YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...THE ANCIENT FIGURES OF VENUS AND FERTILITY MISINTERPRETED ANIMAL BRAINS

In the past week I have done some studying up on ancient art work. It was mainly spurred by an earlier post; a TED talk about the origins of beauty which sounded really weired and suggested that all humans love tear drop shapes...but out of that logic chaos I have found a new area of interest- prehistoric art. Specifically, I've been enamored with Venus Figurines; a group of depictions of the female body that are estimated to have been made around 20,000-40,000 B.C.E. These figures have enlarged secondary sexual characteristics like breasts, thighs, and hips, but usually small and undefined heads if any head at all. The sculptures are found all across Europe. The oldest known Venus was found in Germany and one of the newer ones in France, but the status are found as far east as Siberia. The Venus' are made out of a variety of materials including ceramic, mammoth ivory, serpentine rock, limestone, and black jet. Supposedly, they represent fertility and mother figures; it's been suggested that some of the figurines are pregnant mothers.
My fascination comes from how exaggerated the sculptures are compared to the real female frame; the changes that beauty takes over the years are bizarre and trivial, so it's interesting to see a completely different take on the ideal woman. Also, it's incredible that humans had the capability to create abstract images that many years ago. Abstraction is a higher level function of the mind and I think that it's incredible that unrealistic figures were made during such a primitive period in human ancestry.
Even more impressive, is the fact that they had the time to make art. We usually relate art to periods of enlightened civilization, so it's interesting that even when only small communities had formed, humans still had the time and appreciation for art.
On a side note, it's been suggested that the figures are not women at all, but instead sculptures of animal brains. At the bottom of this site you can see the comparison, or you can read more about the Venus figurines. VENUS.
It's funny how everything I do somehow relates to the brain even when I don't know it!
OH! Next month I'm going to try out Tumbler. Here is a link to my account- UTOPIA MATTER TUMBLER- see you next month.

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...THE NOT SO SILENT SOUND OF SILENCE

Brownian motion was discovered by Robert Brown when he showed the jostling of atoms within a glass of water by watching a pollen grain be bumped around the glass by the moving particles. Studies who do this experiment make these very pretty charts of the movement of the particles that look like sporadic lines drawn by an eight year old.

I wanted to mention Brownian motion so that I could mention this amazing fact that I recently read about. Apparently we have the ability to hear the jostling of atoms, according to this excerpt from Jonah Lehrer's book, Proust was a Neuroscientist.

" The cochlea is quilted with 16,000 of the neurons. In a noisy world, they are ceaselessly being bent. The air is filled with vibrations, and every vibration reverberates inside the echo chamber of the ear. Hair cells [in the cochlea] are sensitive to sounds of atomic dimensions, we can literally hear Brownian motion, the random jostle of atoms."

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...A LITTLE MEASUREMENT TO GO A LONG WAY

1) Thinking about scholastic awards and reading books about the art world has had me thinking seriously about the coolness of modern art.
2) I saw a picture the other day that said Modern Art = I Could Do That + Yeah, But You Didn't.
3) Chuck Close once said that "Inspiration is for armatures" and I responded "You draw from a picture- how clear to you need inspiration to be when, every day, it's staring you in the face."
4) The other day I realised why there are so many nude women in art. Men buy it.
5) The most impressive thing about modern art is having the guts to put your name on it.
6) Art hurts.
7) Sometimes art isn't supposed to make sense. Sometimes you just have to swallow without tasting.
8) "Over time, Art becomes a religion you can't get out of."
9) "Art and words are polar opposites. They are never to be joined and never to be appreciated together. One will always ruin the other."
10) Whoops-

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...ME A NIGHTTIME PERSON

Mornings and days are very bad times for me. It's light and distracting outside and my brain isn't slightly fuzzy with the idea of sleep and the constant reminder of the clock as it ticks down to bedtime. I score nearly perfect on my practice SATs at night, but don't do so hot in the afternoon or morning. I'm pragmatic during the day and a dreamer at night. For example, I just had the greatest idea for an art project involving a photo that I took in New York. I just e-mailed a person at The Moth to try and start a storytelling night live without notes in my area. I've been thinking about how cool it would be to lead a book club with some of my classmates, and even written a detailed list of the first fifteen books we would read. It needs to be nighttime all the time for Ms. Zoe, or I wouldn't get anything done! I'm also about to start up a tumbler- sorry blogger, it's the hip new thing. It's not up yet, but I'll probably relocate my posts next month. I'm off to continue my nighttime high, goodnight!

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...THIS POST TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A BALLAD

In HOTA (History of the Americas) we are currently studying the Civil War. Our project for the unit was to create a visual representation of one of the battles, and my friend Emily (who is one of the creators of Citron et Pamplemouse) and I created not only a unique visual but a song as well. The subject is the Seven Days Battle and our project was titled the Seven Days Ballad! You can watch the video below. I recommend noticing that the soldiers moving around on the board tend to do summer-salts, and this was not intentional but is a largely comical. Oh- and my cat meowing in the background; her name is Bijoux and she is loud.

The coolest part of this whole Ballad is that a blogger named Kevin Levin (which is a wonderful rhyming name) blogged about our project! That's really cool- and we already have over one hundred views! So dear friends, go watch our video! Here's the link to Kevin Levin's website- Civil War Memory.

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...THIS TO BE A GREAT SUCCESS

So...I won another scholastic award; it's a regional gold key for a piece that I did in art one of Notre Dame. I'm very proud of this and very excited that it gets to go to New York and be considered for a national award (I won a silver last year). The piece is made out of oil pastels and is of a picture that I took in seventh grade when I was taking a roof top tour of Notre Dame. I'm very honored to win the award because so many amazing artists have received gold keys. Here's a picture of my piece that I posted on Deviant art.

I'm especially honored to win the award that so many other amazing artists have won in the past; here's the extremely long short list: Andy Warhol, John Lithgow, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Zac Posen, Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Otterness, Philip Pearlstein, Thane Rosenbaum, Ned Vizzini, Carolyn Forche, Arnold Hurley, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford, and Mel Bochner.

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...LOVING UNDER THE GINGERY ARC OF RED HAIR

There is nothing to say except that this is very funny and you should watch it if you would like to learn any of the following: the marriage rituals of the British crown, about bobby socksers, the Queen's bosom, Prince Charles's chalky bones, the marriage of Jai Pour, an aura of Celtic charm, the true methods of acting, filthy ether, how to buy hats, and The Tempest.

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...JUSTICE A WORLD WIDE DISORDER

It's time for another movie review, and to be honest I was so bored by the film that half way threw that I skipped to the end. Yet, do not let this deter you from the first fifty minutes of pure, raw, unadulterated, girl power that sets in when you watch this film. What film? Oh, I haven't told you? It's The Runaways; that movie you vowed to never see because it has Kirsten Stewart in it. She was a pretty good Joan Jett I must say, but Dakota Fanning was and incredible Cherry.

Now back to the film parts that I didn't like...the plot goes something like outcasts form band, band manager is weird and only focused on money, band becomes awesome, they do drugs, they get addicted to drugs, almost die, get jealous of the lead singer, break up, and one goes on to anonymity while the other becomes THE Joan Jett. That's it; the reason that I'm posting now is because I absolutely adore the songs....a bit guiltily I might add. They're lyrics are just as cliche as the movies writing, but they're so catchy. Every time I hear Cherry Bomb I want to just flat out dance, and when I hear Dead End Justice I want to break something.

This movie really showed me that I idolize crazy people, and when I say crazy people I mean the people who are fearless and don't care about anything but being awesome. I think that this must stem from my innate ability to follow rules in utter, begrudged silence. I want to be the exact opposite of what I am and it's a really pressing problem that I don't have the guts to jump out on a limb and go crazy for once.

I guess I'll just have to settle for The Runaways and Fight Club to satisfy my need for rebellion.

Here are links to the songs from the movie, which I personally prefer over the originals. I know, blasphemy! It's not my fault recording quality sucked in the seventies! CHERRY BOMB; DEAD END JUSTICE

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE WERE BIRDS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

So lets just think for a moment about how strange it is that we live in a monogamous society. Very few other mammals practice the sacred 'life long' bond that humans do, but I suppose we're lucky- even in the best of situations jealousy is a very apparent problem when love is involved.
This started me thinking about how the world would be different if we mated like another species of animal; rather than online dating and singles bars, we mated like the birds of paradise in Papua New Guinea. This is a little video of their mating ritual.

YOU MIGHT CONSIDER...THE INSTITUTION OF COFFEE AS A BREEDING GROUND FOR NEW IDEAS

Years after the instillation of the coffee house, their uproar has continued to extend over multiple generations. The allure of their dimly lit, cramped rooms that smell bitterly of ground beans draws us into their jazz infused allure. The tap of computer keys and hollow clunk of cup bases landing on their respectful napkins and the casual request for a type of beverage in an obscure language are all the music needed to complete the warm atmosphere. Casually people stroll in and begin to unfurl their woolen cocoon of winter coats and knit gloves; people talk feverously while shaking news papers and twiddling company pens between their fingers.
Is this the hubbub of the twenty first century culture? Do the inter-workings of coffee houses ultimately reflect the state of society? This was a widely excepted belief during the ages of enlightenment and modernism; in times of an abstract turmoil between the ideas of the old and the ideas of the new. What conflicts do we have today that rage between the great minds that conspire within our local Starbucks? Is it about war-or literature-or is it simply light hearted gossip?
Call me a romantic, but I enjoy the idea of reverting back to the ideas of the old institutions; let it be so again that the comforting aromas and welcoming atmosphere of the coffee house can be “the most important...institution” (T.B. Macaulay). I daydream of parisian salons where primly dressed philosophers eat scones and balance porcelain saucers upon their knees.
In an attempt to recreate the dream within my head, I’ve proposed with a couple friends the beginning of a book club. It’s a way to take a group of people and make them talk about things that are interesting and not concerned with the politically correct boundaries within the walls of a school. I’m particularly excited to choose the literature and the discussion that will undoubtedly ensue. I suppose I like a good conversation the way that I like my blog; it lets me express myself clearly and accurately and obtain feedback from my dear friends.
So I leave you with this question- what is the most wonderful, thought provoking, and inspiring book that you have ever read? Think about it, then comment.
Oh, and is the coffee house a beneficial place for transaction because everyone is holding a warm beverage that is effecting their perception of the personalities around them, which leads to a better and more engaging discussion? You can just ponder that I suppose.