the Scopitone

Scopitone was a type of juke box that played not only songs, but music videos too. The machine, made out of leftover WWII airplane parts, could be found in its prime in France during the 1960s. Many artists' debut music videos appeared on and became popularized by the Scopitone.

Here is one of the many catchy French songs featured on the website:

Mummy at Bayshore Blvd

Ever sit on Facebook for hours on end and think, "What am I even doing?"
Do you find yourself going from website to website reading meaningless statuses and tweets such as:

Times goes by, your work is still unfinished, and there you are... STILL on the computer, keeping up with people you happen to know (or maybe not) that are not the least bit significant in your life.

If this applies to you, then there is a good chance distraction and procrastination have gotten the best of you... like they have me. Recently, I've found myself glued to the computer, unable to leave. Occasionally I glance out the window, catch a glimpse of the beautiful view and think, "Wow... just get up!!!!" I am someone who is constantly enamored by the sky, ocean, greenery, and other beautiful things we all take for granted. So, it kills me to waste time online. My piece shows how technology, though so wonderful and convenient, can be so restricting. I chose to mummify myself on Bayshore Boulevard, with my phone and computer in hand, while an abundance of runners, bicyclists, walkers, and rollerbladers cruised by. Hopefully those people were thinking, "I don't know what that girl is doing but I'm glad I'm out here getting some exercise, limbs mobile and free, no bondage or internet tying me down," ....or something along those lines...

Advertising and Propaganda

It isn't uncommon for people to use the terms "advertisement" and "propaganda" synonymously. However, there is most definitely a difference between the two. Advertisement is a paid message targeted toward a specific group of people, in attempt to persuade the group into liking and purchasing a certain product or service. Today, commercials are probably the best example of ads. Propaganda on the other hand, is form of communication that informs and promotes a particular idea, concept, or even belief. In both cases, persuasion is used for a similar goal, but the methods used to achieve that goal are different.

Advertisement:

It is clear that both companies are persuading the viewer of the ad to buy their product.

Propaganda:

Here, it is clear that a message is trying to be pushed onto others, aiming to change their opinion. 

Eva and Adele

Eva and Adele are a pandrogynous couple from Germany who are truly a work of art. Although their sexes determine that they are a heterosexual married couple, they waited 22 years to get married as a homosexual couple (they are now both legally women). They attempt to dress and look exactly alike. Their ages and identities are a secret, and they claim to have landed in their time machine after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Mobbed!

I watched a few flash mobs, but this one really stood out. Apparently there is a show on Fox called Mobbed, in which flash mobs are used to reveal big news. This guy shattered his girlfriend's heart by making it seem like he was cheating on her... little does she know that they were about to be married. I'm usually not into sappy things like this, but this actually made me cry a little! It's just so overwhelming, I can't imagine being in the girl's shoes. Not sure if I would ever want something like this, but they're going to have a great story to tell their kids and grandkids someday!

Iconoclasm

An iconoclast is someone who deliberately destructs a religious symbol, usually an indication for political or religious reform. For this reason, iconoclasm tends to go hand in hand with revolutions. Iconoclasm dates as far back at the year 630, when Muslims destroyed various statues of Arabian deities housed in the Kaaba in Mecca. In other instances, iconoclasm has been committed by the Jews, the French, Russians, Chinese, Afghans, and a wide variety of other countries and religious groups. It is still seen today on many occasions, specifically by the Muslims. Iconoclasm is also popular among art and literature.

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was born in 1921 in Krefeld, Germany where he eventually joined the military in 1940. After he returned in 1945, he created some serious artwork-- highly inspired by his time in the war. He used fat and felt as mediums (he was once rubbed in fat and wrapped in felt by nomads to help him stay warm after a wartime plane crash) in sculpting. He abandoned his dreams of working in the medical field after the war to study sculpting at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art. After graduating, he read; focusing on philosophy, science, poetry, literature, and the occult. After marrying, Beuys took a job at Düsseldorf, where he met contemporary Nam June Paik, who impacted his work greatly. He began to think of ways in which art could play a larger role in society. Here are some of his pieces:

Sheryl Oring

Sheryl Oring created the organization, I Wish to Say, in order to give the people an opportunity to tell the president exactly what they wish to say. She was concerned that not enough people were truly being heard, and wished to grant them the free expression their entitled to. Citizens write postcards to the president and she sends them to the white house. More than 2,000 postcards have been sent since the foundation started back in 2004.