Columbia Art Museum Event

Describe the photograph - how big is it, who owns it, who shot it, who is the photograph of and what year was the photo taken. Is black and white, color or some sort of special photographic process. If you don't know what this process is, look it up and describe it.

The photo that stood out to me the most while going through the Who Shot Rock and Roll exhibit at the Columbia Art Museum was Michael Jackson in New York City.  The photograph was huge.  It was almost extended from floor to ceiling.  The photograph was not just one big picture; it was a series of pictures put together.  Albert Watson was the man who shot the photograph.  He shot the photograph in the year 1999.  It was then printed in the year 2000.  The photograph is owned by a private collection.  Every picture was of the great artist Michael Jackson.  All of the little photos that make up this huge big photograph are all in black and white.  Albert Watson put this photograph together by the process of photomontage.  Photomontage is a collage of photographic images.  He took tons of pictures of Michael Jackson and placed them together to create a bigger image.

Analyze the photograph - What is the photo about, what are/is the people/person doing in the photo, what is the setting, what are clothes like? What does the photograph reveal about the person in the picture?

In this huge photograph Albert Watson is portraying Michael Jackson, one of the best dancers of all time, and his dance moves.  Each series of photos show Michael Jackson doing some type of dance move.  By looking at looking at each series of photos you can truly see how talented Michael Jackson was and what an amazing dancer he was. Rather than seeing just one picture of Michael Jackson dancing, Watson shows his viewers many dance moves of Michael Jackson.  This picture definitely shows Michael Jackson justice and what a talented artist and dancer he was in our society.  The setting of this photograph is most likely just Michael Jackson in a music video or a concert.  The photographs do not show a background and are solely a white background and Michael Jackson is in black.  The clothes that Michael Jackson is wearing in every picture is black leather jacket, black leather pants, and a white under shirt.  This was the typical outfit that Michael Jackson would perform in.  This photograph definitely reveals that Michael Jackson is a very talented dancer and performer.  Seeing his dance moves in a step by step process truly shower how much energy and rhythm he possessed.  Looking at this photograph makes people remember the great memories of Michael Jackson and the mark he made on our society and music.  People fell in love with not only Michael Jackson’s music, but more importantly him as a performer.  He knew how to get a crowd going.  Michael Jackson worked hard to get where he was and truly made a mark on our society.    

This video shows Michael Jackson doing his famous moon walk.  He also is sporting his typical outfit he wear when porforming, just like in the photos in the photograph.  This short video shows how talented Michael Jackson was as a dancer and a porformer!

Relate some of the photographer's or the person in the photographs history.

Going through the exhibit I came across many artists that I knew.  The exhibit did a great job of showing all different kinds of artists and music from all different times in history.  Another one of my favorite photographs to look at was the one of U2.  I have grown up listening to U2 with my older brothers.  I loved how the exhibit also provided a little clip of U2 singing.  Just like Michael Jackson, U2 is known worldwide!  They both have toured the world and made an impact on music today.  While Michael Jackson speaks through his dance moves, Bono speaks though his powerful words.  There were also many photographs of artists who had died.  The ones that I remember seeing were Michael Jackson, Biggie, Elvis, and more.  These photographs are paying  tribute to these great artist and allowing people to remember them and the impact that they had in the music world and our society. 

All of these famous singers have died but will never be forgotten!

Big Apple Art Event

Even though the shag is danced to music that is 4/4 time, how does the dancer count when they are dancing the shag?

The shag is a six count partner dance.  There is a lead for the dance and the partner follows in that persons lead.  The lead counts 1 and 2 , 3 and 4, 5 and 6 to get the six count.  The leader is the one who spins their partner and leads them in the direction they are going to take.  In this video you can see how the leader counts out to his partner the 6 count and holds her hand as they both move together.  He is even telling her when to cross her feet and spins her!  They both seem very happy and the leader does a great job of counting and showing the girl the moves of the dance.

2. Discuss the Big Apple building. Discuss its features architechtural feature of Columbia, and a brief history. What was the first name of the building?

The Big Apple is an old historical building in Columbia, South Carolina.  The building was named the Big Apple because of an old religious dance that was founded by African Americans on plantations in South Carolina and Georgia.  The dance was a group dance, where people would form a huge circle and do arm gestures that resembled the Big Apple.  In the 1930s the African Americans started a Big Apple Night Club in what was formally the House of Peace Synagogue.  The building was located on Park Street in Columbia, South Carolina and is now known as the Big Apple.  After the dance club was opened not only blacks danced there, whites did as well.  The Big Apple attracted many students from the University of South Carolina!  The House of Peace Synagogue started being built in 1907 and was completed in 1909.  The Big Apple was built in the Greek architectural structure just like several other buildings in Columbia.  The building still contains it dome ceiling that it had in the synagogue, just like the dome feature that the state house has in downtown Columbia.  The building contains two doric columns on the entrance of the building, but also there are some inside the building in the dance room.  The Big Apple has very long stained glass windows that are on all sides of the building.  The building has been kept up, but still has it old historic charm.

3. Discuss the Shag. What is the history of the shag and what is its relevance to South Carolina

The shag is the state dance of North and South Carolina.  It is known as the swing dance of the south.  The shag originated in the late 30s in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The roots of shag dancing began with black music and club dancers in Myrtle Beach.  By the 40s teenagers loved to dance the shag on the beach.  By the 50s the shag had slowed down to a more low beat rhythm.  The shag is a very smooth dance that you can enjoy with your partner.  Some of the famous shag dancers of all time are Billy Jeffers and Maggie Lunn Foss.  The shag is relevant to South Carolina because it was founded in Myrtle Beach and is a southern dance.  Being from the North I had never heard of the shag until I came to the University of South Carolina. The first time I shagged, I absolutely loved it and having someone lead me through the dance.  It is a very classy dance that is a lot of fun to not only dance but watch.  I hope to learn how to do the Carolina shag while i am attending school at USC, so I can show my friends and family up north what a great tradition shagging is to the south!    

Teenagers dancing the shag by the beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!

assignment 6

1.  The Baroque period of dance lasted from 1600-1750.  Baroque dances are historical dances that are derived from the Portuguese word borroco.  It is a theatrical and social dance of Europeans upper class.  The dance was characterized by dynamic movement, overt emotion, and self-confident rhetoric.  Baroque dancing includes both ballroom dancing and ballet.  This type of dance expressed grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitality, movement, tension, and emotional exuberance.  Even though there are no words in the music that is playing to accompany the dancers, the movement of the dances is what speaks to the audience and expresses all these emotions and feelings.  Baroque dancing has a tendency to blur distinctions between various arts.       

In this segment from the baroque dance of Gavotte and from Atys, you can see two girl dancers dressed in old fashion European dresses dancing to classical music.  They are dancing simultaneously and side by side.  The mode and moves of the dance are very elegant.  They both have smiles on their faces, making this a happy dance.  Even though the music does not have words the moves and facial expressions of the dancers is what carries the mode and tone of the dance.

2.  People dance because it is fun and a way that they can express themselves.  One of the biggest aspect of dance is music.  In several forms of dance dancers are accompanied by music.  People love to listen to music and dance allows people to not only listen to music but watch people move with the music.  The moves that dances do are what allow them to express themselves and tell a story.  Dance is not only fun to do but very entertaining to watch.  Nothing is more impressive than watching a group of dancers engage in the same moves at the same time.  Dance is also a good was to get in shape and workout.  Dance is a big part of social entertainment and usually occurs at events such as weddings.  Dance has become very popular to our culture and is not only performed in shows, but also in movies and on television shows.  Dance has grown and changed so much over time, that it is very fascinating to learn and watch different types of dance.  Finally, dancing makes people happy and can bring joy to people’s lives whether they are involved in it or watching it.

This youtube clip is from the show Dancing With The Stars.  Mario Lopez and his professional dancing partner dance the tango.  In this dance you can see the passion by the looks on their faces and how close they get to each other.  Their moves are very sharp and concise.  This is a very entertaining dance to watch and the moves look very complicated.  But, the show Dancing with the Stars shows how dance is so popular in our society.  This show makes these couples dance all kinds of dances like ballroom, tango, jazz, hip hop, and the quick step.  This allows America to see all different types of dances and how much work dance truly takes.  We do not forget about the dances that have gotten dance where it is today, This show wants to challenge these dances to be diverse dancers.

3. 

Butoh is a type of dance that we as Americans are not use to seeing.  The movements are not smooth and composed.  The Butoh dancers appear to look scary and unnatural.  But, we have to realize that this is a different type of culture and this is how they express their emotions and feelings.  In this youtube video a man is moving his body all throughout the dance and really showing off his strength.  The music that is in the background is rather upbeat and the man is even smiling.  While the man looks unhealthy and scary, this dance is supposed to be parsing.

Non Western dance form are from the continents of Asia, Africa, South America, and countries in the Middle East whereas western dance are from Europe.  Butoh is a “dance of the dark soul” that started in 1959.  It is an experimental Japanese dance characterized by emotional insanity.  The dance can incorporate grotesque images and the setting of the dance can be in absurd environments.  One physical appearance that classifies this dance is the white make up that the dances have to wear.  This dance was created to attribute to the Japanese legends Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno.