For Tuesday, July 15th

PRESENTATIONS - For guidelines on what is expected of your presentation of artist’s work, please click here.

1. Nancy Lovato

2. Michael Miles (chose written over oral – paper due)

3. Saraphina Monaco

4. Toi Neeley

5. Ashley Patterson

6. Nate Skole

7. Laura Strait

8. Jordan Suggs

Assignment for Tuesday, July 8th / RA # 10

Hi folks — There is no class on July 3rd – so enjoy your long July 4th weekend!

For those wanting/needing to revise your first review, please bring updated copy to class by Tuesday, July 8th.

Mini-reviews for next class (to quickly read):

Sent in by Toi: “Sex in the City“‘

Sent in by Rachel G. “Iron Man Packs a Punch as Cinema’s Newest Superhero“

Sent in by Samantha: “History Now“

CLASS: For next Tuesday’s class, please read the following and be prepared to discuss how you navigated the fictional story “My Body,” what you thought of the narrative structure, etc. For your last blog response (yes, this is the last one!), please discuss your thoughts about the film we saw in class, Cloverfield, and how the film possibly reflects contemporary concerns, issues, desires, etc.

Readings:

• Shelley Jackson, “My Body“
  

Also, PRESENTATIONS begin next THURSDAY – please note that half the class will be expected to do their oral presentations on REVIEW # 2 next Thursday, the other half on Tuesday, July 15th. The actual written review is due on July 17th (the last day of class) BY EMAIL – your email w/ attachment should be time stamped no later than midnight! You should, however, already know who you plan to review and therefore have thoughts (and media examples) to show for your presentations. For guidelines on what is expected for both your written review and the presentation of that artist’s work, as well as the schedule of oral presentations, please click here.

Also — while there are no more blog response assignments, please do continue to check the blog for any announcements or updates in the schedule.

Response Assignment # 9

Reviews to look over before Tuesday’s class:

• From April – “The Chic is Real” in NY Times.
• From Torreyanna – Review of Matthew Brannon’s exhibit (review is second in series of three)
• From Isabel- Cy Twombly is the only graffiti artist I care about

Reading for next Tuesday: Next week, we’ll discuss video games and disaster films. In preparation for our discussion, please read the following. Following are two options for the blog response.

• Kakoudaki, Despina. “Spectacles of History: Race Relations, Melodrama, and the Science Fiction/Disaster Film,” Camera Obscura, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2002
• Walkerdine, Valerie. “Remember not to die: young girls and video games.” Papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature, Nov 2004.

For this assignment, you have one of two choices for a response, as listed below. CHOOSE ONE and respond to any set of questions / writing cues listed under each choice:

CHOICE ONE: Play a video game (either one you rent, one you or a friend already have, or go to a video game outlet), play it for a while, and then discuss, in your blog response how it reflects issues of gender, class, ethnicity, or culture.

Below are sets of questions — choose ONE set to respond to:

• If you chose a game with people in it, think about the following: consider the roles: were the people in the game baseball players, boxers, soldiers, etc.? What about ethnicities? What ethnicities did you identify? Who seems to have what role? – what color or gender, for example, are the “bad guys”?
  Who is the hero of the game? What did these people look like? – fat, skinny, muscular, tall, short . . . and what roles did each play? And how does any of this reflect popular or contemporary ideas around race, class, and/or gender?
• What was the goal of the game? To kill all your enemies? To get the gold? To win the race? What obstacles did you have to overcome in order to move from level to level or to win the game? How might any of this reflect contemporary culture (our ideas about success, what it takes to win, the “American” story or ideal, etc.)? In what ways was the game NOT like life?
• In what ways was the game totally fantasy-like or had elements that were not at all realistic of modern society? Perhaps these elements were of a past that no longer exist. And if so, how might that reflect a particular set of ideas in today’s culture; and if so, what?

CHOICE TWO: free writing response to readings – discuss whatever most takes your attention within the readings, being sure you provide examples to support your thoughts.

For Thursday’s Class

For Thursday’s class, please blog about your thoughts re: the Still Black film and Awilda and Kortney’s talk. Just write about anything that took your attention and try to relate your thoughts to some of the concepts/ideas we’ve discussed in class. Since our Thursday speaker is unable to come visit our class, I’m taking you all to Millennium Park to see the following event. PLEASE MEET ME AT THE PARK BY 6:30 p.m. Be sure to bring whatever you want to be comfy and enjoy your evening. You can sit either in the seats or in the park, but be sure to find me and check in.

Music Without Borders: The Bachata Roja Concert: Unsung Heroes, Rediscovered Icons/Mayra Andrade

Date: 6/26/2008
Time: 6:30 p.m. – until . . .

Millennium Park brings the best global sounds to Chicago for the critically-acclaimed Music Without Borders series, the City’s ongoing year-round celebration of international music.

Rediscover the early icons from the Dominican Republic who pioneered the romantic, guitar-driven ballads and dance rhythms of the Afro-Carribean beat – singers Ramon Cordero and El Chivo Sin Ley, guitar giant Edilio Paredes – and discover singer-guitarist Joan Soriano, an emerging bachatero star from today’s younger generation. Cape Verdean singer Mayra Andrade opens the night.

Music Without Borders is presented by a grant from the Governor’s International Arts Exchange program of the Illinois Arts Council.

Response Assignment # 7

Since we’ve got two great guests coming in next week, I’m changing up the readings this week to reflect the genre of this upcoming conversation. For Tuesday’s class, please read the following article:

• “Making Movie Magic” by bell hooks in The Crisis of Criticism (your course book) – pg. 133-146.

Rather than post questions for you to answer, I’d like for you each to respond to the reading by discussing whatever takes your attention within the article. What is your response to hook’s article? How do your own experiences either support or refute points she makes within her essay? Be sure that your response is well thought out and that you provide examples and/or explanations to support your response.

Also — I’d be really interested in hearing what you guys thought of the “Xenogenesis Suite: A Multi-Arts Exploration”

On Tuesday, we’ll have guest film director Kortney Ryan Ziegler and producer, Awilda Rodriguez Lora, screen their new film “Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen.” Please check out the links provided and familiarize yourself with the artists and their work.

Review & Thursday’s Class

Hi folks — I’m going to give you all until end of day Friday to EMAIL ME your first major review. Please send as a Microsoft Word doc (DO NOT write or paste your review into the email itself – as it’s impossible to write comments); also, be sure to double-space your review, have a unique title of your own, and put all the usual info in the upper left hand corner of the first page (as you would with any paper you turn in).

On Thursday, we’ll be going to the performance below. Since the show doesn’t start until 7:30 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m. (10 minutes after class end time), please meet me at 7:00 p.m. at 1014 South Michigan Avenue. DO NOT BE LATE or you may not be able to get into the event!

Nicole Mitchell’s “Xenogenesis Suite: A Multi-Arts Exploration”

Time of event: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

Location: Columbia College Music Building, Concert Hall, 1014 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago

Description: “Xenogenesis Suite” is a multi-arts work inspired by the book Dawn by science fiction author Octavia Bulter. In addition to the musical performance, the event will feature a panel discussion and an art exhibition; it is designed to appeal to those interested in science fiction, music, experimental video, visual art, dance, and African-American culture. Features dance choreography by Margaret Morris, video by Floyd Webb, art works by Krista Franklin, and music by Nicole Mitchell and her Black Earth Ensemble. Commissioned by Chamber Music America’s New Works Creation and Presentation program, funded by the Doris Duke Foundation. Copresented by Columbia College Chicago’s Center for Black Music Research and the Department of Music and by Chicago Sinfonietta.

Short Review of Art Institute Piece

This assignment will count as a weekly response. Write a short (page or two) review of whichever piece you chose to write about in the Art Institute. Feel free to compare/contrast two pieces if you’d like. For this short review, try to focus your attention primarily on the use of creative description and analysis. You can either post your review here or send to me via email as a word attachment . . . whichever you prefer.

Meanwhile, continue working on your first review (re: any issue-oriented piece that you have chosen), which is due next Thursday. Please email me with any questions.

Below are links to the readings for Tuesday. You do not have to do a blog response for these readings, but please be prepared to discuss them in class. If you want (or need) extra credit, however, I will grade any blog responses to either or both of these readings.

• Cohen, Ted. “High and Low Art, and High and Low Audiences” (click on link, then enter your oasis number and password to access article).
• Cotter, Holland. “Beyond Multiculturalism, Freedom?”