Reaction Paper 1

As I read through this, every little description that was stated I started to rack my brain right away to see if I could find something I could relate it to. Everything people do is stored to memory. It is so important and people rely on memories for happiness and even for closure in sadness.

The second paragraph in the piece, was what stood out to me the most. People are always running around and rushing rushing to do as much as they can and lose the little things. When getting lost in art people try to recreate or make a change to what they would like or what they want to remember. Memory is so important to people and it is what people are always thinking about. When you see something or hear a song you immediately connect it back to what you were doing when you last saw or heard that.

The piece that stood out to me the most was Christian Boltanskis’ piece titled Les Eleves de L'Ecole Juive . I really enjoyed the old fashioned picture, it reminds me of the excitement on children’s faces when going to do the simplest of things. It reminds me of my great-grandma the most, because she had pictures with classmates like this. I think that the best pictures are ones that capture emotion, that is why I picked this picture as my favorite, even though it is unseen what event is going on you can imagine the excitement on these children’s faces.

Miracle Reaction by Eden Miche

So much is rooted with memory. Just thinking about how much memory actually affects us it astounding. Everything from the kind of food we eat, to the people we like, and what we do in our spare time. Everything is memory based; our friends, music, art, and emotions. Why would we go to school if we could not remember what we learned yesterday? How could we fear something we couldn't remember? It would be impossible to live without memory.

In "Miracle" Kim Zorn Caputo says, "Memory is the force behind making art - the drive not to forget.". But Caputo also suggests that forgetting some things is like "...shedding purposefully...". Sometimes forgetting things is necessary. Just because something is forgotten doesn't make people less of a person; it just makes it easier to continue on without the guilt, fear, or any other emotion attached to the memory.

"Miracle"

When I first read this, I didn't know what to think. But as I read through it a second time, so many thoughts came to my mind. I think it is amazing how one certain activity sparks a memorable event from the past. When I pack my bag for school, I think of when my sister and I were younger and how we used to pack a bag to go "hiking" in our field. As quoted from Kim, "Memory is the force behind making art-the drive not to forget." This is an excellent quote because each and every one of us holds pictures in our minds from the past and we can go to these memories anytime we feel we need to.

I selected this image from Gabriel Orozco because I look at it as the table represents us as humans and the sand is all of our memories that we love to look back to. If you thought of each and every grain of sand on that table to be a memory, we would have billions of memories to look back to. Whether or not it is something major or the smile you received from someone for just simply saying hello.

Mircle of the Memory

Memories begin to fade but the feelings and emotions remain. Memories are very important, they not only carry a person’s history; they tell a story. A person’s feelings and emotions stay with us, it might not be at the surface but they are there. The feelings and emotions become alive when a person looks at a photo and begins to remember a special event. They might remember how the air smelt or how the trees looked, how they felt or how something tasted. "Miracle" by Kim Zorn Caputo is describing a reason why so many people take photographs and how memories can stay alive. I liked how she used the word Amnesia, how often does a person forget a little piece of their past as if it did not exist. Without photographs I may forget what my family did on a vacation, or what my Grandparents experienced when they were young. These are the things that tell a story, they show our own personal history.

Les Eleves de L'Ecole Juive de la Grosse Hamburger Strasse a Berlin le 15 Avril 1939

When looking at a photo that was taken by someone else, a person may think of their own history. This is what I do when I look at the photo by Christian Boltanski titled Les Eleves de L'Ecole Juive. I begin to think of my own childhood and the field trips that were taken with my friends. The photo features many children crammed into a small frame, and yet they are all full of laughter. I can almost hear them laughing. The children appear to be so happy; it is hard to not smile when looking at this photograph. Although I person think of my own experiences when looking at this photo, I also tried to figure out what was actually occurring. Usually the title helps with this but this photo is difficult to analyze as the title is in multiply languages. Grosse Hamburger Strasse is German but Les Eleves de L'Ecole Juive is French and Avil in French is the first of April. Knowing the events of WWI during April of 1939 it is wonderful to see happy children. Perhaps the children were happy due to an April fool’s joke.

Reaction Paper #1

Miracle by Kim Zorn Caputo

My initial reaction to this article was that it is kind of out there. I had a hard time creating a

mental image of clipping toenails and thinking of pools. But then that isn't the point of the

article. I think the point is that a simple image can bring back a memory. And I have to say

that I agree. I know every time I look at pictures of my son as a baby, I can see him

smiling with his chubby little cheeks and 2 teeth. It scrolls through my mind like a

video clip. And I feel a rush of love for him. It is amazing that an image can bring

back such strong feelings.

I think my favorite image in the collection of pictures, is the photo by Lee Friedlander. His

photo of the old tree is very detailed. I like that it is in black and white. I look at this tree and

how twisted and knotted it is, the branches bare, like it is winter time. The roots are deep in

the ground, yet the tree is so old that the root system is showing. And I think that is exactly

like a memory. Your oldest memories are deep and intertwined with other memories.

And yet, some are stand alone memories, just like the branches of the tree. If you cut this

tree down you could count the rings....all there showing how old the tree is. Again, just like

memories, counting the years and events in your life.

Reation Paper One

Miracle describes the phenomenon of the human mind. How the mind has a mind of its own, and we have no control over our thoughts. Many times people forget the important little tasks, like going to a scheduled appointment, that was meant to be remembered. Other times people remember things that they wish they had not. Like loosing a bet, or getting into a fight with a close friend. Memories have the ability to cause emotions. Whether they are good feelings, like happiness, or bad feelings such as sadness.

No one can control their minds; what they remember and don't remember. The mind works without us consciously doing anything, which is a fascinating thought. But also a little creepy in a sense of all the things the mind could think of.

The mind wanders, and can be random. Kim Zorn Caputo's mind goes from cutting toenails, to a memory of childhood at the community pool, causing sadness. Memories can be burdens, or blessings in different circumstances, and to different people.

Memories are temporary. They come and go without warning. By making a memory into art, the memory has a force behind it, making it hard to be forgotten.

The picture that stands out to me the most in Blind Spot #3, is "Gate" by Zeke Berman. I spent a long time staring at my computer screen, trying to figure what in the world the picture was of. At first, I searched for a gate, because of the name. I was unable to find anything that resembled a gate. I like how the picture "Gate," makes my mind frustrated and curious. Wondering what is in the picture, and if what I see is what the art piece is intended to be. Like a memory, different people may experience the same memory in a different way, with different emotions.

My Miracle Reaction

Every day we wake up to find out what the world has in store for us. Never knowing what could possibly happen throughout the day we continue on with living our life. While reading Miracle by Kim Zorn Caputo, it make me realize that all of those days that we have woken up, memories have came from them even though we maybe did not intend to have memories made. When I read "Memory is the force behind making art- the drive not to forget," it gave me goose bumps because it is the truth behind what I think is art. Behind every piece of art is the emotions of the artist. There must have been multiple events, people, or feelings that lead up to help create any art work. Our memories help us remember good times along with bad times that have made us who we are today.

I had two pictures that really stuck out to me. The first was titled "Boy and Mask." This picture made me think of how when we are little children we usually wanted to explore anything and everything even if it would hurt us. To me, the mask resembles evil, such as the devil, but yet the baby is standing there in wonder of what the mask is doing there and possibly why. The second picture that interested me was titled "Anima 5." This picture is very different. I love butterflies because to me they symbolize life and life has so much meaning. It is beautiful how it is black and white although butterflies can be very colorful which makes them unique and beautiful but being black and white it gives me the wonder of all the colors it could be.

boy and mask

anima 5