Miracle

After reading Kim Zorn Caputo's Miracle, I could relate to it almost instantly. I have many moments that all I have to do is simply smell something familiar, and a rush of my past will come back to me. I can close my eyes and see the moment as if it had happened yesterday, and with the rush of the moment comes a flood of emotion as well. When she spoke of how Thamyris was punished and his memory was erased of how to play the piano, it made me think of how much less I would be myself if my one personality trait that made me who I am was taken away from me. It is hard to imagine not being able to remember things, and it makes you realize how often we take things in life for granted. People who are having memory loss are always confused and can eventually become very upset by this. They can't remember who they are, they can't remember who their family is. If they can't remember themselves, who do they have to confide in? Thinking about this makes me remember last May, when my Grandma got very sick. She has Parkinson's Disease which will in time (which has now set in) give her Dementia. She was in the hospital and turned to my Grandpa and said, "When is my Donald going to get here?" My Grandpa is Donald. It broke my heart to realize that this disease is taking part of my Grandma away, and soon all I will be left with is the memories I've shared with her. The part that scares me is, what is she going to be left with, if not her memories?




The picture that stood out to me the most is Sally Mann's Picnic. The children in this picture are so engaged to the fire, it has a calming affect to it. Fires are calming in themselves but these children seem to be so engaged to it anything could be happening in the real world and they would be oblivious to it. This picture interests me because you could look at it a few different ways. You could see the obvious; children sitting outside watching a campfire, or you could analyze it deeper and consider a few different things. The fire is fairly large, and it seems as though it could be spreading. Maybe this fire wasn't intentional and something caught. To the right of the fire is a darker figure, and I am not able to make out what exactly it is. In every aspect of life you are able to analyze a situation and decide what path is the right one to go on, or you could just choose one without thinking about it, and making mistakes along the way. Whichever way you decide, new memories will always be made.

Miracle

"Miracle"
Jordann Gibson
I had a hard time understanding Caputo at first. I had to read this more than twice to get a grasp on what she was trying to say. As humans there are so many things we wish we could forget or remember. Caputo made a point that art is striving to remember vividly and able to describe with detail so others can see. Art is a reconstruction of our lost memories that we try to revive. I think this is one point she was trying to make. Life is unpredictable, and we have no way of knowing what it will bring us. We have no control over what memories we obtain or forget. The picture below was interesting to me because as children we walk though life exploring, learning, and asking "why"? As we grow we forget event that have happened to us as a child. have you ever wondered why there are specific things that a triggered from your child hood? There are just random things you remember and for some reason do not? I think that Caputo was trying to say that is is art that holds these memories for us. Colors, pictures, and smells remind us of certain events, whethere we want those memories or not.

Reaction Paper #1

I was very confused the first time I read the Miracle by Kim Zore Caputo. After reading it a few times, it started to make sense to me. While reading this, I was thinking about all the memories we create for ourselves. I think she was trying to say that memories are so important because if you took away everything else, we would still have our memories. Unfortunately, in time our memories tend to fade. This is why pictures are so important. They capture special moments in our lives that someday we
might have forgotten if we didn’t have pictures to document them. I also think the writer was saying how you never know what memory might pop into your head with absolutely no rhyme or reason at all. Although I’m not sure how this picture addresses the subject of memory, I really liked the butterfly picture by Peter Campus. It shows the beautiful sky in the background. And almost looks like the picture is being split by the changes in the color of the picture in certain areas. I have to say that my absolute favorite picture was by Zeke Berman. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but to me it looks like a spider web. I think it relates to what the writer is talking about by saying it’s a web of memories. Each string represents a memory. And the entire web is full of different memories, but somehow all comes together as one piece. I also liked the picture of the lamp by Baldessari. I felt it was a partial picture. The pieces missing represented lost memories or things forgotten. Whether good or bad, there will always be memories.

Reaction #1

After reading "Miracle" by Kim Zorn Caputo I realized how important memory really is. I thought that the article did a good job telling the readers that memory is important and the best way to keep a memory is to have an object that you can look at or touch to bring you back to the time the memory happened. The article says that one of the best ways to ensure that you won't forget a memory is make it into an art piece. Every piece of art comes from a memory whether it was good or bad, or if it was your memory or someone else's. I never really thought much of memory before reading this article and the posts from the other students but now that I have I think it's safe to say I won't take memory for granted and I will always value it.

This image caught my eye the most because when I think of memories I think of happiness. I think that everyone wants to remember the good things and kind of forget about the bad, so when I see this image it reminds me of a memory that nearly everyone would want to remember for their lifetime.

Response to Mein Kampf

How can anyone in our generation possibly relate to this? The horrors of anti Semitic genocide, cannot be described in words by “the average person.” I myself have read many stories and have seen many pictures, and to this day I have absolutely no Idea what the Jewish population went through during those dark times, the horrors they have experienced, the murders they witnessed, or the nauseating smells of burning bodies, being crammed into small cells and fed bare bone meals.

Mein Kampf, which is German for “My Struggle,” was written by Adolf Hitler while he served his sentence in prison for attempting to take over the German government for the first time. (He was not quite successful his first time, however he became dictator of Germany later on.) The book Mein Kampf was Adolf Hitler telling his story about his great struggle for power during his rise to leadership, and also he tells his story about his life as a German soldier, fighting in the trenches during WWI. He tells of his love for Germany and how he will someday become supreme leader, and “fix” Germanys economic downfall since the first great war.

During the early stages of Hitler’s leadership over Germany, he was possibly one of the greatest leaders of all time. He managed to pull Germany out of a huge economic downfall, He rebuilt the German Army, and had many great promises for Germany’s future. The German people followed and were close to worshiping him, unaware of the dark plans Adolf Hitler had to purify and restore “The New Germany”.

Response to "Miracle"

The article “Miracle” by Kim Zorn Caputo was very intense. It awakens the senses and opens the soul. I believe her interpretation of art is to be understood by those who create art. This article brings together the forces of time by including those who have searched for purpose generations before us. I loved the relationship between smelling the almond, soft falling rain, feeling a cold sink and previous life experiences. It was like a deja vu moment.


I understood the unconditional love & deep loss, I lost my mother to pancreatic cancer. She was my anchor, my foundation, love and truth. She left me with memories, I believe this to be the greatest gift I am left with. She understood me. Now I wonder, searching on this journey. I see the beauty of the sunset & the full moon . She would often call me to remind me to take a look at God’s beauty.

Life experiences allow us growth make us stronger. Through art and the capture of memories we are brought to understand fulfillment and human purpose. The longing to be embraced to feel alive may be our empty heart touched by reality…a reality we did not know before loss or love.

The image by Sally Mann brought back memories of my sister, and mother and I sitting by a bonfire my father lit. It was a grand life we had.

The image by Lee Friedlander caught the depth of time. I took a similar photo of my girls near the river by an old cottonwood tree. Trees seem to show age, strength, beauty, depth, and life. A relationship between life and death with each passing season.

Reaction Paper Number One

Miracle

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of a miracle is definitely not trimming my toenails and the scents of rain and almond oil. When I first think of memory, it reminds me of the movie 50 First Dates. When Drew Barrymore suffers from a memory impairment. Each night that she goes to sleep her memory is erased from that day, and she believes that everyday is her fathers birthday. This movie breaks my heart to see someone that you love go through that and be able to explain to them everyday what happened, I could not imagine life without a memory or having to be reminded each and everyday who I am. The article took me a few times to read before I was able to connect with and understand the message that the author is trying to portray. I found it interesting how complex the human mind really is and the ability to connect a simple task like trimming toenails to jealous gods. The mind is a beautiful thing, and it could also be treacherous. It allows you to imagine, dream, hope wonder remember and be a unique individual. Hope can also drive someone insane and can be a dangerous thing. People rely on their memory to do everyday tasks and also use it to remember and broaden their view of the world. Every person also has the ability to retrieve and repress memories and events that they have been through in their lifetime. Art allows you not to forget your memories and express them in creative ways. This reminds me of how I write poetry and scrapbook, the little tags next to the pictures and the poems that I incorporate all tell a story of my life that allows me to retrace my childhood and walk through it step by step again. The description and the details put into the artwork allows me to be like I was in the moment.

The pictures from this issue really amaze me and are really eye catchy. The first picture that really struck my eye is the “Gate” by Zeke Berman. Abstract is really eye popping and catchy to me, and it allows your mind to wander and create of the picture what you think it looks like. When you first look at it looks like it is a broken window shattered by a rock, also in the background it looks like there is a window sill in the background. Black and white pictures also are really appealing to me, just adds a touch of elegance to the room.

The next picture that really stands out to me is the “Child in Rubens’ House, Antwerp” by Todd Weinstein. The expression on the girls face looks like she is concentrating really hard and by her hand expression it looks like she might be terrified of something maybe something in the foregrounds stimulated her memory and it was a reaction. Another thing that stands out in the picture is the picture that looks like it is leaning off the wall and it is kind of shadowed so you cannot make out what was in the picture. It allows someone looking at this piece to visualize and think of something that might make her react in such a manor.