Protestor's use Art

In Russia there has been a bunch of arrests for protesting. These Protesters are using art to express themselves, and I must admit that I understand why they are being arrested. But at the same time it is Freedom of Speech and I think all are should be legal. The idea that protesters are using phallic symbols to protest amuses me, not in an artistic way, but a childish way. I feel that they are just insulting their government, not protesting it. It seems like more of a joke to me, than a real artistic protest.
In Spain there is a radical art protest group that used Sex Dolls to protest the new anti-abortion law. By using taping the mouths of the blow up dolls and laying them on the ground they're insinuating that the people of Spain have no voice, the government has "taped their mouths shut" and with trample over the massive hordes of bodies to get to where they want to be.
Until I write again
Au revior,
~Rayne

How does the media effect girls?

So we've all heard of eating disorders and anxiety. And we all probably have at least one friend who is suffering through either an eating disorder or a negative body image. This person could even be you. Personally I have been through both, and am still struggling through, but after I found an article on How Women Internalize Unrealistic Beauty Standards, I didn't realize just how skewed my views were. It is true that men/boys are also struggling with the unrealistic standards, but it just doesn't seem to bother them quite as much as it does girls. There are definitely guys out there who feel this way as well, but it seems to effect women/girls much more. According to this article, 20% of 9-year-olds and 40% of 14-year-olds want to lose weight, and most of them are within the normal weight for their age range. If this is effecting 9-year-olds, imagine how grown women who have grown up feeling insufficient feel inside. One of the things the media teaches us is to hide how we feel about ourselves, to keep our problems inside and try to nab the hotshot with the nice car and lots of money. And so what if he beats us, as long as he says he loves us, we'll be okay. Our insecurities are what drives us to stay in this mindset, and men (not all by any means) know this and some abuse it, while others try and make us see what we really are. BEAUTIFUL. Every single person on this earth is beautiful. No matter what society's standards are, someone will always find you to be the most magnificent creature they've ever laid their eyes upon. Don't forget that, because if you do, that's when the media gets to sink their claws in and rip away every part of you until you're skin and bones.
I always say how much I love art, media, everything creative, but something's are not art. They can be cruel and deceiving monsters, and that would be our mainstream media for you. They will do everything they can to make you watch and obsess over whatever they have in store for you next. It's not hard to do, we are all susceptible to it, and their deceptiveness is so discrete that we don't even question them.
Basically all I'm trying to say is, keep your head up beautiful, and yeah the world we live in today is a harsh place, but if you look hard enough, you'll find what I have. The beauty of Real heART.
Until I write again
Au revior,
~Rayne

Is There a Difference between Art and Craft?

Some may say that an art and a craft are the same thing, this is completely false! Anyone can create art, a craft is making this art as a trade. (For a living) Yeah I make art, but it is not my craft, it'll never be what I do for a living. I'm not saying that I don't want it to be, but I just don't have the talent, nor the patients to make it into my craft. Personally I'd rather become an artist of some sort, but I just know it isn't in my future.
The reason that people mistake a craft and an art is because we use the word "artist" so people think that "oh that just be their art" but NO, it is actually their "craft". There is a difference. The definition of a craft is "the members of a skilled profession" while the definition of art is "the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance." See, there's even a difference in the definition. It's not just me who thinks that there's a difference. Even the dictionary does. If you disagree with my explanation of the difference, please comment and let me know.
Until I write again
Au revior,
~Rayne

Books

Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, these are authors I and many children have grown up with, as the times have changed, so has the literature a lot of children read. When my parents were in elementary school they were reading things like "Where The Red Fern Grows" or "Huckleberry Finn". Are the books we as the "new age" not giving our children the opportunity to learn the same as we did? Now I understand that children are learning much faster these days, but something is still hindering them. Some children think that slavery didn't exist... that it's one huge conspiracy... books like "uncle Tom's Cabin" prove differently. And now they're trying to change the books so that the language is more "suitable". What is THAT??! Words that are in that book are THE REAL DEAL! They are true to the era of those books and make it authentic. The fact that they are now trying to say that these words aren't appropriate is just idiotic. It's like trying to erase part of our American history. That the unfairity of how slaves and African Americans were treated. Like it was okay for them to be treated first as property, then as "the help". (people to be seen and not heard) It's sort of saying that the African American's struggle to get to where they are today, is not important.
Basically what I am trying to say is that I hope that we realize the change we're bringing to our future generations due to the "inappropriate" language that was normal in that time period. Things are going to change, but just how drastically should they change?

Until I write again
Au revior,
~Rayne

How is the Media effect Social Norms

Most of the music we listen to today has some kind of derogatory/sexual/suicidal/harsh wording in it, and WE as TEENS eat that up! We feel grown and mature listening to sexually explicit things, and they bring sex to the fronts of our minds. At school dances, how many of the songs we listen to have at least ONE sexual reference? Almost EVERY SINGLE SONG!!! That's insane! If you listen to that kind of music (which I will admit, I do as well) you become more likely to accept it as a norm. If my father went through my playlists, he would blush, and my ol' man hardcore. He doesn't allow my brothers to listen to most things because of how rappers refer to girls as "bitches" and "hoes" and he says to always ask yourself "If someone was saying that about your sister, girlfriend, or best friend, would you wanna listen to a song about it then?" And I realized that that's a good point. Women today act as though we need to be treated equal and not as pieces of meat to be used and played with, but here we are encouraging big breasted women to shake their booties and become our role models. When we see famous women do those types of things, we accept them as normal and think we should do them too, so we get our butts out on the dance floor and shake them vigorously to attract all sorts of attention. If we see an actor throwing up and singing about it while looking fabulous, we may try to purge our way to fame and beauty. Now if we see our role models having sex and doing things like that, don't you think that we're much more likely to want to have sex and do those things too? All we have to do is watch a music video about sex, and already we're thinking that we should probably do that sometime, because that is the social norm and being a virgin isn't good anymore.
The media acts as if the act of losing your virginity is a small thing and having sex with lots of people should be encouraged. This causes teens and young people to be more likely to have sex and we all know that young people aren't always the brightest, and don't think about the mistakes they could be making. Thus, unprotected sex happens, then babies and diseases. It's not a bright outlook, I know this, but it's the reality of the generation we're in today. If you accept the media's outlook on how women should look, or how people should act together is decreasing the amount of self-worth  and respect people have for not only themselves but everyone around them. This allows people to treat others with disrespect and use them for their bodies, and when something bad happens, it's so much easier to drop that person and forget. That's what the media has told us, and that is how we act because of it.

Until I write again
Au revior,
~Rayne

Should art be taken more seriously?

Once again today I was on my favorite Debate site and I noticed the question on if art should be taken more seriously. Well, I didn't know that art wasn't taken seriously in the first place. I  mean take into consideration all of the critics and museums and art plazas. There's also all the VMA's, Emmys, and Oscars, All those things are renowned all over the world and they are nothing but different kinds of art.

Visual arts: paintings, movies, photography, power points, logos, drawings, fashion, etc.
Audio arts: music, audio in movies, etc.
Written art: poetry, lyrics, stories, etc.

There are a lot of different kinds of art and maybe they don't seem like they're art but they are. That's the beauty of it is that EVERYTHING is art. The way I'm typing is even artful. It's wonderful. The whole world has the ability to be artful, but not that many see it as I do, because it seems "far fetched". But the only thing I find "far fetched" is the idea that art isn't everywhere or that it shouldn't be taken seriously. Honestly I believe that's a shame. What would people do without art? They'd have plain everything, if even that. There wouldn't be any individuality and I hate that people take this for granted.

Please comment your feelings on this topic.
Until I write again
Au revior,
~Rayne

Fashion=Art?

What is fashion? By definition (Google) it is a popular trend, esp. in styles of dress and ornament or manners of behavior. Does that count as an art though? In my opinion it does, if one is creating a  new style it is much like music. It's a fad. Currently in our generation most of the media is on pop culture and rap. In the fashion world, our generation is obsessed with outrageous colors and all sorts of baggy clothing. To be honest, I fall in the category of fad followers. Not to fit in, but because the outrageous and random stuff I see on clothing and such makes me want to just sport it and show my uniqueness.

Now this talk of fads and such doesn't prove my point the way I'd like it too, only because it's something so trivial.. Yet isn't that how people who aren't music heads feel about music, and same with how most non-artists feel for contemporary or really any art. It's really a call of how you feel for that specific piece of artistry I guess. The way you live is the way you will see things, and that is the beauty of all this. Everything is technically art, depending on how you view it. There are definitely things that I personally do not consider art due to my own opinions. But as I will say time and time again everyone has their own opinions and I will not try and force mine on any of you, I persuade but no pushing. SO! In short, I believe fashion IS an art because of the beauty and grace involved in making everyone around the world look nice. I hope you see it as an art too.

Until I write again
Au revior,
~Rayne

Musical/Medical Benefits

Musical Medical Benefits

 

 

A few years ago I had to pick a topic I was passionate about to give a serious speech on. It was no surprise that I chose music, but the topic had to involve health in some way. So I asked the question “Does music have any medical benefits?” Before I did my research I came up with my own opinion. It does. It can be therapeutic, energizing, and much more. Something I say a lot is that music helps me through a lot like workouts, homework, cleaning, bathing… It is literally my go to when I am stressed. Music can also help me remember what I was doing… It’s like magic for me, so I was hoping it was the same for other people too.

 

The Top 10 Reasons that music is beneficial in several different ways. My personal favorite use in the Intelligence enhancing benefit. The fact that I could be getting smarter just by listening to my favorite songs. Not only does this article point out that music helps people concentrate, it also improves memory performance. These are things that I’ve said before in some of my blogs.

 

Health Benefits of Music shows some of the same benefits of the other website, note they both stress music’s ability to reduce stress, pain, and to increase effort for exercise. This all makes one healthier and happier. There’s no reason you shouldn’t put your headphones on right now and exercise your brain, relax your muscles, and sooth your tortured artist’s soul. But don’t listen too much to sad music when you’re feeling down… that’s not always so healthy, unless it’s fast paced… then go for it!

 

Until I write again

Au revior,

~Rayne

 

Is Music Really Neccessary?

Sometimes I’ll be sitting at home, just listening to my music and drifting off in my own head. Then all the sudden I’ll have an ear bud ripped out and a stern looking parent in my face nagging about how “I’m never without my music” and “I never do anything unless music is involved.” Do I get upset? Sometimes, but I understand what they mean. I don’t even drive without one of my CD’s on. And sleeping is impossible without my radio. There really is nothing I do without music unless I absolutely have to and then I have to find myself extremely busy otherwise I can’t stand the silence. This isn’t just me that feels this way, I know a bunch of my peer group that feels the same way.

This isn’t something that I have just noticed within my school either. It’s something that people have done a lot of research on, and as it seems, music can push us through the hardest of times. *During a workout the music and the fast changing auditory changes trigger alerting responses and increase physiological arousal, causing us to be able to push through the climax of the work. This same stimulation pushes us through boring work that would normally lull us to sleep.*

*It is also noted that muscle movement that is coordinated with the beat we are listening to can help us do what we are trying to do, for example someone running with a fast paced beat is able to run farther and use less oxygen than someone who isn’t paced with music*. The music seems to increase neural firing and pass certain information faster than if you weren’t listening to music. Music can also be used as a memory tool, if you’re listening to a certain thing when you study, you tend to remember what you were learning later on when listening to the same thing. Also making up songs or using a song you already know as a mnemonic device is highly recommended, because then you can remember this information better when you aren’t allowed to have music WITH you. (For example a college exam or SATs)

I’m not going to lie, at this very moment I am listening to music to help me concentrate on this blog. I normally do, and when I don’t listen to music I tend to drift from really caring to what I’m saying, into feeling like I could care less about it. It’s not the always easy to find music that will keep you interested in what you are doing, but after of plenty of trial and error you’ll realize what it is that will keep your mind focused and help you excel at whatever you’re trying to do.

Until I write again

Au revior,

~Rayne

(**These pieces of information were found on The Globe And Mail website**)

It's All About the Title

If you haven't noticed, for most pieces of art there is a title. This title then interests the public, and if the piece matches the title and the audience likes it, the title then becomes iconic. I'm assuming that many of you have created some piece of art before, or you at least know of art. (That would explain your interest in my blog) If so, then you know just how difficult it can be to come up with that perfect title or name. There isn't any reason that this should discourage you from getting your work out there though. If a title is so hard to come up with, then ask some friends for help, or you could become an ominous artist and title everything "untitled". I recommend that you only use "untitled" when you've been struggling for days on trying to come up with a name for a piece. It's a last resort of sorts.

 

Now for those who haven't even thought of naming their work, IT'S IMPORTANT!!! What if someone read a poem or saw a picture of yours and they wanted to show a friend, but didn't know what it was named? "I'm sorry Jill, I swear it was the best poem/picture I've ever had the pleasure to experience, but it has no name... It's disappointing, such talent.." that will be the things people say to one other about your work.

 

Also DON'T FORGET YOUR NAME! Unless you want to go by an alias or be unknown for life. (If you're going by an alias, don't do something like Sohn Jmith... [that's John Smith] someone might figure you out.) A lot of the time if people like something you made, they'll search your name and try to find more works by you. If your goal is to get out there, definitely include your name (it goes right after the title)

Until I write again
Au revior,
~Rayne

Anime: Sexist?

If any of you out there are Anime nuts like I am, you might know some of these characters from a popular anime show called "Fruit Basket". Things people ask me a lot is "why do the female characters in anime always seem so ditsy and sexed up?" Well I'm here to tell everyone that all the anime series' that I've become obsessed with and watched have had strong female characters with stubborn qualities and pretty much underdeveloped bodies. The most explicit and sexual acts and such come from the males in the shows, and there's normally only one person who is like that. For example, in fruit basket the sexual enthusiast is Shigure Sohma. He doesn't put the moves on people but he definitely makes sexual remarks. There is almost always one character like that in every single anime series I have enjoyed.

Until I write again
Au revior,
~Rayne

Should Children be Exposed to Art?

Art work is an outlet of creativity, that is why children should be exposed to art as early as possible. The ability express yourself without worry of judgment is probably the most important thing that children should be able to do, especially in the age of cyber bullying and fear of being who you are. Children should learn that they are important and that what they do as well as how they feel matter. Art allows people to feel without feeling guilty. And personally that's all I want for my own children, I don't know about you.

There are some parts of the "art world" that I believe that children should be sheltered from, but to each his own. If you want your child to listen to Drake and Lil Wayne talk about how many "blunts they be blowin'" and all the "ho's they playin'" that is completely up to you. It's not easy to understand, in today's world, what real art is. But Children should have the ability to spend time at school expressing themselves the way they want to. Instead of just copying down math problems and trying to write in cursive all day at school. Art is a time when being different is okay. Children should have that opportunity to be just that, children, and enjoy the perks of not caring what others think all the time, as long as they're happy. So yes, children should definitely be exposed to art, what kinds of "art" is up to each and every parent out there.

Until I write again
Au revoir,
~Rayne

Can Comic Books Be Considered An Art?

I am going to be completely honest, I am totally bias about this topic because my favorite superhero of ALL time is the Caped Crusader, The Savior of Gotham City, The Batman. Not just the movies, but the comic book, and my favorite part of the comic books is the intense detail it takes to create all the specific comic strips, and how well the art work has to fit in the allotted boxes.

There isn't any way to describe how difficult it would be to be able to set up each box with the perfect scene, and each one has to show the person looking almost exactly the same. I believe that if someone believes that Anime is an art, than they should believe that Comic book art is just that. Art. I love both anime and comic books, and I realize that for each one, the scenes have to be individually drawn out. Almost anyone (with the right schooling) can take one drawing and turn it into an animation on the computer, but to take one drawing, and draw many like it, then make the reader see it as an animation in their minds. That, I feel, is a test of true artistic ability.

Another thing that a Comic book artist must do is take someone else's story plot and turn it into reality. Making it fit another's imagination in such a way that they feel that you've recreated what their imagination held. That is magical, and just freaking awesome!

Is there any topic that you would like me to talk about and share my thoughts on? If so please do comment or email me. Thank you for reading.

Until I write again
Au revoir,
~Rayne

Remakes: Do they ruin the original movie?

There have been SO many remakes of movies and my question is, do they ruin the original meaning and feel of the first movie. I was born when there were a lot of new advances in the film industry, so I've been exposed to all the amazing cg and special affects that they have nowadays. There some of the older remakes are The Parent Trap, Three men and a baby, and King Kong. Of course there are many others as well.

The point of this blog is to ask the question of whether or not remakes are necessary or not. Has Hollywood just lost all sight of anything new to make? Or is it that they just genuinely wish to bring these old movies into some new light? This isn't a blog where I spiel about what I think, because I'm not sure, but I would like to see what you think. Please do comment.

Until I write again
Au revoir,
~Rayne