#class 22

The reading, “On The Tartars”, has Ibn Al-Athir stating:

“For even Antichrist will spare such as follow him, though he destroy those who oppose him, but these Tatars spared none, slaying women and men and children, ripping open pregnant women and killing unborn babes.”

This shows the Mongols as unbelievably cruel and torturous. If anyone were to read Ibn Al-Athir’s account, it would seem as the Mongols are the worst people to exist. After all, they are worse than the Antichrist himself, which is saying a lot.

However, reading “The Account of The Mongols”, William of Rubruck has a lot of positive language that is used to describe the Mongols. They are described as systematic people, with a place for everyone in society (the Master, the Mistress, the men, the women). Reading William’s account, one would assume that the Mongols are just another group of people with their own ways of doing things. 

philosophical and literary movement before an art movement

biomorphic surrealism (forms and shapes with no visual referent in the natural world)

oneiric surrealism (highly naturalistic representations of forms, figures, structures, spaces, and narratives that defy the laws of artistic composition and the laws of physics)

emergence of fantasy in painting (marc Chagall is a big influence) (de Chirico was also one i guess)

pittura metafisica

the soothsayer's recompense the melancholy and mystery of a street 

max ernst

(two children are threatened by a nightingale) (escaper from histoire naturelle) (the horde) 

andre breton, valentine hugo, greta knutson, tristan tzara Exquisite Corpse

(exquisite corpses will be on the exam)

frottage (rubbings off of various things pieced together) (thanks caffey for talking about frottage)

grattage (additional paint is added, and then paint is scraped off to reveal the subconscious)

decalcomania (putting something on the paper with pressure, then pulling it off, and the image/composition is revealed through chance)

joan miro (painting) (object) (beautiful bird revealing the unknown to a pair of lovers)

automatic drawing

andre masson (battle of fishes) (pasiphae) 

yves tanguy (satin tuning fork)

paranoiac-critical method (have to be completely manic to do art)

hand-painted dream photographs

salvador dali (accommidations of desire) (the persistence of memory) 

surrealism beyond france and spain

(voices of space)

rene magritte (the treachery (or perfidy) of images)

REALITY IS BOTH TRUE AND FALSE WOAHHHH WOAHH DANG let's be both athiest and faithful awesome that's how it is in the real world Yeah DANG

paul delvaux (the break of day (l'aurore)) (apollo and daphne) (the awakening of the forest) (surrealist commentary on what it means to LOOK, focusing on the specimen instead of the naked frolicking people who are the sur/reality) 

hans bellmer (articulation of globes the doll) (the doll)

matta (disasters of mysticism)

1.     Public education in poor urban and rural areas:

a.     Outcome: Level the playing field for people that receive inferior educations by providing better education and giving them the tools to succeed in college and get out of the welfare trap.

b.     Actionable Step: Donate time to after-school mentor programs

2.     Equal Rights for Gays

a.     Outcome:  Allow people to feel comfortable being different and achieve equal legal rights to marry

b.     Actionable Step: Volunteer with The Trevor Project.

3.     Environmental conservation

a.     Outcome:  Create a sustainable living environment for future generations by reducing waste and encouraging the use of renewable energy sources

b.     Actionable Steps: Lead green-team in work environment by recycling printer cartridges, establishing double-sided printing standards, using recycled paper, encouraging energy efficiency, encouraging use of reusable cups

4.     Encourage adoption as an alternative to abortion

a.     Outcome: Promote Adoption by making it easier to adopt children and reducing the social stigma of teen / single-parent pregnancies

b.     Action Item: Volunteer for adoption counseling

5.     Special Olympics

a.     Outcome: Give special needs people a sense of self worth and an environment in which they can set and achieve goals.

b.     Action Item: Volunteer for Special Olympics events.           

Reflection Questions:

1.            Pick one of your actionable steps. How would this act make a difference? How might it lead to greater levels of engagement?

  The adoption counseling one is particularly intriguing to me because it’s something I hadn’t considered before. It would help by helping pregnant teens decide to choose to put babies up for adoption instead of the traditional decision between keeping the baby or aborting.

  2.            How will you choose which causes to engage?

  I will choose based on my ability to help under the circumstances.

  3.            What are other challenges in your life, unrelated to problems in the world, that you have procrastinated addressing? Consider relationships, finance, unstarted projects, personal development desires, and other items. How might the solving vs. engaging framework help you make progress on some of those issues?