Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Walker Evans
The average roll of 120 film produces twelve exposures. Over 3,300 of these rolls would be required to produce the 40,000 + prints made by Walker Evans, a twentieth-century photographer from St. Louis. In his article “The Evans File,” Benjamin Lima dissects the books and catalogues that currently compartmentalize and display Evans’ work. Lima feels that, although he is best known for his Depression-era photography, Walker Evans’ talent extends into a multitude of decades and subjects.
In his article, Lima compares the catalogues of Evans’ work against one another. He uses logical arguments to convince readers of his claims. Lima substantiates the Evans’ artistic diversity with information about his photographs’ subjects and settings. These indisputable facts, such as pictures’ dates, locations, and focus, give readers little room to doubt Lima’s claims. To further reinforce his evidence, Lima utilizes phrases such as “this is understandable” and “to emphasize the obvious.” This kind of wording almost makes readers feel dumb if they do not understand and agree with the basis of the claim. Who wants to disagree with the understandable and obvious? With a subjective topic like art, providing an seemingly objective view can really strengthen an argument.
Lima argues that Evans is commonly placed in a 1930’s box, remembered only for his neutral shots of the Depression’s vernacular American landscapes. Some even say that his images “define what Depression-era America looked like” (Vanderlin, 84). However, his subject matter spanned nearly fifty years and handfuls of motifs. Various catalogues compare different themes in Walker’s work. He documented already-frozen subjects such as signs and statues, and also the landscapes of multiple countries, including the US and Cuba. Walker’s photographs didn’t depict a particular kind of person either. There are many photos of poor Americans during the Depression, but Evans worked to broaden the way pictures defined a place or situation but capturing many genders, races, and classes in various settings.
Lima really gives readers insight to Evans’ versatility. Many authors and art critics focus only on Walker’s Great Depression Work from when he was under America’s Farm Security Administration. Articles and books by many art scholars fail to properly recognize other collections of his artwork. The title makes sense of Alan Trachtenberg’s focus on Walker’s US photographs in his book Reading American Photographs; however, his discussion of Evans’ work is limited to Depression-era photos. Evans took American photos throughout the entire twentieth century and depicted far more than poor, rural scenes, but Trachtenberg speaks of nothing outside of the 1930’s and 40’s. Even when authors attempt to discuss Walker’s lesser-known work, they still come back to the Great Depression photographs. Robert Vanderlin of Raritan magazine wrote an article on Evans’ twenty-year stint with Fortune magazine. As much as he tries to address Walker’s corporate photography in the decades following the Depression, Vanderlin frequently returns to, and at many points dwells on, Evans’ most famous work. It apparently is very difficult to separate Walker from his Great Depression depictions.
Image:
Walker Evans, 1935. www.flickr.com/photos/infrogmation/4141588243/
Sources:
Lima, Benjamin. “The Evans File”. Art Journal. 63.3: 102-106. Fall 2004.
Trachtenberg, Alan. Reading American Photographs: Images as History, Mathew Brady to
Walker Evans. [New York, N.Y.]: Hill and Wang, 1989. Print.
Vanderlin, Robert J. “Walker Evans at Fortune.” Raritan. 28.3: 81-104. Winter 2009.
“The Evans File” makes obvious the wide scope of Walker Evans’ photographic abilities. Catalogues of his work are so diverse that they are better compared to one another than to outside art. Evans’ skill and focus extend to a variety of themes and shooting locations, a fact which is often unrecognized by scholars. Benjamin Lima does an excellent job of doing what other authors do not: looking past Walker’s most famous work from the 1930’s and seeing the true extent of his art.
Image:
Walker Evans, 1935. www.flickr.com/photos/infrogmation/4141588243/
Sources:
Lima, Benjamin. “The Evans File”. Art Journal. 63.3: 102-106. Fall 2004.
Trachtenberg, Alan. Reading American Photographs: Images as History, Mathew Brady to
Walker Evans. [New York, N.Y.]: Hill and Wang, 1989. Print.
Vanderlin, Robert J. “Walker Evans at Fortune.” Raritan. 28.3: 81-104. Winter 2009.
Feeder 3.1 - Zeeshan.
Joan Miro
Art is a practice that allows for people to represent individualistic qualities while portraying the atmosphere of the current times. This quality of art is what makes this practice unique. It allows for both an individualistic and communal aspect to shone through in an work. These qualities give the audience at large a reason to take in and admire works of art, as these pieces are not only obviously intriguing and interesting to look at, but provide a glimpse of the culture of the actual era in time when a particular piece of art was created. That said, while there are many prominent artists in history, there is a particular artist whose work, whenever I look at, is most captivating and alluring - Joan Miro, an artist whose background perspectives blend into his artistic pieces to create both ascetically pleasing and thought provoking works for audiences abroad to enjoy and ponder.
Joan Miro was born in Barcelona, Spain and began his passion of at in this locale. Initially Miro studied both art studies and in business school, but eventually felt somewhat detached from his business studies and continued on with his artistic works. This decision led Miro to Paris, where he would eventually met Pablo Picasso and spend the rest of his career based, and more importantly eventually find his own artistic style and perspective - known as Surrealism, essentially an art movement that was based on the ideals of using concepts such as randomness and abstractness to represent the cultural movements of an era (Art Journal 2004). Miro’s work involved the use of abstract figures, colors of all spectrum, and was examples of essentially artistic technique without any rules or disciplines to follow. As stated before Miro’s use of surrealism was very much a factor in his drawings, as he sometimes relied on “spur of the moment” feelings to conjurer up a new work of art. Throughout his career Miro would involve himself with various types of art media, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, and also another type of art media known as “drawing-collages” (Art Journal 2004). Miro’s drawing-collages serve as the artistic pieces of interest for an article in a 2004 issue of Art Journal, titled “The ‘Intellectual Obscenities’ of Postcards.”
This scholarly article main argument or thesis is show how these particular works of Miro, “drawing-collages,” are representing of historical periods that are, as the 2004 Art Journal states, “densely layered and informed by Miro’s connections to Paris and Barcelona.” As described in an 2004 issue of Art Journal, Miro’s “drawing-collages” were essentially pieces of art that were completed on “easel-white paper in white, green, or dark brown.” These drawing-collages would contain inspirations from postcards and would “connect mass-produced images that were cut from advertisements, anatomical engravings, and various commercials.” In addition, as described earlier, Miro’s drawing collages was extremely abstract and complex, but as a 2004 issue of the Art Journal again points out, these collages were considered to be “violent and playful, erotic and innocent, calculated and full of chance.” This theme of incorporating opposing techniques and feelings within the collages is what made Miro’s work so dynamic and unique. Miro would eventually go on to produce over a dozen drawing collages in his artistic career. After giving general characteristics of Miro’s drawing-collages, the 2004 Art Journal focuses in on a particular drawing-collage of Miro, Joan Miro’s 1933 drawing-collage that appeared in Museum of Modern Art to help give evidence to the argument being made.
This particular drawing-collage of Miro deals with he (Miro) refers to as the “intellectual obscenities” of postcards. This 2004 issue of Art Journal looks beyond the aesthetic qualities of this particular piece of Miro and looks to discuss the actual motivators that lead to the creation of such a drawing-collage. The reasoning or purpose behind this examination is to prove the assertion that Miro’s work composed of themes that represented the cultural times of the geographic area as well as a particular time period.
The article points out that this particular piece represented Miro’s cultural background and childhood heritage he grew up with, from Barcelona and Paris. From this particular collage from the summer of 1933, Miro work represents his own opinions and perspective regarding these two international capitals, and how the overall settings and attitudes of each of these places have changed over time. The Art Journal article points out that in this collage being examined, Miro intended to look at the “patterns of exchange” between these two cities. With Miro’s primary usage of postcards and other forms of mass media/communication, particular postcards and other articles of each of these two cities were used to compare and contrast Barcelona and Paris as two cities. The most important aspect of this comparison was looking at what each city considered representing European avant-garde, or exceptional or worthy pieces of significant art forms (Art Journal 2004).
It is important to note that presence of Miro’s influence from forms of media from the two cities in this particular drawing-collage are considered to be the observations, of facts, from which the opinions, or claims are made - in this particular article, the claim being made is that Miro’s work was represented the cultural ties and separation that were present in Barcelona and Paris during the 1930s - made through the usage of the media sources from each city. Moving on, Miro found that there did exist some similarities and differences regarding the two cities as what each considered to be artistically significant and important, but the overall purpose of Miro’s work seems to hold parallel with the Art Journal’s main argument. Essentially, as the Art Journal article points out, “Miró's Drawing-Collages trace patterns of exchange between these two capitals... Miró drew lines of contact between the poetics of taste and the politics of the avant-garde” (Art Journal 2004).This examination of the artistic qualities of each city, through the usage of portraying forms of mass communication of the particular time period discussed (1930s) shows that this particular 1933 drawing-collage from Miro is intended to serve the purpose of both connecting and disassociating the cities of Paris and Barcelona, the two main locals of Joan Miro’s life.
Overall, as the 2004 Art Journal points out, Joan Miro’s pieces, drawing collages were not only amazing and striking pieces of artistic quality and ability, we can also see that Miro’s works also give the audience a perspective, from the usage of forms of mass media during the time of Miro, to give a sense of what was considered to be artistically significant and pleasing as well. So in these drawing-collages Miro produced, there are two significant that should be taken away from not only the particular 1933 art work of Miro, but his overall work as well – and that deals with Miro’s work was not only the work of artistic ability and genius but also a representation of the particular time period’s attitude and feelings towards artistic and cultural excellence.
Works Cited:
1. Mendelson, J. (2004). Joan Miró's Drawing-Collage, August 8, 1933: The "Intellectual Obscenities" of Postcards. Art Journal, 63(1), 24-37. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
2. First picture: http://images.worldgallery.co.uk/i/prints/rw/lg/3/3/Joan-Miro-Milano-33422.jpg
3. Second picture: http://www.fanantique.com/en/AP0002_details.html
4. Biography source: http://www.masterworksfineart.com/inventory/3336
Art is a practice that allows for people to represent individualistic qualities while portraying the atmosphere of the current times. This quality of art is what makes this practice unique. It allows for both an individualistic and communal aspect to shone through in an work. These qualities give the audience at large a reason to take in and admire works of art, as these pieces are not only obviously intriguing and interesting to look at, but provide a glimpse of the culture of the actual era in time when a particular piece of art was created. That said, while there are many prominent artists in history, there is a particular artist whose work, whenever I look at, is most captivating and alluring - Joan Miro, an artist whose background perspectives blend into his artistic pieces to create both ascetically pleasing and thought provoking works for audiences abroad to enjoy and ponder.
Joan Miro was born in Barcelona, Spain and began his passion of at in this locale. Initially Miro studied both art studies and in business school, but eventually felt somewhat detached from his business studies and continued on with his artistic works. This decision led Miro to Paris, where he would eventually met Pablo Picasso and spend the rest of his career based, and more importantly eventually find his own artistic style and perspective - known as Surrealism, essentially an art movement that was based on the ideals of using concepts such as randomness and abstractness to represent the cultural movements of an era (Art Journal 2004). Miro’s work involved the use of abstract figures, colors of all spectrum, and was examples of essentially artistic technique without any rules or disciplines to follow. As stated before Miro’s use of surrealism was very much a factor in his drawings, as he sometimes relied on “spur of the moment” feelings to conjurer up a new work of art. Throughout his career Miro would involve himself with various types of art media, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, and also another type of art media known as “drawing-collages” (Art Journal 2004). Miro’s drawing-collages serve as the artistic pieces of interest for an article in a 2004 issue of Art Journal, titled “The ‘Intellectual Obscenities’ of Postcards.”
This scholarly article main argument or thesis is show how these particular works of Miro, “drawing-collages,” are representing of historical periods that are, as the 2004 Art Journal states, “densely layered and informed by Miro’s connections to Paris and Barcelona.” As described in an 2004 issue of Art Journal, Miro’s “drawing-collages” were essentially pieces of art that were completed on “easel-white paper in white, green, or dark brown.” These drawing-collages would contain inspirations from postcards and would “connect mass-produced images that were cut from advertisements, anatomical engravings, and various commercials.” In addition, as described earlier, Miro’s drawing collages was extremely abstract and complex, but as a 2004 issue of the Art Journal again points out, these collages were considered to be “violent and playful, erotic and innocent, calculated and full of chance.” This theme of incorporating opposing techniques and feelings within the collages is what made Miro’s work so dynamic and unique. Miro would eventually go on to produce over a dozen drawing collages in his artistic career. After giving general characteristics of Miro’s drawing-collages, the 2004 Art Journal focuses in on a particular drawing-collage of Miro, Joan Miro’s 1933 drawing-collage that appeared in Museum of Modern Art to help give evidence to the argument being made.
This particular drawing-collage of Miro deals with he (Miro) refers to as the “intellectual obscenities” of postcards. This 2004 issue of Art Journal looks beyond the aesthetic qualities of this particular piece of Miro and looks to discuss the actual motivators that lead to the creation of such a drawing-collage. The reasoning or purpose behind this examination is to prove the assertion that Miro’s work composed of themes that represented the cultural times of the geographic area as well as a particular time period.
The article points out that this particular piece represented Miro’s cultural background and childhood heritage he grew up with, from Barcelona and Paris. From this particular collage from the summer of 1933, Miro work represents his own opinions and perspective regarding these two international capitals, and how the overall settings and attitudes of each of these places have changed over time. The Art Journal article points out that in this collage being examined, Miro intended to look at the “patterns of exchange” between these two cities. With Miro’s primary usage of postcards and other forms of mass media/communication, particular postcards and other articles of each of these two cities were used to compare and contrast Barcelona and Paris as two cities. The most important aspect of this comparison was looking at what each city considered representing European avant-garde, or exceptional or worthy pieces of significant art forms (Art Journal 2004).
It is important to note that presence of Miro’s influence from forms of media from the two cities in this particular drawing-collage are considered to be the observations, of facts, from which the opinions, or claims are made - in this particular article, the claim being made is that Miro’s work was represented the cultural ties and separation that were present in Barcelona and Paris during the 1930s - made through the usage of the media sources from each city. Moving on, Miro found that there did exist some similarities and differences regarding the two cities as what each considered to be artistically significant and important, but the overall purpose of Miro’s work seems to hold parallel with the Art Journal’s main argument. Essentially, as the Art Journal article points out, “Miró's Drawing-Collages trace patterns of exchange between these two capitals... Miró drew lines of contact between the poetics of taste and the politics of the avant-garde” (Art Journal 2004).This examination of the artistic qualities of each city, through the usage of portraying forms of mass communication of the particular time period discussed (1930s) shows that this particular 1933 drawing-collage from Miro is intended to serve the purpose of both connecting and disassociating the cities of Paris and Barcelona, the two main locals of Joan Miro’s life.
Overall, as the 2004 Art Journal points out, Joan Miro’s pieces, drawing collages were not only amazing and striking pieces of artistic quality and ability, we can also see that Miro’s works also give the audience a perspective, from the usage of forms of mass media during the time of Miro, to give a sense of what was considered to be artistically significant and pleasing as well. So in these drawing-collages Miro produced, there are two significant that should be taken away from not only the particular 1933 art work of Miro, but his overall work as well – and that deals with Miro’s work was not only the work of artistic ability and genius but also a representation of the particular time period’s attitude and feelings towards artistic and cultural excellence.
Works Cited:
1. Mendelson, J. (2004). Joan Miró's Drawing-Collage, August 8, 1933: The "Intellectual Obscenities" of Postcards. Art Journal, 63(1), 24-37. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
2. First picture: http://images.worldgallery.co.uk/i/prints/rw/lg/3/3/Joan-Miro-Milano-33422.jpg
3. Second picture: http://www.fanantique.com/en/AP0002_details.html
4. Biography source: http://www.masterworksfineart.com/inventory/3336
Alec's Feeder 3.1
Monet’s Cathedrals: A Point in Time
article.wn.com
Claude Monet, the leader of the Impressionist movement, painted many scenes in nature, using time as his main inspiration. It is very evident through all of Monet’s works that he enjoyed contrasting the slow processes of geological time (i.e. the eroding of a cliff over time) with the near instantaneous effect of something as light or the sun. Monet spent most of the late 19th century entrenched in the the effects of light and its relation with time. Robert Knott, a professor at Wake Forest University, argues in his scholarly review of Monet’s work entitled “Monet’s Cathedrals: A Point in Time” that Monet demonstrates the contrast of time scales and the effect light has on scenes in nature no better than in his paintings of Rouen Cathedrals completed in the 1890’s. Monet’s switch to the painting of these Cathedrals rather than a focus on more natural devices proves to be one of the most significant turning points in his career.
To paint a picture for you (pun intended), Monet’s impressions of the Rouen Cathedrals demonstrate a certain mastery of the effects of light on a canvas. Monet’s fascination with the transcendental power and mystery of light is captured in the very essence of these Gothic buildings. Monet uses the aging texture of the eroding brick and contrasts it with the youth and liveliness that the sun’s light brings forth, illustrating dual instances in time, as if a photograph was taken of a scene at two different points in time. In many of these paintings, Monet used a centered source of light (Monet’s exact definition of Impressionism) to dissolve the structure of the church, making it submit to the dominate power at hand; light. Monet’s use of light created a clash and the appearance of time without time. In other words, the light brought forth life and vibrancy to the scene, while still capturing the essence of one particular moment in time, as if time were frozen. Picture a sunrise. Monet’s portrait of it would show all the hues; purple, orange, yellow, red, but the presence and power of the sun (the source of light) would implicate one, single moment in time.
faculty.evansville.edu
The particular painting above “Haystack at Sunset Near Giverny” illustrates just this. As you can see, Monet uses many different colors in capturing the essence of the sun, but this does not make the image to active. One could easily take this as an instance in time. This is but one of the many paintings that Monet has done that illustrate the liveliness and effectiveness of light in a scene of nature. In other paintings, one can see the prevalence of light even with the absence of vibrant colors. For instance, in “View of Rouen” Monet does not use much color, especially any in the lively sense, and still, there is a sense of life in an all but dead scene (see below).
freeartprints.co.uk
As a leader of the Impressionist movement, Monet pioneered the use of light and time to illustrate the power and emotion present in all of his scenes. This use of external forces, coupled with the age, texture, and stagnation of the Rouen Cathedrals provides for a perfect illustration of Monet’s commitment to his ideals, inspirations, and tonalities. Monet’s use of light captures the essence and embodiment of time like no other. Monet is truly the master of Impressionism and its devices.
Citations
Knott, R. Monet’s Cathedrals: A Point in Time. Southeastern College Art Conference Review v. 12 no. 3 (1993) p. 171-80; http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.43
article.wn.com
Claude Monet, the leader of the Impressionist movement, painted many scenes in nature, using time as his main inspiration. It is very evident through all of Monet’s works that he enjoyed contrasting the slow processes of geological time (i.e. the eroding of a cliff over time) with the near instantaneous effect of something as light or the sun. Monet spent most of the late 19th century entrenched in the the effects of light and its relation with time. Robert Knott, a professor at Wake Forest University, argues in his scholarly review of Monet’s work entitled “Monet’s Cathedrals: A Point in Time” that Monet demonstrates the contrast of time scales and the effect light has on scenes in nature no better than in his paintings of Rouen Cathedrals completed in the 1890’s. Monet’s switch to the painting of these Cathedrals rather than a focus on more natural devices proves to be one of the most significant turning points in his career.
To paint a picture for you (pun intended), Monet’s impressions of the Rouen Cathedrals demonstrate a certain mastery of the effects of light on a canvas. Monet’s fascination with the transcendental power and mystery of light is captured in the very essence of these Gothic buildings. Monet uses the aging texture of the eroding brick and contrasts it with the youth and liveliness that the sun’s light brings forth, illustrating dual instances in time, as if a photograph was taken of a scene at two different points in time. In many of these paintings, Monet used a centered source of light (Monet’s exact definition of Impressionism) to dissolve the structure of the church, making it submit to the dominate power at hand; light. Monet’s use of light created a clash and the appearance of time without time. In other words, the light brought forth life and vibrancy to the scene, while still capturing the essence of one particular moment in time, as if time were frozen. Picture a sunrise. Monet’s portrait of it would show all the hues; purple, orange, yellow, red, but the presence and power of the sun (the source of light) would implicate one, single moment in time.
faculty.evansville.edu
The particular painting above “Haystack at Sunset Near Giverny” illustrates just this. As you can see, Monet uses many different colors in capturing the essence of the sun, but this does not make the image to active. One could easily take this as an instance in time. This is but one of the many paintings that Monet has done that illustrate the liveliness and effectiveness of light in a scene of nature. In other paintings, one can see the prevalence of light even with the absence of vibrant colors. For instance, in “View of Rouen” Monet does not use much color, especially any in the lively sense, and still, there is a sense of life in an all but dead scene (see below).
freeartprints.co.uk
As a leader of the Impressionist movement, Monet pioneered the use of light and time to illustrate the power and emotion present in all of his scenes. This use of external forces, coupled with the age, texture, and stagnation of the Rouen Cathedrals provides for a perfect illustration of Monet’s commitment to his ideals, inspirations, and tonalities. Monet’s use of light captures the essence and embodiment of time like no other. Monet is truly the master of Impressionism and its devices.
Citations
Knott, R. Monet’s Cathedrals: A Point in Time. Southeastern College Art Conference Review v. 12 no. 3 (1993) p. 171-80; http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.43
Monday, November 29, 2010
Edward Weston and Asel Adams
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” This quote by Georgia O’Keeffe rings true throughout every period of history. Art is a method of communication that requires no words. It can express a truth, feelings towards an event, the artist’s feelings, or even express a message to those looking at the painting, drawing, or photography. In the article “The Art of Disengagement: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams” by David P. Peeler, the author assess unique photographers: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams. Although Weston and Adams claimed to be disengaged from society in their photographs, Peeler felt that the two photographers were not as disengaged as they declared to be.
Weston and Adams were two of the most influential photographers of the 20th century and therefore attracted a lot of attention from critics and admirers. They mostly concentrated on natural subjects with Weston focusing more on small close ups of objects such as fruits and vegetables, and Adams leaning towards huge mountains and waterfalls. Since both photographers focused on objects instead of social events and political statements, they achieved a sort of timelessness in their works. All generations can enjoy and understand Adam’s photograph capturing a magnificent waterfall in Nevada Fall, Yosemite National Park or Weston’s image of the simplicity and beauty of a mollusk shell in Shell.
Through the specific images that Weston and Adams focused on, one can see that they believed an artist should remain beyond the turmoil and confusion of current events and concentrate more on the beauty of nature (“The Art of Disengagement: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams”). With their unique photographs, Weston and Adams believed that they had achieved properly disengaged art and devotion to natural beauty. According to Peele, this is not the case. As the Great Depression eased, Weston and Adams slowly began to acknowledge the social world around them and even embraced some forms of political activism by taking pictures of the effects of World Wars II. However, the bulk of their work remained focused on landscape and nature, but they no longer seemed to live on their own little island entirely separate of the rest of humanity.
As Weston and Adams slowly edged into the American social sphere, they grew concerned with the qualities of art and life and saw materialism and commercialism as contaminants of the world (“The Art of Disengagement: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams”). This led to more political and social stances that appeared in their pictures. In fact as their fame increased, so did the demand of Weston and Adams as photography teachers. From formal classes to single devotees, photographers everywhere desired Weston and Adams to teach, thus dragging both photographers beyond their individual visions of disengagment.
However the most important event that forced Weston and Adams from their idea of being “disengaged” photographers was World War II. As the years of the war passed, Weston and Adams’s images of impressive forest landscapes morphed into images of troops and relocation centers. In fact, army life thrilled Weston, which led to an eventual obsession with the war. For hours he would stare into the Pacific searching for Japanese planes and ships. After throwing themselves into the American war effort, they turned their attention racism of Japanese-Americans. Despite the years of avoiding social criticism, Weston and Adams opening attacked the wartime treatment of Japanese-American, who were sent to concentration camps and stripped of their property.
Out of the numerous photographers in America’s history, Ansel Adams and Edward Weston are two of the most famous and influential American photographers of the 20th century. Through their clever use of lighting, shadow, and black and white images, they captured both the timelessness of nature and the dawn of the 20th century onto film, allowing future students to look at their pictures to appreciate the beauty of nature and to catch a glimpse of the past.
Works Cited
Peeler, David. “The Art of Disengagement: Edward Weston and Ansel Adams.” Journal of American Studies 27.3 (1993): 309-334. Print.
Image: http://www.thecitrusreport.com/2010/headlines/nothing-like-finding-an-ansel-adams-worth-a-cool-couple-hundred-million-at-a-garagae-sale/
Picasso's Visual Metaphors
Aristotle defined metaphor as giving one thing a name that belongs to something else because of some kind of similarity between them (Green). Most of the time metaphor is thought of in a literary and language-oriented sense. For example, Shakespeare’s line, from Romeo and Juliet, “Juliet is the sun” is a very famous example of metaphor. However, can these literary tools be applied to visual works? In Jon Green’s article, “Picasso’s Visual metaphors,” Green looks to explore the definitions and functions of metaphors in a few of Picasso’s works.
Before Green looks to dive headfirst into analyzing Picasso’s art works by exploring their metaphorical implementations and significances, Green first explains how some figures of speech can be demonstrated visually. Green explains that in an Article by VC Aldrich, Aldrich defines visual metaphor as “a ‘fusion’ or ‘interanimation’ of two visual images (A and B), whose colors, forms, or positions cause us to link them visually into a single (though complex) metaphorical unit (C).” Green then explains that metaphors are very different than similes in the fact that metaphors carry meaning from one thing to another unlike it. Going back to “Juliet is the sun,” Romeo’s comparison of the sun and Juliet not only insinuates that Juliet provides “light, love, and life,” but also that she is the “center of Romeos personal universe” (Green).
By first defining metaphor and its significant meaning in the visual arts, Green then explains that other verbal figures of speech can be portrayed in the arts. He says that oxymoron may be illustrated by drawing “horns and a halo on a figure;” that personification may be shown with human characteristics drawn on an inanimate object; and even puns may be used in paintings with the use of a “line element in a drawing in two incompatible ways.” Green then gives an example of these literary tools in famous paintings. For one example, Green explains that Mary and Jesus’ physical swooning positions in Van der Weyden’s Deposition is a visual simile illustrating pain from physical death and pain from “spiritual anguish” (Green).
After providing definitions and examples of verbal figures of speech in visual art, next Green examines and analyses metaphor and other figures of speech in Picasso’s Guernica. First Green looks at the light illustrations in the painting. He explains that the “metallic electric sun” takes over the center of the page by illuminates nothing, demonstrating the “coldness of an inefficient power.” Next he examines the oil lamp in the center of the page. It provides the light in the painting and is being carried out of a window by a “classicized nude” illustrating freedom. Green finally states that the light images in Guernica have duel meanings. Some images of light represent life and hope, whereas others represent oppression and destruction (Green).
Green also looks at the structure of the painting as a metaphor. He explains that as the figures “fall from left to right across the canvas in progressive states of approaching death, they represent a theme relating to the Deposition.” Green explains that the Deposition was “designed to amplify the believer sorrow over the suffering and death of Christ” and as a result, Picasso expands the theme to “embrace all suffering humanity.” Green also notes that the lack of color beyond black, white, and shades of grey, portrays the absence of life in the painting (Green).
Green next explores the idea of illusion vs. reality. He notes that Picasso’s Cubism style threatened to create super abstract ideas that were too far from reality. As a result, Picasso invented collage in which he “pasted real objects onto paintings.” This reconnected the abstract Cubism style with reality as it stuck real, everyday objects in the paintings. Green goes on to explain that this idea further advanced Picasso’s use of metaphor. An example may be Picasso’s Goat, in which the figure had a ribbed belly made out of a wicker basket. Picasso explained that by using the wicker basket “I move from the basket back to the rib cage; from the metaphor back to reality. I make you see reality because I used the metaphor.” This shows that by making the collage from ordinary materials with independent identities, Picasso could further advance his metaphor utilization (Green).
Lastly, Green looks at Picasso’s Bull’s Head as a visual metaphor. Picasso explained that he found the bike seat and handlebars in a junkyard and immediately saw the potential for the Bull’s Head. In evaluating the metaphorical aspect of the Bull’s Head, it is important to keep the idea of illusion vs. reality in mind. Especially as Green explains that the metaphor behind Bull’s Head is a double metaphor held by its two parts. First the ferocity of the bull is “trivialized” by the bicycle parts, and second that the bicycle is “heroicized in comic associations” with the head of the bull itself. The image of the bull carries metaphor in and of itself symbolizing fear, aggression, and violence, so the fact that Picasso made it out of everyday materials makes the bulls overall preceding image less fierce (Green).
In this article, Green evaluates whether or not verbal figures of speech can be portrayed in visual works of art. He determines that they can, and quite easily in fact. By then analyzing and evaluating some of Picasso’s great works, the actual utilization of these verbal figures of speech can be seen in visual art work. Green explains that in an age of violence, world wars, genocides, and eventually the threat for nuclear annihilation, Picasso’s visual metaphors were able to capture these things and in fact provide a shred of hope (Green).
Works Cited
Green, Jon. Journal of Aesthetic Education. Vol. 19, No. 4 (Winter, 1985), pp. 61-76
Bulls Head Image from
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgst4Fh0wIS7NH1solyrv1d9xyxqOMvSTLfAG34Fk2jSrI1e0xEJ77NiqXwOXcEtw4tS44p5Z3MQsLrxkZ06GZV_WXpjuO98ZnoXcCw6Yfu2DKmvAIKccJg2Q0XSg519ihNMhtf14ybseM/s400/bull's+head+-+picasso+(1944).jpg
Sunday, November 28, 2010
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Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sports Psychology- Whats the Point?
There is 1 second left in the Super Bowl. You are the place kicker for the team who is trailing by a point. Your coach calls timeout and calls you over to the huddle. He wants you to kick the game winning field goal. It is do-or-die. If you kick the ball through the uprights and your team has won the most desired trophy in all of football and is “Going to Disneyworld!” However, if you miss this field goal, you will just have to wait until next year. So, how do you feel? Your heart is probably racing, your breathing has picked up, you probably feel butterflies in your stomach, and you may even begin to doubt yourself. That easy little field goal just got a lot harder. This is what the area of sports psychology explores, the effects that one’s mind has on their athletic performance.
How many people actually could control their minds and bodies in order to kick that game winning field goal? Not many. This is where sports psychology comes into play. The goal of sports psychology is to train the athlete to control their mind and the effects that their mind has on their bodies in order to compete at their highest potential. If this is the case however, why is sports psychology still so rare for many sports and athletes? In the article from Behavior Modification, “How does Sport Psychology Actually Improve Athletic Performance? A Framework to Facilitate Athletes’ and Coaches’ Understanding,” the author, Chris Gee, explains that misunderstandings between sports psychologist advocates and the coaches and athletes has caused the field to be underutilized. This misunderstanding is often a result of the lack of tangible evidence in the field of sports psychology. In Gee’s article, he attempts to undermine to lack of understanding illustrating fully the flaws in the common misconceptions towards sports psychology and explaining the benefits that sports psychology can have for all athletes.
Gee begins his article by asking a question. He quotes another researcher: “ If so many athletes need psychological support and are aware that they have this need, why don’t they seek treatment more often?”. Gee answers this question by outlining many common misconceptions about sports psychologists. He first explains that many people think that sports psychologists are like psychiatrists and that athletes will have to go lay on a couch and open up their deepest thoughts to the therapists. It portrays a sentiment of “having a problem” and is a major reason why many athletes do not spend as much time with sports psychologists as they could. This is obviously not true. Sports psychologists typically go into the field with the athletes they are helping and attempts to train the athlete to cope with possible anxieties. Lastly he explains that many coaches and athletes are uncertain of the services that are proposed by the psychologists. The fact that there is no physical evidence makes convincing athletes and coaches of the results extremely difficult. This is why there is much less interaction between athletes and psychologists than there perhaps should be (Gee).
After explaining the common misconceptions of sports psychology and why many people don’t participate in its practice, Gee explains that sports psychology is extremely beneficial to most every athlete who becomes involved. He does this first by defining two terms that are crucial in understanding the essence of sports psychology. The first is absolute performance. Absolute performance is the “theoretical optimal performance of an athlete,” or performing at 100%. This is often attributed to physiological composition such as height, muscles, weight, lung capacity, etc. and is often mostly influenced by genetics and physical training (Gee).
Obviously not every single athlete performs at 100% every single time they compete. This is where the second term, relative performance, comes in. Relative performance is the day-to-day, or in-competition performance. It is relative because this value is often not 100%, but rather a value proportional relative to the athlete’s absolute performance. An athlete’s relative performance is affected by performance inhibitors which can be either intrinsic or external to the athlete. External inhibitors include things like wind, opponents, and crowd influences. Internal inhibitors can either be physiological or psychological. Physiological inhibitors are things like injury, fatigue, hunger, etc. and psychological inhibitors include things like anxieties and psychological inhibitors deal with the mind (Gee) .
Psychological inhibitors can be broken down further into two categories: cognitive anxieties and somatic anxieties. These types of anxieties refer to the thoughts and physiological responses that arise in a “stressful situation in which the perceived situational demands exceed the individual’s ability to meet those demands and successful performance is important to the individual.” A cognitive anxiety is the doubt, worry, apprehension, and lack of confidence that can surround an athlete in a stressful situation. A somatic anxiety refers to the physiological manifestations such as heavy breathing, disrupted blood flow, tense muscles, impairment of fine motor functioning, and inability to shift attention. All of these things make competing at the highest potential level near impossible (Gee).
In Gee’s next point he explains ways to help treat and control these anxieties by means of sports psychology methods. He introduces methods such as self-talk which inspires confidence to combat cognitive anxieties. Gee also explains that RET is rational emotive therapy which makes the athlete realize that winning is not everything and that the athletes self worth is founded in more than just the results of the competition. This also helps to combat cognitive anxieties. In order to fight off somatic anxieties the author explains methods dealing with relaxation such as deep breathing, centering,, imagery, and meditation (Gee).
Lastly, the author explains the overall benefits of sports psychology. By examining the relative and absolute performance, one is able to realize the difficulties of performing at 100% in competition. There are many factors that inhibit an athlete’s performance and some are inevitable. However, anxieties and psychological inhibitors can be controlled and prevented in order to allow an athlete to perform at the highest level possible in any conditions. In many sports, this is what separates the best from the worst competitors. This is also the reason why the biggest, fastest, strongest athletes are not always the winners in any given competition. This should provide enough proof to coaches and athletes of the actual tangible benefits of sports psychology (Gee).
The author of this article goes a long way to disprove many misconceptions about sports psychology and in the end really demonstrates how this particular type of psychology is extremely beneficial to athletes and coaches. By attempting to clear up common misconceptions about this psychology, Gee advocates for the wider spread usage of sports psychology in many sports. In his eyes, it gives the inferior athlete a chance to compete on every level, and on the flip side, sports psychology gives the superior athlete a chance to gain complete dominance. It has the potential to help all competitors and give athletes and coaches the coveted competitive edge in many sports.
Works Cited
Gee, Chris. “How Does Sports Psychology Actually Improve Athletic Performance? A Framework to Facilitate Athletes’ and Coaches’ Understanding.” Behavior Modification. 386-402. Published September 2010 vol. 34
Image
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">http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierratierra/4839694226/
Sports Psychology, An Improvement To The Game?
Have you ever witnessed a game winning touchdown, a walk-off home run, or a come from behind victory? If so, then you have also witnessed the opposite; the momentary lapse of concentration by the defense, a pitcher’s fatal mistake, or the complete defocusing of a clearly favorable victor. What many people witness at sporting events around the globe is the culmination of physical prowess and psychological warfare. Professional athletes face many obstacles on both the physiological and psychological spectrums. On one hand, they must keep themselves in the greatest physical condition possible, as to give them the greatest chance at a superb performance. On the other hand, these athletes face mental challenges, far more than even they can sometimes fathom. When an athlete is in need of help solving these psychological woes, or simply improving his mental outlook on the game at hand, they seek out the help of a sport’s psychologist. An article published in the scholarly journal “Behavior Modification” shows the importance and significance of sports psychology and how it should be applied to everyday athletic competition. This article, “How Does Sports Psychology Actually Improve Athletic Performance? A Framework to Facilitate Athletes’ and Coaches’ Understanding,” focuses on the psychological aspects of athletic competition. Chiefly, the arguments made relate to the causes of faltering performances among athletes and how these athletes practice certain psychological strategies to prevent sub-par performance.
The author introduces his readers to new terms within the field (created by himself), absolute performance and relative performance. Absolute performance, he describes, is the greatest potential result an athlete could put forth on any given day. That is, whatever an athlete’s greatest possible outcome could be, taking into account his physiological composition and his “genetic lottery,” (Gee, 5) that would be his absolute performance. Essentially, absolute performance is how an athlete would perform “in a perfect world” or “on paper” (Gee, 7). Relative performance, on the other hand, is an athlete’s day-to-day performance, taking into consideration environmental factors and any other factors that could impede an athlete’s performance. Relative performance, therefore, is the actual result produced by the athlete on a given day.
The difference between absolute and relative performance exists in the form of performance inhibitors. These impediments are what cause an athlete’s relative performance to fall below their absolute potential (Gee, 8). Performance inhibitors can come in many forms, and can present themselves both external and internal to the athlete. An example of an external inhibitor would be, a strong headwind blowing against the runner’s path. This inhibitor, although equally detrimental to the athlete’s performance, cannot be controlled by the athlete. However, certain inhibitors that affect an athlete even more than an external hindrance are those that are controllable by the athlete, or internal inhibitors. An example of these would be the feeling of “butterflies” before a big race. This feeling, although seemingly unavoidable, can in fact, be controlled.
Through the use of psychological strategies, an athlete can significantly lessen, if not eliminate precompetitive anxiety. These anxieties can be broken down into two different sub groups. There is cognitive anxiety, which includes negative thoughts and self-doubt that influence an athlete’s in game decision making and may distract them from their performance. This type of anxiety must be controlled before a competition has begun. There is a common practice known as rational emotive therapy (RET) that enables athletes to positively motivate themselves and prepare themselves for the coming anxieties experienced in competition. RET provides a method of aid for the struggling athlete. There is another form of anxiety that athletes experience even more directly; somatic anxiety. Somatic anxiety is the type of psychological effect that manifests itself into the physiological performance of an athlete. For example, when an athlete feels the onset of anxiety, many times he or she will begin to experience increased muscle tension, making it more difficult to perform at an optimal level. There are a few strategies that athletes can put into practice that can alleviate these feelings of tension. Among these, are meditation, three-part breathing, and imagery. If an athlete can envision himself making the winning shot, and he believes that he has a good chance of succeeding, there will be a much higher chance of him making the shot than if he does not believe at all.
Sports psychology is a growing field that includes many interesting connections between the mind and the body. Athletes should embrace this science, just as they have many other sports sciences. By allowing an athlete to pinpoint his psychological concerns before and during gameplay, the many practices of sports psychology will ultimately benefit athletes and the world of sports today. If athletes can perform at even higher levels, will that not prove for even more enjoyable sporting?
Citations
1. “How Does Sports Psychology Actually Improve Athletic Performance? A Framework to Facilitate Athletes’ and Coaches’ Understanding” Gee, Chris; September 2010 vol. 34 no. 5 386-402 Behavior Modification
Manipulations influence on exhibited patterns of behavior.
How do outside influences impact the way people act?
How hard is it for one to pay attention, or maintain a particular action, when distractions are around you? This was the question that was attempted to be answered in a recent issue of the journal, Behavior Modification called The Effects of Presession Manipulations on Automatically Maintained Challenging Behavior and Task Responding. In this particular experiment, there were four human observations. These human observations, which did experience severe, learning disabilities, would be exposed to manipulations. The experimenters predicted that if these observations were given the distractions, then their (the observations) level of completion of a particular task and focus shown in completing the task will decrease (Abstract section – 479). The results of the experiment seemed to follow a similar pattern, supporting the researchers’ original hypothesis proposed.
The background information of the experiment in a condensed form will help understood in order to gain an appreciation of the experiment conducted. The term pression manipulations refer to the distractions that were given to the observations during the experiment duration. The manipulations in the experiment used depended on the individual observation, already predetermined to be liked by the particular observation himself/herself. A girl, who suffered multiple disorders, involved in the experiment, was given a ball and beads as the pression manipulations. A boy named Charlie, also with multiple disorders, was exposed to a musical instrument and a toy with six buttons to push. A fish tank and a toy piano was given to Lilly, a 11-year old girl with autism and mental retardation as the pression distractions, and finally, a ball and a keyboard for a girl who dealt with multiple disorders (482). That said the experimenters wanted to determine how these objects, when exposed would affect level of a given task for each observation. It is here that it is important to note that the “tasks” given is the dependent variable for which the experiment is based. While the experiment does not per say give a particular task to each experimental observation, it measures the individual’s task completion ability on the level of a Stereotype behavior shown. Stereotype behavior, known in the experiment as automatically maintained challenging behavior, is a behavioral pattern that involves consistent movement, either physical or auditory, that is most associated with children with disabilities.
Overall the entire experiment consisted of three separate experiments – the first experiment dealing with functional analysis of each individual in the experiment, the second experiment was an analysis of the manipulations/distractions used for each individual, and the final experiment dealt with a cross analysis of the previous experiments. I will not go into too much detail as to the finer points of the overall experiment design, as these are not needed to have a general grasp of the entire experimental design and purpose, but each experiment was organized in such a way to build upon on another.
The first experiment dealt with measuring the functioning levels of each experimental individual, to measure where their levels of concentration were and the types of stereotypic behavior were shown. The second experiment dealt with introducing the manipulations, or the motivating operations, that affected the concentration and stereotypic behavior exhibited by each individual case. Motivating operations is defined as “changes in the environmental conditions that alter the extent to which a stimulus is reinforcing or punishing” and the “frequencies of behavior pertaining to that stimulus (480). The third experiment used was a cross analysis of both of the previous two experiments done (483).
After explaining the general experimental background information, the reader can now hold appreciation towards the overall findings of the researchers. The overall goal of this experiment, in more scientific terms, is to measure the affects of manipulations given to the levels of stereotypic behavior in the observations. Now, it is clear exactly what measured in the experiment, the purpose of measuring such variables, and the subsequent results that followed from such experimentation. The stereotypic behavior of the human observations served as the definition of task, or Automatically Maintained Challenging Behavior, and the manipulations given to the individuals (the toys given, etc.), were the influencing factors on these automatically maintained challenging behaviors. The overall findings of this relationship found that these manipulations did have an effect in disrupting the levels of a particular behavior shown. So, essentially, to expand on this conclusion, and to make it of significance to the audience at large, distractions that one feels attracted to or is fond of, will usually have a influencing impact on one’s exhibited levels of an innate behavior, whether that be leg-shaking, foot-tapping, or other physical patterns.
Works Cited:
- Image (first image): https://firststeptosuccess.sri.com/images/pic_1.JPG
- Image (second image): http://photos.demandstudios.com/227/170/fotolia_5804666_XS.jpg
- Chung, Yi-Chieh, Cannella-Malone, Helen I. The Effects of Presession Manipulations on Automatically Maintained Challenging Behavior and Task Responding Behavior Modification. November 2010: 479-502, first published on July 26, 2010. http://bmo.sagepub.com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/content/34/6/479.full.pdf+html
Monday, November 1, 2010
The big screen has BIG effects
The television’s glow and murmur was one of the most comforting constants of my childhood evenings. No matter what the day had held, exciting outings or heated arguments, its events culminated when my father tucked the remote under his chin. I could sleep soundly knowing that I wasn’t alone in the house; my parents and the cast of Cheers were there to keep me safe. I might not have slept so soundly had I known the truth. The same bedroom televisions that lulled my family to dreamland also amplify owners’ total amount of TV watching, thereby decreasing their chances of a good night’s sleep and increasing the risks of obesity.Researchers at the University of Vermont conducted a study on the relationship between bedroom television viewing time and four other factors: Body Mass Index, sleep time, non-bedroom television viewing time, and total television viewing time. Participants underwent a three-week period of observation as they watched tv as normal. Monitors recorded the minutes per day viewed on each television, and sleep logs tallied the participants’ sleep time (Jones et. al). Total television viewing time was found to be significantly greater (12.2 hours more per week) in bedroom TV set owners than those whose televisions could not be seen from the bedroom. Not only did the presence of bedroom television viewing time contribute to the total television viewing time, but bedroom set owners also had greater intervals of non-bedroom television viewing time (Jones et. al).In this particular study, no significant relationship was found between bedtime television viewing time and sleep duration or BMI. However, the researchers cite other studies, particularly in adolescents, that have found evidence for the two correlations. And while having a television in the bedroom may not directly affect BMI and sleep duration, it undeniably has indirect effects on both. The presence of bedroom TVs, and the increased television viewing time that comes with that presence, leaves less time for owners to be active or sleeping (Delmas et. al). Sedentary behavior is one of the largest contributors to the obesity epidemic sweeping our nation (Martinez-Gonzalez et. al), and TV watching is a prevalent sedentary behavior (Jones et. al). Research proves the direct, positive correlation between inactivity and pervasiveness of obesity (Martinez-Gonzalez et. al). When viewers trade physical activity and sleep for television time, they choose habits that lead to this sedentary lifestyle. Their choices elevate their risk of obesity, or having a BMI exceeding 30 kg/sq m.So although having a television in the bedroom doesn’t necessarily cause obesity, a well-traveled path exists between the two. When research participants have bedroom TV sets, their television viewing time increases. The more time a person spends watching television, the more likely they are to lead a sedentary lifestyle; and a sedentary lifestyle contributes to obesity. We must know the effects of the box of bedtime comfort and take caution with our viewing time. Sticking a TV in the room might seem like an easy way to lull your family to sleep, but it does far more harm than good. Next time a kid needs their bedroom checked for monsters, maybe we should check the television stand instead of the closet.Image:Alviseni Lopez, 2009http://www.flickr.com/photos/alvi2047/3688993279/#Sources:Delmas, Platat, Schweitzer, Wagner, Oujaa, and Simon. “Association Between Television in Bedroom and Adiposity Throughout Adolescence”. Nature Magazine. 2007. http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v15/n10/abs/oby2007296a.htmlJones, Otten, Johnson, and Harvey-Berino. “Removing the Bedroom Television Set: A Possible Method for Decreasing Television Viewing Time in Overweight and Obese Adults”. University of Vermont. 2010. http://bmo.sagepub.com/content/34/4/290.full.pdf+htmlMartinez-Gonzalez, Martinez, Hu, Gibney, and Kearney. “Physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyle and obesity in the European Union”. Nature Magazine. 1999. http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v23/n11/pdf/0801049a.pdf
Eating Disorder and College Students
By: Erin Wallace
We have all seen it. Actresses such as Keira Knightley and Angelina Jolie that are super skinny, super models that can be even skinnier, and stores that sell clothes that seem to be so tiny that only 10 year olds could fit in them. Because of the promotion of this body type, many men and women attempt to make themselves fit the Western society’s mold of a beautiful body by being skinny. The constant pressure from the media can even make a person depressed and feel that their bodies are inadequate. Also, many people develop eating disorders while trying to create their ‘perfect’ body. Recently, a behavioral study, which can be seen in Behavior Magazine, investigated the relation among disordered eating-related cognition, psychological flexibility, and poor psychological outcome in a nonclinical college sample
It doesn’t take rocket science to find out that psychological health is behind the development of an eating disorder. Anorexia, bulimia, or any other type of eating disorder could be caused by low self-esteem, loneliness, anxiety, and depression (The Psychology of Eating Disorders”). Eating disorders can affect everyone, but are most prominent with female college students. Perhaps this is because of the students’ wish to be accepted by their new peers or even achieve self- acceptance. In fact, about 40% of girls in college have an eating disorder. I would also like to take this moment to state that although women make up the majority of those suffering from eating disorders, men are also able to have eating disorders. However, due to the common idea that eating disorders only affect women, few men come forward when they struggle with eating disorders.
Despite the fact that eating disorders are a predictor of psychological distress, it does not necessarily lead to greater emotional distress. Recent research findings suggest that emotional suffering is associated not only with personal problems one might have in life, but also with how a person responds to these problems. Therefore, psychological flexibility seems to be a possible link between disordered eating and poor psychological outcomes (“Disordered Eating-Related Cognition and Psychological Flexibility as Predictors of Psychological Health Among College Students” 3) For those of you who are not psychology majors, including myself, psychological flexibility is the ability to be aware of your emotions, eliminate the emotions that are unproductive, and choose appropriate responses (“Don’t be angry. Get psychological flexibility”).
In the recent study that was conducted in a large university in Georgia, a survey was given to 440 participants. The students that completed the survey in less than 15 minutes or more than 60 minutes were eliminated from the sample due to the “questionable validity” of their responses. This left a total of 375 participants. As predicted, disordered eating related cognitions were positively correlated to emotional distress. This is further evidence that emotional distress is a cause of eating disorders.
Also in the study, psychological flexibility was negatively correlated with emotional distress and therefore eating disorders. This means that the more psychological flexibility you possess, the less likely you are to have emotional distress or even eating disorders. This is because if you are psychologically flexible, you are able to dismiss that nagging voice in the back of your mind that constantly tells you that you are not thin enough or good enough. Overall, the results of the study “revealed that both the conviction of disordered eating-related cognitions and psychological flexibility were significant predictors of general psychological ill-health and emotional distress in stressful interpersonal contexts” (“Disordered Eating-Related Cognition and Psychological Flexibility as Predictors of Psychological Health Among College Students” 9).
Although psychological ill-health can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, psychological flexibility also plays a major role in emotional distress. Those with a low psychological flexibility are more likely to suffer more that a person with a high psychological flexibility. So in order to decrease the amount of eating disorders in the world, we should work on boosting self confidence about our bodies. Whether you are skinny or curvy, lanky or toned, be comfortable with your body and don’t let TV ads force you into becoming what the media considers beautiful.
Works Cited
“Disordered Eating-Related Cognition and Psychological Flexibility as Predictors of Psychological Health Among College Students”. Behavior Modification July 2010.
“Don’t get angry. Get psychological flexibility.” March 2010. http://www.mbs.edu/index.cfm?objectid=F2BE10E8-5056-AD5D-EB12957736226A20
“The Psychology of Eating Disorders”. 3 March 2009.
http://www.eatingdisordersonline.com/blogs/general-eating-disorder-blogs/the-psychology-of-eating-disorders
“Eating Disorders Among College Students”. http://www.waldenbehavioralcare.com/eating_disorders_among_college_students.asp
Image:
“Female Celebrities and Eating Disorders.” http://www.getallabout.com/female-celebrities-and-eating-disorders/
We have all seen it. Actresses such as Keira Knightley and Angelina Jolie that are super skinny, super models that can be even skinnier, and stores that sell clothes that seem to be so tiny that only 10 year olds could fit in them. Because of the promotion of this body type, many men and women attempt to make themselves fit the Western society’s mold of a beautiful body by being skinny. The constant pressure from the media can even make a person depressed and feel that their bodies are inadequate. Also, many people develop eating disorders while trying to create their ‘perfect’ body. Recently, a behavioral study, which can be seen in Behavior Magazine, investigated the relation among disordered eating-related cognition, psychological flexibility, and poor psychological outcome in a nonclinical college sample
It doesn’t take rocket science to find out that psychological health is behind the development of an eating disorder. Anorexia, bulimia, or any other type of eating disorder could be caused by low self-esteem, loneliness, anxiety, and depression (The Psychology of Eating Disorders”). Eating disorders can affect everyone, but are most prominent with female college students. Perhaps this is because of the students’ wish to be accepted by their new peers or even achieve self- acceptance. In fact, about 40% of girls in college have an eating disorder. I would also like to take this moment to state that although women make up the majority of those suffering from eating disorders, men are also able to have eating disorders. However, due to the common idea that eating disorders only affect women, few men come forward when they struggle with eating disorders.
Despite the fact that eating disorders are a predictor of psychological distress, it does not necessarily lead to greater emotional distress. Recent research findings suggest that emotional suffering is associated not only with personal problems one might have in life, but also with how a person responds to these problems. Therefore, psychological flexibility seems to be a possible link between disordered eating and poor psychological outcomes (“Disordered Eating-Related Cognition and Psychological Flexibility as Predictors of Psychological Health Among College Students” 3) For those of you who are not psychology majors, including myself, psychological flexibility is the ability to be aware of your emotions, eliminate the emotions that are unproductive, and choose appropriate responses (“Don’t be angry. Get psychological flexibility”).
In the recent study that was conducted in a large university in Georgia, a survey was given to 440 participants. The students that completed the survey in less than 15 minutes or more than 60 minutes were eliminated from the sample due to the “questionable validity” of their responses. This left a total of 375 participants. As predicted, disordered eating related cognitions were positively correlated to emotional distress. This is further evidence that emotional distress is a cause of eating disorders.
Also in the study, psychological flexibility was negatively correlated with emotional distress and therefore eating disorders. This means that the more psychological flexibility you possess, the less likely you are to have emotional distress or even eating disorders. This is because if you are psychologically flexible, you are able to dismiss that nagging voice in the back of your mind that constantly tells you that you are not thin enough or good enough. Overall, the results of the study “revealed that both the conviction of disordered eating-related cognitions and psychological flexibility were significant predictors of general psychological ill-health and emotional distress in stressful interpersonal contexts” (“Disordered Eating-Related Cognition and Psychological Flexibility as Predictors of Psychological Health Among College Students” 9).
Although psychological ill-health can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, psychological flexibility also plays a major role in emotional distress. Those with a low psychological flexibility are more likely to suffer more that a person with a high psychological flexibility. So in order to decrease the amount of eating disorders in the world, we should work on boosting self confidence about our bodies. Whether you are skinny or curvy, lanky or toned, be comfortable with your body and don’t let TV ads force you into becoming what the media considers beautiful.
Works Cited
“Disordered Eating-Related Cognition and Psychological Flexibility as Predictors of Psychological Health Among College Students”. Behavior Modification July 2010.
“Don’t get angry. Get psychological flexibility.” March 2010. http://www.mbs.edu/index.cfm?objectid=F2BE10E8-5056-AD5D-EB12957736226A20
“The Psychology of Eating Disorders”. 3 March 2009.
http://www.eatingdisordersonline.com/blogs/general-eating-disorder-blogs/the-psychology-of-eating-disorders
“Eating Disorders Among College Students”. http://www.waldenbehavioralcare.com/eating_disorders_among_college_students.asp
Image:
“Female Celebrities and Eating Disorders.” http://www.getallabout.com/female-celebrities-and-eating-disorders/
Monday, October 18, 2010
AIDS Research Must Link to Local Policy
Alec Moore
D. Farrell- File/AP
South Africa has been a nation riddled with turmoil on many fronts, whether it is the racially charged apartheid faced for decades or, in the case of this article, the ongoing battle with the HIV epidemic. Despite its stature as a “scientific powerhouse” and an increasingly developing political and economic system, South Africa still houses 17% of the entire AIDS ridden population. With one in every ten South Africans being struck with the disease, it seems that AIDS research has reached a plateau, mostly due to the lack of funding experienced globally. Authors Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim argue that the problem does not lie in scientific ability or power, rather the problem stems from a lack of local research financing. Without the proper funding from the national government and local sources, the AIDS research community in South Africa is being forced to depend on international finance and global donors, a source that is not always sustainable. Others argue that current AIDS spending is wasteful and could be better resourced elsewhere in health care budgets globally. Roger England, author of the article “Are we spending too much on HIV?” argues that far too much money is being spent on HIV research. The AIDS epidemic is a global crisis that affects all people around the world. In South Africa specifically, in order to combat South Africa’s rapidly expanding problem of HIV, the authors of “AIDS Research Must Link to Local Policy” argue that South African government increased funding and more AIDS research are the necessary steps to end this life-threatening disease. Both authors agree that HIV/AIDS is a major epidemic and needs to be conquered; however, the authors disagree on the importance and overall impact of funding AIDS research, causing a heated debate.
When speaking at the 13th international AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa, nearly ten years ago, Nelson Mandela called for action, “we must mobilize all of our resources and alliances…until this war is won.” This however, has not been the course that the South African government has followed. The authors argue that due to this increased dependence on international funding, South African scientists have been forced to shift their focus from the local tragedies to the overall problems faced on a global scale-putting a halt to the local troubles.
Opposition to this mindset of increased spending is found across the globe. Author of the article “Are we spending too much on HIV?” Roger England claims that much of the budget allotted for AIDS research is misspent for the profits of the few, imposing the question of the existence of a corrupt system. England believes that much of the money currently “wasted” in AIDS research could be allocated to other pressing causes. Such examples include prenatal illnesses and ischemic heart disease-diseases that cause more deaths in low to middle class countries than HIV. One can see the validity in England’s claims about using AIDS funding through different channels. However, one can also dispute his claims on the corruption of AIDS spending, as he lacks essential reasons behind this accusatory assertion.
The authors of “AIDS Research Must Link to Local Policy” are valiant supporters of the progression of AIDS research, and believe that the primary impediment of further progress comes from within. That is, in order to achieve more headway in the field, the country must be united for the cause. This includes everyone from state officials to the local farmer, everyone must be involved. Through more research, it has been discovered that certain “AIDS denialists” in the South African government have caused even more trouble for the progression of AIDS research. Chiefly, the theory of AIDS denialism has reached members of President Thabo Mbeki’s administration, causing a reluctance to expand funding and the distribution of antiretroviral drugs. Such ignorance and simply blatant stupidity has caused the deaths of many AIDS patients around the world. “AIDS alternatives” found on websites such as www.aliveandwell.org are one of the main causes of the research standstill and can be accredited to the reason many people afflicted with the disease are still dying without receiving the proper treatment. These alternatives are backed by Roberto Giraldo, a New York hospital technologist who served on President Mbeki’s advisory council in 2000. Mr. Giraldo is convinced that the HIV infection can be treated through a change in diet and that AIDS is caused by deficiencies in a person’s diet.
For reasons just as this, the South African HIV epidemic is still going strong, affecting a population of people plagued with the ignorant ideals of the few. For the people of South Africa’s sake, I hope that this putrid opposition to AIDS research and antiretroviral drugs is toppled. I believe, as do Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, that the nation of South Africa needs to put global impact on the backburner, and home in on the local problems faced by its own population. Once South Africa has its own HIV epidemic under control, then by all means become everyone else’s hero. But for now, increase funding for your scientists, having them focus on the very issues that affect YOUR population. Your people will thank you in the long run.
Citations:
“AIDS Research Must Link to Local Policy” Salim Abdool Karim, Quarraisha Abdool Karim; Nature (11 February 2010)
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v463/n7282/full/463733a.html
“Are We Spending Too Much on HIV?” Roger England; BMJ 2007
http://www.bmj.com/content/334/7589/344.full
D. Farrell- File/AP
South Africa has been a nation riddled with turmoil on many fronts, whether it is the racially charged apartheid faced for decades or, in the case of this article, the ongoing battle with the HIV epidemic. Despite its stature as a “scientific powerhouse” and an increasingly developing political and economic system, South Africa still houses 17% of the entire AIDS ridden population. With one in every ten South Africans being struck with the disease, it seems that AIDS research has reached a plateau, mostly due to the lack of funding experienced globally. Authors Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim argue that the problem does not lie in scientific ability or power, rather the problem stems from a lack of local research financing. Without the proper funding from the national government and local sources, the AIDS research community in South Africa is being forced to depend on international finance and global donors, a source that is not always sustainable. Others argue that current AIDS spending is wasteful and could be better resourced elsewhere in health care budgets globally. Roger England, author of the article “Are we spending too much on HIV?” argues that far too much money is being spent on HIV research. The AIDS epidemic is a global crisis that affects all people around the world. In South Africa specifically, in order to combat South Africa’s rapidly expanding problem of HIV, the authors of “AIDS Research Must Link to Local Policy” argue that South African government increased funding and more AIDS research are the necessary steps to end this life-threatening disease. Both authors agree that HIV/AIDS is a major epidemic and needs to be conquered; however, the authors disagree on the importance and overall impact of funding AIDS research, causing a heated debate.
When speaking at the 13th international AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa, nearly ten years ago, Nelson Mandela called for action, “we must mobilize all of our resources and alliances…until this war is won.” This however, has not been the course that the South African government has followed. The authors argue that due to this increased dependence on international funding, South African scientists have been forced to shift their focus from the local tragedies to the overall problems faced on a global scale-putting a halt to the local troubles.
Opposition to this mindset of increased spending is found across the globe. Author of the article “Are we spending too much on HIV?” Roger England claims that much of the budget allotted for AIDS research is misspent for the profits of the few, imposing the question of the existence of a corrupt system. England believes that much of the money currently “wasted” in AIDS research could be allocated to other pressing causes. Such examples include prenatal illnesses and ischemic heart disease-diseases that cause more deaths in low to middle class countries than HIV. One can see the validity in England’s claims about using AIDS funding through different channels. However, one can also dispute his claims on the corruption of AIDS spending, as he lacks essential reasons behind this accusatory assertion.
The authors of “AIDS Research Must Link to Local Policy” are valiant supporters of the progression of AIDS research, and believe that the primary impediment of further progress comes from within. That is, in order to achieve more headway in the field, the country must be united for the cause. This includes everyone from state officials to the local farmer, everyone must be involved. Through more research, it has been discovered that certain “AIDS denialists” in the South African government have caused even more trouble for the progression of AIDS research. Chiefly, the theory of AIDS denialism has reached members of President Thabo Mbeki’s administration, causing a reluctance to expand funding and the distribution of antiretroviral drugs. Such ignorance and simply blatant stupidity has caused the deaths of many AIDS patients around the world. “AIDS alternatives” found on websites such as www.aliveandwell.org are one of the main causes of the research standstill and can be accredited to the reason many people afflicted with the disease are still dying without receiving the proper treatment. These alternatives are backed by Roberto Giraldo, a New York hospital technologist who served on President Mbeki’s advisory council in 2000. Mr. Giraldo is convinced that the HIV infection can be treated through a change in diet and that AIDS is caused by deficiencies in a person’s diet.
For reasons just as this, the South African HIV epidemic is still going strong, affecting a population of people plagued with the ignorant ideals of the few. For the people of South Africa’s sake, I hope that this putrid opposition to AIDS research and antiretroviral drugs is toppled. I believe, as do Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, that the nation of South Africa needs to put global impact on the backburner, and home in on the local problems faced by its own population. Once South Africa has its own HIV epidemic under control, then by all means become everyone else’s hero. But for now, increase funding for your scientists, having them focus on the very issues that affect YOUR population. Your people will thank you in the long run.
Citations:
“AIDS Research Must Link to Local Policy” Salim Abdool Karim, Quarraisha Abdool Karim; Nature (11 February 2010)
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v463/n7282/full/463733a.html
“Are We Spending Too Much on HIV?” Roger England; BMJ 2007
http://www.bmj.com/content/334/7589/344.full
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Putting your fetus to the test
Francoise Baylis of Nature Magazine feels that pregnant women’s involvement in biomedical research is a necessity, and their exclusion is both unethical and unscientific. While she acknowledges that researchers must take extra safety precautions when studying pregnant women, she ignorantly dismisses the possible fetal damage that could result from their inclusion. In Baylis’ opinion, trial organizers should convince pregnant women that these trials are safer than taking prescribed medication, luring them into participating. However, her claims about said trial safety are weak; and she uses terms such as “often” and “generally” that demonstrate her inability to completely support her opinion. Baylis raises an issue that needs addressing, but ignores some key information when developing an appropriate solution.
Clinical trials do prove themselves beneficial. They offer information that researchers can utilize to develop safe and effective treatments. When pregnant women are excluded from these trials, their access to much-deserved treatments is destroyed. This is because they do not have the same drug reactions that non-pregnant women have, and therefore require specific medical aid research (“The Second Wave: Towards the Responsible Inclusion of Pregnant Women in Medical Research”). Doctors are currently unable to recommend evidence-based treatments and must instead rely on partial information and guesstimates when developing treatments (Baylis). Biomedical research eliminates fragmented-data dependence by providing doctors with the necessary information to make educated recommendations.
Unfortunately, the women and unborn children partaking in such research cannot have their safety guaranteed. The unforeseen dangers of untested medications are just that, unforeseen; doctors cannot fully predict the way the treatment will affect trial participants. Nearly a quarter of all clinical trials receive no federal oversight. Even some FDA-approved trials fail to follow guidelines and are full of deficiencies (Lemonick and Goldstein). Dangers like these make biomedical research seem like a pretty risky gamble with your own life, and an insane chance to take with both yourself and your offspring.
Pregnant women have much more at stake than regular participants, creating a warranted hesitation to volunteer. It isn’t even the mother who is being studied and subjected to exposures, but rather the fetus; and while pregnant women can freely give their consent to being guinea pigs, the children they are carrying cannot (Brody). Few women are willing to make this decision for their unborn children and subject them to research that could turn out developmentally detrimental. So, although no laws actively prevent pregnant women from participating in clinical trials, they aren’t exactly lining up to offer their bodies and their children to science.
Some expecting mothers make better candidates for research participants than others. There are rare cases where taking a pregnant woman off of medication that she is already taking would be worse for the baby than the drugs are. Women with diabetes and depression are prime examples of this need for treatment continuation (Smith). In these cases, doctors would continue to administer the woman’s current medications as long as there were no known lethal fetal effects. In the case of a drug being known to harm unborn children, the mother may have to switch medications, but still remain under the same type of treatment she was already being given. This allows women to receive the drugs they need, babies to develop properly, and doctors to conduct research. The researchers can then monitor the medications’ effects without subjecting both mother and fetus to new, potentially harmful, and frequently unnecessary treatments.
Image: Oregon Health and Science University http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/women/clinical-trials/images/midwifery-research.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/women/clinical-trials/current-clinical-trials.cfm&usg=__uhbxqD-WYgfcKTxgcle0wUTL8Zk=&h=250&w=544&sz=48&hl=en&start=106&zoom=1&tbnid=XOELalekcZlwtM:&tbnh=60&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpregnant%2Bwomen%2Bclinical%2Btrials%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D975%26bih%3D598%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C3507&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=493&ei=dyaiTPjbAoT78Aai-L2DBA&oei=aSaiTNLgM8T58Aacq731Aw&esq=8&page=8&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:106&tx=40&ty=20&biw=975&bih=598
Sources:
Baylis, Francoise. “Pregnant women deserve better”. Nature Magazine. 9 June 2010. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v465/n7299/full/465689a.html
Brody, Baruch A. “The ethics of biomedical research: an international perspective”. Oxford University Press. 1998. http://books.google.com/books?id=merfunmvv_oc&pg=pa101&lpg=pa101&dq=risks+of+biomedical+research+on+fetuses&source=bl&ots=cmkthbuybq&sig=dz5p3uei6kiw7iezktyq6mcep28&hl=en&ei=csoatjwad4oclae_omhjcq&sa=x&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0cdkq6aewbw#v=onepage&q&f=false
Lemonick, Michael and Goldstein, Andrew. “Human Guinea Pigs”. TIME Magazine. 14 April 2002. http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020422/story.html
“The Second Wave: Towards the Responsible Inclusion of Pregnant Women in Medical Research”. Johns Hopkins University
http://www.bioethicsinstitute.org/web/page/901/sectionid/379/pagelevel/2/interior.asp
Smith, Stephanie. “Should pregnant women be medical test subjects?”. CNN Health. 17 June 2010.
http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/17/should-pregnant-women-be-medical-test-subjects
Smith, Stephanie. “Should pregnant women be medical test subjects?”. CNN Health. 17 June 2010.
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