Enlightenment

     I think the public sphere is needed in our society.  People need places they can go to have conversations with people who have opinions that are similar to theirs.  The public sphere is unavoidable.  The saying "birds of a feather flock together" will always be true.  People with similar interests will find time to meet together and discuss among themselves what they please whether it be a book (book clubs), politics, the government, art, and so on.  A book club is a perfect example of the public sphere.  A group of people meet together every so often and discuss a book they are all reading and talk about their feelings toward it and then gossip and so forth. 

    Without the public sphere our society would become disconnected.  The public sphere offers people support for their opinions.  People seek groups for reassurance that they aren't the only one that thinks what they think or feels how they feel or believes what they believe.  In the absence of the public sphere, our society would be less creative and more critical.  People would be less likely to put their ideas out there not knowing how the public will react and having no one to back them up.  We need assurance.

     The public sphere present in our world says that we are all dependent in some way.  We will always care what others think regardless of how laid back we think we are.  We need support and confidence to know that our ideas are like and that others agree with them.  No one wants to feel alone in the world and the public sphere is like the clique you put yourself into in high school.  That clique gives you a sense of belonging and companionship that everyone needs, no matter what age.

     

Baroque Blog Post

     Bernini's sculpture of David is unlike Michelangelo's and Donatello's.  Both Michelangelo and Donatello's versions of David have pretty obvious similarities; they are both solitary sculptures, they are standing in similar positions, and both of them are fully...exposed.  Bernini's sculpture is extremely different.  David's manhood is mostly covered and this sculpture includes more than just David, and it has movement unlike the other two.  Michelangelo's David was David prior to slaying Goliath, Donatello's was David after he had slayed Goliath, but Bernini's sculpture of David shows him in the act of slaying Goliath bringing more drama, movement, and life to his sculpture.  When looking at the sculpture you can envision David slaying the ginormous beast.  Bernini's sculpture is more complex and elaborate than Michelangelo and Donatello's because of David's twisting body, the intensity of his facial expression, and the props with him in the sculpture.  Complexity is exactly what Baroque style is all about. All the pieces of the sculpture flow together and compliment David in his effort to kill Goliath.   Bernini's sculpture of David is arguably his masterpiece.  Although there had been numerous David sculptures done before his, the complexity of the Baroque style perfected his effort and his sculpture of the hero highlighted his career.

Renaissance Blog Post

     Platonic love is love, but it's love that is non-sexual. So that, to me, is the kind of love you have towards family members and friends.  In Botticelli's Primavera, none of the characters seem to have any sexual desires toward one another.  Zephyrus is trying to kidnap Chloris and Chloris is holding on to Flora, Venus is standing in the middle completely neutral, the Graces are dancing amongst themselves, and Mercury is minding his own business to the far left.  When I looked at this painting I could tell that there was love and friendship in certain aspects but none whatsoever were sexual.  Although there are many attractive women in the painting and Mercury is an attractive and powerful god himself, he isn't interested in any of them and his attention is in the complete opposite direction.
     Generalizations about 2D art in the renaissance were: concern with humanist themes, blended science and math with art and creativity, it was highly symbolic, geometric equaled symmetry, and it had precise, ordered presentations.  The Primavera's characters were all very life like and has amazing detail that made them look as human as possible as far as their features and proportions.  Venus is in the middle of the painting and the brightness of the background around your head and the way the trees arch cause your eyes to focus on her.  The graces to Venus' right and Flora, Chloris, and Zephyrus to her left, form triangles with their body shapes making the painting geometric and symmetrical.