First off, this was the first online class I have ever taken, so it took a little time to get used to how everything worked. I have taken other classes that have analyzed plays, but we never went as in depth as what we did in this class - we compared plays to each other, but not every detail.

That was one thing that I feel was most important about this class, learning how to analyze each piece of art, and understanding more about it. I enjoyed having background stories for pieces when we had them, because it felt like that gave it more meaning to the poem or painting, since we had a backstory. For example, with the painting, "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," I would have never understood what was even remotely happening in this painting without the backstory. I did not even notice that Icarus was in the corner of the painting, let alone drowning. The backstory helped me understand what was happening in the painting, and where to find the main person that this painting was all about.

Another thing that kind of confused me at first, but now I feel like a pro at, is comparing poems and paintings. This was a concept I never really thought about, because I just knew that these were different pieces of art, and there wasn't a good way to compare them and connect them. Now, however, I feel like I have come so far, and I am now able to really connect different types of art, whether it is paintings, sculptures, or poems. Even though not all art makes complete sense to me, I am more able to compare different art pieces with each other, even if I have to sort of guess parts of the pieces, like when I do not know the backstory.

One other thing that I learned, which I was not expecting, was to write poetry. In the past, I have tried to write poetry, but I did not really know what I was doing, and I felt like I needed to rhyme everything, and that made it all sound weird, so I never really tried to write poetry. When I had something to write about, however, and now know that it doesn't have to all be rhymed, and it is almost more interesting when it doesn't, then I was able to write poetry like I had never been able to before. I enjoy writing shorter poems, because it is short and to the point, rather than going on and on about things. I especially liked writing them about paintings, and the different views of writing poems to the paintings. It was interesting to see the differences between writing as something in the painting, as the painter, and then as the person who is just viewing the painting, and to see how it all goes together.

Overall, this was a very interesting class. Being able to learn all of these different things, has made me see art differently, and analyze it when I see it or read it rather than just saying oh, that was nice, and move on. I am also glad that I was able to experience an online class, and the way that works. I have enjoyed getting to know my classmates through their pieces of art that they chose, through the discussions, and through their blogs.

Melanie

For this week, I have chosen option number 3 of the choices mentioned - choosing an unsung work of art and writing a ekphrastic poem about it. I chose something that my mom did years ago when she worked as a counselor at Camp Friedenswald. What it is, is a wallhanging, made with a piece of burlap, with pieces of cloth attached to the front with glue, and pieces of burlap taken out from the sides to make the sides more frilly. String is attached to the top, and there is a thick stick that is woven through the string. The great thing, is that it has stayed together all of these years!

Happiness of Life

Made with love...
with hands I love...
at the place I love.

Sometimes, life is a pain.
Sunshine brightens up our life
and when it is warm and sunny,
music is never far behind.

Dance always follows music,
whether swaying or jumping
up and down to a beat, we
cannot bear to sit still.

This brings color to our personalities,
to our experiences and to our lives,
because color is happiness,

happiness is sunshine, and sunshine
brings us life.
In time, we grow old. Learn new
ways, and sometimes, we forget.

Sunshine, music, color, and dance
will always be a part of us,
if we let it. In all of these, too,
I see love.

Life is made with love.


-Melanie Hertzler

For this weeks blog in my Humanities course, we were to find a painting of some sort, and write a poem that went along with the painting. We learned how to write a poem that goes with a painting from the website "Amy Newman's poetry workshop." There are three ways to write a poem for a painting: as a person or object inside the painting, as the painter, or as yourself perceiving the art. Once you have done all three sections, you could use all three of them together in one poem, or use just one of them to focus on.

I chose to focus on one, which was the one where we wrote as a person or object inside the painting. The painting I chose to use, was Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. I have always been intrigued by his paintings, how he uses his brush strokes, and forms everything together with different colors colliding.  I chose to write my poem using an object in the painting, the tall black figure on the left side of the painting. I chose an object instead of the other two types of writing poems, because I felt like that poem was more interesting, and had more emotion and feeling, because it was something in the painting, talking about the painting, rather than someone on the outside, telling what they see. It feels more real to me.

Here is the link to the painting:

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/Painting/508/Starry-Night.html

I found this painting in on the website of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY. 

Now, here is my poem:

Light in the Night 

From the flickering

stars above me,

to the buildings that 

sleep below...

every breath of wind

and structure in between...

To the grass that

whispers in the breeze

and up to the highest belfry...

the hillsides in the distance

in the stillness of the night...

I see it all.

Because I tower over it,

and from above me

I see the starry, starry sky

giving the town its light.

Yet I am still black as night.

-Melanie Hertzler 

"Indigenous Arts of Africa"

First off, I got my information of my art piece earlier in the week from Hershberger Art Gallery in the Goshen College Music Center. However, I did not realize we needed to get pictures of the artwork until this morning, so I went over to the Music Center, and I found out it was closed. I can attach pictures of the artwork I chose when it opens on Monday morning, but I will not be able to get them until then. However, there is a link to the page that talks about the art exhibit, and in the picture at the top of the page, on the very left side, you can see half of the art piece that I chose. Here is the link:

http://www.goshen.edu/news/2013/06/07/african-indigenous-art-featured-in-goshen-college-exhibit/

Like I said, I went to the Hershberger Art Gallery to find a work of art. When you walked into the room, you could see many pieces of art. There were many smaller things lining the walls of the room, such as masks and cloth pieces of art. On the floor of the gallery, there were many pieces on top of white blocks that I believe were made of wood. I looked around for a while, and liked a few different pieces. However, the piece of artwork I chose to evaluate, is called "Chieftan's Judgment Chair." It is artwork from the Republic of Cameroon, West Africa.

 I will explain, starting from the bottom up. The whole piece itself was bronze. It was mostly smooth, except for the shapes and indents worked into the piece. At the bottom, there was a thick circle ring that was sort of flat, maybe a foot in diameter. On top of the ring, were people figures in a circle, maybe 6 inches tall, with their backs to the middle, holding up another ring, only thinner and more circular. On the top of that ring, there were more people figures that were the same as the others. They were also holding up a ring, however, there is a top to it, so it is a seat. On the edges and back of the top, there are the same small people, holding up larger figures, which seem to represent people who have more power in a tribe. In the back of the seat, the biggest figure is wearing a crown of sorts, and two figures on either side of him are each holding a pipe in their hands. Two large figures, that seem to be one step down from the figure with the crown, are on either side on the ends, where arm rests would seem to be. They are both holding long sticks.  All of the figures in this piece, from the lowest to the highest, are all naked, except for a front flap. Another thing I noticed, was that all of the figures are men. This piece seemed to tell a story of rank in an African village - the regular people of the village help to hold it up, and it is their job to hold up the important figures of the village. 

For this assignment, we also needed to make response to this art piece, in poem form. I modeled this poem after William Carlos William's poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" - short and sweet:

Life of a Village

Work it takes

to help another

seeming grim

from the outside, 

but this

is what it is

to be 

a village.

For each other,

live to help

each other.  

-Melanie Hertzler