Abstract This paper discusses and analyzes the topic of the Tokugawa period in Japanese history. Specifically, the paper examines life as a member of the craftsman class during this period and answers some questions regarding life and the culture of the time. The paper explains that the craftsmen of the Tokugawa period were certainly not the highest caste in Japanese society, but they enjoyed some respect, especially those who were skilled craftsmen, such as carpenters or blacksmiths.
From the Paper "My life as a craftsman in Japan during the Tokugawa period is difficult, but certainly much better than some of the other citizens of Japan during the time. We are seen as the third and forth levels of Japanese society, with the fourth level being the merchants, but we are often quite similar to the merchants, and some people might find it difficult to tell us apart in our lives and works. One reason for this is because many craftsmen, in order to ply their trades, actually begin working for merchant houses, rather than working for themselves, and so, the merchant and the craftsman often blend. However, I instead ply my trade for myself, I do not work for a merchant directly. I am a blacksmith, and I make fine, sharp swords. Much of my work goes to the castle of my feudal lord the "daimyo," but much also goes to the rich residents of my town, for my swords are popular and well made."
Abstract This paper explains that Francois Auguste Rene Rodin, born in 1840, was first introduced to sculpture at the Petite Ecole but was not admitted to the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The author points out that, unlike many of the famous artists, he didn't suffer from mental disorders, psychotic episodes or disturbing familial relationships. The paper relates that for most of the two decades after school, Rodin was a craftsman and ornamenter, producing decorative objects and architectural embellishments. The author states that, in 1864, Rodin submitted his first sculpture "The Man with the Broken Nose" to the Paris Salon, noting that it is this particular sculpture that Rodin's break from traditional classical sculpture begins to delineate. The author further explains that Rodin's unconventional approach emphasized texture and the emotional state of the subject;while classical sculptures were decorative, thematic and highly idealized the human form.
From the Paper "Rodin's experience in Italy was so profound that he returned home to complete work on his first life size nude--"The Age of Bronze", inspired by Michelangelo's "Dying Slave". Rodin wanted to get his major work just right; Auguste Neyt explained the process, "I had to go through all kinds of poses every day in order to get the muscles right. Rodin did not want any of the muscles to be exaggerated, he wanted naturalness." In attempting to achieve the perfection he longed for, "he wanted to understand the fundamental difference between volume, plane and contour.""
Abstract This paper explains that Walter Gropius applied classical architectural techniques to design theory, believing that there is no essential difference between the artist and the craftsman. Thereby, he introduced a completely new set of design principles called Bauhaus to art and crafts. The author points out that, though the Bauhaus movement was inspired by Cubism and Minimalism in design, it was still a unique, revolutionary movement. Some of the key features of this movement included less emphasis on detail and more on economic use of space. The paper relates that Bauhaus popularized functional design, a technique that focused specifically on the major functions of everything, including buildings, textiles, tables, and lamps to make them more easily accessible and usable. Color illustrations.
From the Paper "Bauhaus artists included such prominent names as Mies van der Rohe, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and Oskar Schlemmer, who are responsible for bringing dramatic changes in the field of art and design. It is commonly believed that every change in design after the Bauhaus movement is inspired by the principles and techniques of this style. It can be rightly called the mother of all design movements in 20th century because till this day, we can see the impact of Bauhaus in the field of arts, architecture and crafts."
Abstract This paper cites examples from the poetry of Lord Byron, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Elizabeth Bishop to illustrate the male/female dichotomies of meaning in relationship to the natural world that have been a part of the female poet's experience throughout Western culture.
From the Paper "The idea of women as nature is perhaps most obviously expressed in George Gordon, Lord Byron's poem: "She Walks in Beauty like the Night." This poem is an extended simile, or comparison between the women of the title and the night of the natural world. "She walks in beauty like the night/Of cloudless climes and starry skies;" begins the verse. The woman of Byron's lyric is like the night because her beauty is muted, not gaudy. Her loveliness is, "Thus mellow'd to that tender light" of the moon, rather than the sun because she is a brunette. Her temperament is reflected in her appearance, just as her appearance becomes synonymous with nature over the course of the poem. Byron's poem, although lyrical in its tone, and beautiful in its easy ebb and flow of words also is highly conventional in its rendition of female, dark beauty, noting the subject's raven tresses, for example, like the darkness of the night. Her hair cascades in "waves," like dark water, the poet notes, again equating the natural world's beauties with mute, feminine beauty."
Abstract In this review of Alfred Hitchcock's movie "Psycho", the author looks at elements of the movie that made it so successful. The author points out that "Psycho" was not one of Hitchcock's regular movies. The author tells us how Hitchcock was a very careful craftsman. There was absolutely not a single "ad lib" type scene shot in the movie. Hitchcock was a creative innovator, not merely a director of a number of takes of scenes. The author talks about the two key scenes in the movie, the infamous shower scene, and then the revelation of Norman Bates' "mother." The author concludes with his own personal opinion of the movie and states that no-one will know in advance if a movie will be a classic or not. That is left up to the viewers to decide.
From the Paper "The audience is so captivated by the shower scene sequence- and there are many people who see the film over and opver again-= that it is hard to realize tghat the entire scene takes a few short minutes. It seems longer, because Hitcock's careful editing draws out the suspense andn then magnifies the horror without really showing it to us in full. Whereas so many more recent films delight in bloody corpses and dismembered bodies and blood running into gutters, Psycho is horror through careful editing not through actual camera intrusion that shows everything. We don't need to see everything, because we know- from the minute we can see Norman at the peephole, that disaster is going to strike, and we wait- and then it happens! And not seeing everything all at once makes it so much more horrifying with that screaming of the violins as counterpoint to the blood dripping into the shower floor."
Abstract The paper examines Federico Fellini's Italian film "La Dolce Vita" within the context of its times. The paper looks at how the architecture in the film gives the movie greater resonance and depth and reveals the limitations in the character Marcello's pleasure-seeking view of the world. The paper is of the opinion that the film is a masterpiece by a master-craftsman that uses the architecture of Rome as a most effective tool.
From the Paper "The period 1950-1960 was a difficult one in some respects for Italy. The nation's glory as the seat of power for the Roman Empire was obviously far in the past and the country was still suffering the lingering effects - loss of life and international disgrace - of Mussolini's unhinged efforts to gain for himself (and, secondarily, his country) power and standing by aligning (however uneasily) with Hitler; moreover, the country's embarrassing foray into North Africa during the war years (and during the lead-up to the war) was still fresh in mind. While it can be over-stated, one is tempted to suggest that the events of less than two decades earlier - along with the terrible human toll they exacted - fed a burgeoning cynicism that made Italian young people of the age disinclined to accept the mores of their parents; after all, the Second World War had been, for all intents and purposes, their parents' war. When viewed within that context, the spiritually bankrupt nature of many of La Dolce Vita's characters and the sense of decadence which pervades the film throughout seems to hint at a culture that has lost its way and turned against the strict injunctions and moral coda of earlier times."
