Image of Perfection

The first image, “Your body is a battleground” by Barbara Kruger was originally used in a march in Washington DC supporting a pro-choice position and reproductive rights for women. What I like about Barbara Kruger’s work is that it is not always self-explanatory and is open to interpretation. I would argue that the metaphor of a women’s body being a battleground not only relates to the battle of abortion but that it goes deeper. As I initially look at this picture I see two sides of a face, one being positive and one being negative. The underlying photograph represents to me the two sides of a person: the outside appearance and the inside emotions. Her makeup and shaping of the eyebrows represents the ideal woman in the 1950’s. This picture discusses the body being a “battleground” from all sorts of angles. Women are put under an enormous amount of pressure on how they are supposed to look, act and be. The phrase “sex sells” is so true in that through advertisements, the most common message is that if you buy a product you will get a girl, or if you buy a product you will look like this girl so you can get a man. Our perception on beauty and attraction is completely fabricated by the media.

The next image “Memory is your image of perfection” also by Barbara Kruger only reinforces what I have been saying. The way we are brought up and through what we are exposed to as we grow is what creates our image of beauty. There is no original choice of what we individually think of beauty, these images are an influence to society as a whole. The image plays with the idea that the body or actual person is transparent while the high heels and jewelry stands out symbolizing that the outward appearance and that material things are what really matter.

Below is a video that I immediately thought related to these two images. It is a commercial done by Dove to inspire natural beauty and bring awareness of today’s false image of beauty. I feel like the video speaks for itself and is very inspiring for people to be happy with who you are and know that everyone is beautiful in their own way.

Cloning

"Abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, for example, risk reducing the human person to a mere object: life and death to order, as it were!" -Pope John Paul II

My opinion about cloning is very simple. God created us in his image and each of us are unique. Human life is something to be valued and not treated like a commodity to be bought and sold. As Pope John Paul II states in the above quote, keep life and death in the order it is meant to be in and as God created the world to be.

Trip to the MFA

Above is "Boulevard Saint-Denis, Argenteuil, in Winter" by Claude Monet.

This painting, although not viewed by the whole class was the piece of art that really jumped out to me as I walked through the Museum of Fine Arts. Winter being my favorite time of the year is what initially made me want to get closer to the painting. As I looked closer I was amazed with how Monet played with the weather and the light. I could really feel the struggle the sunlight was having as it tried to peek through the soft falling snow. I also really love Impressionism because of the visible brush strokes, how it isnt directly focused on the subject matter, and how there is an emphasis on light and its changing qualities.

Frankenstein

One of the major themes in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is Friendship and Companionship. Below are a few quotes from the book that go along with this theme.

"I have no friend, Margaret: When I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; If I am assailed disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection." (Letter II, pg. 1)

"We were brought up together; there was not quite a year difference in our ages. I need not say that we were strangers to any species of disunion or dispute. Harmony was the soul of our companionship, and the diversity and contrast that subsisted in our characters drew us nearer together" (Volume 1, Chapter 2, pg. 38)

"I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects. This being you must crate." (Volume 2, Chapter 8, pg. 146)

We see an ongoing yearning for friendship and companionship throughout the whole story. In the letters in the beginning of the book, Walton becomes depressed because he does not have anyone to share his experiences, joys and fears with. Walton wants a friend and someone he can relate with to share the experience of this huge quest he is embarking on.

Frankenstein was born into a family where he was the only child. He had always wanted a companion, a friend, someone he can relate to and spend time with. When Elizabeth was brought into the family, Frankenstein was ecstatic and was happy to finally have someone his age to spend time with.

The monster that Frankenstein created expresses the sadness and loneliness he feels. He also yearns for someone to come into his life that he can care about and in turn care about him. He comes to realize that because of his appearance, this person needs to look like him so each other is accepted.

"Will Robots Inherit the Earth?"

"Will robots inherit the earth? Yes, but they will be our children." -Marvin Minsky

The Secrets of Tomb 10A

"The Secrets of Tomb 10A, Egypt 2000 BC" is a fairly new exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, located in Boston, MA. As a part of the exhibit, there is a mummified head of one of the Tomb 10A's occupants. It is still unknown as to if the head is male or female but a DNA analysis is still in the works to hopefully clarify if it is Governor or Lady Djehutynakht. What interested me about this mummified head is how well in tact it still was. You could clearly see the wrapping of the material around the head, as well as the black pigment designs in place of where the eye brows would be. This mummy is one of the earliest to show evidence that embalmers removed the brain through the nose. The bones on each side of the nose were surgically removed in order to assist in the removal of the brain. This represents the amount of detail and care that the egyptians gave to a body when someone died.