#some actors are deeply attached to their projects and characters and artwork. and some actors are like jim

[jimmyspades]

Random very rambling Boston Legal finale thoughts bc I’m bored some sorta spoilers obviously

Sometimes I think the writers forget Alan is a widower lol (like that scene earlier in 5x09 when he says "I was lucky enough to stave off the evil that so ages men... marriage.") but then 5x12 he says "I always thought, if I were to get married again..." so. I guess they remembered !

I'd always pictured Alan coming from a relatively well-off family, in large part bc of those episodes of The Practice season 8 where he goes back to his hometown of Dedham and his best friend is from a wealthy family, wealthy neighborhood, and also his general tastes and almost patrician attitude and things. But after noticing that line from the Thanksgiving episode—"I grew up in a very estranged, unhappy house. Most Thanksgivings my mother spent serving dinner in other people's homes"—which makes it clear they were not rich and perhaps the opposite? But nevertheless, keeping that fact in mind when Alan says he's always dreamt of opening a legal aid firm to help poor people who can't afford it...... sweet man. He’s done so much good and he’s only getting started

On a similar-ish note. Something about Alan remembering everything that’s ever happened to him—every wrong, every pain, every cruel word from his father, every time he was used. He’s been cursed with a steel-trap memory, it’s why he keeps people at arms length. But now that’s the one thing his best friend is losing, his mind. And as Denny’s legal partner and eventual caretaker, Alan’s curse becomes a blessing—he can remember for both of them. He’ll always be there to remember everything Denny forgets, to reassure him for the rest of his life. Ohhh man. Soulmates.

Still waiting for John Larroquette to share an autobiography someday because I would loveeee to hear his thoughts on the show generally/working with James specifically. On Night Court in the 80s, John and Richard Moll had some issues working together for the very same reasons I imagine John and James would not exactly mesh (work style/approach to acting)... but blegal is a much different show in style and format that I thiiiiink would negate some of those potential problems. But fascinated to hear how they got on!

How it feels thinking 100x harder about these TV lawyers than the writers did. Specifically being so mad about Alan Shore I want to analyze him like a bug I love him so deeply he’s such a wonderfully complicated character—while knowing it was just James’ day job for a couple years ago and probably means nothing to him on any deeper level and he hasn’t thought about him since 2008:

[livingbestlife]

Virtual Sketchbook 1

Hello!

Introduction:

My name is Elisha and a little-known fact about me is that I have always been good at facial recognition. I can identify any actor by their baby picture, but honestly it is not that resourceful since I do not work in law enforcement or forensics. I do use it in my business in skin care, by remembering my client’s skin conditions accurately for each facial treatment.

 1. WRITING AND RESEARCH –

The work of Art is:

Betye Saar, “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima” (assemblage, 11 3/4 x 8 x 2 3/4 in.), 1972.

Then, in list form, detail 5 new facts you were able to find out about your assigned artist or the artwork. 

1.  According the website The Berkley Revolution: Betye Saar was interviewed about her work, “My work started to become politicized after the death of Martin Luther King in 1968. But The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, which I made in 1972, was the first piece that was politically explicit.” (https://revolution.berkeley.edu/liberation-aunt-jemima/)

2. “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima was born: an assemblage that repositions a derogatory figurine, a product of America’s deep-seated history of racism, as an armed warrior.” ( https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-betye-saar-transformed-aunt-jemima-symbol-black-power )

3. “The first adjustment that she made to the original object was to fill the woman’s hand (fashioned to hold a pencil) with a gun. In her other hand, she placed a grenade. ‘She was seeking her power, and at that time, the gun was power,” Saar has said. (https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-betye-saar-transformed-aunt-jemima-symbol-black-power )

4. “The character, an incarnation of the ‘mammy’ stereotype, represented domestic servitude and a comforting familial presence, rooted in the history of enslaved black women working as maids and nannies.” (https://www.apollo-magazine.com/the-way-i-start-a-piece-is-that-the-materials-turn-me-on-an-interview-with-betye-saar/ )

5. “Where the notepad was once attached, Saar added a vintage postcard of a smiling mammy figure clutching a wailing mulatto baby, a vulgar joke about the common sexual exploitation of black slaves or servants by their white masters. Finally, front and center she affixed the clenched fist of the Black Power salute.” (https://www.apollo-magazine.com/the-way-i-start-a-piece-is-that-the-materials-turn-me-on-an-interview-with-betye-saar/ )

Did the way you think about the art change from the first time you looked at it? Do you see anything different in the art now?

The first time I saw this painting, my initial reaction was a feeling of being uncomfortable with the depiction of an African American woman in servitude. The artwork invoked a feeling of being ashamed of this dark time in American history with slavery being allowed and tolerated. After further depiction of the history of this artwork and interviews by artist herself, I understand now that this is a revolutionary work of art. It is not necessarily the visual picture of a slave, but a picture of a woman that is strong and is ready to fight for her freedom.  

2. ART AND WRITING - Select a work of art from your life. It must be something that hangs in your house or your room, something that is important to you or that you look at everyday. Include a picture. In paragraph form (4 sentences), tell me about the art – what media were used to create it? What use does it serve? Do you think it is beautiful? Why?

 The work of art that is hanging in my front room is a picture from the Ringling Museum called Blue Madonna painted by Caravaggio.

 The medium that was used to create this picture was oil and canvas.  The use it serves is to invoke a question of the depiction of woman in the world. This painting affected me deeply when I saw it for the first time in my early twenties and it still does today even ten plus years later. I think it is beautiful because it identifies the struggle that some women feel about being mothers and their place in life. When I bought this painting, I was struggling with becoming a wife and wanting children. The pain on her face and sadness resonated with me at the time and still does to this day.

3. WRITING A SELF-PORTRAIT - Create a perceptual profile. What “baggage” are you bringing along when you look at art? Answer the following questions – How old are you? What is the gender you primarily align with? Where are you from? What is your ethnicity? What do you do for fun? Are you a member of any organized group? Where do you work? What makes you uniquely you? This helps us see from what exact point in the world we view and receive visual information.

How old are you? 40’s.

What is the gender you primarily align with? Female

Where you from? California

What is your ethnicity? White (Austrian heritage)

What do you do for fun? Hang out with my family and work out.

Are you a member of any organized group? No, I am not a part of an organized group.

Where do you work? I own my own skin care spa, Integrative Skin Care.

What makes you uniquely you? I am kind and generous and genuine.

4. ART PROJECT (SELF-PORTRAIT) – Look at the work of Romare Bearden in Revel or online. He created collages that combine media (gouache, pencil, colored pencil) and photographs to express things from his life that he thought people could universally relate to. He was representing himself powerfully long before the advent of selfies.

What are you fascinated by in your daily life? Create a self-portrait that somehow represents YOU. This could be a selfie (remember this is ART - your representation should encompass the definition as introduced in our text, and this is a graded assignment), a virtual collage, anything you assemble that communicates something to the viewer. But don’t let me (or anyone else) limit you – be as creative as you desire! Think about HOW your self-portrait will elevate the viewer's understanding of the subject = you.