Readings 2

I thought that the article on beauty was interesting. The author mentioned about a plant that was so beautiful, but his botanist friend thought it was hideous for what it does. This beautiful plant destroys the ecosystem where it takes root. This reminds me of the mistletoe and how funny it is that it represents a kiss when you stand underneath it, but it is a parasite that destroys trees. Something that seems so beautiful to you may not seem beautiful for others.
As I am reading about the many different types of art, I am amazed at the different techniques artists use. They choose different mediums for many reasons. An oil painting is much more detail and specific, whereas buon fresco does not have as much detail but still has a specific feel to it. Stained glass is interesting because it lights up with color when the sunlight passes through it and makes the room fill up with colors. It has a majestic feel to it.
As I am reading about architecture, I am amazed how the Druids at Stonehenge stacked up those heavy blocks up.

In class 2

The topic that we covered in class today was interesting. After the readings and what we discussed made me realize that there are many definitions for beauty, and there is no right answer. Beauty is definitely what the eye of the beholder believes to be. For example, I am from Las Vegas, Nevada, and my wife is from Alaska. There are definitely stark differences in our perception of beauty. I think 100 degree hot August nights are beautiful when the sun goes down. The sky is orange on the sunset, and you can feel the warm air driving with the windows down. My wife on the other hand is from Alaska with disgust that I think the desert is beautiful. She cannot stand the desert, and the heat consumes her. Alaska is definitely gorgeous with desolate mountains of green trees, snow, and glaciers with abundant wildlife. Our views of beauty are completely different, and neither view is right. We need to understand for ourselves what beauty means and what it does for us as what we associate it with.
In class on Thursday we went over architecture which is to be my favorite of the arts. It is very interesting how ancient cultures built massive buildings without modern technology as we have today. It is fascinating that many of these buildings still stand today hinting us what it was like living amongst these ancient people when these buildings were built. Seeing pictures of Ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian buildings entice me to go there. Unfortunately I have never been to these places, but someday I will. While I was serving in Bulgaria (which is bordered with Greece) it was tempting to hop the border for a day to check out Ancient Greek ruins. Unfortunately that never happened. However, I did have the opportunity to see Byzantium buildings and a couple ancient Thracian or Roman structures. I was amazed that they were still standing. I also saw other different types of buildings that drew my attention. The spaceship looking building was on top of the tallest mountain used by the Communists. It had an eerie feeling to it. I believe each and every building has a certain feeling to it whether it's bad, good, happy, sad etc. I hope to learn more about architecture in this class.

cultural events that I plan to attend

1. Manti Miracle Pageant Saturday June 27 (Community)
2. Farmer's Market or Parade July 4th (Community)
3. BYU Museum of Art Steinhilber (Art exhibition) July 10
4. Jazz night on the 14th (music)
5. Movie Screening Monday July 20 (Film)
6. Theatrical Event (Singing in the Rain)
7. Dance Sport (Dance) August 8th
8. Movie Screening

In class 1

I just added this class last Friday. As far as I can tell from the power point slides from the first week is that this class will help me understand more on how to interpret art, and what it means to me and the community. I tend to live everyday ignoring any art around me, and that I think some specific types of art are silly. I know that I need to change, and I want to change. I believe this class will help me understand how to read art, even if it may appear silly. This will help me respect those who try to make us understand our world a certain way and be more open minded. However, there is some types of art that I am interested in such as centuries old art, architecture, mathematics, and engineering, but I want to try to understand more of other kinds such as street art.
Understanding art is important for us as a culture, country, and heritage. We may seem very narrow minded in our society ignoring what may actually be very important. I know in today's society to be competitive with other nations we have to specialize in something individually and nationally. This forces us to forget about other things in our world. For example someone may be a very intelligent physicist, but he may not even know how to change the oil in his car, mow the lawn, understand history, dance a simple waltz, or play the piano. He may understand cold fusion which is impressive, but it is sad in our society now that people do not know how to do other things or appreciate art. I know that it is important to specialize, but I want to understand more. I hope this class will help me understand how to criticize art in way other than saying a piece of art is silly and stupid. I want to be able to understand why it is there or what it means to me. With an open mind such as this will help me engage in many things that I would not have thought of that would help me grow and understand our world. Always willing to learn something new is a start.

Readings 1

I always wondered why we had to take general education courses here at BYU or at other universities. In the text, the author describes how unfortunate it is that in our society now people want to ignore a certain area of study to move on with their chosen field. He describes how important it is for people to become cultured, and that corporations should hire people more generalized rather than a "narrowly trained specialist". This will better their companies knowing that their employees are well rounded willing to work hard. It is unfortunate that many people may be very smart in one field, but they are awkward to talk to. They may have a 4.0 GPA in something, but will end up working in some cubicle crunching numbers or something while a more rounded person will end up with customer service or management. I am not sure that this author meant what I am saying, but it makes sense to me how it is important to be more generalized.
I especially love what is written in Moroni 7. We need to come to our senses and do things with a real intent. If we go through the motions the act we are doing profits us nothing. We also need to be real and not fake and actually have emotion for what we are doing. For example, giving a gift to someone should be out of love and generosity. It should not be given grudgingly as it is stated in Moroni 7. We have the obligation to judge. To judge what is good is of God and what is evil of the Devil.
In retrospect of the readings, art is what defines our culture. We also can understand our world from our art. Our culture will die if we do not understand where we have came from. We connect ourselves with other people through art whether it's dance, paintings, sculptures, architecture, music, and other things. If we understand the meaning of these things, we will continue to grow.

Manti Pageant

My wife and I went to the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti on Saturday June 27. It was about an hour and a half drive. We drove through Nephi and took the highway through Moroni to Manti. In Nephi, we noticed a beautiful rose garden. My wife wanted to stop and check it out. The rose garden is for those who payed the price for freedom in World War II. Next to the rose garden was a monument for other wars, more specifically for those from Utah who paid the ultimate price. We went on our way to Manti.
We arrived in Manti at around 5:00 in the afternoon. We decided to make this experience a day trip. The gates did not open until 6:00. We waited in line with our blankets and jackets to save a seat so we can go explore the town. The sun was beating down on us, and there was absolutely no shade for us while waiting in line. After they opened the gates we saved our seats. We left to go eat and to do other things. We went through an antique store that had a bunch of art that a lady was trying to sell.
The Manti Miracle Pageant started at 9:30 right after the sunset. I would say that the pageant had a great message, but it was very corny. The costumes were awesome, and the narrator and people speaking on the tape seemed like they were recorded in the 1950's. My wife laughing through some of it especially during the part where Mary and Robert were expressing their love.
It had a great message. It was about the whole history of the church and the Book of Mormon fast forwarded. The lighting and props were very impressive, and it is definitely worth attending again. Most likely my wife and I will return with friends or with our future children.
The Manti temple is beautiful. It is very majestic, and it just stands out on highway 89 for miles. It is amazing how the saints in the 1800's built something like that in the middle of nowhere without any major railroads or technology that we have today.
It is neat that many people are willing to do the pageant every year for many people to experience what the Gospel has to offer.