Abstract
This paper explains that Frida Kahlo's physical suffering definitely stimulated her spiritual side as images came into her mind and then appeared in her paintings, similar to many physically handicapped artists, such as Toulouse-Lautrec. The author claims that the biography of Frida Kahlo, as written by Hayden Herrera, is perhaps one of the most interesting and complete stories about someone's life that has ever been written. The paper contends that Kahlo is a type of traditional artist, called Mexicanism, which she embraced throughout her lifetime as a result of the Mexican Revolution of 1910 that resulted in a wave of nationalism throughout the country and prompted a new pride in traditional Mexican culture.

Table of Contents
Background Information: Biography and Reputation
Synopsis of Hayden Herrera's "Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo"
Objective Critique

From the Paper
"Frida Kahlo was born on the 6th of July 1907 in Ciudad de Mexico as the third daughter of William Kahlo and Matilda Calderon. Her complete name was Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Calderon. Her life was struck by misery ever since the beginning: in 1913, when she was six years old, she contracted poliomyelitis and her right leg was affected, appearing much thinner than the other throughout her life. She entered high school at the National Preparatory School, where she soon turned out to be the leader of a prank-oriented group of rebel teenagers. It was here that she came in contact with her future husband and soul mate, Diego Rivera, perhaps the greatest Mexican muralist who, at that time, was commissioned to paint a mural in the school auditorium."

Tags:handicapped, spiritual, birth, biography, mexicanism

Abstract
The paper reveals that the novel "Snow Country" by Yasunari Kawabata has been popular for decades, and the author received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1968 for his body of work. The paper further reveals that this novel was cited as one of the primary reasons for the award. The paper relates that one critic characterizes the novel as a "nihilistic fairy tale." The paper explains that the novel tells the story of an artist from the city who has an affair with a country geisha. The paper points out that the novel is remarkably unified given that it was written over a period of fourteen years, and sections of the book were published in different periodicals as if they were short stories to be read in isolation.

From the Paper
"The novel "Snow Country" by Yasunari Kawabata has been popular for decades. The author received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1968 for his body of work, though this novel was cited as one of the primary reasons for the award. One critic characterizes the novel as a "nihilistic fairy tale." The novel tells the story of an artist from the city who has an affair with a country geisha. The novel is remarkably unified given that it was written over a period of fourteen years, and sections of the book were published in different periodicals as if they were short stories to be read in isolation. The novel is structured on a complex aesthetic philosophy that ties the..."

Tags:kawabata, japan, novel

Abstract
This paper examines the various gendered messages currently being sent by country music artists. It reviews and analyzes top country music songs and notes that the review illustrates the fact that men continue to dominate the country music business. The paper further notes that the analysis provided in the paper supports the claim that country music is becoming more progressive in its portrayals of women even though the clothing and body movements still emphasize women's sexuality as central. The paper then relates that the primary, homogeneous all-prevailing theme in country music is that of love and provides an analysis of 12 songs that deal with various types of relational love and how men and women represented in these songs do or do not conform to stereotypical (dating) scripts. The lyrics to the 12 songs reviewed as well as list of the top 30 country music songs are appended to the paper.

From the Paper
"A review of the current top 30 songs (See Appendix 13) illustrates well the fact that men continue to dominate the country music business (in this case 6 of the 30 top songs are by women = 5:1). Many of the specific songs reviewed in this analysis support the comments above about the progressive portrayals of women. Campbell (2006) suggests that "gender operates throughout the whole constellation of images, attitudes, and operations attendant to country music" (p. 217). Contemporary artists like Shania Twin, Faith Hill and Gretchen Wilson prove that the feminist movement has not passed country music by, but is rather making inroads within the "confines of this conservative industry and fan base" (p. 218). "Country music videos offer a space for contemporary female artists to more visually and openly challenge that which their predecessors challenged in their time - the traditional, confining gender roles that dominant American culture espouses" (Wilson, 2000, p. 290). But as the music videos will support, the clothing and body movements still emphasize women's sexuality as central."

Tags:shania, twain, jonny, cash, women

Abstract
Country music in the 1960s and 1970s is characterized as "outlaw" country music and represents a break from the traditional Nashville sound, as well as position taken by recording artists who wanted more control of their music. Their songs emphasized grieving lives of prison, drug and alcohol abuse and their rejection of tradition made them popular in an era marked by dramatic social and cultural upheaval.

Abstract
This paper defines Pop art, of which Red Grooms was one of the founders, and its causative factors, such as a reaction to the increase in capitalist consumerism, particularly in countries like the U.S. during the 1950s and 1960s. Pop artists, the author relates, questioned the formal aspects of art creation and presentation and refused to be confined by any conventional restrictions. While Red Grooms' art is unusually associated with large environmental sculptural works and happenings, the author points out that his oeuvre covered a very wide range of forms and mediums of expression, some of which are described in this paper.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Context of Pop Art
Red Grooms and Pop Art

From the Paper
"Red Grooms was born Charles Rogers Grooms in 1937 in Nashville, Tennessee. Grooms began his art career at the early age and while he was still a high school student, he had an exhibition of his work at a Nashville gallery. After school, Grooms studied art at Peabody College in Nashville. He was to move to New York in 1956, where he continued his art studies at the New School for Social Research. He remained in New York at it became both a source of inspiration for his work and his permanent home."

Tags:innovations, dissatisfaction, sculpto, picoramas, happenings, energetic

Abstract
The paper analyzes the artist Alice Neel and her art, specifically discussing several of Neel's artworks, along with her style of painting. The paper comments that Alice Neel was one of the most prolific female artists in American history, as she painted almost continuously from the 1920s to the 1980s, when she died, and her works fill some of the most well-known and notable museums in the country. In addition, the paper notes that she conquered mental illness to continue painting, and is known for her modern, impressionistic art approaches to portraits most of all. The paper highlights that her portraits embody the themes of motherhood, loss, and apprehension, and these themes continued throughout her career. Examples of her work are included in the paper.

From the Paper
"The 1940s and 50s continue this progression into more cartoonish art, with people who seem surreal and real at the same time. She also begins sketching with charcoal and pencils, something very different from the bright colors that are beginning to creep into some of her works. She paints other street scenes, landscapes, and even a still life or two, but her main body of work still consists of portraits of mostly everyday people. Another critic notes, "While many of her portraits were of people who were not quite ordinary, such as her leftist male literary friends and lovers in Greenwich Village, she did indeed paint the people in her community when she lived in Spanish Harlem."

Tags:facial, expression, depression, impressionistic, extremely, feminine, mental, illness

Abstract
This paper explains that Willem de Kooning was one of the artists who developed the Abstract Expressionism movement of post-World War II in which paintings were generally painted on large canvases with the artists appling paint rapidly with forceful strokes, demonstrating the energy and creativity of the country. The author points out that, in the early 1950s, de Kooning started painting a monumental series of paintings entitled "Woman" on large canvases, painted with slashing marks of the brush, having an overwhelming appearance. The paper relates that Willem de Kooning's career spanned six decades; his art was very controversial, especially his "Woman" series, violent with colors, formed with eloquent brushstrokes appearing savagely applied.

From the Paper
"Willem de Kooning was born on April 24, 1904 in the Netherlands, also known as Holland. In 1916, at the age of twelve, he was accepted into the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts and Techniques and trained there for eight years. In 1926, he entered the United States as a stowaway on a boat and eventually settled in Hoboken, New Jersey. De Kooning made his living as a house painter and later, a teacher at Black Mountain College. A year later, he moved to a studio in Manhattan and met artist, connoisseur, and art critic John Graham and painter Arshile Gorky. Gorky became one of de Kooning's closest friends."

Tags:holland, women, color, energy, large

Abstract
This paper discusses the life of country singer, Tim McGraw. The author gives a summary of McGraw's childhood and his career in the music industry. The paper highlights McGraw's successful albums and also mentions his marriage with fellow country artist, Faith Hill.

From the Paper
"The album was recorded with his touring band in New York, which is very unique for country music. The majority, if not nearly all country albums are recorded in Nashville studios with the best musicians available. Studio musicians are generally viewed as being more technically precise than touring bands and therefore produce better quality music for studio recording purposes. However, McGraw and his touring band are close friends and have been for the duration of his career and he felt that in order to produce something true, pure and honest, his music had to be recorded with the band."

Tags:country artist, music industry

Abstract
The paper relates that Kim Whanki is arguably one of the best-known modern Korean artists who is considered a pioneer of abstract painting in Korea and not only achieved critical acclaim in his own country, but also internationally. The paper reveals that even though he spent most of his productive years outside of his native land living in Paris and New York, his work never lost the Eastern, particularly Korean, touch. The paper further reveals that this respect was mutual as illustrated by the fact that a museum in Seoul was named in his honor. The paper asserts that he is a great example of an artist who continually developed his style, thus achieving a peak of his creativity and originality in the late 1970s in New York, just a few years before his death.

From the Paper
"Kim Whanki is arguably one of the best-known modern Korean artists. He is considered a pioneer of abstract painting in Korea who not only achieved critical acclaim in his own country but also internationally. Even though he spent most of his productive years outside of his native land living in Paris and New York, his work never lost the Eastern, particularly Korean, touch. This respect was mutual as illustrated by the fact that a museum in Seoul was named in his honor. He is a great example of an artist who continually developed his style (Kim, 230) thus achieving a peak of his creativity and originality in the late 1970s in New York, just a few years..."

Tags:art, korea, kim ahenki

Abstract
This paper explains that Clay Walker is one of the recording stars responsible for the current popular explosion of country music, a multi-billion dollar industry, which has surpassed rock-and-roll and pop music to become the best-selling music genre in the United States. The author points out that Clay is well-known for his high-energy concerts and performance style, even though he has multiple sclerosis. The paper relates that Walker uses techniques of country music, such as themes and stereotypical portrayals to good advantage; however, he also uses some elements from classical music. For example, in his song, "If I Could Make a Living," Walker uses a musical style from Elizabethan songwriters, which is called antimetabole.

Table of Contents
Review and Discussion
Biography of the Artist
Musical Development
Musical Style and Style Changes
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Walker was born on August 19, 1969 and was raised on a farm in Beaumont, Texas, the hometown of George Jones. Walker came to country music at an early age when his father presented him with a guitar when he was only 9 years old. Following his graduation from high school (where he "haunted the practice rooms of the music department teaching himself to play the piano"), Walker pursued a full-time musical career by playing concerts across the United States and Canada. "For over three years, he toured and went to school, taking courses about the music business. During this time, he acted as his own manager." Walker's real break came when he took a job as the house singer at a club in Beaumont, Texas."

Tags:antimetabole, best-selling, piano, sclerosis, texas