Enlightenmicism… Romantiment?

This class has explored both the importance of factual reasoning and logic as well as the importance of grounding ourselves in emotion and our inner feelings. We as humans can try our hardest to be as logical as possible and follow strict guidelines that we place on our morals and actions, but anyone knows that real life is about integrating the human emotion and the unpredictable things that happen to us with the use of reason and logic. Both of these ideas contribute to our human nature which is why I don’t favor either but recognize the importance of both.

It’s easy to see how these ideals are implemented into current Western society. For example, one of the things that the Enlightenment era focused on was religious ideals and being able to establish a personal relationship with God and not just follow the sayings of the Bible. The way that our morals and actions are formed come from an inner understanding of what’s right and wrong and not just rules that tell us what to do, and the condemnation of devout blind religious devotion is something that has seeped into our society today. Today, most religious relationships with God focus on a deeper set of understanding as opposed to just doing something because the Bible says so. Focusing on the intent behind one’s actions and not just the consequence relates to moral principles that were discussed by Kant, Rousseau and other Enlightenment writers. Romanticism also seeps it’s way into our current society by having us focus on the individualism and uniqueness of each person. Our art, our music and our literature are affected by romanticism ideals of focusing on the human experience and reflecting on the emotions that we face. Through our art and sharing our experiences we can empathize with others and coexist. Without the integration of those two ideals, it would be very hard to go through day to day life without rationality and self-reflection of the emotions and feelings we have.

As for the past 3 HUM classes and now this one, I think my main takeaway is being able to see how the human experience develops. We are a product of the people and ideas that come before us whether or not we choose to reject or continue traditions and ways of thinking. How we choose what is right and wrong, how we choose to treat others, how we choose to make decisions has been evaluated through so many different author’s perspectives and being able to see how they are influenced by the society and events around them helps us to better understand why different perspectives flourished the way that they did.

A hectic place

This was the final product of r/place, a project run by the social media platform Reddit.com. The premise was simple: let each of users place 1 pixel every 10 minutes and see what happens. after the initial chaos subsided, various communities across the platform rallied their members and got to work creating pieces of art to represent themselves. This giant canvas now features work from so many different groups that an interactive website (https://draemm.li/various/place-atlas/ ) was created to keep track of every individual piece present. I love this picture because I believe that it embodies both the diversity and the passion of the human race. Looking at it reminds me that there are many other people out there living their lives with their own goals and interests, but can still come together collaboratively to create art.

What do you see?

This painting, Liberty Leading the People, was painted by Eugene Delacroix in 1830. It depicts a victorious view of the French Revolution with Lady Liberty holding the French flag. I’ve seen this painting several times and even had the opportunity to view it in person, and I’m always captivated by the symbolism and freedom that it seems to emit. It’s really moving. I think that it represents Schiller’s idea of combining sensual and intellectual aspects of art: it evokes a feeling of liberation while also being intellectually stimulating in capturing key symbols of the French Revolution. At a quick glance, it seems that there’s a woman holding the French flag with various men following her and brandishing firearms. The symbolism can be interpreted in how the leader is a female, in which Delacroix purposefully personifies liberty as a female, rather than a male. Another interesting aspect of the artwork is the representation of different social classes, where you can see how there’s a man in fancier clothing (tophat!) and a boy dressed in more casual attire. From this perspective, you can see that there’s more to the painting than meets the eye.

Alignment: True Neutral

This is a scene from a web-comic called Fisheye Placebo by Yuumei. It takes the perspective of a photojournalist in a country with high censorship. To be found with the camera means certain death, and thus the photographer must remain in the shadows without interfering even for the morally “right” reasons. This scene blends dull and warm colors together to highlight this clash. We can make out the faces of some of the figures in this scene. Sensually, we can only see what the photographer sees. Intellectually, we feel distraught at the injustice of the situation; we feel sympathy for the family but understand the plight of the photographer: their neutrality.

Art transforms

I took a picture of this painting the last time I went to the museum. This caught my eye because it was so pretty. I was in so much awe with this painting and didn’t realize until now that I have no clue of what the title of this piece is or who made it. Art, although it doesn’t say anything, has the ability to engage its viewers to the point that they get lost in it. Art has the power to merge both sensual and intellectual. What initially attracts a person to art is its appearance and what draws the person closer to a specific piece is the person’s ability to interpret the meaning behind the art. This painting did exactly that for me, its visual appearance is what caught my eye initially, from its colors to the structures of the building and to its life-likeness. Once this painting got my attention, I was able to put myself in this piece and just think, think of all the possible meanings that corresponds with the painting. It’s quite fascinating how art has this ability to guide us morally because it’s our interpretation of the art that really transforms it.

Freedom of Expression is (almost) Always Welcome Here

Within the Graffiti park, you can find a beautifully painted mural of Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican painter who took inspiration from nature, her culture, and herself. Kahlo’s art embodied elements of her own identity, so it’s fitting that the college student who painted this mural added a few modern elements to the painting. Just to name a few: coffee, instant ramen, a cell phone, the the book that Kahlo is reading all seem to be important parts of the anonymous painter’s identity, and there are much more that I’m certain the painter could never fit into a single painting. The Graffiti Park allows a safe place for artists to express themselves. Freedom of expression is such an important right in America, yet many Americans either forget that others are allowed to express different opinions, or forget that you can be held responsible for abusing said freedom.

This tribute to Kahlo couldn’t possibly make passerby feel so uncomfortable that they feel the need to report it and get it taken down, but the same can’t be said if Kahlo were replaced with a certain cheeto man wearing a red cap with the letters MAGA printed on the front. This isn’t a declaration of my political beliefs. Far from it. Rather, I am stressing that it is important to remember that freedom of speech goes both ways. Most higher education institutions seem to house a majority of liberals, and I fear than many conservatives are too afraid to express themselves because they don’t want to be criticized. Of course, if exercising that freedom leads to one or more individuals getting hurt or killed, then the punishment dished out to the perpetrator is justified no matter what their political beliefs are.

All About Me

Hey y’all!

My name is Siara, I am a second year, and I’m a molecular and cell biology major. I’m an out of state student from Chicago, Illinois and some of my hobbies include photography, traveling, and painting. My favorite book we have read in the HUM series so far were the Lais of Marie de France. I really enjoyed the how each of the stories had an entirely different subject matter with an underlying lesson to learn from each story.

The picture I included are one of my photographs from my photoshoots. It is performance portraiture representative of feelings experienced by people with anxiety.

Hello!

I’m Theodore Sacamay but I go by Toby and am a second year student. I am currently majoring in Human Biology. I was born and raised my entire life here in the city of San Diego; however, my parents are both Filipino. I love playing video games, doing art, and listening to all kinds of music (mostly EDM or rap). My favorite book of the HUM series was probably The Odyssey, I had some exposure to it already from High School and liked reading about the Greeks again.

Hello, my name is…

Hello! My name is Kalo, and I am from Encinitas, which is a 30 minute drive north of UCSD. I am a sophomore in Revelle and a literature major, and business minor. I really love creating things with art and sewing, and I am currently creating an etsy, and will take requests if you want me to make you something! I also love to reading and playing video games.

My favorite book so far in the HUM series was probably The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. I really liked how it dealt with very complicated issues in a clear and concise way, however, it was not abrupt or choppy. I also really liked the flow of the story and how the purpose of it was also to be engaging and not to just teach people about philosophy.

It is not completed, but if you are interested here is my etsy: https://www.etsy.com/people/kalo220?ref=hdr_user_menu-profile

Also Rare Americans is a great new punk band, here is one of their best songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhEOImokCcM