on two balls that have been decorated with colored pins.
Black color represents the black community which traces Ofilis, roots. An additional six balls of dung are fixed to the canvas surface with five of them bearing the names Miles Davis, Diana Ross, James Brow, Cassius Clay and Tito Jackson all black men. Slotting in of these black men brings in cultural significance depicted by the bold black color.
The decorative dots technique and colored pattern technique incorporated in Ofilis painting have helped him create three dimensional elements. The lumps of elephant dung into the medium he uses (canvas) serves as bases on which he displays the artwork and compositional elements.
It brings in depth, yet another element of art. Creation of depth in paintings is a challenge that most painters take up eventually bringing in the feeling of the world in three dimensions. Ofilis use of elephant dung balls and collaged images bring in an illusion of depth (Doy 46).
Another technique used is line as an element of art. Though the images appear abstract at the first glance, the lines come in and create a real yet natural character of the paintings. The lines then later take up the form of patterns. The pattern is rather busy with no emphases at the centre but rather patterns of images brought about by the use of lines.
Lines seem to also give an outline or border to the painting. The curved lines along the borders of the painting are graceful creating smooth flow of the eyes. This unique use of line creates rhythm which enables the viewers to run the eyes gracefully from one point to another.
The border lines also bring in a sense of security to the content in the artwork. The images outlines are also done through use of lines. This is thus a technique that cannot go unnoticed.
His meticulous nature makes him renowned for rich portions of layers, variety in use of media which includes balls of elephant dung that interposes the canvas creating support at the bottom, acrylics or oil paints, resin, collages images of cutouts from magazines and map pins.
The canvas used is a medium that allows the acrylics to show well and enhance the feel of the texture of the end product. The black icons are painted in acrylic over the fixed collaged elements. Ofili later fixed the pins into the elephant dung using an adhesive to secure the linen.
The crafty use of elephant dung brings in the theme of afro-centricity which celebrates and embraces the African culture and heritage. His canvasses denote an urge to embrace the uniqueness of the black culture. The awesome painting is built up in layers consisting of cut outs of heads of men with afros. It is classical due to the well blended variety of media.
Texture is another valuable element for an artist to consider as it engages another factor away from sight. It may be tactile or visual. Tactile involves the sense of touch while visual involves how our eyes perceive the artwork.
Ofili in his painting, Afrodizzia, was able to incorporate this element through his use of elephant dung and cutouts from magazines. This incorporation of texture helps stimulate the viewers tactile nature. It is used skillfully to bring in contrast, arouse the viewers senses and bring in a composition with harmony, unity and variety (Doy 15).
A contextual factor related to the painting afrodizzia is that contrasting colors once well used can create a vibrant full of life artworks. If overused, they could bring in confusion in the artwork.
Key knowledge of elements and principles of art and design is paramount in the interpretation of artworks. Having a clear understanding of the two enables the viewer to interpret art pieces well grasping the theme, meaning and intention of the painter.
Some viewers feel deeply lost in the interpretation of Afrodizzia. While some viewers feel Ofili tried to incorporate Africas lifestyle in his work, others feel that the use of elephant dung depicts primitiveness and lacks creativity as depicted by his cutouts from magazines.
The study diamond (technique, effect, context and meaning) in the artwork helps the viewer understand the painting. There is flow right from the way it is accomplished to the result, the context in which it is produced and what is meant to be conveyed.
The four factors relate and when well thought of help in coming up with unique yet appreciated artworks. The artist can never go wrong with the study diamond.
Work Cited
Doy Gen. Black visual culture: Modernity and postmodernity. London: I.B. Tauric & Co. 2001.
With the population of Indians in Oman growing steadily over the past decades, it is clear that there is an urgent need for an FM radio station playing exclusively Hindi songs to satisfy their desires. When asked for their opinions about the need for a Hindi FM channel, several respondents gave their opinions as described in this paper.
One of the respondents who gave out his opinion concerning the issue is Faiq Raz Ansari. Faiq believes that the need for a Hindi FM station Is overdue considering that many of the people are forced to listen to Hindi songs from a radio stations based in one of the neighboring countries.
The need for a Hindi Fm station in Oman is not only confined to the need to listen to the music but is important also for listening to news updates, as well as traffic jams and sports in the Hindi tongue. According to Faiq, a Hindi Fm will also enable the listeners be updated business wise according to the story he gives of a friend who is kept updated by a station based in one of the countries neighboring Oman.
Anu Shaikh of wadi Kabir also gives praises to the elegance and beauty of the Indian music. In his opinion, Indian musics appeal has crossed borders, and in fact, the music is being listened to by people from a variety of ethnicities.
To sheikh, a Hindi radio station in Oman or Muscat is long overdue considering that even the local population is in favor of the Indian music.
Both recent and old Indian music has a good appeal among the people and, therefore, it is only when there is a FM station playing the music that listeners can be satisfied. To Shaikh, the Hindi language is gaining international stature and the opening up of a Hindi FM station in Oman will satisfy many anxious people.
Rannesh Rahman who is an administrator of projects in Oman claims that the many Indians living in Oman will be delighted to have a Hindi Fm station at their disposal.
Hindi music is enjoyed by all in Oman according to Rahman as it is played in the local restaurants, taxis and even on national television. A Hindi Fm station in Oman can also serve as a good medium of diplomatic communication for the dignitaries from India, Pakistani and even Bangladesh considering that they make the majority of the expatriates in Oman.
Ramachandran Nair is excited about the possibility of having a Hindi Fm station in Oman. He believes that the move is set to expand the popularity of the Indian entertainment that had lagged until the introduction of satellite channels.
Many expatriates living in Oman and especially from the south of Asia favor the Indian entertainment and mostly the Hindi songs. The move to open an FM station playing Hindi music is welcome considering that Hindi music and entertainment in general brings forth a good sense of entertainment to all regardless of age and ethnicity.
There is a large number of Indians in the Sultanate. Nair believes that they will find great comfort in listening to the station if it uses several regional Indian languages.
According to Sanjana who is a coordinator in charge of co-curricular activities in an Indian school in Muscat, many fans will be delighted if a Hindi FM station is opened in Oman. To him, Oman is a cosmopolitan state just like UAE and the delay to open such a radio station has been restrictive to many enthusiasts.
He suggests that even FM stations using regional Indian languages should be introduced in Oman, as it is the case in the UAE. The radio stations that exist in Oman such as Oman Fm and Hi FM do try in keeping people informed according to Sanjana , but they are not entirely successful as most of the people turn on their private music systems to listen.
A Hindi channel will be welcomed by the majority of the Indians, Pakistanis and people from Bangladesh who reside in Oman. The FM station will not only entertain the people but also inform them accordingly according to Sanjana.
Himanshu V. Mandalia of Darsait believes that the Hindi music lovers cries will be answered by the opening of at least one Hindi FM channel in Muscat. Music becomes effective a remedy to drivers especially in traffic jams.
Therefore, with the opening of a Hindi FM channel, drivers and other people at home will be saved from boredom by listening to a variety of melodies such as Bollywood songs, ghazals, and bhajans among others.
Most of the lovers of Hindi music are forced to listen to them in mp3 players or their phones according to Mandalia but then they are not satisfied considering that their collections are limited a gap that can be effectively filled by the introduction of a Hindi FM channel in the Sultanate.
Thulasdoss Ramachandran of Al Khuwair in Muscat believes that it is a good initiative to have a Hindi Fm station in Muscat. Even though the thought is striking late, Ramachandran views it as the crucial time to have a Hindi station in Oman considering that the habit of listening to Hindi FM radio in Oman is widespread even to the locals who not only listen to the music but also the news updates.
As Ramachandran claims, a big number of the local drivers in Oman understand and speak the Hindi language. For him, a Hindi Fm station introduced in Oman will be a definite hit to both the local populations and the expatriates from India, Pakistani and Bangladesh.
C. C. Ramachandran Nambiar of Ruwi also believes that the opening a Hindi Fm station will be a great gift to the Indians and other people from the South Asian nations.
He suggests that, upon the opening of the station, more sots be given for the broadcasting of old Indian melodies by singers such as Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar among others. This is because according to him, the recent music is lacking in the soothing effect that oldies have on both the mind and the body and instead appear like dialogues.
Sachin a senior project architect at Al Khuwair is confident that, since Hindi songs popularity cuts across Oman and other sections of the globe, the implementation of a Hindi Fm channel in Oman will be welcomed by not only the Indians and related communities but also the locals.
The station according to Sachin will also help in strengthening the bilateral ties between the Oman and the Indian states. The popularity of the Hindi language is also increasing, and Sachin is certain that the Hindi FM station will be well received in Oman. This will help in the filling of the vacancy left in the entertainment in Oman.
Suddapali Bhaskara Rao of Ruwi posits that there is a need to have a multi- lingual channel in the Sultanate. Rao is eager to experience the satisfaction that will come along with the opening of the station to both locals and the foreign expatriates.
Hindi- Urdu music will be well received considering that many people already appreciate it in Oman. Taxi operators are among the people that Rao believes will benefit a lot with the opening of the channel as well as their passengers.
The effort should also aim at the opening of similar stations in the future that will use the regional languages as most of the expatriates are from the southern Indian states. Rao maintains that the pleasure of listening to music has not faded with time as people claim.
According to Arshiya Adbul Khader of Al Khuwair, FM stations have increased allover including the Sultanate. Oman has experienced steady growth, which has resulted to regional expansion, forces people to travel to different places for work.
FM stations can take advantage of the travel time that most people have at their disposal. Khader alludes to the success of the Hindi FM station in the neighboring emirates like Abu Dhabi and Dubai as proof that a similar effort will succeed in Oman.
Sukumar who works as a General Manager in Muscat is optimistic that a Hindi FM station, which is a long-standing aspiration of the people in Oman- both local and foreign expatriates, will be well received. The large number of expatriates who are mostly from South Asian nations will view it as a treat.
Listening to Hindi songs, jokes etc will be a treat to the Indians and others who understand the languages and will definitely refresh their minds. The local people of Oman also love the Indian music. As a result, the Hindi Fm channel will be well received in the country.
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a major problem in Muscat. Here, are some of the opinions of the City residents on what measures they believe can help deal with the traffic chaos. M. V. Sajeev a senior Executive at Tuwi agrees that while the deployment of traffic officers at the Sheraton intersection can help in controlling traffic, it is not a good idea considering that they are also humans.
Traffic bottleneck to him is caused by the irresponsible motorists and not the concerned authorities or failure in the infrastructure. Motorists often ignore the traffic rules.
This causes the traffic nightmare in Muscat. What can save the situation according to Sajeev is only when the traffic department commits itself in a campaign aimed at educating motorists on the necessity of obeying these rules and care for each other.
Mohammed Sajeer, a Senior Sales Executive in Muscat, believes that the deployment of traffic police officers will help ease the traffic turmoil at the Sheraton crossing. Carelessness and ignorance among motorists is majorly responsible for the problem. This even results in accidents as that lead to further traffic delays according to Sajeer.
P.K Ashraf laments that despite the traffic lights being the simplest instructions for motorists to follow; they are often ignored by motorists who speed according to their wishes.
According to Ashraf, deployment of traffic police officers at the Sheraton crossing will ensure that traffic is managed at the intersection where most of the traffic problems and delays are experienced mostly during the morning hours and the evening hours. The presence of traffic offers at the intersection will definitely ease the situation, as motorists will not ignore the traffic rules anyhow.
Ajith Mathew of Al Ghubra states that the Sheraton intersection is the most problematic signal points in the city of Muscat. Having traffic police officers monitoring the crossing will ensure that the motorists who violate traffic rules at the crossing resulting to traffic snarls will be brought to book.
Ajith Mathew, however, claims that the problem is not solely at the Sheraton but on the entire stretch (From Darsait to wadi Kabir). He urges the authorities to come up with a long lasting solution to ensure that the problem is dealt with finally. A corridor stretching from Wadi kabir to Al Mera roundabout will bring substantive relief to motorists according to Ajith Mathew.
Sakheer Hussain, a Chief Accountant at Ruwi, is one of the many people badly affected by the traffic snarl at the Sheraton crossing. Motorists are forced to sit in traffic jams for long hours, and otherwise productive time is wasted in the traffic jams.
Hussain suggests that the congestion at this point can be reduced by increasing the capacity of the road or by reducing the volume of traffic. Posting of traffic officers at the crossing, as well as the construction of flyovers and the widening of roads might help. The introduction of regulations barring some vehicles such as heavy vehicles from plying certain routes in the city will also help ease the traffic turmoil.
Sunaina Sema Ahluwalia who works as an Author and a communications Consultant in Muscat claims that the Sheraton intersection is one among several spots in the city that are known for creating nightmares to motorists.
The poor lighting in the city especially during the morning and night times often makes the situation worse. The stationing of cops at these strategic points can bring great relief to motorists according to Ahluwalia.
Moeen Qureshi, an advisor and amp; COO in Muscat claims that the experiences of the traffic bottlenecks makes him confident that the deployment of traffic police officers can help greatly. Qureshi alludes to studies taken in other major cities that confirm that the deployment of these officers in managing traffic works wonders especially in the knotty crossings.
He calls upon the authorities to come up with diversion routes that will assist in ensuring that many vehicles do not use the Sheraton crossing which a point of concern. The posting of traffic police officers will help as a more lasting solution is brewed according to Qureshi.
Anu Shaikh, a businessperson at Wadi Kabir, counts the traffic turmoil experienced at the Sheraton crossing, Ruwi Hugh Street, Honda road junction as among the major civic life problems of the time in Muscat. During normal hours, the roads are usually congested according to Shaikh, which intensifies during rush hour.
She admits that the Sheraton crossing is one of the most knotty intersections in the city where an immediate intercession is required. Manual support such as that offered by the traffic police officers will be of great help. However, the upgrading of the traffic signal system to cater for the future expectations will bring a permanent solution.
Mohammed Osama Rawat admits that the Sheraton crossing is a major point of concern as far as traffic problems are concerned for a number of years. The existing traffic signs such as the yellow demarcations are usually ignored by motorists.
As a result, they are ineffective when it comes to managing traffic at such spots. Rawat blames the authorities for not coming up with a supplementary plan after the initial one failed miserably. In his opinion, traffic police officers should be deployed at the junction and other similar spots in the city to control the snarl.
Thulasdidos Ramachandran of Al Khuwair is certain that the Sheraton crossing is the most challenging signal zone in Muscat. Motorists are forced to seat in their cars for long hours in the whole stretch according to him.
He posits that there is a necessity in posting traffic police officers at the crossing and at other crossings until Wadi Kabir roundabout. An alternative to that is if the Muscat Municipality comes up with a permanent traffic improvement plan such as road widening or even the construction of flyovers.
Ramachandran Nair of Ruwi is of the opinion that the deployment of traffic police officers will only bring about a temporary solution to the problem of traffic congestion in Muscat.
The distance between the traffic signals placed in the area may make it challenging and time consuming for the officers to manage the place. According to him, the movement of heavy vehicles in the CBD should be restricted more so during peak hours in an effort to control the snarl.
Lastly, Suddapalli Bhaskara Rao of Ruwi is quite certain that the posting of traffic police officers at the Sheraton crossing will ensure better management of traffic in Muscat.
The placement of traffic signals at close distances is also a problem that is responsible for the snarl according to Rao. Traffic officers will ensure the smooth flow of traffic as well as deal with those who neglect the traffic rules at the point.
The Roman Colosseum has had a great impact on western architecture. The construction of the three dimensional elliptical amphitheatre took place between 72 AD and 80 AD in Rome (Hopkins & Beard, 2011). The constructors used various materials such as concrete.
The concrete used was obtained from a local limestone lighter than marble laid the foundation of the Colosseum. In effect, using limestone in concrete gave the amphitheatre a strong foundation. The walls were made of marble and bricks while the floor was made of sand.
Sand in Latin is known as arena, thus, the English word arena has its origin from the Latin word of sand. The most distinct technique used in construction is the use of arches. Effectively, these arches allow the creation of wedges in the amphitheatre giving it the oval shape (Coarelli & Gabucci, 2001).
Morale in Rome was low due to the death of Emperor Nero, one of the Roman Emperors held in high regard. Therefore, Vespasian, the new emperor, had to find a way to restore the Romans morale. Subsequently, he destroyed the palace built by Nero and started the construction of the Colosseum. Effectively, the Colosseum is representative art depicting the greatness of Rome (Coarelli & Gabucci, 2001).
According to Hopkins and Beard (2011), the Colosseum depicts the might of the Roman Empire. Using arches in construction artistically reduced the weight of the building since the amount of materials required in construction reduced. Alternatively, the materials used in constructing the Colosseum were light enough to allow the amphitheatre stand without a lot of support.
In addition, the arches allowed support of the tiered seating. Moreover, the passageways of the arches allowed easy access in the amphitheatre. The Colosseum served the people of Rome in their best sporting activities organised by their leaders. In effect, the Colosseum is historically important in the construction of modern day sports stadiums such as modern football fields.
In addition, the artistic use of light materials in the construction of the Colosseum plays the traditional role of inspiring the modern day theatres and stadia construction (Coarelli & Gabucci, 2001).
The Doryphoros
The Doryphoros is a three dimension stone sculpture of a naked human-like six feet tall man standing. Polykleitos of Argos sculptured the Doryphoros using bronze between 480 BC and 415 BC. The main process of creating this masterpiece was by sculpturing. However, sculptures require addition techniques such as the knowledge of proportionality and balance in order to stand on its own.
Therefore, for Polykleitos to create a sculpture of a human being in what is known as a chiastic pose, technical expertise in proportionality was fundamental. On the other hand, the use of balance is evident in the sculpture since the weight of the body is on one foot, and the other foot is flexed at rest (Moon, 1995).
The Doryphoros depicts the principle of proportionality in a human figure on an individual capacity. In this regard, the sculpture is a classic example of representation art because it brings out the ideal attributes of the human being in terms of proportionality. The representation is further depicted by the sculptures creation in that; it follows the general attribute of the relationship in all human body parts once divided.
The sculpture is a quintessence of the perfect male human form. The perfect proportional body parts and the muscles define the beauty of an athlete in ancient Greece. In addition, the artistic impression of a cool and calm youthful demeanour of a nude man, presents a sensation of nobility the Greeks identified with.
In effect, this special identification differentiated the Greeks from what they called barbaric neighbours. In traditional Greek philosophy, beauty and the goodness in an individual went hand in hand; this is a character exemplified by the sculpture of Doryphoros. In addition, the artistic impression of Doryphoros as an attractive human being went in conjunction with perfection and morals of the Greeks, a religious philosophy among ancient Greeks (Moon, 1995).
References
Coarelli, F. & Gabucci, A. (2001).The Colosseum. Michigan: J. Paul Getty Museum Publishers.
Hopkins, K. & Beard, M. (2011). The Colosseum. London: Profile Books Limited.
Moon, W. G. (1995). Polykleitos, The Doryphoros, and Tradition. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
