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Disney. (2019). Disney. [Digital drawing]. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/12/media/disney-plus-streaming-shows-movies/index.html

Disney is a brand that is recognized worldwide, not just for its movies but for its amusement parks around the world. Disney is, I think, one of the oldest surviving brands since its creation in the twentieth century. Disney appeals to people of all ages as their movies and parks are entertaining for everyone and are still able to teach and bring joy to everyone. Disney has been working hard to include different races and make every single person feel included and represented in their media and given Disney’s universal recognizability and the happiness it brings to most people, it has been more inclusive than other companies in the world.

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Luna, S. (n.d.). Dokkaebi. [Digital drawing]. Retrieved from https://www.deviantart.com/sue1990/art/Dokkaebi-700059795

Dokkaebi are Korean goblins, known for using their extraordinary powers to help or trick humans. Dokkaebi have been featured in Korean folklore for centuries, and their stories and appearances have evolved since then. Dokkaebi would be interesting to include in the Korean branch of my VoiceThread project on Mythical Creatures in Asian Culture as they are one of the most popular mythical creatures in Korean culture and have many interesting legends, personalities, and images. Talking about Korean culture and their folktales and legends brings me closer to a favorite culture to look at and allows for their culture to be understood better for how each creature has influenced their beliefs.

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Figure 2. Walker, N. (2014). Nine-tailed fox spirit. [Pen drawing].
Retrieved from https://www.deviantart.com/nicole-marie-walker/art/Nine-Tailed-Fox-Spirit-443767746

One theme I am considering for my final project is "Mythical Creatures in Korean Folklore." The theme interests me because understanding the culture of another country and its impact on different customs and expectations will impact the way I see other people around me and give me an insight into the ways folklore and creatures we hear about in stories can influence how we live. My future plans, after schooling, is to experience life and travel - my first and primary location being South Korea. Understanding, acknowledging, and accepting beliefs of Koreans on animals and the things they represent and influence will allow me to connect with a different ethnic group from those I am accustomed to in everyday life and provide me with a link to a culture that is not my own. I am also interested in the fantastical element that is mythical creatures in Korean folklore as they are slightly reminiscent of mythical creatures in other popular cultures though they typically possess different histories and connotations. The specifics around Gumiho, or a Korean nine-tailed fox spirit, is they are a 1,000 year old fox creature that can transform into a beautiful woman in order to seduce and consume the livers of human men to become human. Gumiho are similar to  Chinese Huli jing and Japanese kitsune, though there are some notable differences in their depictions and acceptance in their respective cultures.

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Figure 1. Unknown. (n.d.). Unknown. [Photography].
Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/why-is-purple-considered-the-color-of-royalty

One theme I am considering for my final project is "The Meanings of Purple." This theme interests me because I've always been drawn to colors and what they mean, and people often times associate different colors with different emotions. Understanding the meanings associated with different shades of purple, as well as their historical connotations, will provide an insight into the ideals colors have behind actions and the views of others. Dark purple typically represents royalty and power, seemingly drawing the rich and mighty since ancient times mostly because of the exorbitant prices associated with dying material the color, however, the meaning of the color has remained present even in modern times. Researching the meanings of color will even influence the way I think of historical events and my own personal family tales as I understand the teachings and beliefs from the time period itself.

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Figure 2. Disney. (n.d.). Unknown. [Digital painting]. Accessed from https://wordtothewomen.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/does-a-princess-always-need-a-prince/

A common theme in Disney princess movies and predominantly in fairy tales is the fact that women can't seem to save themselves; they rely on the men they meet to save the day and keep them from a dull life without marriage and love. This theme is toxic to young girls as it is ingrained in their heads from a young age that they can't do anything for themselves and that the only way they will ever do anything in life is with the help of a man. Combating this theme is important to me because I have cousins who are incredibly young (below the age of 10) that are constantly exposed to these movies and knowing how that toxic mindset can affect young girls and boys and the way they feel and think about themselves and the world isn't something I can stand to think about. I only recently freed myself from the toxic belief surrounding the need for marriage and a man's help, and changing the narrative around women's rights and feelings can influence the world for the better.

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Figure 1. Unknown. (n.d.). Unknown. [Painting]. Accessed from https://jabajabba.com/human-bioderversity-hidden-origins-caucasian-race/

Race has always appeared as a defining and separating factor between people in not only the United States but around the world. The culture behind the different races and the different experiences, histories, and circumstances play a role in who a person becomes and their own inner most thoughts and beliefs. There are many works of art and literature that focus on race as a defining characteristic of the subject or narrative and how it shifts people's biases and feelings about a certain topic. Race itself interests me because I've had friends of different races that have faced different life events and circumstances from myself that have changed how they look at the world and their own interactions with me. Knowing how race has and is becoming such a huge influencer in modern culture and ways to combat prejudices can strengthen the relationships between people.

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Figure 1. Criminal Minds CBS. (2019). 'Criminal Minds' to end with Season 15. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/11/entertainment/criminal-minds-ending/index.html

My favorite television show is Criminal Minds. I fell in love with the show with my father when we tuned in every week and after his death, watching it made me feel closer to him. The show has been a big part of my life and what originally drew me to the sciences, though I have since changed from wanting to be a psychologist and FBI agent, but I still find the events of the show incredibly interesting as they relate to understanding people and the brain and how different life events can shape a person for the best or worst. The thing that I like so much about this image is the number of strong females that are a part of the show and seeing how they have added strong female role models for girls to look up to in science and criminal justice since not many women seem to go into those fields.

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Figure 2. Hot Ones. (2018). Philip DeFranco Sets a YouTube Record While Eating Spicy Wings. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2018/04/philip-defranco-sets-a-youtube-record-while-eating-spicy-wings-hot-ones

Philip DeFranco's channel on Youtube has been a constant source of popular news that I frequently watch due to its availability and accessibility. I'm so proud of his growth and seeing his channel flourish since not many young people watching traditional news channels and having access to the important news that happen in the world keeps me and other people involved and allows us to be able to make informed decisions when we need to.

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Figure 2. Wen, Z. (1543). Living Aloft: Master Liu's Retreat. [Ink and color on paper]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/L.2001.85.2/

Wen Zhengming, born in China in 1470, idealized retirement life through landscapes featuring isolation and accompanying poem during the Ming dynasty before passing away in 1559 at the age of 89. In Living Aloft: Master Liu's Retreat, a Chinese landscape was painted on a hanging scroll with minimal colors and an accompanying poem in Chinese characters as a gift to his newly retired friend Liu Lin. The organic lines of the many trees in the painting lead the eyes toward the structures or buildings in the painting, which are seemingly the main subjects of the painting, and create a realistic description of trees as they are never exactly the same. The darker, sharper lines of trees and rocks and the shifting hues of the leaves between those in the foreground and the background and those in close proximity to the others create a sense of depth and texture to the painting.

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Figure 1. Dong, Q. (1622-25). Shaded Dwellings among Streams and Mountains. [Ink on paper]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1979.75.2/

Dong Qichang, born in China in 1555, popularized landscape paintings in the literati tradition during the Ming dynasty before passing away in 1636 at the age of 81. In Shaded Dwellings among Streams and Mountains, a traditional Chinese landscape was painted on a hanging scroll through the process of calligraphy based on a work by Dong Yuan, a master from about the 930s-60s. Through the use of space, the entire painting seemingly contains the main subject, the landscape, without feeling empty and also bringing a sense of depth and distance to the piece between the viewer and the background of the image (the mountain and trees). The gradation of shapes and colors, from large trees in the foreground to small trees in the background and the darker shadings of leaves to simulate shadows or deeper color, creates a realistic portrayal of a landscape in black and white on a two-dimensional surface.

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Figure 2. Magritte, R. (1929.) The treachery of images (this is not a pipe). [Oil on canvas]. Los Angeles County Art Museum.

For four years, I learned French in school since a language class was required to graduate and I fell in love with the culture. I think the words at the bottom of the artwork, which I knew and understood before reading about them in the lesson, brought me back to when I was completely in love with and immersed in learning the language and filled me with the joy of those memories - memories of conversations I had with my aunts in French, watching movies and television shows in French during class, meeting my best friends due to our love of the same language. But I also think the words paired with the image in the painting really make the viewer think about what the artist was really trying to create for the viewers and why he would have done it. The fact that the words say the image is not a pipe when the image looks so similar to a pipe makes me think of the phrase that everything is not as it seems and that really resonates with me as people have a way of hiding how they are really feeling and seemingly convince other people that they are completely fine.

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Figure 1. Wang, S. (1666.) Landscape in the style of Huang Gongwang. [Ink on hanging scroll paper]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The original reason the artist created the painting was to mimic the style of art created by a famous Chinese painter from the 13th century, whom he had studied for his entire life. Though the Chinese characters at the top of the print are too hard to read, the image of the mountaintop and grassy land may be drawing the viewer to appreciate the culture and beauty and help them appreciate the blessings and offerings that the land has to offer. This painting was created long before there was much growth and technology available, so the beauty of the nature and the simplicity of the times may have been the primary message for the readers to see and pull them to take time away and just enjoy nature.

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Figure 2. Changshuo, W. (1919). Spring Offerings. [Ink and color on hanging scroll paper]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This Chinese hanging scroll print seemed interesting to me for a future comparison to other Chinese prints of the times as it maintained all the details of objects both close and far away unlike other prints and what that represented about the culture and time period. However, seeing the undefined shape in the background of the image and the presence of the different flowers and colors makes me wonder what the interpretation of the print is and how it could really shift to other views based on another person's perception of the same objects and colors.

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Figure 1. Hiroshige, U. (1833-34). Evening Snow at Kanbara, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō". [Woodblock print]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The original function of woodblock prints in the Ukiyo-e style was originally to depict and reproduce important texts, like Buddhist scriptures. When knowing they typically have a textual background, I want to know what important text had influenced this image of the snowy village and the ambling people. But I also wonder what the artist had originally meant to depict and how the culture of the time and the lifestyle of everyone in the society would have impacted the depiction.

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Figure 2. Hasui, K. (1940). Chosen Keishu (Gyeongju, Korea). [Woodblock print]. National Museums of Scotland.

This print of a house in Gyeongju, Korea uses cooler colors of purple, brown, and black to create a calming feeling throughout the entire work. The contour lines of the water and mountains in the background of the image also gives shape to the objects to offer the print a semblance of space and division between the background and the foreground. The print also has a majority of positive space, allowing the building to have texture and depth while keeping the eye of the viewer drawn towards the main subject of the print, the house and the woman inside.

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Figure 1. Hiroshige (Ando), U. (1857). Plum Estate, Kameido (Kameido Umeyashiki), No. 30 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. [Woodblock print]. Brooklyn Museum.

The complementary colors create a sense of distinction between the sky and the ground while also making the contrast between the dark trees, white flowers, red sky, and teal ground more noticeable and pulls the viewer's eye towards each object individually. The curved and irregular lines of the tree and its branches at the immediate foreground of the print also draws the viewer's eye and leads it towards the trees and figures in the background, while also dividing the space to give it a feeling and semblance of space and area towards the background. The unfocused nature of the trees and figures in the background also gives the viewer a belief of space between the foreground and background as the loss of detail is typically linked to a larger distance from the viewer than the other objects.

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Figure 2.  Jenkins, E. (2019). Agony. [Photography]. Art Association of Harrisburg.

I really enjoyed this photo of a ballet dancer's feet in different colors and exposures as it details the hardships and agony associated with the art. Ellen Jenkins, the photographer, entitled the piece "Agony". The reason I chose the photo because ballet was a large part of my family life as my youngest aunts were enrolled in ballet classes throughout my childhood and going to their recitals and practices were a daily occurrence. I even nearly took part in the art, but thankfully my parents knew it was too structured and strict for me. When I looked at it, it instantly shifted me back to that time and made me look at my childhood as a whole and wonder how I would have been changed if I had done dance. As for my emotional connection to it, I see change and feel extremely restless as it shows how shifting the way you look and see something can change what you see and are exposed to. The typical skin toned image shows the bruises, muscles, and injuries associated with it, the blue image makes the injuries stand out a bit more as they are highlighted by a deep red, and the black/white image is able to hid any special details about the feet and viewers can only see the main parts of the subject.

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Figure 1. Kegarise, K. (2017). Night Lights. [Night mode photography]. Personal hard drive.

The image below was a few second exposure of Christmas lights with the camera set on night mode. This photo was an absolute favorite I had from my two photography classes in high school as it was the most interesting project and result, as well as the most creative thing I produced. It was a photo from one of my last trips with my late grandmother to see the Christmas lights before she passed on and it was always a favorite activity we did together - I have not done or gone back to the place or picked up my camera since.

My favorite color is blue and I actually edited the original red and brown image on Photoshop long ago to change the coloring because I felt the blue and black combinations adequately detailed my own mindset and feelings at the time. I was incredibly sad and discouraged about life and my future due to family troubles and health issues, but when I was around other people, I was able to put up a bright and happy image to protect myself from the judgements of others. My emotional and mental state were incredibly shifty and back-and-forth at the time and the diagonal lines of the photo represent that as well. I even think the few swoops of white in the picture represent some genuine happy moments during that time which shifted my thinking but generally left me unaffected for the long run.

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Figure 2. Wightman, T. (2012). Drowning from Obsession. [Book sculpture]. Accessed from https://www.behance.net/gallery/5558390/Book-Sculpture-Drowning-from-Obsession.

Like with the ink print by Hokusai, I absolutely loved this water travel related book sculpture by Wightman. The creation of the boat from the steady stream of words displayed human nature and our ability to create new worlds and objects with words - just as authors are able to do with books. Seeing the boat fall down into the hole of words signifies how I think my life is going in this modern world - dragged down by the harsh words and expectations of others and trying so hard to find an anchor to keep me afloat but still falling despite kind words from some others.

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Figure 1. Hokusai, K. (ca. 1830-32). Under the Wave off Kanagawa. [Woodblock print and ink and color on paper].The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The image this week that I really enjoyed was this ink print by Hokusai. I absolutely loved this image because I've always enjoyed the sea and seeing the water and boats in a state of disorder and frozen motion signified how I feel in my own personal life - constantly influenced by many tasks but unable to get ahead. The dark blues contrast so well with the lightness of the sea foam and the tan of the sky that it stands out and really shows the depth of the water and the possibilities.