The Methods of an Artist

When describing what he does to complete his work, a scientist can explain it in a simple explanation of concrete steps that are preformed by every scientist. These steps include researching, making a hypothesis, evaluating the variables, completing the experiment, analyzing the process and so forth. These steps are followed every time and almost in the exact order until the experimentation process is complete. However, for artists, this process is almost completely opposite. Every artist is unique in the way that they produce their masterpiece. Some artists like to follow the more scientific method and research and plan their art while others just let the image come to them after the first stroke of paint. Other artists view the image in their head and then draw images or look at a medium and can see their artwork out of the medium. In the art world, there is no wrong way of creating the art. It is the opinion and emotion of the artist himself and his patrons.  Since I am the one writing the journal, I will write about how I complete artwork.

First off, I would like to state that Art is not one of my most predominant traits. I have never done art as a hobby or just for fun, but I will for a class or when needed. When completing this artwork I like to work in a very random tone. First I think of the general idea that I need to complete. When I have the very basic outline in my head, I begin to draw or paint on the paper. Then little by little the image begins to change based on how I decide to change it whether from mistakes or just seeing it differently on the paper. I do not like to plan everything out because I feel that the random artwork is the best art work.

In Junior High, we would have daily sketches that we would have to complete. When I first started, I would decide what I wanted to sketch and then just let the sketch go from there. If I reached a point where I thought it needed shadowing, I would add the shadowing. When ever I would make a mistake, I was taught to always fix it by adding on to it. Mistakes could always to make the artwork better by making it look like it was on purpose. This kind of art is as relaxing as art can get for me because I do not feel committed to one thing, and if I make a mistake well then I can fix it easily.

Art can be a very abstract object. No one person can define what makes great art or how great artwork is made. The answer to those is in the heart and emotion of the person that is viewing the work. Some people love the great art works of Michelangelo which makes him a great artist. However, there are there few people that might think that his art work is just alright. Some might think that a just, crazy splash on a canvas is grand artwork. The fact that art can be anything and loved by any one is what makes art great. If the artist thinks that it is a beautiful piece then that is all that matters.

The Outsiders

Journal Prompt: Jews, Gypsies, North Africans, and Mexicans.

Before coming to Italy, I always would get annoyed with people that could not speak our language and were foreign. One of the biggest reasons of this is because I worked in a hotel and helped many customers from other countries. I also admit that I did not oppose the law that was created in Arizona and had many reasons for my decision. However, that all changed when I arrived in Italy. Now I was the outsider and could understand what they were dealing with when they came to America.  I know how it feels to have the people that are not tourists hate you just for being from another country. This constant hatred towards people that are from other countries and cultures has always existed in our world and I feel like the hatred will continue until something extravagant happens to change the way everyone thinks.

Since the Roman Empire, the Jewish religion has been victim to discrimination. The Romans fought against them and Jerusalem. Then Hitler and the Nazi’s attacked their religion and civilization trying to exterminate them all. Both of these eras forced the Jewish people into ghettos that forced them to lose their independence and freedom. Now because of the current laws that are trying to be set up in Arizona, Mexicans are also beginning to face the same discrimination that Jews received. This has created some debate and protest for the actions that are being placed again illegal aliens and against Mexicans.

When walking through Rome, the two groups that are most noticeable to be foreign or Gypsies and North Africans.  At every tourist site there are gypsies that can be found selling items and running away from the local polizia. North Africans can also be found selling the fake Louis Vuitton bags and other items. These two groups do receive discrimination as well from the Italians. The Italians feel that their culture is being taken advantage of and that it is ruining their image that they have created for themselves. As Danillo would say, “These people are invading our country and we need to get them out of here. Don’t give them any money.” However, these two groups have not received the kind of discrimination that Jews and Mexicans have. They still are allowed to walk the streets without getting questioned and they were never forced to live in a ghetto just because they had different eating and living patterns.

I think that our world has a terrible track record with discrimination against race and foreign cultures. When growing up we learn about the civil rights movement and the holocaust. We learn how people were killed for religious practices and how people were forced to use separate facilities because of color. What is surprising though, is that even after learning all of this history, we still continue it. We still continue to discriminate against people that are different. My question that I would like to leave you with is: Do you think that we will ever get rid of racial/religious discrimination in our world?

The Catholic Religion: Both Universal and Roman

This week we had the chance of a lifetime. The chance that not a lot of people get to receive and we may never receive it again. This chance is the ability to see the pope and have seats for his audience presentation. This was a life changing experience to say the least! When Walsh University was called out, I felt very honored to attend such a great university. Every Wednesday people from all over the world come to Rome, Italy to see the Pope speak. Because of this tremendous outcome every week, a sense of universal comes to the church, but when viewing the history and tradition of the church a sense of roman also comes to play.

The Catholic religion is probably the most well known and universal religion that exists today. Back in the United States, every big city and county has a catholic school. The Pope is universally known as the moral leader of the world, and if there is ever an issue in the world, the Pope usually always releases statements that express the church’s view. Another way that the church is universal is through the Vatican II. Before the church was spoken just in Latin which did not make the church easily accessible to people uneducated. However, now the mass is in the language that is spoken in the region that the church is located in. This allows for the church to be practiced all over the world and in any language making it more universal.

Even though the church is universal, there is still a sense of the religion being roman. First, the history that is behind the catholic religion allows it to be most roman. For example, the pope has always resided in Rome, Italy and once had secular power over the entire Roman region. Second, one of the most important saints (St. Peter) was buried in Rome right under the Basilica that houses the capitol of the catholic religion. Second item that makes the religion roman is the tradition of the religion. Every week day the address is completed only in Rome. People come to Rome to view the most religious practices and artifacts. No matter how universal the catholic religion gets, Rome is and will always be the Capitol of the church. This practice allows the catholic religion to be named Roman Catholic.

In all, no matter what religion someone is, they know who the pope is and how important he is in the world. The catholic religion is known everywhere and is one of the most universal religions in this world. Rome is also a very important symbol of this religion. Because of this, the religion is both universal and roman.

Art of Rome: Week 5: Vatican City

In life we have many expectations of things that we have studied in school or know through stories.  One example of this for me is the Sistine Chapel. Growing up I have heard great things and viewed great things about it. Because of these, I created a great image of this chapel in my head. To me it was a place that was huge, well lit, and beautiful gold pieces. However, when I walked into the chapel, unfortunately, it was not this way to me. The room was darker and just wasn’t what I expected it to be. Now I’m not saying it was not amazing how Michelangelo could paint the whole Sistine Chapel, but it just was not what I expected. The part of the chapel that I am going to write about though is the whole ceiling.

This ceiling was painted by Michelangelo and was done by using fresco style. This style is completed by using a fresh surface every time the painter starts painting. This ceiling was painted between 1508 and 1512. There are many different paintings on the ceiling telling stories of Noah or from the book of Genesis (Wikipedia.com). The most important of these paintings is the creation of Adam. The interesting part of this painting is the lightning bolt that is portrayed between the fingers of God and Adam. This creates the impression of God giving life to Adam. Also, the curvature of the bodies creates a unique aspect. The body of Adam is almost reflecting from God himself.

Another interesting aspect of the ceiling deals with the sizes of the paintings. When I looked up at the ceiling I was amazed at what I noticed and what I learned about it from the tour guide. The one side of the ceiling has smaller details but a lot of imagery going on in the paintings, while the other side has bigger subjects with less scenery. The tour guide explained that when Michelangelo was painting the ceiling it was a mistake at first and that he had to correct his later paintings in the end to allow for the subjects to grow in size. I thought that it was amazing how he could take something that could have been a huge mistake and fix it into something that was so genius. Without this mistake, would we have the creation of Adam? Would it be as well known as it is today? I think the answer is that it would not stick out as much because Adam and God would not be able to have as much detail that they have now.

The second artwork that I chose to do is one of the sculptures of the Catholic Saint. When I walked through the St. Peters Basilica, I couldn’t help but to notice the beauty and detail behind these sculptures. The height of these sculptures alone was unbelievable. The statue that I decided to talk about was the one of St. Longinus. When I first looked at this sculpture I felt so much power coming from it. I feel that the artist (Bernini) wanted to portray him as a very powerful Saint. The arms that are raised allow this type of reaction. It looks like St. Longinus is calling God from the Heavens. His clothing is also allowing this imagery because of how they lay. The robe looks like it is being riffled in strong wind and that something powerful is happening in Bernini’s image.

I feel that Bernini had to set up the sculpture of this saint with so much power because of the legend that is behind St. Longinus. It is said that he was the one who stabbed Christ in the side. Then because of the evil/sin that came about him after this event, he converted into Christian religion (saintpetersbasilica.org). This legend shows that he is a powerful saint because of his repayment for his sin. Here someone did the ultimate sin but was able to ask for forgiveness and change his whole life to better his soul. This is why Bernini had to show all of this power and greatness in this one sculpture!

Affects of the Ghetto

When people consider the suppression of the Jews, they often think about the holocaust with the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler. However, the suppression of the Jews started a long time before that period in time. The most important example that we can see of this is the Roman Ghetto. This Ghetto was set up when the Pope was in both religious power and political power. This ghetto followed an order that was created saying that people of the Jewish religion had to live away from the general Christians. They could only live in the Ghetto which would be closed and locked every night. Churches were also set up to force the Jewish people to listen to masses that told them that they were wrong and would go to hell. The Jews were only allowed to be money lenders or merchants and could not own any property. Instead, Christians owned the properties and rented them out to the Jews, never stepping a foot in the house. Because of these strict laws, the ghettos had a huge impact on the people inside and the people outside.

With all of the strict laws that were set in place with the Jews and the Ghetto, the people that were inside were the ones that were mostly affected. If I try and sit back and think about how I would feel with that much restriction on my life, I really do not know what I would do. I would feel like I was not really a human but someone else’s puppet. The Jews were never given a chance to pick their occupation or where they could live, besides what building in the ghetto they would like. In fact, even in Ghettos today they still have the problem. The only difference is that now they are not forced into them because of religion. Now they are automatically put in the ghetto because of the social structure that is in place now. Today, we do not discriminate against the people that live in ghettos, but we also do not help the people to get out of poverty and out of the “modern ghettos”.

The ghettos not only affected the people that were inside of the ghettos, but the outside as well. The people on the outside had to constantly view the ghettos and realize the sin that they were committing on a day to day basis. Even today, people on the outsides of the ghetto have to deal with viewing the lives of the people in the ghetto and yet they do nothing to help. Some people have all the money they could want and when it comes time to helping someone that absolutely needs it to survive, they never help. They conserve their money and think only of themselves. Now I’m not saying that we all should expect those with better lives to donate to us. However, I think that if someone that works hard every day and still cannot escape their tragic lives, then they should receive aid.

The ghettos both in the past and present are completely different because of how people were placed in them, but the affects that are caused from the ghettos are about the same. People are not always treated fairly and when that person tries for success and can’t achieve it because of laws or social structures then something needs changed. The Jewish religion has received multiple eras of discrimination where they were forced not to succeed even though they did nothing wrong except for believing in something different than the Christian religion.

The Piazza: The Connection to Italian Culture

Have you ever wondered how the Italian culture is? How is the Italian culture different than the American culture? The answer to both of these questions can be found in most of the piazzas that Rome, Italy has to offer. A piazza is basically a center of the town or area that has an object in the middle (such as a fountain or obelisk) with businesses and restaurants around the center. In fact, the Roman piazzas offer a lens toward Italian culture by providing a place for merchants, artists, relaxation, recreation, and communication between family and friends.


Whether a person is visiting the piazza at night or during the day, they are almost always going to see artists and merchants at work in the center. Take Piazza Navona for example, when visiting that in the day merchants have stands up selling goods and paintings. Musicians also are in the center by the Bernini fountain providing entertainment for the enjoyment of the tourists and locals. Another example is the piazza at Campo de’ Fiori. During the day there is a great market of local fruits and food, but at night the piazza offers great street bands and music from local bars.

Another way that the piazzas offer a lens into Italian culture is through providing a place for relaxation, recreation, and communication between family and friends. When the day begins to wind down, the piazza seems to change in ways that are indescribable. Around dinner times, the restaurants that are located around the piazzas begin to fill up with customers. If anyone would just sit back and take the time to watch the people at the restaurants, they would notice that the Italians are in no rush to leave the restaurants. After eating, Italians take their time to enjoy the company of their friends. The piazza at this time is a place where people continue to talk and just relax under a clear sky with the best summer weather anyone could ask for. Then, when the adults are relaxing the children play in the center of the piazzas usually by kicking a ball around to each other.

The piazzas could be a great way to view Italian culture. If anyone is just interested in viewing what their culture is then I suggest they just go sit at the bar that is located in the piazza. When sitting I suggest they watch everyone having fun and enjoying what the Italians have to offer. The experience of the Piazzas at night is by far the best in my opinion. It is so enjoyable to just see people enjoying life and the weather that they are granted with!

Authentic Hero

Too many times in today's society, we title people as heroes. People that we just idolize are now being called heroes without any real reason except that people want to someday end up like them. Well what about the people who sacrifice their life in order to protect and help others? What about the people who do not expect anything in return or who do not even tell others what he or she did? Are these examples not heroes anymore? These previous questions bring about an even deeper question. What qualities make an authentic hero? An authentic hero is someone that sacrifices their normal life in order to help others and someone that does not expect a thank you or any other grace for what they did, and Giorgio Perlasca is a great example of an authentic hero.




There are many examples of people that sacrifice their normal life and do not expect anything in return. The first example that comes to my mind are the New York firefighters that risked their lives on September 11th. They went into burning buildings and tried to save as many people as they could. While they did their jobs, they never expected anything in return even though they were given much honor afterwards. Another example are the people that sign up for the armed forces wanting to serve and protect our wonderful country. In fact, I have a personal hero of mine that did just this, but did not have the outcome that was expected.



Last year, my friend, Zach Nolen was attending Kent States when he decided to postpone his studies and join the Marine Corps. He went through all of the steps and on the day of his placement test an event happened that would change his path forever. On his way to the testing center with four other people, a semi did not stop at the intersection that they were at. Instead, the semi crashed into their car and killed three guys that were going to take the test including my friend. To this day, I remember the exact message and telephone call that I received notifying me of the tragic event. I felt like something in my body just dropped and words could never explain the feeling that I felt. Back to the original story though, I consider Zach Nolen as an authentic hero because of his courage and willingness to help our country, even though it did not turn out like planned. Because of this occasion, I will forever look back and thank Zach for all that he has done and wanted to do. It is sad that he will never be able to do what he wanted, but he will still continue to be known as an authentic hero in my opinion.



Along with firefighters and soldiers, Giorgio Perlasca is a great example of an Authentic Hero. Giorgio, through pretending to work for the Spanish Embassy, saved about 3,500 Jews during the Nazi Realm. In 1943, Perlasca worked for the Italian army going to Hungary and buying items for the army. During this year all Italians in Hungary were forced back to Italy, but Perlasca decided to stay, against the Nazi wishes. After this, Perlasca fled to the Spanish Embassy and started to help with Shelters that housed Jews to protect them. When the Ambassador left Budapest, Perlasca stayed behind and acted as the Ambassador by issuing protective passes to Jewish families. He let them stay in protective houses that were marked with the Spanish flag (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/perlasca.html). Not until he was about to die, did he tell anyone. Because of what Giorgio Perlasca did, he is considered an authentic hero. Giorgio Perlasca gave up his normal life and even risked his life just to help and protect others that needed it. Even after all that he had done, he never expected anything. He never even told the story to anyone until long after the event. That is why he is considered an authentic hero.



Like I said in the beginning, today rappers and other people are considered heroes that really are not authentic heroes. A person cannot just become a hero without any reason. That is why an authentic hero has such a strong definition in my opinion. There are, though, a lot of examples of this definition that I did not list. However, I did list the ones that stuck out in my mind. I will forever remember the firefighters that helped after the terrorist attack and the soldiers that helped us protect our freedoms by doing something I could never do. Mostly, though, I will always remember how good of a friend Zach was and how brave he was for what he tried to do!

Roman Art: Week 3

This week I have decided to take a different path in finding the right two artifacts to write about. Instead of the usual writing of something that is well known and easy to find on the Internet, I have decided to write about two artifacts that have no information online. I will interpret the paintings through line, medium, color, style, space, and composition.

My first piece is an image of  Jesus being resurrected. This painting is located in the San Giovanni in Laterano. On the sides of Jesus there are two angels and his disciples along side of him. First off, the medium is a painting with a Renaissance type of style. When speaking of composition, this painting has a more static composition which means that it has more order and balance between colors and lines (http://www.essentialvermeer.com/glossary).

In this painting there are a couple different lines that point to a general location. The first two more noticeable lines are the arms and hands of the angels that are pointing towards Jesus. These direct the viewers eyes towards the most important part of the painting. Not only do the arms of the angels point towards Jesus, but also the eyes of the disciples also direct the viewers towards Jesus and his resurrection. Another effect that is used to draw the attention to the upper center of the painting is color and shade. The lightest part of the painting is the background behind Jesus with the sun rays coming out from behind him. The light then descends to the people at the bottom of the painting and becomes faint the farther the viewer goes from Jesus. Also, when in the darker parts of the painting, the colors are cool, but as the colors get closer to Jesus and the center of the painter they turn into warmer type of colors. The other aspect that I would like to use to analyze this piece of art work is space. There is a definite space around Jesus and space of just the plain sky. There is also definite space between the people on the left and the people on the right of the painting.

The second art piece that I would like to use is also a painting that is located in the San Giovanni in Laterano. This painting is of Jesus with two people, a man and a woman, located at his feet. The medium for this art work is paint with a more relaxed tone. The composition is also a more static composition because the light and colors are balanced and lines are organized. The colors are mostly warm colors with orange tones, red tones, and tan colors with few cool colors like what was used in the shadows.

Along with the colors, the lines are also very distinctive here. The man is creating a line with his arm and finger which is pointing at Jesus. Also a line is being created by Jesus raising his hand almost in a leading way. Again, in this painting the eyes are almost creating lines, but not in the same way as the previous painting. In this one they are pointing down almost showing sadness. The light though is still raising out from behind Jesus. However, in this painting there is also a lot of light at the feet of Jesus. The edges of this painting are filled with shadows almost in a way to cause more attention to the center. In this painting Jesus also has his own space. There is also a distinct space of the sky and the two people with almost no clutter in this painting.

These two paintings almost follow the same style and tone. They both have a center which the rest of the painting trying to pull attention to the center. There is shadow on both edges with the light coming from the center. The lines of both paintings also point towards Jesus to give significance towards him.

Stories and Traditions: Week 3; History and the Impact on Religion

One of my history teachers in high school, Mr. Voorhees, once stated that historians usually entrusted the bible when dealing with problems that could not be answered through scientific explanations. He also said that the bible could provide access to a lot of answers about how the earth once stood and that we must use the bible as a tool to understand history of ancient civilizations. This same idea has helped religion gain the power that it has today and has had for centuries through time. An important question that one must analyze and find an answer to is: does history contribute or weaken religion? This answer to this question is yes, history has contributed a great deal to religion through traditions and power of previous leaders. However, it has also weakened religion through scandals and other previous practices.

History has indeed given a great contribution to today’s religious practices. In the past, the Pope was not only leader of the Catholic religion, but also the leader for the government and was given a lot of power. Because of the pope having so much power, the Catholic religion was able to intervene in everyday life and was given ability to control political decisions. This allowed the religion to control not just moral issues, but almost all issues that the people of Rome had. Because of the power that the Catholic religion had, the religion was able to prosper and gain amount of trust that is still present today. Not only did the power of the Pope have an impact on religion, but the traditions that religions had in history also caused faith to prosper. For Example, Jerusalem had the tradition of the temple or tabernacle which was in the center of the city. In these areas the temple stored a room which was the deepest room and only the high priest could go in that room once a year. This tradition gave a more sacred idea to the faith and enforced the practices of the religion.

Even though History has contributed to the success of religion, history has also affected religion in a negative tone. The first includes the scandals that were done by leaders in some religions. One well known scandal is actually causing negative effects of the Catholic religion in today's society. There have been accusations saying that priests have committed sexual abuse on some of the boys in their clergy. Not saying that what is being accused is true or not, this is deeply beginning to hurt the Catholic religion both morally and their finances. Another example of how history can hurt a religion is the wars that were caused by religion. Today we view religion as a freedom. We think that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and can believe whatever religion they deeply feel relevant to. In ancient times when Christianity was beginning to take over, they made sure to destroy and manipulate all pagan believes and monuments. This can be seen in the ancient ruins of Rome. When looking at the Colossuem where the pagan emperors once stood, people can now see a huge cross that shows Christianity. Another example is the religious persecution of the Jewish religion that was done by the Romans and many other groups for centuries after. This constant attack of other religions almost mock what they are preaching about loving all of God's creations. Because of this mockery, the religions are somewhat weakened.

Like I said before History has a huge impact on religion and how people practice it and view it. Even our actions now are going to have huge impact on future thoughts of religion. No one person can say how religion will be thought of in the future. However, our generation can help to shape those views. History can help people to understand just why others believe what they believe about their religions whether it is Catholic, Jewish, Christian, Methodist or any other religion.

THEO WEEK 2: COMPARISON OF THE ANCIENT AND THE PRESENT

When analyzing today's world, one would say that our civilization is based upon technology, democratic governments, prevention of terrorism/war, and freedom from religious control. When analyzing the ancient periods of Rome and Jerusalem, one would say that the civilizations were based by religion, power, and money, which seems different than today's world. These two statements then bring up an interesting question. How are the ancient civilizations of Rome and Jerusalem comparable to today's society? The answer to the question is that the United States, Rome, and Jerusalem are comparable because of how they sought power through expansion, provided aid to the poor, and honored leaders or soldiers after victory or for tradition.

The first parallel between the ancient civilization and America is that they all have sought most of their power through expansion of their culture and society. Rome, for example, was always defeating other civilizations just to obtain more land for their citizens and power for the empire. The king of Jerusalem, Alexander Janaeus, expanded the most by defeating cities which had belonged to Greek culture by using his mercenary troops (Rome and Jerusalem; Martin Goodman p.50-51). The United States somewhat follows this same pattern that was used by Rome and Jerusalem, but in a different manner. America does not go into other countries just to conquer and to turn the people into slaves. However, the United States does go into other countries to spread our beliefs there for causing our country to have more power. For example, this country has been in war in Iraq so that we could turn their once dictatorship government into a democratic government. This type of action has given America more power and has allowed our country to become the "world police" because America is the country that people look at when in need of help.

The second parallel is that both Rome and Jerusalem had accounts of the emperors or leaders giving aid to the poor and America also follows that same pattern. In each of the three civilizations, the aid that is given is not given to help obtain a higher class, but just enough to survive on. In Rome, some emperors decided to rely less on building new monuments and buildings and give aid to the people of Rome (Goodman). This aid, however, was not set up to help people reach richness or anything in particular. Instead, this aid was set up to just help them survive. We have the same system in America. When people lose their jobs or when people need help such as T.A.N.F (temporary assistance for needy families), which gives people below the poverty line access to funds. These funds do not help the families reach success or get above the poverty line. This aid just helps the poor to stay alive and continue to feed their families.

The last parallel that the three civilizations share is that they all provide a ceremonial event for their leaders whether it is for victory or for tradition. In Rome, it was tradition that whenever an army conquered new land they were given an exclusion to the law that stated no army was to enter the city borders of Rome. After the senate gave them this exclusion they would walk their army down the via sacra in a celebration form. In Jerusalem, it was also tradition that once a year the high priest would enter the deepest room of the center in the Temple and give the holy sacrifice to god. In the United States when a war is going on and the soldiers return from deployment, a huge town celebration happens especially in the smaller towns. Not only do the soldiers receive celebrations, but the President of the United States receives many celebrations in his honor. When he first wins his election he is given the Inauguration ball allowing for all of his supporters to join him in celebration of his victory.

The ancient civilizations had many ways that are similar to how we live today. America is a successful country because it has followed the positives that these ancient civilizations had and manipulated them to create something that is better. In fact, is that not the idea of history? Should we always look at history and live like how past generations did but in a new improved manner? If people would just follow this practice of looking at the past then our generation and future generations can be very successful in what ever they do or plan to do.

HUM 225 Week 2

The legend of Medusa is at one time or another known by many people. Medusa is the lady that had a head full of serpents as hair. Legend has it that if any one were to look at her in the eyes that he or she would automatically turn into stone. The art work that I plan to do for this week is the bust of Medusa, which is now held in the capital museum of Rome, Italy. This piece was sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and was made out of marble.


If one would look at the bust, they would see a face that is both confused and sad. The emotion that is portrayed in this art work is such a powerful emotion, much more than was ever portrayed by a woman back in the time the piece was created. The legend behind the emotion is that Medusa almost scared herself. It is said that because of her serpent hair and the ugliness of her face she did not like what she saw at all. In fact, legend has it that she took a look in the mirror and saw the image of herself and this is the expression she had when this happened. If anybody would look at this bust, they could almost say that they could see this in her eyes and emotion, because of the detail that the Bernini put into this sculpture.

Not only is there the legend behind the emotion/expression of the bust of Medusa, but there is also a legend behind as to why there is a bust. The legend is that Romans would use this bust to scare off enemies and to stop them from entering the city. Because of the legend of the serpents and the look of death, people were highly afraid of the Medusa Bust. They thought that they too would turn into stone just by looking into her eyes. Not only was it used on the entrances but the image of Medusa was also placed on shields also trying to have the same effect: to create fear.



My second art work that I chose to do this week is the Capitoline She-wolf statue that is also located in the museum in Rome. This statue is bronze and stands about 75 cm high and 114cm long, and the artist is unknown however it is said that it was an Etruscan Society work with the two babies being added later.

This sculpture is the image of Rome and is the symbol for all it stands for because the two babies that are suckling on the She-wolf is Remus and Romulus which created Rome. The legend has it that when the two were born their father was overthrown by their uncle Amulius, which become angry on the birth of these two, ordered them to be thrown into the Tiber river. After going down the river in a basket, they were picked up by the wolf and began to be nursed by her. Thus is where the image of these two began.



After being raised by the she-wolf they were found by a Sheppard who took them in and continued to raise them. Then legend continues to explain that the two brothers split up and Romulus created the City of Rome and became the first king. This is why the symbol of this sculpture is so powerful to the city of Rome. This symbol is on shirts, team logos, and because of Mussolini, now there are replicas in “Roman“ cities across the world that were given as gifts.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitoline_Wolf

http://www.igougo.com/story-s1222865-Rome-The_Capitoline_She-Wolf_and_The_Origins_of_Rome.html

http://en.museicapitolini.org/museo/restauri/restauro_del_busto_di_medusa_di_gian_lorenzo_bernini

The Good and Bad of Rome

Rome has a quality that not many other places can offer. A quality that is so strong it can change people and how they act in any other situations. In the book, The Italians, this quality is explained by Luigi Barzini saying, “It made and still makes unwanted people feel wanted, unimportant people feel important, and purposeless people believe that the real way to live intelligently is to have no earnest purpose in life.” In this quote Barzini explains how Rome is so beautiful and could create so many awe moments, that this place can cause happiness in any one person. As I walk through the city of Roma, exploring all of the tourist spots, I receive the same emotion, but I can’t help but to feel something in contrast to this feeling. Rome is in fact a city that offers exhilaration and oppressiveness; Its landscape has the best views, but the buildings are filled with trash and graffiti, the city offers great ruins from its past empire, but the ruins gives access to picketers and crazy merchants to tourists, and finally its culture the most impressive to be seen and tasted, but with the great culture comes intense social laws.


Every day going in to Rome on the train, I receive the pleasure of seeing the best landscapes I have ever seen, but as I go closer toward the city I start seeing everything covered with trash and graffiti. The trees look so interesting because they are completely bare until the very top where they almost create the image of a straight tree line in the sky. Not only are the trees amazing, but the hills are completely covered in green with every so often the faint view of a town with the best architecture that I have ever seen. Every house is surrounded by a stone wall with a gate that lets the family in the house escape from the sounds that are protruded from the streets and enjoy the outside. The lake has the best color of blue that I have seen from any other lake, but with all of this beauty comes the look of trash. The terminal is covered with graffiti and trash and contains a smell from the trains that is least desirable. Small shops have their windows with products showing covered in graffiti and pieces of trash on the floor of the alleys that the shops are located on. Even the monuments which are great tourist sites have downfalls not only by trash but by the constant attack of being a tourist.

Every time I visit the monuments of Rome I feel a sense of awe and an uplifting. The monuments are so beautiful and impressive. The Appian Way was so impressive especially after hearing Rabbi Spitzer tell us about how the huge stones that are now filled with cracks and unleveled were once perfect and looked like one continuous piece. Not only was the first road that led into ancient Rome impressive, but the feeling that I receive every time I walk in or on one of the ruins is just beyond words. This was the same spot that history that we have been reading about all of our lives was made. This is the spot that the main characters of the most famous plays and stories stood, ate, talked and even died, and yet we have the honor of standing here and visiting and learning about them! This feeling does cause me to feel excited and enthusiastic but while at the sites I am also paranoid and I feel rushed and not as comfortable as I would in my hometown. This is because of the constant run into of the daily merchants that stand by all of the monuments that sometimes even sneak their items upon the tourists and then expect you to pay. If they are not sneaking something upon the people, then they are coming up to everyone asking them to buy awaiting the usual response of “no thanks” with the usual expression of annoyance. To go along with the merchants, the tourists have to worry about having their money or bus passes getting snatched up by the usual thieves that go around looking at pockets. This practice causes the people that are trying to enjoy their stay and see what Rome has to have worry all day long about their possessions and personal space.

Along with the monuments and the landscape Rome also has the best culture, such as food and daily practices, that I have seen, but Rome also carries a lot of social rules that could take a lot just to get used to. When I bite into any food that I have had so much I receive a sensation that is so different that I have ever tasted. As I have described to some other people the food almost has a “3d” taste which means that there is flavor upon flavor. In just one bite, any one person can taste so many flavors which I do not get the pleasure to receive in America. Along with the food, the practice of having food late at night and spending hours sitting during and after dinner is an experience beyond itself. When the students when into the city Friday night in campo del fiore, it was so nice to see all of the Italians to be outside at nine eating and just sitting on the patio and talking with a band or show by the fountain in the center of the city. I used to love walking at night when I was living at home during the summer, and this part of Rome just reminded me of the perfect summer night outside talking to family and friends, but with this almost perfect culture, there are a lot of social rules. Here in Italy, one must pay to use bathrooms or have a receipt from a local restaurant or other business which is usually only good for one hour. Not only does a person have to pay for the restroom, but when shopping the customer must not touch the item, but ask for assistance from the store clerk even when just looking at items. Also when purchasing items, one must use the lowest amount of euro as possible, if that person uses a high Euro, then the clerk will become very annoyed.

In all, Rome is a very exotic and inspiring city that can uplift any one. Rome is the city that even though it has its negatives it still has everything that people could ask for. It offers beaches, beauty, nice weather, beautiful people, shopping for the girls, bars for the younger crowd, ruins for the tourists or history buffs, and graffiti for the modern art type of people. I guess to answer the question of why does the city have so much trash, graffiti, theft, annoying merchants, and social laws; we all must look at our own cities. Every city pretty much has all of those negatives, just maybe not as extreme as Rome, but some could be worse than Rome. The question that I leave every one with is: what could we do as citizens of our city or tourists of Rome to change the negatives and get rid of them to allow for as much positives as possible?

HUM 225: Art and Culture of Rome Week 1

The artifact that I chose to write my first art piece journal on is the Obelisk which was used by The Romans as markers for the pioneers to get to the center of the city. The location of the Obelisk is in the center of the Piazza del Popolo and is about 75 feet tall weighing about 263 tons.

The Obelisks of Rome have served many purposes and have seen a lot of history not only in Rome but also Egypt. There really is no recorded artist because of how and when it was built, but it was sponsored by Ramses II, an Egyptian pharos that was known for his highly wealthy life and strong militia. Ramses II built many structures and was always looking to expand his kingdom. One of the ways that Ramses II thought would expand his kingdom was to continue to build great monuments and tombs. In fact, he wanted to build monuments that would “reach towards the stars.” The Obelisk that now sits in the Piazza del Popolo was built based on this idea, but the present Obelisk has changed since its creation.

After the Romans conquered the land and brought back with them the Obelisk. This piece was erected in the Piazza del Popolo and received new additions. The Obelisk was fixed and received new inscriptions, “Sixtus V ordered this miserably broken and overturned obelisk to be excavated, transferred, and restored, and dedicated to the invincible Cross in the year 1589, the fourth of his Pontificate.” (http://webpages.csus.edu/~sac90717/Sites/FlaminianObelisk.html) Not only was the new inscription made, but a fountain was added to the base of the obelisk of two Egyptian lions. Now the obelisks are only used as art and as an example of great history to both Romans and tourists.

The second piece that I chose to write my blog on is the Assumption of Mary painted by Daniele da Volterra. This painting is located in the Piazza del Popolo in the Trinita dei Monti and covers the inside of a side chapel of the building.

Because of the time that Daniele Da Volterra lived, his art had huge inspirations from the renaissance era and followed the same pattern as Michelangelo. In fact, after moving to Rome, Daniele became friends with Michelangelo working with him to learn receiving work. During this time, Michelangelo would ask the Pope to hire Daniele as an artist to paint some of Rome’s most beautiful artwork. (Wikipedia.com)(wga.hu).

Even after Michelangelo’s death, Daniele Da Volterra continued to work for the Pope. He was hired as the superintendent and asked to finish many art works that needed to be done such as putting loin clothes of nude sculptures that were made by Michelangelo. As you can see from the picture or if anyone would just walk into the chapel, Michelangelo did have a huge impact on Daniele Da Volterra, and that the artwork done by him is very similar to the artwork of Michelangelo.

HUM 325: JOURNAL 1; WEEK 1

Rome is by far the city of history, passion, art, and life, and in order to properly view all that Rome has to offer one cannot be the normal “paralyzed” person. Instead, a person has to view the monument or ruin and analyze that piece. This method will provide that said person to fully understand the beauty and the purpose of the object that is located in Rome. This process can be completed by either analyzing the piece, reflecting on the piece, or just considering the piece in any other form a person chooses in order to understand the art behind the object. After listening to Rabbi Spitzer in class and learning this process, I was able to think about what this new way of looking at the ruins and how it would affect my understanding of everything. After arriving in the city, I was able to realize just how important this was and to properly begin to understand just what Rome had to offer!

On our first trip into the city, we had the chance to view one of the most well known ruins: The Coliseum! This piece was beyond beautiful and was just astonishing. To just think about how Romans could build such a enormous piece with so much detail was beyond me. Before discussing about the new process that we learned in class earlier that day, I would have just stood there with the paralyzed expression of “Wow!” but now I know that that is the wrong way to look at things. The early morning class taught me to analyze the coliseum and reflect on what I was seeing, and because of this I was able to understand it better. When I saw the coliseum I tried to view what the coliseum looked like before, which was really easy after Laura (the tour guide) showed us her very helpful flip book which contained the picture of the coliseum now and how it looked like in ancient Rome. The coliseum, though, has been through so much destruction throughout the years, and it just astonishes me to think that people could do this to their own history.

Every day we hear people telling us that we have to preserve the past and present for our future generations. That we must take care of what we have so that everyone else can have these possessions as well, but it is evident that the latter Romans did not have that same understanding. Almost every crevice of the Coliseum is striped and now missing the marble that once covered the beautiful stadium. There are holes in every wall left by people digging away at the structure in order to obtain the marble. In order to understand why people have done this to their prized artifact, I must consider what Rabbi Spitzer said: They recycled their history and just transformed those pieces into new ideas new structures for future generations. As we continue to think about the Coliseum I tried to understand this way of thinking and applied it to other visits. Recycling came extremely evident when we toured the Roman forum because of the many changes that it has had to the city.

The Roman forum, which was the center of the Roman republic, was once covered by dirt, but now stands for everyone to view and to enjoy, and there is still a lot of the city that is uncovered just waiting to be viewed by future generations. This city did not go through as much destruction as the coliseum did, but it did have a lot changes that was done by generations following the fall of the Roman Empire. There is now a door in the chapel that was once not there and marks from rope that was used to try to pull the columns down in order to preserve them. Also, on top of the Temple which was once a house of a pagan emperor, now held a Christian cross. It was just a neat experience to be able to view the center of the well known Julius Caesar and to be able to compare and contrast original ideas about the place that we have learned through stories and books about ancient Rome. As I was touring the Forum I tried to imagine the different armies marching through the sacred walkway down the center celebrating their recent victory with the people and the senate. I tried to imagine the Senate standing up in the speaking corner and greeting the people and informing them of recent changes or news of the Republic. As I walked through the forum I could not help but to think about the reason of changing artifacts and taking them apart. Is it because each generation needs to write a little bit of their history? Does “recycling” give us access to change and make our mark on the land as the people before us and to allow the future generations to imagine and think about how we lived?

When I consider this idea of recycling, I begin to think of our own artifacts back in America. Is this what is going to happen to the Statue of Liberty or to the monuments in Washington, D.C. Are we just going to strip away their beauty on the outside and just let the history present their inner beauty? As I start thinking about this idea, I consider the idea that maybe America will someday have what Rome has. We will have Ruins that once were great and useful, but has gone through many generations, seeing many historical events, and then being recycled into new generations and their ways of life and culture. This process may destroy past ruins, but it also may bring about new opportunities and new stories that can be told to the future students that will one day read about our reign in time. If this idea is true than should we all start changing the present? Should we start re-building and leaving our story for others? My answer is yes. We need to present the future generations of this world with our story and our purpose for life. Show them our mistakes, our success, and help guide them on how to live their own lives just like how the Romans have shown us.