TOW #17 "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With" by Tracey Emin

I was first introduced to Tracey Emin's work in art class when I had the opportunity to do some research on her, and ever since I have been a huge fan. Emin has been a prominent figure in the art world for decades and it really isn't very hard to see why. Aside from her technical skill and unique design aesthetic, I think the most remarkable quality about her work is the unique thematic messages she puts forward. She often plays with the ideas of the way that one views oneself, and nuances her work with her take on the role of gender in society as well as the way that this effects sexuality. I think her work "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With" exemplifies all of these themes in a painstakingly beautiful way. The installation itself is rather interesting by the very fact that every viewer is encouraged to actually climb inside the tent like structure that Emin created and adorned with the names of everyone she has ever been intimate with. This ultimately makes for a very interesting situation in which viewers begin my questioning the artist, and then begin to question themselves and what it truly means to be intimate with someone. Without the structural components, the rhetorical situation would not be nearly as interesting, nor it would be nearly as meaningful as it is. By making her audience literally climb inside the inner-workings of her mind, she is able to open up a dialogue between the audience and herself and make them mentally and physically go deeper into the piece. Additionally, her use of texts almost helps her create a series of anecdotes. When I looked at the various names sewn inside the tent I could not help but think of all the weight that these names probably carried at one point or another in the span of Emin's life. Through the different application of the text utilized for the names on the inside of the tent, and the additional phrases on the outside, Emin creates a really interesting appeal to her audience. By sharing snippets of her own stories, she makes one think back on their own.

IRB #3 Introduction

This marking period I will be reading, Deep: Free-diving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves, by James Nestor. This book was recommended to me by a good friend of mine, who said it was an absolute must read. So far it seems really interesting in content, as well as a really well-written piece of literature. I also think it'll be a very unique book compared to others I have read because it blends the factual with the philosophical. Can't wait to get started!

TOW #16 IRB "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe

For this cycle of TOWs I was able to finish the second half of, The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe. I definitely enjoyed the second portion of the book much more than the first. This is mostly because as I started to get to know the individual characters, it stopped feeling like a boring book about space and became something that I could really relate to. I think Wolfe accomplished something really special with The Right Stuff, because he took a series of historical events that could easily be boiled down to a list of bullet points recounting the facts, and turned it into something so much more than that. In this sense, he really achieved his purpose of both educating and entertaining his readers- his experience as a journalist definitely helped his credibility in the factual evidence, but also his knowledge on how to really appeal to people. It is the little things, like clever anecdotes in which Glenn supports his wife when she is too timid to let the vice president into their house, that really make the book an experience. Even though events like this have nothing to do with the space race, they are really powerful in revealing the nature of the seven men who were chosen for the program. From family-men Glenn and Carpenter, to bold Shepherd, the program was filled with strong personalities all tied together with "the right stuff". The second half of the book focuses around the right stuff needed for the group of seven to be successful, for example staying cool under pressure which was necessary both in space and throughout the astronauts rise to fame. It also continues to use strong imagery and anecdotes to detail the various flights, and the events that surrounded them. In addition to these two devices, Wolfe also relies heavily on the repetition of a meaningful phrase to achieve a thematic purpose. He constantly refers back to phrases like, "our boys always botch it," and 

"pushing the outside of the envelope," to make a strong point that will stick with his audience. I really loved reading this book, and I think I will definitely want to read more of Wolfe's work in the future. 

TOW #15 "The 3 Most Important Things in Life" (Section Two)

In the second section of his essay, The 3 Most Important Things In Life, Harlan Ellison transitions into a much more serious tone, while still playing off of his token sense of humor that was established in the first. His answer to the seldom pondered question of what the most important things in life are is very different than most other people's beliefs. He devotes the entire second section to violence, sandwiching it in between sex and labor relations. Although Ellison is an acclaimed writer both in the form of novellas, short stories, and screenplay- this is not enough to establish his credibility as someone who can reveal the true most important things in life. In order to gain the ethos needed in order to actually get his audience to buy into what he is saying, Ellison relies on anecdotes, and a very conversational way of writing.  

In this section, Ellison shares an anecdote in which he and a good friend of his went to go see a movie in New York. In the middle of the movie three people began to argue in the section in front of Ellison and his friend. As the situation escalated things got violent, causing one of the people arguing to get pushed off of a balcony. Rather than trying to aid the severely injured, if not already dead, person, the people in the theater just continued to watch the movie. In the conclusion of the section, Ellison writes, "Genuine, mindless violence is very important. Because there is no knowing when it will strike. And there is no escaping from it." This anecdote is essential to achieving his purpose as it exemplifies the point he is trying to make about violence perfectly. He demonstrates, through his personal experience, the importance and inescapable nature of violence. In addition, he is able to establish his credibility even further because it is a story of something he actually lived through and therefore he has the utmost authority on it. He continues to play on this with the conversational, often humorous tone that he uses. He mimics the men in the theater, using a range of swear words and very casual slang. By doing this, he creates an open dialogue between himself and his readers. 

TOW #14 "Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn" by Ai WeiWei

            Ai Weiwei is easily the most famous artists from China, and arguably one of the most influential figures in the world of twenty-first century art altogether. His reputation for controversial work has not only landed him a regular spot in the limelight, but also several serious arrests throughout his career. Featured in his most recent exhibit titled, "According to What?" is a series of three photographs taken of the artist in 1995. Titled, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, Weiwei is shown dropping an ancient Chinese vase to the ground. Considering that the pictures have sparked lots of debate on almost every major media outlet, his audience has gone far beyond those who attend the small gallery where his work is held,
           This breathtaking triptych has a rich thematic meaning, as shown by the vast variety in interpretations throughout the last two decades. I believe that what Ai Weiwei is getting at with this piece is the tendency of history to takeaway from the precise social order that nations such as his native country of China strive for. This often causes governments to lash out, and either attempt to destroy or change history. The thing I found the most fascinating is that he chose to do the physical destroying himself, and in later work chose to alter similar artifacts. He often ridicules the injustices of Chinese society in his work, and I am relatively certain that this piece is no exception considering the fact that he literally smashes a treasure from ancient China to the ground. Through his juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern, and his strong allusion to the Chinese cultural revolution, Weiwei takes a strong stance and calls into question the validity of the version of history that is taught and the ways in which it is manipulated. Overall the photographs are rather simplistic, which help draw attention the dropping of the vase. However, it is difficult not to notice the disparity in Weiwei's contemporary garb in contrast to the tractional looking vase. This sense of juxtaposition is also played off of by the strong contrast of black and white. This, and his obvious reference to the events that took place during China's cultural revolution help him make a very strong statement, that I think is masterfully done. I am doubtful that I will ever forget this impactful piece of artwork, and I am sure many others would say the same.

TOW #13 "The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur" by William Deresiewicz

          William Deresiewicz is an acclaimed editorial writer who has been writing for The Atlantic since 2014, and recently released his own novel. He focuses his writing around common trends in American culture, usually focusing his work around the arts and literature. Hence, the subject matter of his piece, "The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur" does not come as much of a surprise. Deresiewicz begins this piece with a lesson in art history, as well as information on the ever-changing nature of what defines art. For the most part, this section is very factual. Additionally, he uses statements from many historians to add to the overall credibility. This demonstrates that what he is saying is correct and factual, which sets him up to have a credible opinion later in the piece. He also highlights the various definitions of the word artist, and the way that expectation of what an artist should be has changed drastically along with society. In doing so, he creates a juxtaposition with what artistry was, as opposed to what it is now. By adding such emphasis to the vast differences, Deresiewicz is able to demonstrate to his readers that the current definition of art was not always the norm. In many ways, Deresiewicz's writing is a reaction to the art movement that is happening now. The main two aspects of the modern-art world that he highlights are the nature of artists to take on various mediums, as well as the simple fact that in the twenty-first century popularity benchmarks the success of a piece. Although neither of these things are necessarily bad in their own right, Deresiewicz is able to give them both a very negative connotation through nuances created by his choices of vocabulary. He uses words such as, "sink, mourn, disappear, lose, etc." to point his readers in what he believes is the right direction, without forcing his opinion at them. This also helps set up the many rhetorical questions that he employs, in which he gives his audience lots of room to think for themselves- after he has given them a great deal of evidence supporting his opinion. Readers of The Atlantic are generally very well-educated, so it is safe for him to assume that they will logically evaluate the issue he presents on their own. Through his references of credible sources, juxtaposition, carefully chosen diction, and rhetorical questions, Deresiewicz creates a very strong argument that makes his audience reconsider the definition of art that has become a societal norm. I really enjoyed this piece, as it was very informative and really made me question myself in a sense of my own artwork and preconceived notions I had about what it means to truly be an artist.

I accessed this article on The Atlantic's website after first seeing it on Mr. Miller's website, and I would definitely recommend checking it out: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-the-creative-entrepreneur/383497/

TOW #12 IRB "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe

         Tom Wolfe's, The Right Stuff, is an entertaining and informative read that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a good non-fiction book that flows more like a traditional work of fiction. Wolfe seamlessly blends the abstract details from his own mind with the actual events and realities of the situations that he depicts throughout his work. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I am liking the book so far, and this factor of something being so concrete, yet also feeling "larger than life," definitely added to my personal level of enjoyment. Throughout approximately the first half of the, The Right Stuff, Wolfe focuses on the U.S.'s fascination with space exploration in the post-war era. However, I found the book to be more about the space race than the actual travel into space. In addition, the most important factor of the novel is the characters: whose bravery, and at times absurdity, eventually made the voyage into space possible for the nation. This daring and readiness to take enormous risks seemed to be exactly what Wolfe would describe as the right stuff to get the job done. When he published the book in 1979, Wolfe was already an acclaimed journalist who wrote for a wide variety of newspapers and magazines. His extensive body of non-fiction work makes him much more credible to modern-day readers, but also helped him compose the book when he was writing. The first Americans landed on the moon less than ten years before the release of, The Right Stuff, and so Wolfe was able to utilize those who were still alive as primary sources for the book.
         Throughout the first half of his book, Wolfe uses a combination of strong imagery and juxtaposition to highlight the courage of the Mercury Seven, who were NASA's first astronauts. The juxtaposition is really helpful for readers, as it makes a much more stark difference between the astronauts and the test-pilots who almost got the job instead. He shows the difference in personality, training, and ethics in order to reveal the complexity of the issues that faced the men. Additionally, he uses strong imagery in order to grab the audience's attention and add detail. From the very beginning of the book, the powerful descriptions that he writes really set the tone for the rest of the novel, "And today, here in Florida, in Jacksonville, in the peaceful year 1955, the sun shines through the pines outside, and the very air takes on the sparkle of the ocean. The ocean and a great mica-white beach are less than a mile away," (Wolfe, pg. 2). He also uses imagery to turn the audience's attention to what really matters: the people, rather than the events.