Forgery or Art 

24-25
Assignment Eight
March 21-March 23
Forgery and Art

Think about the video about the work of Wolfgang Beltracchi, then respond to this question: IS FORGERY ART?

Consider the following as you craft your response:

  • The Beltracchi Question: Wolfgang Beltracchi created paintings in the style of famous artists that fooled experts for years. Defend your position with specific reasoning about what constitutes “art” and whether intention matters in artistic creation.
  • Originality vs. Technique: Beltracchi possessed extraordinary technical skills, but used them to create works that imitated others. Can technical mastery without originality be considered art? What is more important in defining art: the idea, the execution, or the authenticity?
  • The Value Paradox: When Beltracchi’s forgeries were thought to be authentic works by famous artists, they sold for millions. After being revealed as forgeries, their monetary value plummeted despite being physically identical. What does this reveal about how we define and value art? Is our appreciation of art influenced more by the object itself or by external factors like authorship and provenance?
  • Artistic Intent: Compare the intentions of an original artist with those of a skilled forger. How does the creator’s purpose affect whether we should consider something “art”? Can a work created with deceptive intent still be considered authentic art?

Knowledge and Innocence, Redux 

24-25
Assignment Seven
Feb. 27-March 1
Knowledge and Innocence

“There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.”  — Socrates

 

How is knowledge more valuable than ignorance?  Why is it?

Drawing specifically on Gilgamesh, Genesis (the story of Adam and Eve), Oedipus and Lone Star, explore this question. Choose one unified position to defend. Be thorough in your discussion and consider all texts. You must use textual evidence from all texts in your response. (Now you know why we kept the books!)

So Be Good For Goodness’ Sake 

2024-25
Assignment Six
November 24-December 4
"So Be Good For Goodness' Sake. . ."

 

George de La Tour Job et sa Femme, (Job and His Wife) c.1640-1645

George de La Tour
Job et sa Femme, (Job and His Wife) c.1640-1645

Why do the right thing if you only are punished for doing so?
This is one of the central questions that the Book of Job poses. Job is clearly an upstanding man: “that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil.” How much easier for the reader to wish that Job were not morally good, for isn’t it human nature to believe that good ought be rewarded while evil is punished? How, then, to make sense of the wisdom text?

In a series of well-organized paragraphs, explain first why you believe that good generally ought to be rewarded while evil should be punished (or if you don’t believe so, explain why you don’t). How do you justify your own good fortune? Then discuss why humans ought to act ethically, even if they might reap no rewards and might actually be punished for doing so. End by speculating on why God seems to punish a good man (Job).

Do not use any outside sources for this entry, but rather try to formulate your own understanding of the issues.

Eden is that old-fashioned House

2024-25 Assignment Five
Nov. 12- Nov. 19
Eden is that old-fashioned House

Reread the Emily Dickinson poem “Eden is that old-fashioned House.”

Eden is that old-fashioned House
We dwell in every day
Without suspecting our abode
Until we drive away.
How fair on looking back, the Day
We sauntered from the Door —
Unconscious our returning,
But discover it no more.

Genesis : Expulsion from Paradise by Lorenzo Maitani

     Genesis: Expulsion from Paradise by Lorenzo Maitani

 

In a well-developed series of paragraphs, address the following questions:

a. In what way is this poem like Adam and Eve’s leaving the Garden of Eden? Be specific.

b. Thinking about your own life, as a high school senior about to leave your home– one, presumably, in which you have “dwell[ed] in every day,” how is your situation parallel to that of Adam and Eve’s leaving the Garden? How does this poem describe your own situation, as you are about to “drive away”? Be specific.

c. What are you most afraid will be changed for your return? Why?

I Wish Someone Had Told Me . . .

2024-2025 Assignment Four
October 24 — October 29
I Wish Someone Had Told Me . . .

“Believe those who are seeking the truth;
doubt those who find it.” (Andre Gide)

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? (Consider an answer other than the obvious– never lick a metal pole in winter.)

  • Who provided that advice?
  • What made it so valuable?

Using these questions only as a starting point, write a personal narrative (on your own blog) that explains what made this advice so valuable to you and what you think you have learned from it. Be sure to explain who gave you that advice and in what context s/he provided it.

My Life As I Wished I Lived It (or Carpe Diem)

2024-2025

Assignment Three
October 4 — October 12
My Life As I Wished I Lived It (or Carpe Diem)

At the end of life, how will your life be judged?

“Don’t ask why. It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time.”

As Green Day once said:

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don’t ask why.

It’s not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It’s something unpredictable
but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.

Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.

For what it’s worth,
it was worth all the while.

It’s something unpredictable
but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It’s something unpredictable
but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It’s something unpredictable
but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
(lyrics “Time of Your Life”)

How do we figure out whether or not a life has value? When do we make this decision? What is the meaning and purpose of life?

Consider the things that you feel make life worthwhile and valuable.

A) List five things you want to have possessed or have experienced by the time you reach the end of your life (whenever that may be).
B) How will you be remembered? Add to this list one quality you would like to be remembered for.
C) Discuss why each of these things (or ideals, ideas or qualities) are important to you personally.
D) Discuss how each of these things (or ideals, ideas or qualities) are valuable to humanity.

Utnapishtim Replies

2024-2025

Assignment Two
September 19– September 27
Utnapishtim Replies

 

Utnapishtim replies to Gilgamesh’s painful search for immortality with simplicity: 

“There is no permanence” (106).

What does this mean for humanity? Specifically, how does our world illustrate this notion of impermanence? How do people even get up and go about their business in a world that is fleeting and ephemeral? If we all die, what ultimately gives us meaning in life? Finally, how do we, as mortal humans, create a sense of order and eternal life? Cite strong and thorough evidence to support your analysis, both from the text and also from your understanding of the world at large.

gilgamesh

“The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” James Taylor

Thinking About the Hero

2024-2025

Assignment One
September 11 – September 15
Thinking About the Hero

Some of you have read The Odyssey and/or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Most of you have seen the Star Wars or Harry Potter films or Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Lord of the Rings. What about Achilles or Hercules? What do all of these works have in common? Many people would say that the protagonists in all of these could be considered heroes. But are they? What is a hero? How do we define heroic actions or behavior? And can a woman be a hero(ine)? If so, why are there no women in that list above? If heroes serve as models of particular conduct, how would you define that conduct? Secondarily, what purpose do heroes serve to us as humans? Do we need them? Why? Bertolt Brecht once said, “Unhappy the land that needs heroes.” What does this mean, in light of your understanding of what a makes a hero?

In your own blog, explore the idea of the hero, making sure that you address all relevant questions.

WordPress Tutorial

Don’t know how to post a blog entry? Just download this WordPress Tutorial here.

Or follow these simple steps:

Posts are entries that display in reverse order on your home page. Posts usually have comments fields beneath them and are included in your site’s RSS feed.

To Write a Post:
Log in to your WordPress Administration Panel (Dashboard).
Click the ‘Posts’ tab.
Click the ‘Add New’ sub-tab.
Start filling in the blanks: enter your post title in the upper field, and enter your post body content in the main post editing box below it.
When you are ready to save your blog on your site, make sure to click Publish.

NAVIGATING BETWEEN BLOG DASHBOARDS

Once your teacher approves your request to join the class you will be added as user to the class blog and your student blog.

This means you will have access to both the class blog and your student blog dashboard. You will see fewer menu items if you are logged into the class blog dashboard.

To publish posts you need to be in the dashboard of your student blog.

Changing blog dashboards is as simple as:

a.  Go to My Sites dropdown menu in your admin bar.

b.  Click on the dashboard of the blog you want to access.

 

For more information, check here: https://help.edublogs.org/own-student-blog/#Join_a_Class