Sculpture Blog

“Comedy Tragedy”

Artist:  Dee Clements, Colorado

1.       The five words that come to mind when I see this statue are:  expressive, realistic, theatrical, staring, and creepy.

2.       This sculpture is made of bronze and has very realistic textures and humanistic features.  The comedy face has a hint of a smile, high cheek bones, big eyes, and a sharp arc in the eyebrows.  The tragedy face is opposite the features of the comedy face.  This sculpture could easily be recognized and associated with theatre.  It also appears that both are playing instruments.  The details in the hands are amazing.  You can see joints, fingernails, and veins.

3.       The artist seems to be trying to convey both the difference and the unity of comedy and tragedy.  Both are so different, yet the two faces seem so right and comfortable together.

4.       I would not display this sculpture in my home.  Although I love theatre, this sculpture just is not my style and it would creep me out if I saw it in the middle of the night.

“Aplomb”

Artist:  Luke Acherberg, Kentucky

1.        The five words that I think of when I look at this statue are:  twirly, open-minded, free, fun, and bright.

2.       “Aplomb” was created out of steel and then painted bright blue and orange.  This sculpture is so fun to look at because the shapes are all swirly and it just looks like a lot of fun.  When you walk around it, you get to see it jut and twirl out in different directions.  I think that the sculpture expresses the idea of freedom, uniqueness, and happiness.

3.       It seems to me that the artist wanted to create a sculpture that would exemplify his free-style creativity and evoke his audience to embrace their own individuality.

4.       I would love to have this sculpture in my yard!  I think it would be so fun to have it near a pool or hot tub!

“Zion”

Artist:  Grant Standard, South Dakota

1.        The five words that I think of when I see this sculpture are: snitch, Harry Potter, bronze, Quidditch, and ball.

2.       Every time I see this sculpture I think of Quidditch because this looks like a Golden Snitch without the wings.  When I looked at it closer, I noticed that inside of the ball was another ball and another.  They all have multiple holes.  This piece looks extremely sturdy.

3.       I honestly do not know what it is that the artist is trying to accomplish with this piece.  It is interesting and I enjoy looking at it, but I have no idea what the meaning is.  Maybe the artist is a Harry Potter fan?

4.       I would not have this piece in my house, but I guess it would be fine in a garden.  I like it, I just don’t really get it so I probably would not be willing to spend very much money on it.

My 19th Birthday Party!

"The Fitness of Human Nature" Responses

1.)    What does Wilson mean by the term “kin selection?”  What evolutionary factors have lead people to feel altruistic toward members of their own family?

When Wilson talks about kin selection, he is referring to the effect that genes have on the individual and their genetic relatives.  Family members have become altruistic by sacrificing their own wants or needs for the sake of a relative.  This is an extremely unselfish move that can stifle one of the members reproductively, while enabling the other.

2.)    What are the basic differences in mating strategies between males and females?  How have these differences, according to Wilson, led to certain differences between male and female human nature?

Males, biologically speaking, have a motive of reproducing with as many women as possible because they do not have a limit or time-clock.  Women are more selective because they have a set number of years that they can reproduce and each pregnancy takes up nine months.  This has led to men being more likely to mate with whoever, whenever.  It has also led to women being coyer and looking for proper traits before settling.

3.)    Why, according to Wilson, are humans tribal and territorial?  Are these traits that can be altered, or does Wilson present them as inherent parts of our psychological make-up?  Explain.

Humans are tribal and territorial because they want to ensure their survival and future reproductive potential.  A scarcity of resources leads to territorialism.  At times, this can lead to war, but Wilson says that this does not have to be the outcome.  While it is part of our psychological make-up to be territorial, he says that war is cultural in origin.

4.)    What does Wilson say lies behind the human desire to cooperate and make agreements with other human beings?  Why do we act altruistically toward people who are not closely related to us and do not therefor carry any of our genes?

Wilson seems to take a rather negative perspective when it comes to human motives.  He believes that the reason we cooperate and make agreements is for the sake of our own self-interests.  We are motivated to respond in a way that will benefit ourselves and our close kin.  He says we act altruistically toward people who are not close kin because of long-term contracts.

Emperor's Club reflections

1.  This seems correct; however ignorance and stupidity are often thought to be the same.  However, their definitions are quite different.  Ignorance is a lack of knowledge, so this most certainly can be reversed with proper guidance and effort.  Stupidity can be defined as dull and senseless, so it is not a lack of knowledge, but rather a cornucopia of already formed senseless and stubborn opinions.

2.  Mr. Hundert does everything in his power to help Bell.  The way he chooses to discipline and guide Bell is basically textbook-on with how this should be done.  Unfortunately, Mr. Hundert sacrifices his own principle of honesty by moving up Bell's standings in an attempt to help Bell.  He believes that this will give Bell more confidence in his abilities and push him to try harder.  When this does not work because Bell cheats, I can only imagine the pain and betrayal that Mr. Hundert feels.  He gave up his own moral ethics for nothing.

3.  Sedgewick has a very powerful authority about him.  Whenever he does something, the other boys follow along.  This natural leadership is a gift; however Sedgewick uses it in a very negative way.  Mr. Hundert sees this and recognizes that his influence is hypnotic because the other boys cannot seem to help but participate in the tom-foolery.

4.  I really have a problem with Mr. Hundert's "ethical dilemma."  I do not see it as an ethical dilemma at all.  Ethics have to do with what is right and wrong.  Martin clearly deserved the honor.  Now, let's say that Martin had chosen to give his spot to Sedgewick; that would be fine.  It is not Mr. Hundert's spot to give away.  Yes it is fantastic that Sedgewick finally started working harder, but couldn't he have also learned the lesson of good sportsmanship by not receiving what he wanted?

5.  Mr. Hundert discovers that Sedgewick is cheating at the contest.  He has to decide whether or not to call him out on this in front of the whole crowd, including Sedgewick's father.  He gives Sedgewick a question that he knows Sedgewick will not have the answer to as a way of getting him out.  When he confronts Sedgewick, there is no remorse; rather Sedgewick is just upset that he didn't win.

6.  Mr. Hundert still feels bad because he took away Martin’s chance at being in the contest by giving his spot to Sedgewick.  I believe that there were multiple reasons he wanted to do this contest.  He wanted to see if Sedgewick had changed at all, he wanted to reconcile with Martin, Sedgewick would donate money to the school, and he wanted to see his old students.  He hoped that what he had taught them would still stick with them.  He was disappointed in Sedgewick and saddened when he thought the others had left without saying goodbye, but he was happy when they were all waiting for him in his room.  He was also relieved when Martin forgave him for not giving him his spot in the contest.

7.  I seriously wanted to cry at the part of the movie where Sedgewick's son overhead what his father said.  How painful this must have been for him.  I believe that this scene really showed how important it is to live an honest life that you can be proud of.  There is always someone looking up to you and your choices affect those around you.  Sedgewick had such a painful relationship with his father, how could he have not learned from this?  He should have chosen to overcome the poor choices his father made and thus been a proper father for his own children.

8.  After returning from the Julius Cesar contest, Mr. Hundert decides to return to teaching.  While he was hurt by the school not giving him the position of headmaster, he realizes that there are more important things.  He puts this aside for the sake of making a difference for the students.  The surprise that he receives is that Martin’s son is now in his class.  He looks out the window and sees Martin and they exchange glances that there are no longer hard feelings.

9.  Mr. Hundert’s classroom looks like a very comfortable learning environment.  While he is in charge and has the respect of his students, he is not a dictator.  He asks his students for their advice.  While he does give lectures, he is also open to discussions.  I believe that the reason his students respect him so much is because he respects them as well.  His way of teaching allowed his students to both learn and enjoy the experience.

10.  Mr. Hundert saw the value in educating students about the past.  He believed that they could learn from past mistakes and look up to past heroes.  This gave the students role models to live up to and quotes to live by.  No doubt, it was probably very hard to learn all of this, but they persevered and became better students.  When the students are all reunited at the Julius Cesar rematch, it is evident that they have risen to very promising careers.  They also seem to be men of integrity, so what they learned in their youth has affected who they have become.

Kimberlin Academy's Influence on my Education

            I was very fortunate to get into Kimberlin Academy when I was in elementary school and living in Texas.  We had to go in and be tested.  Out of a few hundred to try out, only 20-something of us got in.  Kimberlin was a school that very strongly encouraged the arts, creativity, and critical thinking.  Being accepted into this school set the foundation of how I approach education today.  When I was in kindergarten, we were already doing presentations for the class.  We learned how to research and present to the class.  Learning these skills at such an early age when there are no issues with self-esteem gave me the confidence to speak in front of my peers.  I didn’t know to be nervous, so I wasn’t.  In first grade, after reading “The Velveteen Rabbit” and attending a performance of it on a field trip, we were given the task of making a project out of the book.  I made a play and performed it by myself in front of the class, using some of my beanie babies as my actors.  I had an absolute blast.  This taught me to approach projects in a way that they are interesting to my classmates and audience.  In second grade we would take time every week to work on a few concepts of fifth grade math.  This was challenging, but very rewarding.  Unfortunately, I had to move to Tennessee during my second grade year, but I will always be thankful for the boost that Kimberlin Academy gave me in my education.