Tabletalk
Hello,
Today we viewed how some other artists approached the icon of the U. S. Flag, created some art ourselves, and discussed the role of citizenship in a democracy. Debrief here, or share your thoughts about what you might put on your panel!
Today we viewed how some other artists approached the icon of the U. S. Flag, created some art ourselves, and discussed the role of citizenship in a democracy. Debrief here, or share your thoughts about what you might put on your panel!
posted by erdecker at 12:43 PM
33 Comments:
I love discussions like the one we had today. They allow me to voice my personal opinion and hear other ideas. My design will be an eye with the stripes of the flag on one side and an eagle on the other. Below it will be the word "speak".
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I really thought todays discussion brought a lot of good ideas to the floor. I loved hearing everyones different perspectives on the artwork. Its great how everyone has such diverese ideas. I really don't know what im doing with my square nothing i think of seems great enough. hopefully something fabulous will come to mind. I can't wait to see the end result!
-hr.3-4
Todays discussion was very thought provoking. It really opened up my mind to something I've never really put much thought into- the American flag. I'm thinking of putting "togetherness" and "love" intertwined on my block since that is part of what America is all about (being together and loving everyone [not in a creepy, stalker way, though]). Other than that I'm not too sure. But todays discussion was great.
The discussion we had today was interesting to me because it made me think more deeply about the fundamental values of our country and how diverse it really is. I liked the talk about political parties and how they seperate us, and my original design was based upon that. However, I changed mine later to incoporate the citizen's need for open-mindedness, and how in a country as different as ours we need it to accept others and keep peace. (Hrs. 1 & 2)
I was looking over quotes because i do that when i get bored and i came across this quote. I thought it was cool and a very truthful point
Remember one thing about democracy. We can have anything we want and at the same time, we always end up with exactly what we deserve.
Edward Albee
Sam Hours 3and4
Hey there people. The dicussion today gave me a bunch of ideas for designs, but I can't really decide on a permanent one. There too many words to describe America and it's democracy on one small block of wood. Since I'm not the world's greatest artist, I'll have some trouble drawing what I want represented. I think I'll end up doing something along the lines of people walking with pride, staying stong, and standing up for their country. No final ideas yet...Peace out (Representing Am Studies Hours 1&2)
I thought that todays discussion was very refreshing. My favorite activity was the liing sculpture. I thought it was very interesting that in both of the sculptures for APLG, someone portrayed either the U.S. or "the modern world" as sometimes indifferent to the rest of the world. For the flag, I am still not 100% sure what I will put on my square, but I have a few ideas.
Luke T / APLG
Hey guys! Well after reading some of these posts I've decided I'm completely disappointed that I missed the discussion today!! However, some of my peers have informed me about a few topics and ideas that were covered during the class period and I've been thinking about what it means to be an American, and what I think about democracy. It's been difficult to come up with an idea for my panel thingy, but I'm working on it. I've come up with a few ideas, but I'm not sure which one to pick. I'm sure I'll have it figured out soon. I am, however, really looking forward to tomorrow and what will come out of those two class periods that we have American Studies. I'll see you all tomorrow!
-Olivia
Hours 3 & 4
Hi. This is Kristine from APLG. It is neat that seniors and sophomores are working on this project together.
I liked how one article said, "In, the future, brave men and women will write a Declaration of Interdependence... proof of our evolution, revolution of our own growth and understanding." The tiles that we will be creating will all be dependent on each other to make the flag come together. Democracy cannot work without people coming together, yet keeping their individual talents and goals, neither can this piece of art. I am excited to see the differences in our thoughts through the blocks. My block might have something to do with a rocket...
I had a nice day today...
The discussion was pretty good except I wish that I had said more than I did. I thought about ideas for my tiny piece of wood, and I came up with the word friendship. Really guys, friends is what I look forward to everyday. I can get out of any bad mood when I see or talk to my friends. So I'm just gonna take advantage of my Mandarin skills here (yeah whatever), and put a character for friendship. And also, I will put a pair of angel wings behind it as a symbol of peace, which of course, will be the wings of a dove.
I can't wait to get my little piece of wood!!!
Hey guys!! I wasn't in class today cause i had an "appointment" (driving test(which i PASSED!!))but anyway's i talked to a lot of you about what we did in class today and i heard that it was AMAZING and i really wish that i could have been there. I'm bummed that i didn't get to see the slide show with all the art work and the pictures of the flags. I'm really really really EXCITED for tomorrow!! It will be great fun to see all of our different ideas come together into one beautiful piece of artwork. As for my part of that piece of art....yeah i'm still working on that. I want to somehow show the beauty of democracy but i'm not quite sure how i will do that yet. I will see you all tomorrow! (hours uno and dos)
hey wats up yung scholars. todays discusion was lots of fun and taught me the bigger meaning of the American flag. It also gave an idea for what to do for my design. My design is going to be a picture of two different colored people shaking hands. I decided on this idea, because our country has very little fighting for how diverse it is. Steve Samb hour #1 and 2
yeah, I didn't like the discussion so much. It just showed that we all had different opinions which I already knew. I did enjoy the slideshow with its views and the fact that this project includes art. For me it is a little easier to think about things like the meaning of our flag and democracy when we convey it in this way. I have only two ideas so far. One has a girl with different words and pictures on her arms, the other is more broad with pictures inside of pictures. Very symbolic. I hope it will turn out o.k. and will look good with the smart people's work. word of wisdom: cheescake(if you don't get it, don't ask)
I agree with you, Matt. Everyone have a different perspective of respect for the American flag. Freedom of speech gives freedom to the person and the right for others to accept it!!. Some people need to open up their minds just a little and GET REAL.
I though it was so interesting to take part in the human sculpture activity. I'd never seen this done before, but each one had meaning. It reminds me that I'm capable of making art too, and sometimes the most spontaneous acts portray our feelings most accurately. Seeing as I'm not the best artist, my panels is more about the text. I'm thinking of writing "Choose a Path of Unity", possibly with an outline of the U.S. and a path leading to it. Especially with elections coming up and the debates over policy, I think what our country needs is to reunite. While that seems idealistic, we're beginning to forget our common goal, as Kirsten C. said, of protecting our liberty.
Hello all! I'm pretty sure that evertone who was paying attention, even a tinny bit, during the discussion today realized something about America that broadened their outlook on our wonderful country. I am definitely no exception to this. During the discussion I realized the oppertunity that comes with democracy. I realized that everyone has the oppertunity to be who they are and to voice what they believe. I also realized that all of the different oppions are what make America so inclusive. I have been racking my brain for a half-way decent idea of what to put on my block, but I can't think of anything. So if anyone has an exta idea that is wonderful, I'd gladly take it. Thanks guys. -Hrs. 3&4
Today's class was a nice change of direction from the daily APLG criteria. I have to say I became a little skeptical when the first thing we did as a class was stand up, wave our arms and make faces. The awkwardness quickly eased however, and I became really excited about the work we will be doing with our artists. My favorite parts of today were the slides of art. How powerful and interesting. Art isn't something that is looked at a lot in government and history, say for the occasional political cartoon. The different interpretations of the American flag helped me understand the project a little better and made me begin to think about the message I want my square to project. I also began thinking about the message of my future piece in JM history during our human model exercise. It was no doubt a challenge to quickly and silently place myself in a position of purpose. The results were the best part. Learning that so much information could be presented through such a simple process or movement is something that I value and feel that I will take with me into this project. Today was uncomfortable, interesting, freeing and fun. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the end result!
Today's discussion was very refreshing, it is really cool to look at modern art and our country together in one form of expression. The slide show had some very powerful images and I only hope that are flag can live up to America's spirit and the works by many great artists before us. I also liked the human sculpture, maybe I apreciate it because of my love of theatre, but I also found it very interesting how we can take the different views of many people and bring in into one theme, in our case, the american flag.
-David S. APLG
Thanks to everyone for not bashing eachother's ideas...
Let's see if we can continue this maturity throughout much more controversial discussions.
Greetings from the most conservative member of APLG.
I’m gonna start out with the national anthem, since that’s what we had first in class. Personally I didn’t like Marvin Gaye's rendition. When I hear the national anthem, it has to be in its original form, not ifs ands or buts about it. At athletic events, especially ones that I participate in, the national anthem sends chills down my spine; it makes me so proud to be an American. But when the artist/singer/band makes changes to "make it their own" I find myself finding flaws in the way they do it and not paying attention to what it actually going on it the song. For me, just keep it all original.
In regards to the artistic renditions of the flags, they don’t do anything for me. Were supposedly supposed to "find a deeper meaning" in those paintings but in my opinion that is complete BS, I just can’t do it. For me, for an image to be powerful and include the American flag, it has to be in a more patriotic way. For example, the monument of the soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima is infinitely more powerful to me, also all the patriotic images coming out of the post 9-11 time period, images of fire fighters attempting rescues with a flag super-imposed in the background, that also is infinitely more powerful than the images we saw in class today.
-Aaron
Doc-
All day today I have been thinking about what I' am going to put on my piece of the American Flag. I've put a lot of thought into it, especially 1st and 2nd hour today. I absolutely went through some cognitive dissonance but I got through it! I have decided that on my piece I' am going to put four items; the Puerto Rican Flag, a symbol from a song, the words: speak up, act out and listen, and the letter "Q". All these items represent me!
The Puerto Rican Flag is meaningful to me because it is my main ethnicity. It has to do with America because it is a commonwealth of America and shows how the U.S. has made peace with other nations. Another item I' am going to use on my piece is a symbol; the question mark from the song "Where is the love?" by the Black eyed peas. The question mark symbolizes the wonder of how we, the U.S., consider ourselves to be a peaceful nation and a safe place for all people, yet we still have hate groups and have individuals who disrespect one another because of our differences. To me it shows that though we are not a developing country there plenty of things we can learn from other countries by listening to them (another one of my items). The words; “listen”, “act out” and “speak up” are from the reading we did in class, to me there important because it implies that one person can make a difference and we can always learn by listening to one another. The last item I will put on my piece is the letter "Q", it represents my family. It stands for "Quinones" my Hispanic last name which also shows my ethnicity. These are the items that will always be important to me and that is why I have chosen them to be on my piece of the American Flag.
-Melanie Quinones
I thought the discussion in class today was very interesting. It really opened up my mind to what America really is and what it stands for. As for what I want to put on my square, I'm not entirely sure yet. I think a picture of an eagle would be extremely fitting, but there are also many quotes that I can think of that I like. If I do end up doing a quote, I think I will do "The journey is the reward," which is a Taoist saying. (hours 1 & 2)
Hey guys!
I have to say, I really enjoyed the first day of the process. I can't wait to start on the next step and put together this amazing piece!
I just wanted to mention something I was thinking about in regards to one of the activities we did. The sculpture exercise, which I think may have been one of my favorite parts of the day, really made me think. I was very impressed by the way people were just able to jump in and add to the sculpture after barely having time to think about it. It just goes to showthat, even though we are individuals, certain ideas like "hunger" and "America" evoke the same ideas from people. I think that is definitely a symbol of unity.
I'm so excited to put this flag together!
-Madeline, APLG
Hey. so i thought is was awesome how every artist put their own thoughts of what they see when they look at the american flag or think of america into their design, so thats what i have in mind as well. The discussion really made me think about being an american and think about the meaning behind the flag.
Class yesterday was really interesting, and I think this project is really going to come together! I'm suprised to find that manipulating the flag for art offends people; it is used in much less respectful ways, and the artist is simply trying to open people up to a different perception of our country. I really liked the balls made of strips of flag; I feel that people need to realize that even though the flag has a lot of meaning and symbolism, in the end it is just a piece of fabric. Good luck to everyone today!
-Sammi, aplg
One thing that bothered me about our discussion was the agreement that the flag is not a strong symbol. The idea that burning our flag doesn't evoke any sort of emotion is saddening. And yet, it is our own fault. We commercialized the symbol, made it money when tragedy struck. We associate the flag with tragedy only and have therefore lost the glory that it symbolized. We lost the idea the flag was creation of the minds that founded our identity. That it was a symbol to create your own identity.
The flag is a symbol. That's it.
Andrew
Wow! We did awsome today! Even though that pesky little fire dril during my hour (3&4) was a little angering to many. What really was an awsome feeling was running as fast as I could with so many others to get back inside and work on this project. I thought I would never see the day where there are people actually RUNNING back to the school after a fire drill because they actually WANTED to go back to class! That was so cool. I really can't find the right words to describe how that felt. I am so glad I did this project with so many amazing people. I will probably never get a chance to do anything like this with the same extrodinary people ever again. I will always remember it though.
Alyssa Mueller
Hey everyone. Making my square today was amazing. i loved seeing everyones ideas and how much effort they put into it. Thank you to everyone one who helped out with this project. I can't wait to see the finished project it will be amazing. What we all did today is a great definition of what america is on it's own.
Today was SO much fun! I can't wait to see the finished product! I am really impressed by how creative and talented everyone is, and I am so grateful we got this opportunity. It really helped all of us grow as individuals, and as a community. Thanks to everyone for such a wonderful experience!
The discussion was fun and it was cool looking at all the pictures from the different artists that showed the American flag and more in different ways. Also, the National Anthem that was sung my Marvin Gay? was pretty sweet.
I thought the flag discussion was o.k. It's always interesting to hear the very different views of people. I really enjoyed the slideshow because I like encorperating art into deep thought. I do not think any of the artists meant disrespect with their views of the flag. I am doing a design with symolism. A big eye with a heart inside with a lightbulb inside that and finally a key that says voice inside that. I liked the idea the your voice is the most important tool we have. You can't even argue with someone if you don't use your voice. I can't wait for the unvailing. Hope it turns out o.k.
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