ART

Abstract

In the second half of the 19th century, modern art has shaped a new revolutionary development in visual arts and Western painting. It squeezes with an extensive variety of theories, movements, attitudes, and contemporary styles that exist in a common tendency to reject precedent and conventions of old days in the subject matter. The wave also reshaped all existing modes of depiction as well as painting techniques alike. But not all painting of this period has conveyed such a disappearance. Representational works in correlation with official exhibiting societies have sustained to appear the idea of some existing types of painting are further properly of their time than others. Thus more interesting or important applies the philosophy that is reflecting the 19th century was that of Realism and one should paint what one sees with their own eyes rather than mythological and dramatic content.

Introduction

The study of Art History has brought about a radical change over the last two decades. The study of art history made a potential field from the traditional core of Western Europe and re-examine its objects in light of new vital frameworks. Art History promotes a plurality of approaches in order to study art by encouraging majors to chalk out a program. The requirements for the major art history depend upon a simplified chronological framework. It is not connected directly to the time periods usually employed in the description of events in the history of Europe. The necessities for the major in Art History induce students to introduce the general methods of the field Foundation. It will help them become familiar with a broad cross-section of its contents and encourage them to concentrate on the domain where they develop efficiency.

Painting in the Age of Revolution

The painting aesthetic in Europe within the context of the French revolution showed the traditions of representation with respect to shifting social formations. The genesis, development, and triumph of naturalist painting launched in the era of naturalism, ca 1830 to 1874 in Europe. It underscored the creative tensions between the traditional ambitions of painting and the challenge of new “modern” subjects for aesthetic painting.

Art has basic characteristics that are considered to have an aesthetic sense, which lead to classify them as artistic painting. Likewise, these visions are greatly depending on the cultural renaissance at the time. The artistic community feels no one difference determines a successful painting. Unity plays a vital role in producing a painting that is appealing to the general public. The visions of renaissance artists are devoted to the glory of God and fostering secular ideology. The artists now not only paint Biblical scenes but also depict Greek and Roman history and mythology. After the renaissance, artists were painting genre scenes of contemporary affairs.

The art painting, sculpture, architecture were produced in Europe in the historical period that was dubbed the renaissance. In this perspective, a system in which all objects in a painting and sculpture both have nexus proportionally and rationally. The painted surface was eventually considered as a window on the natural world. Therefore, it became the task of painters to illustrate this world in their own art. Likewise, painters began to devote themselves to the depiction of trees, flowers, plants, distant mountains, and firmament. In such a perception, the painter could depict men, women, and children in a full range of postures.

French Painting of the 19^th Century

The academic aesthetic favored by the official Salon to the success of artists and public taste. The painting was dominated by Delacroix in the first of the nineteenth century. The first neoclassical tradition in Delacroxin emphasis linear purity and the second championing is the romantic use of color as opposed to the line. Delacroix wielded influenced a new generation of painters who sought to communicate their own personal responses to the political cataclysm of his epoch.

The official exhibition had fostered the French national artistic tradition for two hundred years. But by the middle of the nineteenth century, the academic system had degenerated. The artists who later became known as the impressionists during the 1860s and 1870s, the idealized presentation of academic art was formulaic and artificial.. They were innovative in their subject matter that did not teach or preach, such as landscape or ordinary activities of daily life. Delacroix thought that if the work was exhibited fairly, it would gain acceptance. He realized favorable viewing conditions such as good lighting and ample space between paintings. He also wanted to exhibit more works than the two allowed by Salon rules. These painters were also to a certain degree in a dialogue with another discovery of the 19th century:

Highlights from the 19th Century

There were three fundamental principles that pervaded throughout the 19th century. Neo-Classicism was led by Jacques Louis David that was a reaction to the frivolous style of the French Rococo. He and his adherents fostered the ideals of the French Revolution. They expected an art form that was dignified and reflected their serious concerns. Opposing the decorative compositions of Rococo, their work emphasized rationality and clearly delineated the composition. Ingres was one of David’s followers and has the coherently delineated forms of the classical style of David.

The other approach of the 19th century is known as romanticism. Those who followed this tendency realized that the portrayal of emotion was more vital than rationality. They often preferred a more dramatic and painterly approach. Delacroix symbolizes the clash with an allegorical figure of victory launching the revolutionaries through the battleground. Landscape painting is very popular during the 19th century. There are small schools of painters who work in specific regions. The Hudson River Painters are a group who concentrated on painting scenes west of the Hudson River. These are generally performed on mammoth canvases. The realistic in one sense, they have a grandiose impact, and they preferred dramatic lighting environment.

Painting and Sculpture in the First Half of 19th Century

There was a lack of appropriate training for some painters until the 19^th century. Károly Kisfaludy (1788-1830) was unique with respect to talent and passionate portrayal. His career as a painter lasted only a few years. His gloomy panel pictures that depicted devastation by the sea in moonshine were different from the style of painting in Hungary.

Miklós Barabás was the first Hungarian painter who was popular from 1810 to 1896.. He was the first painter who managed to live on painting in different genres and to apply various techniques. After his studies in Vienna, he went to Italy where he met an English watercolor painter. Likewise, he learned how to improve his style in it. He settled down in Pest in 1835 where he lived and worked the rest of his life. Sándor Kozina (1808-1873), a prominent master of his time, was greatly appreciated for his pictures in the court of the Russian tsar.

József Borsos depicted portrait and genre painters from 1821s to 1883s. His art was characteristic of impressive details, great artistic skills which he learned at the Vienna Academy. It was Borsos who established genre pictures of an intimate and sentimental nature best suiting demands of the time. Károly Brocky painted genre pictures and portraits from 1807s to 1856s in Hungary where he could not earn his livelihood. Subsequently, he settles down in England to stay there for the rest of his life. His pictures characteristic of freshness and airiness recall memories and the choice of his subjects appear to be rather decorative.

Painting and Sculpture in the Second Half of 19th Century

Miklós Izsó was the most peculiar personality during the time from 1831 to 1875. He was the first and the only artist for a long time that raised Hungarian sculpture with a strong popular-national approach to the level of Hungarian art. It can be related to that of Petőfi and Arany in literature. His art was not appreciated and he died of tuberculosis at an early age. However, he was accorded recognition as a significant artist of the late 19th century.

Delécluze’s contribution to History Painting

Etienne-Jean Delécluze (1781-1863), a former painter who had studied in David’s workshop. Delécluze stands as a learned, highly respected but also highly conservative critic. He was remembered for his unwavering defense of David as the greatest contemporary French artist. The sarcastic comment on Delécluze can be read in a letter from the landscapist Paul Huet to the critic that was written in 1862.

Delécluze’s criticism of French history painting was a phenomenon. Delécluze is seen as a conservative critic by historians of nineteenth-century art. Delécluze’s chief objection to academic history painting was that it served only the perfection of art itself and the artists’ need to stand out from the crowd. According to Delecluze, the great paintings sprang from the artists’ need to express ideal ethics that is shared with the public. French artists for what he believed to be their systematic, insincere, and self-indulgent need to draw attention to themselves. Delécluze depicts David as a highly talented artist who had met with almost insurmountable barriers to his career in contemporary France.

Although Delécluze does not dwell on this in Louis David, he had to face the fact that, having refused to serve the Napoleonic propaganda machine, he was unable to survive as an independent artist Delécluze paintings with Classical subjects, which he exhibited at the Salon between 1808 and 1814, won him the admiration of critics.

Delécluze holds the view that the French government’s attempts at protecting the arts during the eighteenth century had had a devastating impact. Delécluze overlooked the belief held by Marigny and d’Angiviller who was his successor. History paintings and sculptures were depicting the great deeds of Classical and French heroes. Delécluze pointed out that Marigny’s measures caused a multiplication of works of art and of artists who were dependent on the government’s decision.

Jacques-Louis David’s role for Art Work

Delécluze indicates that David’s first successful history painting, The Oath of the Horatii (Salon of 1785) (fig. 2) was also a commission from d’Angiviller. Because the painting’s size was voluminous than prescribed, d’Angiviller saw a need to criticize David. Delécluze regarded this criticism as completely absurd. What was the use of prescribing a certain size for a work of art without a destination? Delécluze believed that he lived in a historical period and country without a real purpose for art, because a higher principle, that could have created a natural tie between artists, the nation, and the people, was missing.. Delécluze assumed that art could reach perfection only in a simple, unified society. Artists of the Italian Renaissance had drawn from a rather small range of subjects of a predominantly religious character and were guided by a deep and simple faith, which inspired love for their subjects.

Delécluze leaves us to conclude that it was the lack of unity in his country and French culture, as well as the lack of shared faith, that made David, who was not born a rebel, follow one regime after another, once the Ancient Régime was over. Had David lived at the beginning of the sixteenth century, he would have been spared the predicament of having to search for a destination for his art. He would have been a far greater artist and would not have had to suffer the consequences of his political choices. Although he does not say so, Delécluze probably believed that he himself would have become the painter of religious subjects he wished to be, had he lived in Raphael’s time. His fantasies about the integrity, faith, and love of the beauty of those times, were doubtlessly an antidote against painful childhood memories.

Jacques-Louis David, 1799-1815. Oil on canvas. Paris

David’s successful works were launched under eighteenth-century history paintings. In this clarification of David’s changing interests, Delécluze overcame an insurmountable barrier between true understanding of Raphael and Classical art. Delécluze expressed the opinion that David’s still existing republican sympathies constituted a pseudo-religion.

According to the opinion of Delécluze, David’s bold measure with the principles of modern history painting did not lead to a satisfactory expression of the great idea of patriotism.. Delécluze described in detail the experience by David when working on this painting. It was noted that David found it impossible to find the right attitude and facial expression. The painting was left unfinished in David’s workshop when the painter suddenly exchanged his republicanism for monarchism.

Modern Art of 19^th century

Sarah Newmeyer accelerated the development of modern art through its various schools in the early 19^th century. It is obvious that brief biographies of the great artists of the past hundred years, sand in 80 reproductions of their work. She illustrated her spirited and sensible comments on art, its methods, and technique.

Daumier, Honoré was a French caricaturist, painter, and sculptor from the 1808s to 1879s. He was known as a political and social satirist. His masterpiece accorded recognition of his qualities as a painter. Daumier’s paintings were probably done for the most part fairly late in his career. He was accepted four times by the Salon. He never exhibited his paintings otherwise and they remained practically unknown up to the time of an exhibition held at Durand-Ruel’s gallery in 1878, the year of his death. The paintings are in the main documentation of contemporary life and manners with satirical posture. Honore Daumier was a French artist who was interested in people, especially the underprivileged. The painting is done with simple power and economy of line. These are not portraits of particular people but of mankind.

Daumier’s interests shifted to painting toward the end of 1840, though he continued to issue many lithographs. His paintings differ from his graphic works not only by techniques and artistic media but also by different subjects. His lithographic works embrace many themes. The different paintings by Daumier have subjects more characteristic of Romanticism. Daumier worked on more than 4000 works of graphics, 300 paintings, 800 drawings, 1000 woodcuts, and sculptures. Daumier’s paintings are closer to the art of the 20th century than to his own: Daumier’s posthumous exhibition the world discovered this name for itself in 1901.

Conclusion

It had traversed a long way since the first paintings on the cave walls at Lascaux by the middle of the 19^th century It was the 19th century that began with very realistic art. The movement was launched that will change art’s direction entirely in the late 1860s. Despite being extremely precise in their use of color, movement, and light, the works of those like Monet, which use solid lines and the conventional definition of figures. Many prototypes of French advertisements from the turn of the century are done in this style. During the post-impressionist period, Symbolism is emerging as an ideological movement across Europe. It was not specifically an artistic movement; it has a great influence on two of our next important styles. The third principle that is reflecting the 19th century was that of Realism. The realists were opposed to the often mythological character of many Neoclassical and Romantic artworks. Their basic philosophy is that one should paint what one sees with their own eyes, and leave any mythological and dramatic content out of the picture.. There is no specific approach between the three styles, and many artists of the century are difficult to categorize into one specific style.

Bibliography

Eitner, Lorenz. “19th Century European Painting: David to Cezanne”, Perseus Books, ISBN-13: 9780813339627.

Newmeyer, Sarah. “Enjoying modern art,” 8th ed., Reinhold Publisher: New York, 1955, pp. 47- 71.

“French art of the 19th century.” Web.

Urton, Robin. “Highlights From the 19th Century”. Portland, Oregon. 2006.

Fine, Frick. “Art History: Locating Art Historical Images”. Frick Fine Arts Library, Library Guide Series, 2007.

KFKI System Integration Ltd. “Painting and Sculpture in the Second Half of 19th Century”. 1997, Web.

“French Painting Of The 19th Century” National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2008, Web.

Italian Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. By Laurence B. Kanter. Frick – ND611/M89/1994.

“Honoré Daumier and the Exotic Vision: Studies in French Culture and Caricature, 1830–1870.” Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1989. Web.

Honoré Daumier: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolours, and Drawings. 2 vols. London, Greenwich, Conn., and Paris: New York Graphic Society, 1968. Reprint, San Francisco, 1996.

Honoré Daumier, Laughton, Bruce. Honoré Daumier. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.

National Gallery of Canada. Daumier, 1808–1879. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1999.

Introduction

Once in life, a day of great decision comes. One has to firmly define what his or her life principles are and what philosophy he/she has to follow. Hip-hop culture helped me to work out my own credo and to realize the importance of keeping to it every new day of my life.

I frequently asked myself what is good and what is wrong with hip-hop? Now I understand that any answer to this question will be rather subjective, therefore, I do not profess to be the only person who is correct in one’s judges about the culture. My position is that hip-hop is a kind of mixture of all existing philosophies and it is up to the reader to what philosophy to keep. In this paper, I will focus on the two aspects of hip-hop philosophy: the artists’ views concerning the category of justice and their treatment of the sexism problem.

Main body

The 1970s witnessed the emergence of the hip-hop movement. It began in the poorest and most crime-ridden jurisdictions in the United States. The South Bronx, New York, was a place where people found themselves talented enough to reflect the world as they saw it. The way citizens talked, dressed, danced and drew reflected the desperate, hard-knock creativity the city lived in.

The influence of hip-hop has spread far beyond the CD deck: clothing, dance, theater, television, film, and advertising – the most important areas of modern life have undergone the influence of hip-hop. Within several decades rap has developed from an underground music to the number one selling musical format, complete with Grammy awards and mainstream corporate support. Rappers themselves have shaped hip-hop culture and influenced countless members of the generation (Crossley 501). Hip-hop is the second best-selling genre of music in the United States (Butler 983). It has become big business: estimates of its contribution to the United States economy range to the billions (Hughes).

The fashion industry is one of the niches influenced by hip-hop. P. Diddy and Jay-Z are just a few rappers to name who stand to represent fashion brands such as men’s wear at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. Loose, baggy clothing is a distinctive feature of those who belong to hip-hop generation. The garments that prison inmates wear were also influenced by hip-hop fashion. Liquor, energy drinks, gym shoes marketing and advertising firms are ran by hip-hop entrepreneurs.

The popularity of hip-hop movement is rooted in its reflection of the every day issues. In particular, it is a specific response to the social and economic scourges of African American community, such as joblessness, disempowerment, and poverty (Smitherman 260). Representatives of hip-hop culture find themselves in constant antagonistic relationship with the institutions engaged in structuring and controlling their lives. Paul Butler in his research Much Respect: Toward a Hip-Hop Theory of Punishment (2004) does not merely admit the overall importance of hip-hop movement but claims that Hip-hop culture makes a strong case for a transformation of American criminal justice: It describes, with eloquence, the problems with the current regimes, and articulates, with passion, a better way. Its message is one that we should heed for reasons both moral and utilitarian (Butler 990).

According to the scientist hip-hop is the necessary tool to analyze persistent unresolved problems existing in criminal law theory, such as the problem of cause determination, the relationship between responsibility and blame, and the adequate response to the state of law-breaking (Butler 990).

Hip-hop works seek to answer the following problems in punishment theory: Why do we punish? What should we punish? How should we punish? Butler analyzes various samples of hip-hops works and identifies six perspectives through which hip-hop culture addresses these issues:

1. the purpose of punishment should be retribution;
2. punishment should be limited (but not determined) by utilitarian concerns, especially the effect of punishment on people other than the lawbreaker;
3. punishment should be designed to “catch” the harm caused by rich people more than poor people;
4. people probably should not be punished for using or selling intoxicants;
5. punishment should be imposed only by people within a community, not outsiders;
6. prison should be used sparingly as an instrument of punishment (Butler 995).

The United States incarceration rate is the second highest throughout the world. Hip-hopers appear to be the most visible critics of the massive punishment regime. The claims that they make concerning the potential of the United States to achieve justice seem more optimistic than those of some critical theorists. Though focusing on different aspects, often rather contradictory to each other, hip-hop songs this way or another render some faith in the potential of the rule of law, even if this potential is not now realized (Butler 996).

Speaking of positive impacts of hip-hop I don’t forget about the harmful it can cause to society. The thing is that hip-hop music is rather contradictory; the work of one person can have both positive and negative impacts on the audience. For example, along with misogynistic attitude that comes from rappers who sell multi-platinum records their lyrics offers a message that the society badly needs changes, the issues of education and employment are crucial. There a rather objective regularity appears: the music is contradictory because the messages that society is sending are contradictory too. The hip-hop nation is a diverged one, therefore, different views on controversial issues concerning capitalism, feminism, abortion, gay and lesbian rights, religion and immigration can be found in hip-hop music and other representations of the culture. The difficulty and the diversity of problems that the life is full of arouse the contradictory issues that hip-hop covers and, consequently the impact it has. Still, as for the social meaning of punishment I talked above, the hip-hop nation speaks as one: gansta rap and conscious hip-hop samples are similar in their authors’ critique of American criminal justice in general and its heavy reliance on prison in particular.

Considering the negative impacts that hip-hop might have on society I think of sexism problem that it causes. Bakari Kitwana’s work Where Did Our Love Go? offers a lot of considerations concerning sexist issues in hip-hop. The author considers hip-hop music one of the “few existing arenas where the full range of gender issues facing young blacks is documented in the voices of black youth themselves,” noting that the lyrics “reflect the extent of the tension brewing between young black men and women.” (Butler 999) Further, he claims that hip-hop is “misogynist” and full of “antagonistic depictions of young black women.” (Butler 999) From my personal experience as a hip-hop listener I believe that the author is quite correct in his suggestions. Unfortunately, I have to admit that the statement that words can hurt is rather applicable to hip-hop lyrics.

Though the society we live claims to be a highly-developed one, gender battles do not stop to appear. Since the 1960s there has been a growing war between black men and women and hip-hop continues to play an important role in the cultural war between the sexes. The appearance of gangsta rap is of no way accidental, it is rooted in the patriarchic values that are pervasive in the American society.

Going by these values, gangsta rap proclaims men to be prior to women. This message is revealed through obscene language, glorification of violence and profound objectification and disrespect of women (Cole 90). Hip-hop lyrics often refer to rape and other forms of violence against black girls and women that is potentially harmful to them. Those who listen to the songs of the kind are apt to form the same opinion about the issue, such lyrics encourages misogynistic attitudes and behaviors that does not contribute to good relationships between the sexes.

I believe that this kind of attitude towards women warn the listeners that they should clearly see what is good and what is wrong, even through I would not like to think of hip-hop in terms of the categories of good and bad. Cruel and disrespectful attitude to women is, unfortunately a kind of philosophy some rappers advocate. What is important is that the listeners should understand that there exist other aspects of hip-hop philosophy. Rap classsics by Lauren Hill, OutKast and the Notorious B.I.G. can help them uncover the meaning of love Plato’s spoke of in his Symposium. Run-D.M.C., Snoop Dog, and Jay-Z teach Hegel’s self-consciousness and dialectic. Rakim, 2Pac and 50 Cent’s works are full of valuable ideas concerning God’s essence (Darby 288). Hip-hop lyrics of this type help the listener to understand the most profound mysteries of human life.

Conclusion

Both positive and negative impacts of hip-hop music considered I am inclined to think that hip-hop revolution that is now taking place should reduce the risk that hip-hop culture potentially presents to public to minimum and to develop the strength that this culture posses. I believe that the eternal truths that hip-hope culture advocates make it unfading and give us some hope that the changes hip-hopers bring about will one day appear.

Works Cited

Butler, Paul. “Much Respect: Toward a Hip-Hop Theory of Punishment.” Stanford Law Review 56.5 (2004): 983.

Cole, Johnnetta B. “What Hip-Hop Has Done to Black Women.” Ebony Mar. 2007: 90.

Crossley, Scott. “Metaphorical Conceptions in Hip-Hop Music.” African American Review 39.4 (2005): 501.

Darby, Derrick. Hip-Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason. Open Court, 2005.

Gilmore, Brian. “Fear of a Hip-Hop Planet.” The Progressive 2002: 41.

Hughes, Alan. “Hip-Hop Economy, BLACK ENTERPRISE.” 2008. Web.

Introduction

Jazz has its roots in the African American communities living in United States particularly in the south. Jazz is a musical art that incorporates African (mainly West African) and European styles. Since its inception in the early 20^th century, Jazz has transformed due to influence from the popular music that is prevalent in America. The word “jazz” started as slang and was originally used to refer to Chicago music. The black Africans shipped to the United States (mainly from the Western part of Africa) came along with “strong tribal musical traditions”. African music is usually accompanied by a certain activity like work, ritual and so on (Kirchner 12).

Main body

In early 19^th century, Africans were holding dances and drum beating events in states like New England and New Orleans. During this period, a number of African musicians took and developed an interest in knowing how to play western instruments. The blend of this newfound skill with the single-line melody together with the European concept of harmony produced an art form that is today known as jazz. It is however the Europeans that popularized this form of music, taking the African component of the songs and incorporating it with the European harmonic accompaniment. It is the European-American minstrel performers that get credit for this. Some slaves had also “learned the harmonic style of hymns” (Kirchner 16). They integrated it in their own musical art as religious ritual (Kirchner 17).

Black people continued to learn western instruments especially violin and piano. This was accelerated by the emancipation of black slaves. They also led to new opportunities for employment and education though limited. Black musicians started finding employment in entertainment hubs like brothels, bars and clubs. Ragtime, an early form of Jazz, was popular in the last decade of the 19^th Century. Some of the composers included Ernest Hogan, Scott Joplin and William H. Krell (a white composer) (Giddins 27).

The music of New Orleans had a notable effect on development of early jazz. Blacks held lavish funeral services that were accompanied by many marching bands. These bands used brass, reeds and drums. These instruments were tuned in the European 12-tone scale. This became the primary instruments used to play jazz. The majority of black people playing in this funeral bands taught themselves this art of music and started spreading it to the Northern and Western cities. The first jazz music to be put in print and published was composed by Jelly Roll Morton in 1905 (Kirchner 24).

In 1913 James Reese and the clef club were the first African Americans to record jazz music. After the ban of alcohol in the 20s and 30s jazz was played in venues selling illegal liquor. This era is known as Jazz Age. Due to venues it was played in, it started gaining a bad reputation and was labeled immoral. A new breed of musicians emerged to give rise to what was called Hot Jazz. A group known as Kidory was the first group from New Orleans to produce recordings in 1919. Bessie Smith, the most popular blues singer of the 20s also first recorded in the same year. White orchestras had a large market for jazz dance music (Giddins 33).

The 1930s saw the evolution of genre of jazz known as swing music. Solo artistes leading the whole band became key figures in jazz music. Some of the popular figures of that age included Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey. Swing was also dance music and hit live radio across America. The collaboration of black and white musicians began in the 30s. Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Christian played piano, violin and guitar respectively for Benny Goodman. The late 40s saw the hot jazz being replaced by calm and smooth jazz known as cool jazz. Cool jazz developed from a blend of African American Bebop music and white jazz music. It was the popular form of jazz up to 1955. Hard Bop developed in the 50s. It was a mixture of blues and gospel music. It was in the early 80s that jazz was by commercial pop music to produce Smooth Jazz. Currently, the popular version of jazz is known as straight-ahead jazz (Giddins 44).

The New Orleans jazz derives its roots in the music of New Orleans. Most of the early performers played their jazz in brothels and clubs. The New Orleans jazz had significant influence on the development of jazz. This is especially so because of the funeral marching bands. As indicated earlier, the instrument used in these bands became the basic jazz instruments. Swing music developed in the 1930s. The idea of a solo artist leading a band became popular. One distinct characteristic of swing music was that it was played live on radio and was also dance music. Swing music gave individual an opportunity to come up with their own melodic and thematic solos (Giddins 12).

Conclusion

Shep Fields was one of the popular and acclaimed soloists in swing music live radio broadcasts. Another popular type of jazz was Bebop. It was shift from the dance type of jazz music to a more artistic and less commercial form that developed in early 40s. Bebop was composed for listening and not for dance. It therefore made use of faster tempos. The drumming style became more elusive and explosive. Popular figures in Bebop include Charlie Packer, Lester Young and Bud Powell. Cool jazz as indicated earlier was as a result of a blend between black Bebop music and white jazz. It did not make use of aggressive tempos of Bebop. Free jazz was characterized by free tonality. Although rooted in Bebop, this type of jazz incorporated music from Asia, Africa and Arabia. Fusion is a more recent form that began in early 80s out of a mixture of pop music and jazz music. It has led to emergence of other sub genres like jazz rap and acid jazz (Kirchner 30).

Works Cited

Kirchner, Bill: The Oxford Companion to Jazz. Oxford University Press, 2005. P.12-33.

Giddins, Gary: Visions of Jazz: The First Century New York: Oxford University Press. 1998. P 2-76.

Introduction

Painted in 1881 at a time when the impressionist movement was spawning into modernism, Edouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergere provides a striking glimpse into Parisian social life towards the end of the 19^th century. It was chosen due to its sensory triggers. There are few quality works that are able to emit sounds that resonate and conjure up images and constructions of thought as this piece does. As this discussion will demonstrate, the artistic form, subject matter and content of the piece were both collective and effective in the general presentation of it.

Artistic Form

The painting is centred upon a large female figure, whose image dominates roughly half the entirety of it. Almost perfectly centred, she stands by the bar with a mirror in the background and has objects such as a bowl of food and two roses in front of her. There are also a number of bottles of alcohol reflecting in the mirror. The colouring and complexion could be considered very murky, with the exception of the orange colour in the bowl of food which tends to be extremely visible. Particularly in the background, the oil brush strokes appear to be very thick and butter-like – yet they still manage to give the painting an ability to retain a symmetrical balance of space.

Subject Matter

The main representation that the work portrays is that of a social evening environment in old-time Paris, a time that feels (due to the clothes in which the barmaid is wearing) many generations ago. The central character is a barmaid who is standing there working, and appears to be very withdrawn. This aspect can be drawn from the observance of her facial expressions and the way her hands are by her side. One can almost hear the background chatter and various echoing sounds that would have been going on at that exact time. The unknown characters in the background could be from a large range of social stereotypes, and though their faces remain unseen, the viewer can still invoke characterizations of them.

Content

Within the same setting, Monet has successfully communicated the feeling of isolation to the viewer. Incorporating a mood of melancholy and bleakness (through colour), he produces an underlying message that perhaps the barmaid is discontent with her profession. The fact that she does not even have a reflection of herself in the mirror raises the notion of identity and perhaps realizes that the barmaid could have lost her sense of self.

She may feel left out and robotic within her occupation, and the necklace around her neck could be a symbolic token of her life outside of work. Nevertheless, is would appear that Monet is generally trying to form an image of modern everyday life within his own time period. Simply put, it is a representation of a regular woman with a commonly regular job, but with the incapacity to enjoy the scenery around her.

Participation

Upon first glimpse, my initial perception of the painting was the observation of a peach-faced woman standing at a bar with a neutral facial expression. She wore clothes that look like they are from an era long ago, and one might presume the work to be set somewhere within the 19^th century. It was not until quite some time after the first viewing that I noticed the mirror in the background was in fact reflecting an entire lively room full of other people. Then, once again, it took another couple views to realize that she did not even have a reflection at all. This is where the general assumption that she may feel isolated had come from.

I would agree that the participation and analysis of a work of art certainly does enhance it. It’s as simple as deconstructing and dissecting the work and noticing different things about it each time you question it. Repeated viewings of the work are also vital as it is easy for ones mind to miss the underlying aspects of each symbol, colour and shape. This particular piece, with its many mysterious secrets, is a pure example of that.

Conclusion

Each aspect of the painting compliments the other in such a way that it retains a consistently shallow mood as the one previously discussed. The artistic form, content and subject matter all correlate to produce the desired meaning – a lively scene with just one person left out – the lowly and mysterious barmaid.

The viewer is left with the raising of the question “who is she?” This evokes a feeling of curiosity, and reinstates the conclusion that the content of the work is complimented by its artistic form and subject matter, through the depressive mood in which it creates. Not only this, it also makes one feel pity for the main character which personalizes the painting and gets the viewer involved and participating and interacting with it.

Lastly, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere is effective in realizing that such a piece of work as this enables ones mind to develop and foster the enhancement of art interpretation skills. This painting is generally full of social ideals and notions of identity, that it could be near impossible to absorb the entire piece on just the first viewing.

Introduction

In the book ‘Studying Popular Music Culture’, by Tim Wall, the core theme and attention is linked to the acceptance of music civilization; the recognition and composition of music within the society. Based on this, the author is mainly concerned with the studies that merge the political financial system with civilization components, and which investigate the implication of new expertise. It has therefore been revealed that by positioning the study of popular music within the wider field of media and educational studies; music takes its lively position in the people’s culture and lifestyles.

Despite the fact that modern music is an extremely planned and profitably abusive industry; it is a rich source of importance, which offers a good ground for resourceful development and personal distinctiveness (Wall, 2003).

Various analysts have also argued that the popular music culture emphasizes technology. Based on their arguments music trends have developed advanced technologies in media among other social institutions. It should therefore be noted that the popular music culture influences both the economy and politics as well. These are the two main institutions, in which music has greatly played a significant role in their development and sustenance. It is thus of importance to analyze how popular music influences each of these two institutions as well as the outstanding factors; which seem to govern the development of popular music in these two institutions (Wall, 2003).

Discussion

Economically, popular music increases a country’s foreign revenue when exported and also the revenues received from the taxes from the music industry. Further, musicians play a very crucial role in the economy in the sense that; they increase the country’s national income which boosts the economic status of the country’s economy. More so, the welfare of the musicians is increased once they earn some income from the sale of recorded music, both in the local market and in the foreign market (Wall, 2003).

On the other hand, music in political institutions assists in political campaigns and also in entertainment. Further, the music reminds people of their cultural values under which people are brought together and united through music. For example, the American slaves were reminded of their culture by the songs they sang; during and after slavery which strengthened their unity and promoted peace amongst them. Another example is that of the hip hop culture; which is emphasized through the different hip hop music compositions (Wall, 2003).

It is further important to note that, music forms people’s identity as it is clearly evidenced by the black Americans who were irritated with the disappointments of the social rights pressure group to live up to their dreams. As it happened, these Black Americans changed their flavors to the soul and bad temper with their expressions of an Afro-centric individuality, as well as a completely new set of dance floors. In this perspective, therefore, music forms a core into which the identity of people is instilled and cultivated, for various occasions and purposes (Wall, 2003).

More so, it is of importance to note that, as Wall argues in his article; a variety of characteristics of music at times reverses social stratification. In this case, for example, the American spectators who chose the African-American styles and music do not automatically desire to be black; but pursue the personalities of the black. It can thus be argued that music breaks up all social classifications when people use it to finish social differences amongst themselves. Music also weakens transverse divisions among people like race, gender and class. On this basis, therefore, music enters into social relationships and assists in encompassing essential divisions on both micro and comprehensive levels (Wall, 2003).

On the other hand, according to Wall music is an important indicator of unity among diverse groups of people in which music blinds all their differences and brings them into a common social grouping. Based on this it can be indicated that music styles connect significant divisions particularly when appreciated musical styles are associated with appreciated groups of people. Based on this, profit-oriented producers and marketers most likely have the maximum impact on how the broad civic forms connect musical styles and social divisions.

For instance, the sale of music on a racial basis has been at the center of profit-making music in the United States; right from its origin. Further, it is of importance to note that the financial conditions of a class form its members’ character toward music in a meticulous style; where this character seems apparently ordinary (Wall, 2003).

Additionally, different musical styles are used by different age groups where the older generation usually has a slow dancing style. As it has been occasionally revealed in Europe, black music and black forms of styles were of significance to the working-class youths. This was because of the tempo of the music which could not accommodate the older people due to the speed; at which the music was played leaving the youths alone to be in a position to dance to such music. (Densmore, 1992).

As Wall argues in his book, music tastes vary from one individual to another depending on a number of factors. Based on this argument, therefore, music styles vary from generation to another; social group to another and from one occasion to another among other factors (Wall, 2003).

In addition, music can be intransigent either to a culture in the case the society kills originality and uniqueness or to the existing unresponsive forms. An example here is punk music which was a response against a culture that was moving towards a conventional attitude; disco and the uninteresting, unresponsive appearances of rock music. In this case, music becomes an ‘alternative’ when it challenges the status quo in a society. Based on this, most music became alternatives during independence where people would sing, in order to remind themselves of their cultures and identities (Densmore, 1992).

Conclusion

From the general analysis of music and its implications, it is of crucial importance to consider the importance of music especially in this transitional global world; in which various cultural differences are being dismantled by music and cultural integration is being enhanced to a great extent. On this basis, therefore, music trends should be properly nurtured and corrective measures for music reviews with regard to social, economical and political changes; so as to ensure coherence in co-existence among the varied social groups within the society.

Below are the links to the Youtube music clips that will show the impact of music on bringing unity among the people from different parts or ethnicities of the world.

Reference lists

Dens more, F. (1992). Teton Sioux and Culture. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.

Wall, Tim. (2003). Studying Popular Music Culture. London: Arnold Publishers.

Introduction

The film Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a film that thrills a lot of people. This is a film that exhibits Harriet Beecher Stowe’s never-ending model of American writing. The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin was given credit by President Lincoln during the commencement of the 1861 American civil war. The movie Uncle Tom’s Cabin is an observer story concerning the issue of slavery in Southern America. Although the book was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 the public release of this book and soon after the film were one of the few that explained the difficulties crossed with the old ways of slavery (William p.89).

Critical Analysis

At the start of the film Uncle Tom’s Cabin, it shows the way slaves were purchased and sold. Even though some of the southern American farm holders treated their slaves with deference and were similar to normal people, these farm owners were not as widespread. Subsequently, the other slave masters, who usually tortured, raped, and mistreated their slaves. This is an appalling film that shows how most slaves were treated. The book’s major personality Uncle Tom at starting stays with a family that is kind and known by the name the Shelby’s. Tom is suddenly sold together with nine other slaves for the reason that the Shelby’s which are the slave’s owners have gone badly into debt and for them to make clear their name and get out of money owing they must trade some or most of their slaves. A slave trader by the name of Simon Lagree purchases Tom together with the other nine slaves. Mr. Lagree was a slave merchant that is extremely unkind to his slaves.

Mr. Lagree purchases a child and intends to have the child for the reason that he was going to make the mother of the child his mistress. Although the woman slave Eliza was already matrimonial to another slave, Simon is doing anything possible to get her. Owning to the fact of the matter that the Shelby folks appreciated and gave care to their slaves just like their relatives, Shelby’s wife exposed to her maidservant Eliza what was going to take place and gave her assistance to flee with her child. Having to give Assistance in this escape she advised her, gave her a few amounts of money and a horse haggard cart. So Eliza takes off abandoning her spouse and taking her child to a safe place. But for the fact that Eliza fled was at the moment gone, Mr. Simon who was the slave buyer still longed to have a slave woman who can be inclined to him; as a result, he subsequently makes Eliza’s sister named Cassy her own(Weinstein p.33).

After Simon cautiously examines the slaves he gets all of them on a ferryboat that is bound for Louisiana. While onboard the daughter of a certain man called Mr. Saint Claire whose daughter was called Eva suddenly develops a strong liking for slave Tom. She stares as they are ordered into the ferry boat in shackles and handcuffs and wants to know why they are being treated so badly. Eva’s father explains to her that not all slave masters are nice to their slaves like the way they are. She pays a visit to the slaves almost every night and pays attention to them as they sing the sacred songs that help them on the course of the journey. She solicits and begs her father to purchase Uncle Tom. Obvious that Tom is becoming old Simon sells tom at a high cost of $2,000, getting his cashback on a slave named Napoleon that escaped off the boat and was consumed by alligators. On one occasion at Simon Legrees’ cotton farm the slaves are put to labor (Lott p.23). All this while Cassy the sister of Eliza is compared to give Mr. Legree pleasure. At the very instance while Tom was living in the residence of his master Mr. Saint Claire he is given value and treated as a slave that was well admired. Eva the daughter of slave master Saint Claire visited Tom regularly because her mother was not feeling fine at that moment. After Eva sees her good father kissing Harriet the other females that are staying in their house, she is shattered. She could not fall asleep in her bed that nighttime and is seen out in her “castle” partially alive. After Eva was hurriedly brought back to the residence, she recovers and speaks to allow the slave Tom to go free of charge or she commits suicide. With the value to his daughter demands Eva’s father seeks a solution for his servant’s freedom. On the day of Independence, Mr. Saint Claire was hoping to get back to sign the appropriate documents to grant his slaves freedom, but he is being deliberately gunned down by Simon Legree. Simon together with other unkind owners of slaves is afraid that slavery will soon come to an end and the slaves will flee from other farms, for this reason killing Mr. Saint Claire. Nobody is of the knowledge that Simon had assassinated him except for the very cruel slave owners. Simon held responsible one of the slaves in the house that he was involved in the murder and the slave was executed. After this, the slaves owned by Eva’s father Mr. Saint Claire, are again purchased and sold the second time. However, Uncle Tom is taken back to live with Simon Legree. Meanwhile, Cassy secretly brings Eliza to come and live in their shed feeling that Simon would by no means find out and which he did not. Perceiving that terrible things ensue the slaves, Tom persuades them to escape saying “God helps out those who only want to help themselves.” The slaves run away and they rupture the dam which holds water back from the cotton plantation. This demolishes all of the pieces of cotton that are on the farmland. Simon and his group discover the slaves in a religious residence and attempt to fight Cassy together with Eliza and her child in the residence and are then shot by Simon. Nevertheless, Eliza is lastly joined up with her partner who is now a free man. After discovering what has taken place at the cotton plantations Simon and his group depart to try and save the cotton and Tom is then abandoned in the burning house to die. The major spotlight of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is to demonstrate that African American’s have souls and thoughts the same as other humans. During her era, it was ordinary for white farm owners and slave owners to see black people like farm animals or low-level species of human beings.

Stowe’s chief aim in the movie and book is to demonstrate Blacks as a community. Her fundamental argument is that blacks go through suffering the same way as whites, and hence it is incorrect to maltreat them. All through the book, Stowe moves toward the thought of slavery from a firm Christian viewpoint. It is not astonishing bearing in mind that she had a very religious family, with her father being a well-known priest (Tompkins p.42)

During the era, this thought that black people had hearts the same as white people was a very novel thought. For the first time, it caused the white citizens accountable for their dealings either to the good or to the bad of their subordinate black slaves. Relatively than just seeing black citizens as animals, the slaveholders were required to perceive their slaves as human beings just like them(Jordan p.123).

Conclusion

The movie Uncle Tom’s Cabin has as well been ill observed by viewers. Though Uncle Tom’s Cabin commences a dignified career, the contemporary analysis of Stowe’s book and movie are, for the majority piece, not encouraging. In reality, the expression “Uncle Tom” has taken on a very negative connotation in black society. Several scholars think the liberal versions of Stowe’s characters are the genuine basis Uncle Tom is disapproved of so much these days. Right after its public release, the account of Uncle Tom’s Cabin started a career as a minstrel theater show, acted upon all over the nation There were no exclusive rights laws in the 1850s, therefore producers displayed up all the unenthusiastic stereotypes present in the volume and almost totally took away the anti-slavery part of the book in their plays. It is just lately that scholars have started to view Stowe’s book with the respect it merited. Previously seen as an amazing women’s book, people are beginning to understand, again, the significance of the story being expressed in this story-bound work. The sound effects of slavery and the responsibility of women ought to be the major spotlight when critiquing this paper.

Works Cited

Jordan, Joy. Whitewashing Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Nineteenth-Century Women Novelists Respond to Stowe. New York: Vanderbilt University Press, 2005, Print.

Lott, Eric. Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, Print.

Tompkins, Jane. In Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790– 1860. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985, Print.

Weinstein, Cindy. The Cambridge Companion to Harriet Beecher Stowe. 3ed. Cambridge University Press, 2004, Print.

Williams, Linda. Playing the Race Card: Melodramas of Black and White from Uncle Tom to O. J. Simpson. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2001, Print.

Introduction

Human consciousness is a bottomless well – full of mystery and unexpected desires. It always tries to escape the physical body and to become material. Human intelligence, hence, has always strived for the unknown and here, science plays the role of motivator and trigger of all human deeds. In this regard, the film Solaris directed by Tarkovsky represents hardships and challenges that people should overcome for the sake of the unknown and for the sake of the scientific progress. Apart from this, the film is a deeply psychological picture that reveals a person’s attempt to overcome difficulties of moral transformation while struggling with the alternative reality.

The depth and meaning of the film does not fully depend on human aspiration for knowledge and the truth. It is not only premised on the science-fiction genre. Indeed, the picture uncovers the way people overcome the obstacles on the way to the rise of new morality. Yet, as Tarkovsky mentions in his interview, “human beings should remain human beings, even if they find themselves in inhuman conditions” (Tarkovsky and Gianvito, 2006, p. 33). In such a way, the director tends to show the splendor and strength of human spirit and the way humans face bravely the hardships within their own destiny.

Another important dimension depicted in the film is a complicated relation between the main character, Kris Kelvin, and his dead wife, Hari, appearing mysteriously on the station. Like other members of the crew, Kelvin tries to find the explanation for his visions and hallucinations and to adapt to the new reality dictating by alien intelligence. In this respect, the film is a sophisticated mixture of fictional and scientific elements enabling the readers to grasp the essence of a human conscience.

For Kris Kelvin, the Solaris is the main source providing him a second chance to improve his past life and to realize his wife’s death. Through these images, Kelvin also experiences great psychological tensions by admitting that his wife is nothing more than Solaris’s reaction at his grief. This is why the novel is not only the encounter of the human intelligence and the alien reality in the form of the Solaris’s ocean, but it is the story of love in the open space.

The main hero of the movie, Kris Kelvin, a psychologist who arrives at the station exploring the planet Solaris to reveal the mysteries of strange occurrences happened. But his staying on the station near the ‘intelligent’ planet, the main hero experiences strange hallucinations like other members of the crew. Being frustrated by his wife’s death, Kelvin experiences considerable tortures when envisioning her in the station.

Main Body

Introducing Psychological Portrait of Kris Kelvin

Kelvin’s Understanding of Life before His Journey to the Station

Kelvin’s life before the arrival at the station was marked by monotonous routine. In the picture, the hero spends his last days on the Earth reflecting on his wife’s death. He stays at his father’s house near the lake, the place where he spent his childhood. Henri Berton, the first pilot and the witness of those eerie events on the Solaris station, presents Kris as “a man with the soul of an accountant” who spends his life arranging and rethinking the past (Nochimson, 2010, p. 100).

This diagnosis is corroborated in his relations with his father where he remains cool and still toward him. In fact, Kelvin himself is ill at ease about his cool and reserved demeanor because he believes that this behavior is the reason of his wife’s death. The hero is like a powder keg that is about to blow up because of the overwhelming feelings. This is why the forthcoming journey becomes a real trial for his soul and mind.

Kelvin’s Impression on His Encounter with Extra-terrestrial

When the hero arrives on the Solaris station, he notices strange events taking place there. He finds his friend, the scientist Gebarian, dead as he committed suicide. Other two scientists, Dr. Snaut and Dr. Sartorius, are in different states of psychological breakdown. Kelvin soon experiences the invasion of alien reality, the reality that still co-exists with human consciousness. He finds other strange unknown figures on the station, which were created by the magnetic waves coming from the ocean of Solaris.

From the first scenes on the Solaris station, one can sense the thinning of boundaries between the inner reality created by human knowledge and the outer reality created by the alien intelligence. This is, perhaps, the most intricate question of the whole film: are there boundaries of human knowledge? However, what is perceived as a mystery in the film is, in fact, about the concealed possibility of human consciousness enabling people to experience this scientific progress. Here we see that the encounter with alien intelligence is, first of all, the encounter with the unknown of your human mind.

Sartorius, Snaut, Gebarian and Their Psychological Experience on the Station as Compared with Kelvin

In the film, particularly in the scene on the Solaris station, it is possible to observe the different psychological deviations experienced by Snaut and Sartorius who also encounter hallucinations and visions. However, unlike Kelvin who is still attached to the Earth reality, Snaut and Sartorius do not have such distinctions anymore. They do not recognize Kelvin as a real person but as the vision together with other ‘guests’ at the station.

This alternative reality have swallowed them and deprived them of all recollections about the Earth. Now they live in the world of their own dreams and desires. The problems here is that Kelvin tries to understand what is happening with his colleagues; at the same time, everything he chances to see is inacceptable for his personal perception. The scientists believe that it is something real, but still they reject what they see thus believing that they are insane.

Unlike Snaut and Sartorius, Gebarian was the only person who accepted those visions as something connected with guilty conscious but not madness. Kelvin’s further staying on the station unveils the essence of Gebarian’s words thus proving that the visions are material within this alternative reality but far detached from those reality created on the Earth by humanity. Therefore, Gebarian and Kelvin’s images are alike since both heroes encounter with people who died in the past. As for Snaut and Sartorius, they envisioned humans that they had never seen before.

The short scenes revealing the experiences of the crew on the station and the emotional breakdowns they had to overcome lead us to the main psychological interaction between Kelvin, his wife Hari, and his conscience. For the protagonist, the scientific progress is the secondary goal since his being in the open space is chance to escape from the vexations of mind.

Different feelings and attitudes towards their visions are also perceived by Hari’s replica who manages to see Snaut and Sartorius’s relation to the envisions. In particular, Hari’s states,

I think that Kris is more consistent than both of you. In inhuman conditions he has behaved humanely. And you act as if none of this concerns you, and consider your guests – it seems that’s what you call us – something external, a hindrance. But it’s a part of you. It is your conscience (Solaris, 1972).

Hari has managed to fully render different perceptions of reality experienced by Kris and other two scientists, despite her being not a human.

Kelvin’s Psychological Decline

Encounter with the Unknown as Opposed to the Encounter with the Unconscious

The first time Kelvin sees his wife is rather strange since this advent he perceives as something normal, as something he have been waiting for a long time. In fact, while visioning and touching his wife, Kelvin is intending to understand and find some scientific explanation for it. At the same time, he is at a loss and the way-out is to accept this as a matter of fact. While viewing this scene, one can notice that the unknown and mysterious is accepted as something trifle and deserving attention. Therefore, the film contains the undertones of surrealism, which is a bit contradicting but acceptable.

Before analyzing the relations between Kelvin and his imaginary wife, it is still necessary to refer to the notion of real, which is distorted in this film, or even endowed with the new meaning for the heroes. For Kris, the appearance of his wife is something more than recollection and hallucinations.

Kelvin’s Recollections: a New Notion of Reality

In the film, Tarkovsky uses the relation between Kris and Hari to explain the notion of reality and of how real any people are. Being far away from the Earth, is it possible to cognate what the reality is? In the film, Hari espies that she is not Kris’s dead wife but the materialization of thoughts and his guilty conscience. However, she cares for Kris who also cares for her back thus realizing that she is something else than her former wife.

Here, the director of Solaris allows the audience to ponder on this question. But leading scenes and play of the actors render the idea of reality as if it is our own making which is “measured scientifically through the subjective perception of humanity. It seems to suggest that it cannot, and bids us be happy with the small comfort that we can give each other away from the crippling effects of the science and technology” (Lucas cited in Zafris, 2010, p. 8). Consequently, if to rely on the idea that reality is our own creation, then, Hari and other ‘guests’ of the Solaris station being the outcome of the scientists’ personal cognition of reality are also real.

The above matter is explicitly unveiled trough the conversation of Kris and Sartorius about life and questions of reality. When both characters cannot reach a consensus concerning the origin of the hallucinations and the mystery, Sartorius compares Kelvin’s wife with “an excellent sample of investigation” (Solaris, 1972). However, Kris refuses to accept the truth and dips himself into the past. His wife’s copy serves like a second chance for the hero to change the history. The point is that Kris’s imaginary wife does not remember her being on the Earth thus imposing a sort of ambiguity on what is perceived as reality.

Reflecting of the essence of life, the director makes use of double images thus recognizing the scientific progress as a human necessity to for “spreading the Earth to the boundaries of the unknown”, spreading human conscious. Humans are in the need of mirror (Solaris, 1972). As Snout states, “We are fighting for contact, but we will never find him. We are in the foolish human predicament of striving for a goal that he fears that he has no need for. Man needs man” (Solaris, 1972). The concept of mirror is also embedded in the scene where the audience can observe the double image of Kris Kelvin and Hari looking at the mirror. This stage proves that reality is somehow connected with his conscious and his problems in the past.

Kelvin and Hari in the Open Space: a New Concept of Love

Viewing the film at another level, the core part of the picture is focused on a man’s comprehension and reevaluation of what love is. Hence, the movie presents love as having both cosmic and metaphysical cosmogony; and, therefore, Tarkovsky formulates his development in a space allegory of love. The ocean of Solaris is a kind of vacuum of the absolute experience, the source from which all experience comes. Kris’s affection for Hari derives from and returns back to this vacuum. In the final scene of the film, the ocean is presented as the source and the essence of being that confirms of the presence of metaphysical reality.

The space allegory is closely connected with deeper understanding of love. In particular, Kris’s love brings him back to humanity; ongoing hardships that both should overcome unveil terrifying possibility of love spreading beyond any individual. Viewing the film and watching the main characters, the audience can realize that Hari cannot be considered as the victim of the ocean, but the part of it; it is a sophisticated outcome of Kris deliberations and the ocean that reflects all human thoughts.

Here the ocean is like a mirror that does not distort the human knowledge and mind but contributes to its improvement (Hyman, 1976, p. 56). This idea is explicitly presented through Kris’s monologue on love and essence of human life. He suggests, “People always love what they may lose. Love is a feeling which is hard to explain but which one can experience….May be we are here… to perceive a man as an object of love” (Solaris, 1972).

As it can be seen, the love expressed by ocean is nothing more than a reflection of humanness. All Kelvin’s adventures on the Solaris station are the images from his head. So, Hari is also the product of his desires but a real human. In the library, Hari responds to Sartorius’s offences: “You are right… I am not a human…but I love him… I am becoming a human” (Solaris, 1972). In whole, the director implies that love is a sign of humanity. It is the very definition of a human. He interprets human love as the primary notion and the essence of the universe (Deltcheva and Vlasov, 1997, p. 533).

Tragic Price for the Scientific Progress: a Blessing or Curse?

Hari and other ‘guests’ of the station are regarded as regeneration and materialization of human consciousness. However, those materializations symbolize immortality of the supreme mind, where human conscious is external and can interact with other unknown bodies (Kenez, 1972-1973, p. 59).

When envisioning the copy of his dead wife, Kris is at a loss, he does not know whether he should accept it or reject. He is beating his brain out to find at least one rational explanation for staying on the station and defining the reason of those apparitions. At first, the psychologist is frightened at the presence of his wife because he believes that this is the display of his remorse for the lost love. But a bit later, Kris comes to the conclusion that another Hari, the product of his mind and the ocean, is a second chance, a blessing that should be used. Through the interaction with Solaris, the main heroes become aware of his veritable desires, longings, and hopes.

A special attention should be taken to Hari as the materialization of Kris’s thoughts. In the film, it is hard to predict how far, Hari’s copy perceives herself as the materialization but not as a human. Nevertheless, it is possible to see Hari understanding of her presence on the Solaris; she also realizes that she is the product of Kris’s feelings of remorse for his wife’s death. She conceives that she will never become the Hari that died; this is a new Hari. Although, she is just materialization, Hari is capable of expressing feelings; she sacrifices herself for the sake of his lover and commits suicide. She becomes even a more human than other visitors of the station.

In the end of the film, Kris accepts the presence of Hari, not the previous Hari, but another Hari he really loves. This love he perceives as the gift of the Universe that provides him a second chance to reevaluate his life and to change his past values. In one of the last scene, he addresses Tolstoy’s reflection on humanity and essence of human love.

The Problem of Overcoming and Moral Transformation

Apart of representation of love and complicated human relations, Solaris also embarks on describing the world of desires and the world of fantasy where the main hero can create and materialize all their unfulfilled plans (McGowan, 2007, p. 183). In particular, Gebarian wished to return his little daughter, and Kris was keen on returning her ex-wife that he loved. He wants to show that it is he who should be blamed for the difficulties and quarrels they had to overcome when living on Earth. In the final shot of the film, Kris still feels that he has not liberated himself from the guilt for the last deed in his terrestrial life. Therefore, he decides to stay on the planet to incarnate his farther and the childhood house.

The above shows that Solaris represents the world of desire existed within the fictional world created by the main heroes. The ocean, an extra-terrestrial intelligence helps to render the experience of fantasy but not desire. The creatures appeared on the Solaris station are not the desired ones but the ones the heroes think of.

Throughout the film, it is possible to pursue considerable transformation of the main hero from a reserved and rational person into a sympathizing and emotional individuality. The viewers can also notice the shift in Kris relation toward the apparitions of his dead wife. Hence, at the beginning, the psychologist tries to resist the visions and hallucinations since they contradict the reality he has come from. But gradual recognition of the alternative reality helps to accept his personal imagination as the veritable reality.

Unlike Kris, other characters of the movie are unable to acknowledge the power of their conscience. As a result, Gebarian committed suicide since he did not manage to accept the unknown. Kelvin explains his death as fear and reluctance to accept the new reality and reject the one he got accustomed to.

The Cognition of the Unconscious as an Attempt to Communicate with Extra-terrestrial: Comparative Analysis

It should be stressed that Solaris is the planet that tries to explore the human nature and origin of memory, intelligence, emotions, and the self. The presence of extra-terrestrial condemns the material world; the priority is given to the power of thought and imagination. It also supports the notion of personal integrity and independence (Dillon, 2006, p. 106). Despite the Solaris’s ability to reflect the memories, the planet distorts the scientists’ mental equilibrium and makes them experience the tormented pasts; it also empowers Kris, who turns out the strongest of the scientists, to cleanse himself of the prejudices about the alien reality, which, in fact, is the part of his conscience (Dempsey, 1981, p. 13).

Pertaining to the perception of extra-terrestrials, the scientists, except, Gebarian, try to explain it rationally. They perceive the alien intelligence as something external that does not relate to their personal experiences and psychological deviations. In this way, the ocean is represented as a strong semantic center; it is the matrix that engrosses human mind and emotions thus representing the individual and collective intelligence (Geier and Welliver, 1992, p. 193).

Conclusion

Drawing a conclusion, the film Solaris by Tarkovsky is fictional film dwelling on the various philosophical questions like the essence of life, human relations, and psychological experience. The main characters of the novel are involved into intrinsic relations with the extra-terrestrial, a bottomless ocean invading and spreading the boundaries of human knowledge. However, a space allegory does not prevent the heroes from experiencing true feelings and emotions. In particular, the film embarks on difficult relation between Kris and his dead wife Hari reincarnated on the Solaris station.

Kris’s envisions are a real trial for him and for psychological state. Throughout the film, it is possible to pursue the moral transformation of the main hero who accepts the Solaris gift as the second chance to alter his life.

Solaris also represents the problem overcoming of the unknown. It expresses the moral upheaval of human beings in correlation with new discoveries. The heroes’ hard emotional breakdown and psychological decline is compensated by the cognition of the concealed knowledge and the appearance of new possibilities of the human conscience. Finally, the film is the manifestation of the splendor and strength of human spirit and ability to surpass the hardships of the destiny. His deep philosophical sense leaves much in store for further deliberations.

Reference List

Deltcheva, R., and Vlasov, E.1997. Back to the House II: On the Chronotopic and Ideological Reinterpretation of Lem’s Solaris in Tarkovsky’s film. Russian Review. 56(4), pp. 532-549.

Dempsey, P. Lost Harmony: Tarkovsky’s “The Mirror” and “The Stalker”. Film Quarterly. 35(1).

Dillon, S. 2006. The Solaris effect: art & artifice in contemporary American film. Texas: University of Texas Press.

Geier, M., and Welliver, E. 1992. Stanislav Lem’s Fantastic Ocean: Toward a Semantic Interpretation of “Solaris”. Science Fiction Studies. 19(2), pp. 192-218.

Hyman, T. 1976. Review [untitled]. Film Quarterly. 29(3), pp. 54-58.

Kenez, P. 1972-1973. Review [untitled]. Film Quaterly. 26(2), pp. 58-59.

McGowan, T. 2007. The real gaze: film theory after Lacan. US: SUNY Press.

Nochimson, M. P. 2010. World on Film: An Introduction. US: John Wiley and Sons.

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