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The Growth Manifesto

Humanities and arts have always been essential to all human cultures. Their research may encourage greater intercultural understanding and build the groundwork for a more civically engaged lifestyle. They can also help you think critically, perform creatively, and prosper in an environment that is constantly evolving. Throughout this semester, I learned the importance of art through humanities. The visual arts, such as painting, sculpture, and architecture; music, dance, theater, or dramatic arts; and literature. They are the academic subjects that focus on human thought, emotion, and engagement. I chose my manifesto to be about growth because I felt majority of my blog post had some sort of relation with growth. Whether it was physically or spiritually. We have the motivation and the tools to become the best versions of ourselves thanks to personal growth and development. Many of the assignments throughout the semester I felt related a lot to growth. One of the blogs, which was the analysis of a poem we chose, and I had chose “The Great Sea” by Uvavnuk. The poem was about how the poet connected with the great sea. I felt this poem ties in with growth because in the poem he starts off as a weed, which is something that is undesirable. But as he advances, numerous great forces drive him onward. It was a transformation from being a weed to finishing the path to joy throughout his life. Another one was the playlist I made which had the theme of youth. As everyone knows, throughout life you grow and one of the phases in that growth process is your youth. Since it is on this journey that people realize the immense power they possess, this adventure deserves to be appreciated and embraced. Youth is a period for adventure, self-discovery, and finding one's calling. A framework for youth development is established, and youth development is seen as an ongoing, unavoidable process in which all young people are involved. It's important to enjoy each period of life, including childhood and maturity. Each of us leads a unique life, and the path to discovering who we are and what we desire involves a number of stages. A part of growth includes making mistakes and finding good coping mechanisms. One of our first assignments was the find an image of something captivating or interesting to you, then describe how it makes you feel or how it expresses one’s sensibility and values. I chose to write about the sunset because of its importance to me. To me, the beautiful sunset serves as a sign that the day is coming to a close and gives us hope for the future. We have the chance to reset everything we've done and reinvent ourselves when the sun sets. To make up for our errors, learn from them, show our appreciation, and offer a respite from the day's stress. It represents the beauty of life and serves as a sort of getaway from the real world. Sunsets are an incredible piece of art in my opinion and can be more than just an optical illusion. Speaking within the different kinds of arts, with growth comes evolvement. Several forms of art has evolved tremendously over the years. Nearly all human societies practice art in one form or another, and it can be said that this is one of the traits that makes humans unique among other species. The visual arts are now deeply entwined with language such as poetry, song, and storytelling. Then there is music, dance, ritual, marking life milestones, death, religion, and politics. Art through humanities can tie to growth is many different ways. And the growth part still hasn’t ended. There is yet so many things to discover and that’s what excites me most. This course served as a basic examination of the humanities' genres and subjects. Various genres, including music, the visual arts, drama, literature, and philosophy, which were covered through readings, lectures, and class discussions and it served its purpose of filling me with knowledge of humanities.

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Ekphrasis

Three boats navigating through a storm,

Mount Fuji visible in the distance.

Big waves forming a spiral centering the hopeless fishermen.

With fear in their hearts, and terror in their eyes, praying that the storm subsides.

The work of art I chose is called “The Great Wave of Kanagawa.” The landscape-format linen print of The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai is also referred to as The Great Wave or simply The Wave. It is both one of the most famous pieces of Japanese art in the world and Hokusai's most well-known creation. It was published from 1829 until 1833. The waves dominate the artwork's asymmetrical composition, emphasizing the threat and danger posed by the rough, crashing waves. The waves also give the piece a sense of movement, which helps the viewer understand how helpless the fishermen were in the face of such enormous waves. Sharp lines are used to increase and enhance the threat posed by the waves at the point when water is likely to overwhelm the defenseless fisherman on their boats. The artwork exhibits pattern, emphasis, and proportion, which are especially evident in the waves. White may be seen as hope that the fisherman would survive the storm despite the artist's use of muted, soothing colors that are devoid of reds or other strong hues. However, the prominence of cool hues like dark blue creates a feeling of coldness and helplessness. The picture demonstrates a significant transformation is taking place in Japanese society, one that brings the presence of foreign influences from the unsure sea in contrast to the firmness and calm of Mount Fuji, the country's long-standing emblem. Even if the fisherman are battling for their lives despite all odds, the images' subject matter or backdrop is dismal.

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The work I chose to analyze is called Francis Alys and Rafael Ortega, Re-Enactment. This work captured my attention. The script was he was to purchase the gun and proceed through the streets until anything happened to stop him. Al's initial performance, which lasted from the moment he first held the pistol until he was apprehended, was captured on film by his collaborator, the artist Rafael Ortega, and was then used as the basis for the performance's replication. Re-enactments highlights this tension by fusing the live performance and the document as primary axis that are essential to the work's structure and influence its conclusion. The initial performance must be filmed in order to be recreated, which also results in a video; the two are intertwined and dependent on one another for the work's overall design, which calls for both performance and the filming of it. Al's was able to negotiate his release from police custody while also convincing the officers to take part in the staging of the second performance, ostensibly through the use of bribes, which is a frequent tactic in negotiations with the police in Mexico City. The officers played out their parts in the performance's recreation of the scene of Al's arrest. This time, though, Ortega filmed the performance in a very different way, and Al's employed a fake gun. The two-channel film juxtaposes footage of Al's performances; titled "Real" and "Re-enactment," they play at the same time, contrasting the original performance's footage with that of its recreation.

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The scene from Hamlet that I choose was Act 1 scene 5 where the ghost tells Hamlet how he was murdered by his brother. I chose this scene because this is where Hamlet reflects about the nature of death and it captivated my attention. The ghost describes to Hamlet how his brother Claudius killed him. He reveals that while he was asleep, Claudius poisoned his ear and managed to entice Gertrude. Hamlet is told to "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder," according to him. When Hamlet explains what happened to Horatio and Marcellus after the ghost leaves, he begs them not to tell anyone. They are made to "Swear" by the ghost when it returns. The two men pledge their commitment right away. In the shadows, a ghost appears to Hamlet and claims to be his father's ghost, calling on him to avenge his "foul and most unnatural murder" and stirring him to anger. The ghost informs Hamlet that while his father was sleeping in his garden, a villain—the exact villain who now wears his crown, Claudius—injected poison into his ear. Hamlet is horrified to learn that his father has been murdered. The suspicions Hamlet had about his uncle were realized. He cries, "O my prophetic soul!" By stealing Gertrude from the sincere love of her first marriage and seducing her in the filthy desire of their unholy union, Claudius has corrupted both Denmark and Gertrude, the spirit urges Hamlet to seek revenge. The theme behind this scene clearly demonstrates appearance vs reality and this creates a tension within the characters and the overall play.

Below I attached a staging of the act that I found on YouTube to better demonstrate the scene.

https://youtu.be/DGMqesISpNw

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The first movie I chose to do a synopsis on is called The Piano. It offers a tale of love and passionate pride and is set on the lonely coast of New Zealand, where people struggle to preserve the appearance of the European society they have left behind while squalorously surviving in the rain and mud. It's a narrative about shyness, suppression, and loneliness; about a man who won't listen to a woman, about a man who can't hear a small girl who gets into trouble and then acts like she didn't mean to. The action moves slowly as attention is given to the lavish New Zealand woodland environment and the ornate attire and decorations that serve as identifiers of the era and its conservatism. This film rewards those with patience and features excellent performances. The second movie I chose is called Dr. Strangelove. The plot, which is set during the height of Cold War hostilities, centers on a mad American general who dreams of using nuclear weapons to destroy the Soviet Union because he is sexually infertile. Politicians from a variety of backgrounds struggle mightily to delay Armageddon. George C. Scott played a hawkish general, while Peter Sellers played three characters in the movie, including Dr. Strangelove, a Nazi weapons specialist who had barely changed. Though Kubrick thought it would work better as parody, the movie was originally intended to be a dramatic examination of the Cold War. One of the most iconic scenes in movie history is the scene where a major in the Air Force is riding on top of a nuclear weapon that is falling. An extravagant pie fight within the War Room was how the movie initially wrapped up. Nevertheless, the scene was removed, and the altered finale now includes a number of nuclear explosions, all of which are set to Vera Lynn's well-known World War II song "We'll Meet Again." Lots of films back then were filmed in black and white, although this particular movie didn’t have to be black and white. It is believed that they wanted to give the audience a feel that it could be more realistic. Dr Strangelove, one of the darkest comedies ever shot, is all the more potent because Kubrick doesn't shoot it like a joke. Like all of his works, it is obsessed with fabricating its own reality, juxtaposing stock footage of phallic aircraft with a trilogy of bizarre performances by Peter Sellers. Handheld battle footage is juxtaposed with locked-off interior shots that look like they belong in a science fiction movie. There is a sense of anxiety throughout the entire film as a result of Kubrick's collision of extreme light and darkness, reality, and absurdity. In Dr. Strangelove, a world on the verge of extinction is brought about not by a failure of international relations or the schemes of a power-crazed tyrant, but by a group of paranoid, incompetent, and sexually-repressed politicians and generals.

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The theme I chose for this assignment is light. I constantly find myself snapping photos of certain lights because of how captivating it can be. Lights nowadays come in any size, shape and color. Light is a symbol for understanding and intellectual thought, the opposite of darkness.

Everywhere you look, there is light. Scientifically speaking, electromagnetic radiation that the human eye can see is referred to as light or visible light. Light is energy made up of small particles called photons. Typically, visible light is characterized as having wavelengths. Whether it comes from a natural source, like the sun, or an artificial one, like a lamp, light is a source of illumination. The word can be a noun, an adjective, or a verb, among other forms, much like light itself. All life is dependent on light, which also creates our oxygen to breathe, our seas' cycles, our planet's magnetic fields, gravity, warmth, and our weather. Majority of the pictures I used was to create a dynamic of images bursting with light and color. The dark is almost usually thought to be ominous and dangerous, connected with things we cannot understand. Light is said to conquer darkness and to bring order out of chaos. In the midst of a busy, loud and hectic place the scenery of light can block the chaos. One of my favorite quotes is “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” With light comes serenity. When I think of light, I think about how it serves as a symbol of life, happiness, and prosperity. Warm light, as demonstrated in the fourth and last picture, creates a comfortable ambiance. Light can help guide you when on a dark path, literally and figuratively. As shown in the photo of the concert, it almost feels as the bright light unites us all. Light is the channel through which we perceive things in our physical environment. We observe the symbolic world with wisdom rather than with light. As a result, light and illumination are frequently used similarly. Your soul contains a light that is identical to the light that surrounds you and gives you life. The world is a brighter place when you recognize yourself in everything, even in the sunlight peeking through your curtains and the constellations dotted across the sky. ✨

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Analyzing “The Godfather” and “La Jetée”

The Godfather contributed to the creative success of the film. Dark lighting and dramatic sounds struck me as the best elements in the movie. The majority of the movie's scenes were captured with very little lighting. The ominous feelings connected to the mafia, brutality, and criminal society were emphasized by the darkness and shadows. Along with the dramatic visual moments, The Godfather also used powerful music and sound effects to build tension. La Jetée had similar techniques, such as using dark lighting to enhance the drama of this movie, except the fact that it was in a different language and it was black and white. Although, the lack of color really helped set the tone of the movie. La Jetée was quite different from any other film I’ve seen before but it did a good job portraying an image using different features.

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The theme I chose for this assignment is embracing your youth. I am a big believer in you only live once, so accomplish all that you can in this lifetime! A big part of that is one’s youth/teen years. I constantly hear older generations wishing they could turn back time into their younger days. The teenage years are the ideal time to start a journey of self-discovery. This adventure needs to be celebrated and embraced since it is during this journey that individuals discover the tremendous power they hold. Youth is a time of exploration, of discovering one's self and one's purpose. I attached a variety of songs that are different genres of music which carry the theme of youth!

https://youtu.be/AbPED9bisSc

The first song I chose, my personal favorite, is called, Live While We’re Young, by my all time favorite band, One Direction. It is a little bit different from the rest of the songs as this song is more of a modern pop song. It is upbeat and describes the typical lifestyle of a teenager. The narrator of the song encourages a female to sneak out of her house all night long and pretend that she and the other person are in love by saying, "Tonight let's get some and live while we're young." When you're young, you don’t often think twice, and if you're not careful, you can have to live with the repercussions for the rest of your life.

https://youtu.be/mwG6g5boyF4

The second song I choose is called, Forever Young, by Rod Stewart. This is a rock song from 1988 which expresses a sincere yearning for a loved one to have the best in life, from making the correct decisions to having the appropriate outlook and spiritual guidance. In spite of how old they are, it is hoped that they will always retain the beauty of a youthful heart.

https://youtu.be/b7k0a5hYnSI

The third song I choose is a very popular song called, Unwritten by an artist named Natasha Bedingfield. This is an uplifting pop song from 2004, and basically says that your life is yet unwritten, or a blank page. She wants you to look inside of yourself and discover who you want to be. Remember that you are the creator of your own life story and fully accept your roles in it. The tone of this song is very hopeful and tells you to love a life full of possibilities.

https://youtu.be/fMMNrth246k

The fourth song I chose is called Young Blood, by Bea Miller. This song has more of a dark melody as the way it sounds in the beginning is very gloomy like. The song asserts that although youth might disobey rules, challenge authority, and forge their own path, they must persevere through difficult times. Today's generation may create their own luck and find strength in one another as they rewrite tomorrow because they have the energy and determination of young blood coursing through their veins.

https://youtu.be/nPYRBsGMKOU

This next song is called Sixteen and was written by Thomas Rhett. It is a country song that was released back in 2017. The narrator remembers how impatient he was to mature as a teenager. When he was only beginning to drive at age 15, he couldn't wait to get his license. But after turning 16, he eagerly anticipated turning 18, which would grant him a Saturday night without supervision or a curfew. But once he turned 18, he wanted to be 21 to legally be able to drink. Now as a grown adult, he came to the conclusion that he spent most of his time focused on what was to come instead of living in the moment.

https://youtu.be/TZNIKZdoehE

Finally, the last song I chose is, You Make Me Feel So Young, by Frank Sinatra, who happens to be another all time favorite artist of mine. This song is a Jazz Classic released in 1956. He writes about how he is confident that this woman will keep him feeling young at heart even when they are old because they run, sing, and play games together like a pair of children. Jazz music gives off more of an optimistic feeling. The tempo is moderate so it keeps a happy vibe throughout the song in which I love very much.

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The day that I’ve been awaiting for the past twelve years finally arrived. High School graduation day was finally here and there was nothing I wanted more. Although it was going to be a very significant day, it felt like any other day. I spent the entire day prepping for this occasion. I had a morning appointment for my nails, ate lunch, and then had an afternoon appointment for my hair. I had the entire day to get ready because the call time wasn't until 5:30 p.m. My school's graduation was being held in an arena, which was roughly an hour away but takes an additional 30-45 minutes due to traffic. Knowing my family, I had to tell them a white lie about the start time of the graduation because otherwise there was no possibility for them to arrive in time. I double checked to make sure I had my cap, gown, and tassel because we were hurrying to go as usual. We were finally headed toward graduation. We arrived just in time for check in. I didn't realize I had forgotten the most crucial item until we were two families back from the check-in desk. The tickets! Throughout graduation practice the entire week prior, the school staff repeatedly emphasized that we would only be admitted into the arena with the tickets and that there would be no exceptions, my heart sank. There was no way we were going to go all the way back home and still make it in time for graduation. I felt hopeless on what was supposed to be one of the most important days of my life. My parents insisted on finding a staff member who would make an exception for us, but I was too embarrassed. Just my luck, we were able to get ahold of the principle who understood that situations like this happen, and he let my family and I in. In the end, regardless of the stressful situation, it still turned out to be a very good day, and by the end of it, I was a high school graduate!

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https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/157592/the-great-sea

The poem I chose for this assignment is called “The Great Sea” by Uvavnuk, translated by Jane Hirshfield. It captivated me just through the title as one of the things I value most about this earth is the sea. It was short but beautifully written poem of how the poet connected with the great sea. I have been fascinated by the imagery of the sea since I was a little girl. The poem addresses the big sea that pulls us internally. Whether caused by wind or the sea, this inner movement is founded in joy and related to the spirit. We are psychologically and emotionally nourished by water. A couple literary devices I picked up while reading this poem was the poets use of both imagery and repetition. It made me question what was it that he found so great about the sea because of the amount of times it was repeated. Although, the imagery is the more noticeable poetic element in her work. He starts off as a weed, which is something that is undesirable. But as he advances, numerous great forces drive him onward. These three forces include the earth, the river, and the weather. These forces serve as metaphors for both predictable and unforeseen events. The earth and the weather are unexpected forces, while predictable forces are ones like a river. It’s almost as it was a transformation from being a weed to finishing the path to joy throughout his life. So this organic narrative was everything that shifted one into pure happiness.

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The domestic space/ area that I inhabit frequently that I chose for this assignment are my own room and office space. My family and I just recently moved into our new home in 2020. This space is divided into my room, bathroom, and closet all within one space. It is very big and open which I love because it gives the feeling of being stress free. Personally, I feel it serves its function as a domestic space because it is my own woman cave. It is the place I go to to clear my mind, and simply relax. Almost as if every time I step into my room, it is an escape from reality. It’s very calm, quiet, and dark, just as I like it. I hardly have the windows open because it keeps from letting in light and keeping that dark vibe I like. As you can see, when I have my room door open and bathroom door open, it allows a lot of open light to come in which is nice at times, but it isn’t the usual purpose of why I prefer being in my room. As for the place I inhabit regularly, I chose the outside lanai area. This area is very spacious as well and has more of a comfortable environment because it it surrounded by plants and fresh air. It consists of a kitchen area as well. This area is where I find myself doing homework, and the place that also brings me peace because it is my way of getting a fresh breathe of air. I usually am there to receive light because it is bright and brings that open feeling. It is especially amazing being able to enjoy nature and listen to the rain. Studying can be very difficult for me in areas where I can easily be distracted, but in this area it does quite the opposite. They both serve the purpose of bringing me tranquility but are complete opposite.

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The sculpture I chose was one I came across walking in downtown 5th ave. This public art is called “It happens” by Jim Rennert, who worked for two decades in the corporate world. Jim Rennert was born in Phoenix, Arizona, but was raised up in Las Vegas, Nevada. The description of this sculpture claimed that he was a man who’s sculptures represented real life situations and or dilemmas, in this case being a business man’s. It was sponsored by The Hoffman Family of Companies. These statues serve as a testament to those important incidents that laid the groundwork for business life as we know it. Starting with his creative choice to uncover archetypal significance in the everyday realm of business, Rennert's work is unique in many ways. It shows a man in a suit and he doesn’t have visible facial features. It demonstrates a man examining what is on the bottom of his foot. I believe it is trying to portray the typical struggle that takes place in the life of a business man, on the assumption that he stepped in something. Hence the art being named “It Happens” led me to think so. By paying close attention to movement and figure placement in each piece, he attempts to create a sense of motion. Rennert builds the foundation of each piece he creates out of a steel armature or framework. He then makes changes to the piece to emphasize motion, weight, and proportion. Using this as a starting point, he builds a silicone and plaster mold that is utilized to create a ceramic mold into which molten bronze will be poured. Then, flat pieces of laser-cut steel are combined with bronze that has been cast using the traditional lost-wax technique. This was a very unique sculpture that constantly grabbed my attention whenever I would end up walking down town, and it is nice to know its background information now.

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I chose this painting called, Gong. This painting was created by a man named Pierre Alechinsky who was born in Brussels. He studied the art of calligraphy in Japan which is where he developed the techniques for this piece. I personally found this painting very beautiful, as blue is my favorite color, but it demonstrates so much more than that. What is amazing about paintings such as this one is that it can be whatever your imagine makes it, letting the emotions be the way one perceives it. But, I also liked how the painting has specific areas that catch my attention with brighter blue tones while erasing other areas of the drawing with darker tones. What captured my attention was the lines flow and the variety of shapes they produce. Cylindrical lines are used in the play on the sensa to emphasize the energy and feeling produced by the flowing brushstrokes. The painting's white and black values convey the painting's lightness and darkness, but the blue primary tones are saturated with an intense and brilliant color. As well as the texture of the painting which is very unique and it adds depth. The painting is optimistic and lively while also having a gloomy undertone. It reminded me of the continual ups and downs life throws. The way I see it is almost as the brighter hues of the painting are the ups and when the darker hues fade in, those are the downs that try to throw one off. Fortunately, those gloomy, darker parts of life are only temporary because it eventually goes back to hope and brighter days. Overall, this piece of art was empowering and very well done.

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The work of art I chose for this assignment was this photograph of me at the beach. It demonstrates what I consider two important things in my life which are dance, and the sunset. I am from Florida, so I constantly find myself at the beach preferably watching the sunset. It enables me to breathe fresh air and release positive emotions merely by being outside in nature. It gives me an opportunity to reflect on my life and I find that it plays a therapeutic role in my mental health. This picture brings me peace. It immediately takes me back into that moment where I felt as nothing else mattered but the sky and I. This photograph contains many details and gives off such an abstract view of the sun setting. The detail that sticks out to me the most are the beautiful colors that the sky so magically forms. Most people don’t look past what the sunset is but scientifically more blue light, some green light, and even some yellow light are filtered out when the sun sets because light must travel farther through the atmosphere. The longer-wavelength colors of visible light, such as the reds and oranges, which are left for the earth to receive. This is what gives a sunset its vibrant colors. But, behind the beautiful sunset, to me it serves as an indication that the day is coming to an end and provides us hope for tomorrow. As the sun sets, we have the option to reset everything we've done and to renew ourselves. To make amends for our mistakes, learn from them, express our gratitude, and provide a break from the tension of the day. It signifies the beauty of life, almost like an escape from reality. Sunsets can be more than just an illusion, and to me it is an amazing work of art.

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Hello, my name is Tatiana! I am 17 years old and was born/raised here in Naples Florida. I just recently graduated high school and I am continuing my journey at FSW, as I was previously a dual enrollment student. My goal is to finish my AA at FSW, as well as get accepted into the nursing program. Then after graduating with my RN license, I plan to transfer to a university to continue my studies and pursue a bachelors degree in nursing. I am currently working as a caregiver with a home health aide agency in which I love because it is giving me a head start into my career of nursing! Some things about me, I enjoy traveling, dancing, concerts, the beach, and food. I personally have never owned a tumblr account but I love being able to have the chance to explore this social media platform. I am very excited as to what this journey through humanities and blogging brings.