Art

"The Art of  Gum-Ball Machines, and Other Simple Pleasures" from The Accidental 
Masterpiece, asks the question, Are gum balls a metaphor for,life? I think yes. 
( The chapter actually talks artists like Wayne Thiebaud, but that's an aside) 
There is a container, holding colorful balls of gum, each a different flavor.  
Conflicts arise as you hope for one color but desire a different flavor.  You 
put in your money, will it not to get stuck, and swoosh, a ball drops out of the 
large mound into the opening for you to grab and pop into your mouth.  College? 
Yes, it is. Gum ball  machines are like college in that you put in your coin and 
hope that the gum ball  that comes out of the machine will be an offer  of 
admission. 

I am quite sure that the author of The Accidental Masterpiece did not intent his 
book to be about  a High School Senior's quest for college, but, like art, there 
is always room for interpretation.

 Ah, to be an egocentric high school student...............

Art

The chapter "The Art of Pilgrimage"from The Accidental Masterpiece is simply 
that.  We all have a goal, and all get there differently. Whether it is painting 
as a recluse in the desert, walking through ice water in the darkness to find a 
road, or sending our applications through the Common App, we do what we do. What 
more can I say. We all have a goal, desire and quest for something, we just have 
to realize what it is and how to get to to to achieve that goal.

Art

When I saw the chapter entitled "The Art of Staring Productively At Naked 
Bodies" I thought how am I going to relate this chapter to college in a "G" 
rated way.  

I took the idea of focus from this  chapter. We paint what we see, and do what 
we do, and have a focus of a goal.  While others may not see what we do, we know 
what our goal is and we strive to achieve it.  Zine's, movies ITSA's, art, it is 
what we do now and it is important of us, now.  I hope when looking back, it 
will be a found memory of me now, that I can take with me and improve upon.

Art

The chapter " The Art of Finding Yourself When You're Lost" in The Accidental 
Masterpiece teaches us lesson through examples of Frank Hurley, the adventurer. 
We learn that adversity and hardship make us better artists. While I do not want 
to trek through sub zero temperatures eating dogs to stay alive, I think that if 
we are focused, obviously with a lot less electronic distractions, we are more 
productive. 

How does this chapter relate to college you may ask  (I intend to keep the 
college theme going throughout all of these blogs ).  As seniors, it is 
difficult to keep our grades up and do the high school thing, while having one 
foot out the door ready to do the college thing.  One admissions person told me 
to remember to be a high school student.  Well, that is easier said then done 
when AP classes remind us each day that we will be in college any second and for 
all intents and purposes we already are. 

Keep it simple, keep focused and do what needs to be done, and all adventures, 
including the quest for college will work out. 

Art

In reading the chapter, “The Art of Collecting Light Bulbs” from The Accidental Masterpiece I could not help but wonder if Hugh Francis Hicks would be admitted to the college of his choice based upon his light bulb collection (As you can see I am still focused on college admissions).  Obviously Dr. Hicks went somewhere because he was a dentist, but that not my point.  If applying today, would Hicks be considered more interesting than the kid who was president of the engineers club and caption of the tennis team?  I imagine that if he threw in the story that his mother gave him a light bulb to play with in his crib (child abuse), then yes, I would say that he would be even more interesting.   Admission of course would also depend upon what school he was applying and if they needed experts on light bulbs or not.  
The bottom line is collectors collect. Whether some have emotional issues or because they are enthralled with the objects collected, it doesn’t really matter. They just do it.   Should a person like Hicks be admitted over the kid that collects stamps or doesn’t have a collection at all, that’s for admissions to decide.  As for me, I must admit I have no interest in collecting light bulbs, screws, coins or pens.  I would collect comics, but that is too much of a pricey venture at this point, so I remain that other kids applying to that school who is not particularly odd.  Wish me luck!

Art

The chapter "The Art of Making Art Without Lifting a Finger" in The Accidental Masterpiece, basically states that art is life and life is art. It can also be summarized as artists are crazy and even suicidal, but I like the life part better. Again, in keeping with my college theme, I see senior year as the time to complete the life art we started. It has been challenging years in the making and now the piece must be completed (we need to graduate) and the art must be sold or displayed (we need to get into a college).



I am going to take it one step further, to focus on my favorite kind of art- sitcoms (yes, they are art). If my life was a sitcom right now, I would submit my college application and by the end of the 30 minute episode, I would be rejected only to find out it was a mistake and I was actually accepted to my first choice school, full scholarship, of course. That is good art.



If life were a drama, I would be rejected from all the schools I applied and have other horrible things occur, only to learn some lesson and still not get what I want. I guess, dramas are more like life than comedies; Nah. Comedies are based upon reality, just with a flare.



My point is, I never want to be the artist that gives it all up under the guise of art, like Ray Johnson, put I do want to leave it all on the table, or canvas, by the time I graduate Herricks.

Jackson Pollack

This semester I have been studying the works of Jackson Pollack and I have to say I do not understand what the big fuss is about. Jackson Pollack is famous for breaking the traditions of art, and making painting into something new and unique.  What I am struggling with is that these later Pollack paintings are sold for millions of dollars and, to me, they look like lines and dots. My little sister, who is in elementary school, threw some paint onto a blank canvas and earned an “A” and many accolades on her art assignment because it was deemed that she created a “classic Pollack painting”.  Not to offend anyone, including my little sister, but that is ridiculous. Between you, me, and the media, as admitted by Pollack himself, he had one too many, was around some paint and woke up the next day with a splattered canvas which he then called his new phase of art and sold his painting(s) in order eat.  He died at the peak of his fame, never going back to his style, which was extraordinary, and is remembered as one of the “great American artists”.

            Pollack simply, in addition to being an artist, was a marketing genius. He created his paintings, set a price, and then refused sell them for less than what he deemed their worth thereby making the paintings costly and rare.  This strategy enhanced his reputation and once you have a big reputation in the art world, you can blow your nose in a tissue, call it art and sell it for millions of dollars.

            Remembering Jackson Pollack, not for his art, but for his ability to market himself to the art world and trick everyone into thinking that he was a genius in order to make money, does not do him justice.  At one point he truly painted like the talented artist he was, not selling out for profit.   But, art critics and viewers and connoisseurs alike are to blame.  I truly believe that when they look at Pollack’s paintings they see the same thing that I do, except they do not have the courage to say it is nothing special, but have to praise it because everyone else does.  In reality, we are the Emperor in Pollack’s clothes.  We just need a child to say that we are  “naked” or just admit that Pollack’s paintings look like a fourth graders work of art, but that just adds to the extent of Pollack’s legacy.