Abstract This paper describes the musical styles and influences of three of the greatest 20th Century composers: Claude Debussy, DukeEllington and John Cage. The paper examines the innovations of each composer and cites examples of their work.
From the Paper "The works of Claude Debussy represent a transition from the late Romantic era in music to music of the 20th century. His unique musical language veered away from the style of Wagner with its heavy emotion. Instead Debussy wrote..."
Abstract This paper examines the "Uhuru Africa" album by Randy Weston. Inspired by jazz legend DukeEllington, Weston spent most of his career combining the rich music of the African continent with the African-American tradition of jazz. The author dissects Weston's "Africa" album -- which he calls a tribute to Ellington -- from its thematic and metaphoric perspectives, such as nature, animals, liberation, the past and the future. The author concludes by praising "Uhuru Africa" as Weston's jazz paean to Afro-American heritage and to Africa.
From the Paper "This style inspired Randy Weston, whose use of both hands separately on the keyboard parallels a drummer's control of separate rhythms with each hand. Randy Weston spent most of his career combining the rich music of the African continent with the African American tradition of jazz, mixing the rhythms and melodies of both continents. Uhuru Africa is a tribute to Ellington, most particularly in the second movement, African Lady, a metaphor for Africa and the drum, which Ellington identified with a woman."
Abstract This paper examines some of the more famous "death portraits" or daguerreotypes, which were photographed in the early 20th century. It analyzes the psychological reasons why people chose to have these done and the socio-economic reasons as well. Reasons include that the photograph was cheaper than a painting and quicker. The excitement at the new technology of photographing gave rise to this new trend.
From the Paper "Death portraits, like the one presented here, did not just depict the dead, but also included, or even focused on the living mourners. These portraits didn?t just focus on the death, but the process of mourning itself. Daguerreotypes like these were not popular at first, but became popular later in the century. At least two women in the 1840's posed in daguerreotypes with their dead children; and by the end of the century, this had become a convention. The process had come full circle; the photograph now documented a convention in which it had a part."
Abstract This paper considers who painted the portrait of Dr. Shortt, a painting that belongs to the City of Toronto but whose provenance is in some doubt. it explains that there are no signatures or marks on the painting to indicate who painted it and no one interviewed for this report knew who the artist was. The paper claims that there is speculation on the subject, however, and two artists in particular have been identified as possibly the artist of this work.
From the Paper "The purpose of this paper is to report on an investigation into the search for the name of the artist who painted a portrait of Dr. Shortt, a painting that belongs to the City of Toronto but whose provenance is in some doubt. To discover more about the artist, I conducted province research to try and determine who the artist was. There are no signatures or marks on the painting to indicate who painted it, and no one interviewed for this report knew who the artist was. There has been speculation on the subject, however, and two artists in particular have been identified as possibly the artist of this work. The first mentioned was Paul Kane, though Dennis Reid, a ..."
Abstract This paper analyzes the Duke of Buckingham in Shakespeare's "Richard III".The Duke was a clever, power-hungry and ambitious opportunist who supported the most dominant people in the country. When Richard was trying to be king of England, the Duke of Buckingham supported his evil schemes to punish the innocent in order to seize power. Later, the Duke of Bucking showed intelligence, wisdom and compassion when he refused to support the killing of more innocent soul during Richard's reign.
Abstract Doris Duke was christened the "richest woman in the world" at the age of twelve when her father, James B. Duke, founder of the American Tobacco Company, passed away. On October 28, 1993, Doris Duke was murdered in her Beverly Hills estate. This paper examines the mystery surrounding the strange death of Duke and role that her butler, Bernard Lafferty played (or did not play) in her murder.
From the Paper "In addition to Tammy Payette's affidavit causing a stir throughout world, it also caused a stir at the Los Angeles Police Department. They launched an investigation into Miss Duke's death. Unsettled about the murder investigation, Lafferty "relinquished control of the Duke estate" (CBS 2 News 3). With the battle over the will concluded a large percentage of the money went to charities for such things as abused animals and children."
Abstract This paper focuses on John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, and his influence on the Glorious Revolution. The paper discusses how Churchill was loyal to British king, James II, and details the reasons he would eventually defect and join the ranks of William of Orange, such as the Bloody Assize, Lord Delamere, and policies against James II's Catholicism.
From the Paper "John Churchill, who would later become the Duke of Marlborough, rose to prominence in England during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Glorious Revolution (led by William of Orange against James II) ended Catholic influence in England and assured control of England by Anglican Protestants. Many would argue that although it was actually William of Orange that led the Glorious Revolution, it was Churchill's influence and ultimately his defection that made the revolution a success. History shows us that this was almost certainly the case, but it is somewhat unclear why Churchill (a favorite of James II) broke ranks and joined the cause of William. Although James II and his openly Catholic policies had much to do with Churchill's defection, they may not have been his only reasons for doing so."
Tags: anglican, assize, bloody, catholic, glorious, james, orange, william
Abstract This paper examines how although Shakespeare's Richard III, The Duke of Gloucester, may not bear much resemblance to the real life King, in character and appearance, in the play, he is certainly the most dominant and a fully developed figure that serves as both the protagonist and villain of the play. It discusses whether "Richard III" can actually be called a tragedy since the protagonist appears less a tragic figure and more a vain, cruel and malicious king who was ruthlessly ambitious and killed people not for the love of his country, as most other tragic kings did, but to advance his own objectives.
From the Paper "As in all Shakespeare tragedies, the ghosts of those he conspired against and killed visit Richard III. They admonish him and foreshadow his death. This happens a day before his army is to clash with Lancastrian heir, Henry, Earl of Richmond's forces. while the ghosts of his victims haunt Richard, Richmond is praised as the rightful ruler. The ghosts tell him to 'live and flourish!' [5.3.131] and instruct him to, 'Arm, fight and conquer, for fair England's sake.' [5.3.150]. Though Richmond's army is no match for Richard's in term of size, yet the former has divine support. Bosworth Field serves as the last battleground for Richard as Richmond manages to bring an end to Richard III's terrifying reign by slaying him: 'Now civil wounds are stopp'd, peace lives again.' [5.4.53]"
Abstract This is a study of Andy Warhol's portraits and the issues that they raise about celebrity and identity. In his portraits of celebrities, their vacant stares and stock poses communicate to the viewer the intractability of representing the 'real self'. In his self-portraits, the distortion of color and form, combined with the generic head-on-black-background format makes the subject of the portrait relatively unimportant, subsumed by art.
Abstract This paper compares two original paintings currently housed in the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus Ohio. The two works are self portraits, each by American artists of the 20th century. The first painting discussed is "Self Portrait" by Chuck Close. The second is "Self Portrait 1986" by Andy Warhol. The paper shows that although the works are very different, they still tend to represent a similar school in art.
From the Paper "Another realist artist of the pop area currently exhibited at the Columbus Museum of Art is Andy Warhol. His life and his work are quite different from that of Chuck Close, yet some elements of their social and personal development are the same. Warhol was born in Pennsylvania, the son of immigrant farmers. While Close and Warhol both lost their fathers at relatively young ages, and both showed early talent for art, Warhol went toward a more commercial venue in his early art."
Tags: photorealism, quadriplegia, Interview, photography, modern
Abstract This essay discusses Henry James' writing style in "The Portrait of a Lady" and "Aspern Papers." Overall, we see a great talent in subtle and penetrating character descriptions. James focuses on one individual to paint a portrait of surrounding characters and events.
This paper discusses Dante Gabriel Rossetti's poem "The Portrait", which celebrates love, art, the artist and eternity as the poet moves through time while gazing at a portrait of his lover.
Abstract This paper explains that the "The Portrait", a complex poem, operates on two different levels: First, the reader becomes aware of the relationship of the artist and his piece of work; and then the poem probes the connection existing between the artist, his sense of self and how those emotions shape the creation of art. The author points out that the rhyme scheme in this poem is ababccddc, which allows the poem to read smoothly, and the poet's use of words forces the reader to read slowly. The paper relates that Rosette includes the mythological story of Narcissus to further the idea that the poet is just as attached to his art as he is to the memory of his lover.
From the Paper "The first lines of the poem introduce us to a relationship between an object of art and the viewer of that piece of art. It is important to note that the poet is speaking to himself because this allows us to see how the poet is not just examining the work of art. The act of looking at his artwork moves him to explore himself as well. The notion of the exploration of self can also be seen when the poet compares the painting to the image he sees in a mirror. He writes, "It seems a thing to wonder on/As though mine image in the glass/Should tarry when myself am gone" (Rosetti 2-4). These statements reflect the story of Narcissus in that when the young man turns from his image, the object of his affection disappears."
This paper discusses Dante Gabriel Rossetti's poem, "The Portrait", in which the poet vividly demonstrates the delicate line between love and possession and between artistic inspiration and objectification.
1,525 words (approx. 6.1 pages), 0 sources, 2005, $ 50.95
Abstract This paper explains that, on the surface, Rossetti's poem "The Portrait" may not seem to be specifically dealing with the line between love and possession. However, looking deeper, the reader finds that whether love still exists or not, at the end, its selfless nature has at least to some degree given way to the possessive and controlling aspects of the artist. The author points out that this is an ekphrastic poem, a poem describing a piece of art, divided rather arbitrarily into two stanzas, including an opening octave composed of two a-b-b-a quartets and followed by a sextet of the a-b-c-a-b-c variety. The paper relates that the orderliness of the rhyme scheme and its almost singsong nature help to evoke a sense of the more traditional, spiritual and emotive elements of the portrait.
From the Paper "The plot of the poem, as it were, is a description of the way this faithful reproduction of the beloved is such that her beauty and soul-fullness shines through and may be seen by all, so that both the painter and many strangers may come together to look at the beloved in worship. It bears repeating that it is only on the surface that this poem is about a painting... on close examination, one finds that it is actually a poem describing the creator of this piece of art, as he relates to his lady, his audience, and his deity through art. In understanding the poem as dealing not so much with the description of a piece of art as with the way in which an artist can come to feel both about his work and about his models, one is able to open up whole new fields of interpretation, even allowing the work to be understood from a rather feminist perspective -- for as the author shifts from writing a poem about a painting and becomes caught up in righting instead about a person, one may also see his shift from the original love of that person to a point where he merely wishes to own, objectify, and eventually (an uncompromisingly) put them on display."
Abstract This paper examines the similarities and differences between Jan Van Eyck's, "The Arnolfini Marriage," ("Wedding Portrait") and Robert Campin's, "Merode Altarpiece", both Flemish artists who were among the most important painters in the Early Renaissance (North) period. It looks at how both are naturalistic oil paintings with religious undertones and both are portraits. It also discusses how, although the paintings are similar in many ways, there are also several differences.
From the Paper "For example, in Van Eyck's painting, a single candle is burning, even though it is daylight. This has been interpreted as symbolic of God's all-seeing eye, while some believe it is a bridal candle. In addition, there is an image of St. Margaret, the patron saint of childbirth carved on the back of a chair. The ornate mirror on the back wall shows the artist himself, as well as a second man, who may have been another witness to the ceremony. A small dog stands between the couple in the foreground, symbolizing faithfulness and love, and on the window ledge is a bowl of fruit, symbolizing either fertility, or the fall from Eden."
