response to Nuremberg trials video

I have really enjoyed this time that we have spent watching the video on the Nuremberg trials because I love seeing how the trials were held, from a different point of view. Usually, we just learn about the trials from what the outcomes were, and how the defendents responded to certain questions, but this movie let us see how the Nazi leaders actually were, and how proud they still were of their losing country. It was also interesting to see how respectful some of the guards were to the leaders because I would have thought that they would have been very harsh and strict because the defendents were actually in jail basically. Overall I am very glad that you let us view this film, and I am very greatful

America held captive to utopian ideology response

After reading this article, as an American, I felt cheated by the country of China. Us Americans are going about how we run our country in a respectable, friendly, and environmentally conscious way, while China is kicking down any door they need to, to make their country excel further than us. It makes me very mad because it seems to me, that China is going to overtake us as the number one world power in the next 10 to 20 years. I don't know how China has pride in their own country because they are a powerhouse snob who does whatever they need to do, to get to the top; even if that means not following the rules. Its all just very frustrating and this article actually got me pretty mad... thumbs DOWN to CHINA!

After WWII to present day

Graffiti on Berlin Wall
By: LAKE 2002
http://www.contemporarynomad.com/wp-content/gallery/berlin-wall-art/berlin-wall-art-1.jpg







This is a picture of some art that a person did on a piece of the remaining Berlin Wall. I thought this "graffiti" was pretty amazing because it showed some humor on this touchy subject in Germany's history. The painting shows people trying to climb and dig over the wall, so they can reach the safe side where there is chicken and cars waiting for them. I just really liked this art because it shows how things can change, this wall would've been a dead zone and not even touched before, and now it is painted on and the art mocks the former communist Germany which once ruled the lands of the walls




911 Memorial Art
Mikki Major
http://www.majorink.exactpages.com/









This is a painting by an artist named Mikki Major of the terrorist attacks on USA on September 11th 2001. I like this picture so much because it is simple, yet it gets to the point. It shows the destruction and chaos of the moments after the world trade centers collapsed, but it also shows the peace and eventual pride that USA gained after the attacks, in my opinion. The terrorist attacks that have been happening all around the world in the last 20 years, are down right frighting, and they have me worried about what our future beholds. I can't believe that people will go to these limits to get their point across to people, and I'm not looking forward to where they push the envelope of terrorism next. Scary stuff.



Moon Landing
Steve Penley
http://www.stevepenley.com/gallery/moon_landing.jpg








This painting by Mr Penley is a beautiful snapshot of the important memory in history when the United States landed on the moon. I thought this picture was really nice, and it also reminded me about the brutal fighting between the US and the Soviets in the race to the stars. Although there was no actual fighting between the Soviets and the US, the race to become the first at everything was pretty intense between the two countries. I think the cold war was actually good for the United State and the Soviets because it drove us to improve everything we had, and made us come up with new inventions that I don't think we would have normally found. This picture also made me sad because it reminded me that the space program is about to come to a close, which is a very sad moment in the history of the US.

WWII chapter

Leslie Cole: Sick Women and the Hooded Men of Belsen (1945)
http://www.artknowledgenews.com/international-holocaust-conference-marking-end-of-czech-eu-presidency.html









I thought this art piece by Mrs Cole was a very realistic and eye opening painting because it shows how horrible the holocaust was, without actually showing real pictures of the dead bodies laying around the camp. I thought it was horrific to see how skinny the women were in the art piece, because it brought back all of the memories of seeing the actual pictures of the people when they were found in the camps, and how close to death they looked. This whole event that happened throughout the war is the darkest point in the history of the world in my opinion, and I'm very grateful that I didn't have to live during this dark time in history. I'm very glad that the leaders of the time decided to document this point in history because, in my opinion, if they would have been forgotten to the test of time, all of these lives would have died in vein. Since they documented the holocaust, I believe that all of the deaths were not totally in vein because we now see what people are capable of, and we know to prevent it from ever being able to happen again.





Guadalcanal
artist unknown
http://dsf.chesco.org/heroes/johnson/gajohnson.html







This is an artists rendition of the invasion of Guadalcanal, which was part of the Pacific theater in WWII. I really didn't know much about the pacific theater leading up to this year, but I recently started watching a show called "The Pacific" on HBO, and it made me really interested in the battles. When we started learning about WWII, I couldn't wait to learn about the pacific theater to see if the HBO way of showing the fighting, was the same way as the history book taught us. I was pretty mad when I realized that the books information on the pacific theater was very small, and I was left wanting to learn more. I have still not looked up more information on the pacific theater, as of yet, but I plan to actually read up on the events of it later on in the future and maybe become a history buff on the event of it.






Kirhara Toshiko
bombing survivor

http://www.racialicious.com/2008/05/13/the-lesson-of-hiroshima-for-the-us-presidential-election/





This is an art piece by an actual survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and it shows the destruction that the United State did upon Japan. I thought this painting was very good because it shows how deadly the bombings were and how lifeless the land looked, according to the memory of a survivor who actually saw everything. This painting brought back the memories of debating on the subject of "if the bombings were alright or not" in the overall view of the war. This painting shows the opposite side of how I feel, because I believe the bombings by USA were alright, because they ended the war quickly, but this painting shows how maybe the bombings weren't the best idea. Although this image shows the terrible outcome of the event, I still believe these deaths were far less then an all out invasion of Japan.

The Age of Anxiety

"The Soup Kitchen"
-Norman Wilfred Lewis 1937
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/artists_view/soup_kitchen.html








This artistic picture, drawn by Norman Lewis, is a realistic and beautiful depiction of the hardships of the Great Depression in the US. Even though this picture shows the turmoil of the Great Depression in the United States, I still believe it is a universal snapshot of the effects of the Great Depression in Europe, and the rest of the world. You can feel the sadness, confusion, and helplessness in all of the peoples body composer and especially the man sitting at the table because you can see how bad he feels. I loved how this picture brought the feelings of the Great Depression into my mind because I believe the artist showed the overall feelings of everyone in the world at the time, in a perfect, simple picture that tells so much, with so little effort.







Guernica, 1937
Pablo Picasso
http://www.westpointgradsagainstthewar.org/powellpresentation_to_the_un.htm



This painting by the famous Pablo Picasso, was his way of expressing his feelings about the bombings of Guernica, Spain, in 1937. I thought this painting was interesting because it was very abstract to me, and I didn't totally understand Picasso's style, nor his meaning behind the painting. After a little research, I found out that this was Picasso's painting for the Spanish government, so I realized that it was obviously going to be sympathetic towards the Spanish people of Guernica. After this realization, I finally saw the expressions of everyone in the painting, and how they were all frantic as if they were in the bombing of Guernica themselves. I thought it was interesting to finally, somewhat, understand a painting by Picasso because his abstract art pieces are usually very weird, but this one actually had a story behind it, and I found it interesting because it had to do with the tensions leading up to WWII which were very prevalent during the age of anxiety.







"L.H.O.O.Q"
By: Marcel Duchamp, 1919
http://www.marcelduchamp.net/L.H.O.O.Q.php










I thought this art piece by Duchamp was absolutely hilarious and awesome because it depicted the famous face of the Mona Lisa with a mustache, something that I personally could have saw myself doing when I was a child. Usually when I think of art during the age of anxiety, I think of artists with fancy cloths on, doing eloquent paintings of fruit and forests, not artists drawling mustache's on the Mona Lisa. I like this painting so much because it fights the normal characteristics of proper art, and shows creativity and comedy. The part of this painting that I thought was the best, was that the L.H.O.O.Q actually stands for "Elle a chaud au cul," which when translated, means "she is hot in the ass." I just think everything about this painting is so cool because it is nothing like the stereotypical 1920's art pieces, and it screams the characteristics and opinions of a true Dadaism painting.

WWI chapter

http://www.keiththompsonart.com/pages/grandmap.html is the actual website with a much closer version of the wonderful picture. I definitely recommend going to the link to get the full affect of the picture. The art was made by Keith Thompson, who is a modern artist who is basically unknown except for this amazing piece which shows a map of Europe with a twist of metaphoric characters depicting the countries involved in WWI at the time of the war. The picture shows all of the Allies as tanish, animals who are attacking the dark, mechanical contraptions who represent the central powers. I think that the picture truly embraces the passion behind the two sides while they were fighting each other because it is obvious by the animal/machines expressions, that they are going all out to hurt their enemies. I like this picture so much because it is esthetically pleasing, on top of actually having a symbolic meaning.













http://www.collectinghistory.net/WWI%20U-boat.jpg


This picture shows the sinking of the Lusitania by the U-boat in Atlantic ocean on May 7th 1915. This event was one of the main reasons why the United States joined the war effort for the Allies, and it brought the fear of war and death, to the door step of the US. I thought this picture was a very good depiction of the sinking because it showed the ship on the verge of sinking, along with the German U-boat leaving as if they are showing that they did not care that they had just sunk a ship with innocent people on it. The picture made me realize how ruthless Germany was by sinking the Lusitania and how mad it must have made the United State citizens at the time. When I picture myself in the shoes of an ordinary citizen in the US during this time, I believe I would've back the US when they said they were going to join the war, and this event would have made my pride for the US increase tremendously.












Otto Dix: War
Pg. 897







As stated above, this picture is entitled "War" and was painted by the famous artist Otto Dix. After our teacher mentioned this picture several times in our study of this chapter, I figured that it was pretty important so I observed and studied it a little more closely. This picture truly shows the harsh, gruesome reality of war and how heartless and absurd it can be. The picture was eye opening to me in present day, so I can't even imagine how controversial this picture was right after the war. When I see this picture, it makes me think about all of the human lives that were lost during this silly war and just makes me down right mad. The war was fought over silly alliances and "I'm tougher than you" mentality which, in my opinion, does not make up for the loss of lives at all. I think that if they leaders that were behind all of the fighting in WWI saw this picture, they would have been a little more heartfelt towards all of the fighters, enemies or not, because they might have realized how horrible the war they were fighting was and might have stopped it earlier. That's what I believe the true power of the picture could have been.