Imaginary Orient

Imaginary Orient


Edward Wadie Saïd was a Palestinian American literary theorist, cultural critic, political activist, and an outspoken advocate of Palestinian rights. He was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, and is a founding figure in postcolonial theory. He creates theoretical and philosophical frame works in social sciences and literature and applied to visual and within culture, so he is talking about the being orient, Asia and more emphasized on middle east. In his framework representation of the orient is in art, movie and literature. Western representation created by the west for the west, which is more about western point of view rather than reality of orient. So in said frameworks colonization and domination are playing a big role. What he is saying by that is because of colonization and domination; it was more about western rather than the actual people living in Middle East. Said said, constructions of orient are in opposition what we consider west to be like, civilized, modern and enlighten society in opposition of uncivilized, uncultured and inferior.

The movie (300) is a degrading portrayal of ancient Persians. The film tries to portray them as a monstrous and hostile people. It is not the first time Hollywood has created a portrayal that offends Iranians, and the film must be countered accordingly.Frank Miller, the author of the original graphic novel, has knowingly manipulated the realities and has demonstrated his shallow understanding of these actual 'histories'.

300 tries to promote a long-outdated belief that to be non-Greek means to be barbarian. It is an ethnocentric premise that helped stroke the war depicted in the film.
300 portrays the Persian King Xerxes and his Ambassador as barbaric rulers and, even more erroneously, as men of African origin. The portrayal of non-Europeans as evil demonstrates the racist underpinnings of the film. Its depiction of black people as barbaric should offend anyone of African heritage.

It was interesting what Bernie Heidkamp mentioned about this movie and compared it to what Said concerned.
“I find Said’s work most compelling when he focused on the use of literature and art in the production of knowledge and the maintenance of Western popular assumptions about the Orient. 300 could function as Exhibit A in this regard. The Greek (rational, well-organized, frequently bathed, and white) and Persian (prone to magic, a horde, much less frequently bathed, non-white) ethnic and cultural stereotypes are so blatantly offensive that they come very near subverting themselves. There were parts of the film that really made me wonder if the filmmakers were indeed winking at the audience, such as the Spartans’ “Before we sally forth in defense of reason, let’s consult the Oracle!” bit, but I don’t think so. I find it interesting that quite a few people I’ve spoken to have criticized the movie’s representation of the Persians in terms that that I can only describe as Saidian. That is, they recognize the role that popular culture plays in reinforcing assumptions about the other, and the way that these assumptions service certain political ideologies. The fact that some tech dudes at a party, who had never heard of Edward Said, were casually pointing these things out to me between tequila shots can, I think, be seen as a victory for the better parts of Said’s work.”
I think western existence is offensive to most in the Middle East. If Middle-Eastern soldiers had come to your country and turned it into rubble, Middle-Eastern existence would be offensive to you, too.


http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:EPkLlY2JnkoJ:www.persianmirror.com/Article_det.cfm%3Fid%3D1997%26getArticleCategory%3D79%26getArticleSubCategory%3D118+what+is+imaginary+orient+about+iran&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=2975&sectionid=3510301

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06E5D6153DF935A1575AC0A9659C8B63

Juste Milieu Movement...

July Monarchy and Juste Milieu Movement

The July Monarchy (1830-1848) was a period of liberal monarchy rule of France under Louis-Philippe. Charles X of the House of Bourbon was overthrown in the July Revolution, and was succeeded on August 9, 1830 by Louis-Philippe. July Monarchy is the name given to the reign of the Orléanist king Louis-Philippe. He came to power in 1830 after the Parisian insurrection of the July Day had driven Charles X from power into exile. In some respects the July Monarchy was a continuation of the previous regime, with a monarch, two chambers, and a small, wealthy electorate (though this continued to grow significantly throughout the reign). On the other hand, the style of the regime was less reactionary; there was greater press freedom and an extension of popular education. It was a period of industrial growth, in which the power of the rich bourgeoisie was consolidated (and became a favourite target of satirical writers and artists, from Stendhal to Daumier). Henri Monnier's Joseph Prudhomme symbolizes the middle-class smugness associated with the regime.

There were pro-Bourbon movements under the July Monarchy, but it also saw the growth of working-class movements. The regime fell in February 1848, partly as a result of economic difficulties, though the immediate trigger was the government's refusal to allow a patriotic banquet. Louis-Philippe abdicated on 24 February and took refuge in England.After Louis-Philippe became a king; he called himself “the king of French” instead of “king of France”. Why? Because he wanted to show the people he was the king of people and he was there for people of France. July monarchy witnessed two major events, 1- expansion and arrives of middle class, 2- begging of socialism.
Louis-Philippe ruled for a political policy called Juste milieu. "Juste milieu" translates as “the right mean,” or the “happy medium” or “ just medium”. These artists aimed for a middle way between the Impressionist and Academic camps. Juste milieu was not extremely conservative and was not very liberal. It was right in the middle for everyone. Juste milieu is a name given to both a philosophy of painting and a movement of painters in 19th century France. During Juste Milieu period there were several changes in art. At the end of July monarchy Juste Milieu became a style and movement. It means that artists took the best of Romanticism and Neoclassicism and put them together in order to make this particular movement. We also see some orientalist subject matter and landscape paintings. Gerome, Flandrin, Couture, and Cabanel are some artists who painted in Juste Milieu.
There was also a crucial period for French art culture. Before that time high art was only for upper class people to see them. So they would go to the museum to see the art pieces. Whereas so many people could not be able to see them. Salons were highly event at that time. There were held one or two times per year. Because of the expanding of the middle class during at that time, and portraits became everybody’s life. Before July monarchy they had 100 to 2000 entries for paintings but during July monarchy raised to 3400 paintings, which exhibited at salon. So with arise of paintings we had arise of people as well. People who used to go to the salon were wealthy, educated about art and knew the artists, but now there were so many people that had no idea about art and did not know anything about artists at all. So artists realized that and tried to paint something more acceptable for majority of people. Because artist exhibited their work at salons in order to sell them and make money, so salons basically became commercial industries and a business place for them. Therefore they took neoclassicism and Romanticism and made sure there was nothing too difficult for people on canvas. So there was no philosophical or political aspect between the piece and viewers unlike what Delacroix believed.
The artists wanted you to feel and realize that you know what art is and flatter you in some sense. Other wise they could not sell their pieces at all and people would walk away like Tony smith piece.

http://charon.sfsu.edu/publications/ParisExpositions/JulyMonarchyExpos.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1848guizot.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/july-monarchy

Francisco Goya

Francisco de Goya is an innovative Spanish Romanticism painter. Francisco de Goya is one of the greatest masters that Spain has ever produced and is considered the “Father of Modern Art”. His works, which are world known, changed the way artists would interpret the world. His works, paintings and drawings, spread on a span of 60 years covering from about the last half of the 18th century to the first quarter of the 19th century, and portray a celebration of life and a realistic view of the world.

Goya was born in the province of Zaragoza. When he was a teenager, he entered the service of a local artist. Later on, he travels to Madrid, where he is greatly influenced by the last of the great Venetian painters. After several failed attempts to enroll in the Royal Academy of San Fernando, Goya travels to Rome. Returning to Spain in the decade of the 1770s, Goya paints frescoes in several churches of his native province.

In 1792, Goya had a near fatal illness that left him totally deaf. During his recovery, isolated from society, he began to paint demons of his inner fantasy world and thus, his preoccupation with bizarre creatures began such as Saturn devouring one of his Children. In this painting, Goya had fearing that his children would supplant him, ate each one upon their birth. It is one of the series of black paintings that Goya painted directly onto the walls of his house sometime between 1819 and 1823. After Goya's death the work was transfered to canvas, and now resides in the Museo Del Prado in Madrid.

With gory precision, he reduces war scenes of barbarous torture to their horrifying basics. After a few years, Goya became obsessed with depicting the suffering caused by the political intrigue and decadence o the Spanish court and church. He disguised his repulsion with satire; however, such as in the disturbing "black paintings" he did on the walls of his villa. The fourteen large murals in dark tones present appalling monsters engaged in sinister acts.

With his wedding, Goya begins his ascension, working under Mengs, he finally enrolls in the royal academy and later on is named the King Charles III’s painter. By 1799, Goya becomes the official Chamber painter of King Charles IV.

Together with the critiques to his works, Goya undergoes a time of wild imagination, in which sordid images of a surreal world begin to appear. Unable to present his works to his old clientele, he is forced, under the threat of the Inquisition, to withdraw his works. Meanwhile he continued with his services as crown painter; and by 1800, he creates La Família de Carlos IV (The Family of Charles IV).

Los Caprichos, GOYA

The eighty etchings that make up Goya’s most important series of prints, Los Caprichos (1799), have long been recognized as one of the supreme monuments of European art. The Caprichos are one of the most influential graphic series in the history of Western art and continue to inspire contemporary artists. The works continue to be as current today as they were two hundred years ago, perhaps because Goya lived in times of deep transformation and his work expresses contradictions not too different from those of our own times. The entire set of some 80 prints cover subjects of prostitution, child sexual abuse, witchcraft, numerous specific superstitions, and satiric critiques of doctors, politicians, and clergy, among others. Nearly half of the imagery concerns itself with witchcraft, often in a mocking tone that shows that Goya's use of this particular subject was meant to have more than just one single understanding for the viewer.

Goya in his life went through 3 different phases:

1- Tapestry

It is very colorful pretty much in a style of Rococo. Like Family the Carlos the 4^th and does not seem political.

2- His political style

The subject matter is more somber; the colors of his paintings are more grayish. Subjects are more political. The Third of May is a good example.

3-Black paintings

They are incredibly dramatic. There are 14 paintings. He lost his hearing and was deaf completely during this time. He was morbid that why he started to created those monsters paintings.

http://www.imageone.com/goya/saturn.html

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/G/goya.html

http://www.imageone.com/goya/

Baroque Period

The Baroque movement originated in Italy in the late1500’s (spanning through to the 1700’s) and was later accepted by France, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. This art period was a reaction against the formulaic Mannerist style, which was the dominant form during the late Renaissance. Baroque style is more realistic and emotional than the complex Mannerist style. The movement was greatly encouraged by the Catholic Church because it marked a return to tradition and spirituality.

Bold, curving forms, elaborate ornamentation, conspicuous use of decoration, sculpture, and color and overall balance of disparate parts characterize Baroque. The Aristocratic Baroque centered around three ideas: absolutism, academicism, and rationalism, and what are they?

Absolutism

Absolute monarchy or absolutism meant that the sovereign power or ultimate authority in the state rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right. Late sixteenth century political theorists believed that sovereign power consisted of the authority to make laws, tax, administer justice, control the state's administrative system, and determine foreign policy. These powers made a ruler sovereign.

Absolutism argues that government was divinely ordained so that humans could live in an organized society. Of all forms of government, monarchy was the most general, most ancient, most natural, and the best, since God established kings and through them reigned over all the people of the world. Since kings received their power from God, their authority was absolute. They were responsible to no one (including parliaments) except God.

Academicism

The seventeenth century was a seminal period in the development of French culture Louis XIV acquired exclusive rights to a first painter who was a match for the grandeur of his aspirations. Charles LeBrun became the all-powerful, peerless master of seventeenth century French art. Le Brun certainly influenced French art, directing it toward the Grand Manner so favored by King Louis XIV. Le Brun was appointed the director of the reorganized Académie for what art historians call academicism or the control of artistic expression by an established academy. The Royal Academy became a system for insuring that the visual arts glorified the king. Its authority extended beyond just funding of the arts, and it educated artists only in the officially approved 'royal' style. A rigid set of rules dictated the instruction of practice and theory, with a strong emphasis on Classicism. Most important French artists of the next generation trained in his studio under the influence of Académie. This was in part because Le Brun appreciated talent and in part because there was little future for French artists who did not submit to the authority of Le Brun and the Académie. Le Brun proceeded in making the Académie an instrument for imposing his views and judgments onto French artists--largely theories based on Poussin, which had so influenced him. He codified a system of art and discouraged innovation and experiment. He promoted discussions over the relative merits of Rubensisme and Poussinisme and of course Poussin emerged the victor. Le Brun's lectures came to be accepted as providing the official standards of artistic expression. This was important because the crown was such an important element of patronage and so influential. Thus if an artist wanted to obtain lucrative commissions, he needed to conform to Le Brun's standards. Le Brun for his part was quite willing to conform to the King's tastes. He also strongly believed that artistic expression could be reduced to a series of rules and teachable elements.

Rationalism

Understanding the various forms of baroque art requires knowledge of its historical context. The 17th century could be called the first modern age. Human awareness of the world was continuously expanding. Many scientific discoveries influenced art; Galileo's investigations of the planets, for example, account for astronomical accuracy in many paintings of the time. The assertion of the Polish astronomer Copernicus that the planets did not revolve around the earth was only fully accepted after 1600. The realization that the earth was not at the center of the universe coincided in art with the rise of pure landscape painting devoid of human figures. The active trade and colonization policies of many European nations accounted for numerous portrayals of exotic places and peoples.

http://www.alifetimeofcolor.com/study/g_baroque.html

http://www.aspectart.com/movements/baroque.php

http://gallery.sjsu.edu/paris/the_academy/salon.htm

http://www.uib.no/ped/baroque.html

What Is Art?

Art is beauty. Art is a way of communicating with your soul. Art is incredibly subjective . Art is what your minds eye sees and understands and enjoys looking at it. The notion of the beauty is very important when we talk about art, so trying to take that notion of beauty instead of judgment put it into file, because we have to take a look at art without whether it is beautiful piece or not.

Art can mean transferring that special atmosphere that describes the ultimate thing (god, life, universe, spirit – whatever you call it). The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium. Art is hard to describe but you know it when you see it. Art may be painting, sculpture, photography, pottery, or mixed media.

However not all people can agree on art. Therefore it is very important to know at least the intention of the artist, and what objectives of that particular artist had in mind, and then we can start talking about it. They may try to transfer some political and social messages or objectives to their viewers. For example, some of the abstract paintings look like any kindergarten child could do that. Some one else can look at the same picture and see the use of color and form and grasp a concept that other can't. You can have your own opinion and interpretation on art but still needs to be based and sounded on particular content of particular artist. once again art is very subjective.

Calligraphy

Art refers to a diverse range of human activities and artifacts, and may be used to cover all or any of the art, including music literature, calligraphy and other forms. It is most often used to refer specifically to the visual arts, including media such as painting, sculpture, and calligraphy. Calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing. It is believed to be one of the most eyes catching and fascinating manifestation of art is calligraphy. Calligraphy has been considered among the artistic symbols, letters and elements, which form the word, always bear undeniable aesthetic qualities. Writing is the oldest mean through which man's spiritual and cultural acquisitions were transmitted from generation to generation. In the course of time, this art found applications in various domains, appearing as a decorative element on carved stone panels and monument facades, terra cotta vessels, wood, fabric and etc. for example, This is Persian calligraphy.

http://arthistory.about.com/cs/reference/f/what_is_art.htm
http://www.caroun.com/Calligraphy/aCalligraphyGeneral/HistoryIranCalligraphy.htm